Pass it on, fully
“Acceptable 2019” is full of God’s grace! He has blessed my three-point shots. Last Sunday evening, 611’s basketball team won an overwhelming victory. In one match, I myself scored three-point shots three times, which was unprecedented. God accepts my basketball skill, and also our church. Adding 62 newly-ordained cell leaders, the total number of cell leaders in our church has reached one thousand, a record high.
The land in Cheung Chau will be officially ours this month. We will start mowing the “Garden of Eden”, and even go camping there. Many brothers and sisters have begun dating, and Pastor Lyan’s wedding is on the way. Young Ya is going through a major renovation to become a multimedia center. The younger daughter of Pastor Baruch, who had longed to take the vet degree course for years, was accepted by the University of Queensland in Australia this year. How happy the whole family is, seeing her dream come true! In “Acceptable 2019”, brothers and sisters, what are your heart’s desires? May God bless the meditation of your heart and the words of your mouth to be acceptable in His sight!
C-Mo cares very much about every disciple, and every branch church. Exhausted from ministry in March, last Sunday morning she rested at home due to Meniere’s disease. Yet she urged me to attend cell leader ordination luncheon.
During the luncheon, I had wonderful exchanges with the newly-ordained cell leaders. One asked, “Do dogs go to heaven after death?” Therefrom arose another question, “Inevitably, death brings grief, why should I keep pets?” In life, we shall without fail face death. My mother passed away when I was 23. After sorting out her after-death arrangements, I went to Taiwan for study, turning a new page. We mature as we go through bereavement. If we reject pet adoption out of fear of facing death, it is not a decision of faith. Only a faith decision is a decision after God’s heart.
When we adopted our dog Kindness, he was already seven years old. Fully aware that he would not live long, we willingly chose to adopt him and look after him until he passed away. Then God’s kindness came to us, and we received blessings and rewards beyond our expectation. In the same way, a cell leader toils and even sheds tears for cell members, paying a great price in discipleship. At the end of the day, he might be blamed for not loving cell members or lose cell members without knowing why. Should we then resign as cell leader and quit discipleship altogether?
Therefore, I strongly encourage all cell leaders to march on in faith, engaging in discipleship, as this is the great commission entrusted us by Jesus and is part of the meaning of life. Brothers and sisters, we have received discipleship from God and must pass it on fully, to builp up and curate the life of our next generation. The whole Earth will surely be transformed: this is the heart of God and this is for His Glory. • [2019.04.14]