Sharing is Caring

  Devoting themselves to prayer       “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers” (Acts 1:14).       Our church's motto for the year 2008 is "Devote yourselves to prayer."   The verse that serves as the motto is Acts 1:14.   The background of this verse is when Jesus, after His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, returned from the Mount of Olives, also known as Olivet, to Jerusalem where His disciples were staying in the upper room.   About 120 of them gathered together in prayer.   Reflecting on this verse, I have chosen the title "Devote yourselves to prayer" while praying that you and I may live a life of obedience to this word.   In summary, this word can be encapsulated as "Prayer, Expectation, and Waiting."   We need to pray, expect, and wait.   So, how should we pray, what should we ...

“Now strengthen my hands”       [Nehemiah 6:1-9]     If we look at the book “Burnout in Church Leaders” (by Peter Kaldor & Rod Bullpit), we will find survey data of 20 denominations, 7,200 church pastors, and 430,000 believers.   Pastors who are more at risk of burnout say six things, two of which have gotten some attention:   (1)     It is said that the degree of stress and exhaustion was higher in younger group.   The fact that the younger you are, the greater your risk of burnout reflects several facts: The fact that youth ministry is not easy, that leaders have too high expectations of themselves or others have too high of them, that they are inexperienced in dealing with tensions.   (2)     It is said that the level of burnout was higher in leaders who are raising young children.   The reason that burnout levels are higher among people under 40 is because they are takin...

  A man of prayer (2)     [Nehemiah 1:4-11]     A farmer encountered a huge bear in the mountains.   He was terrified and collapsed on the spot.   And he fervently prayed: ‘God, change this bear's heart to meekness.’   The farmer prayed for a while and opened his eyes.   But the bear was also sitting and praying.   The farmer was very moved to think that his prayer had been answered: ‘God answered my prayer so quickly.   My prayer touched the bear's heart.’   Then the bear finished praying and looked at the farmer with a deep expression and said: ‘I have no idea what you are praying for.   I just prayed with food in front of me’ (Internet).   What is the lesson for us in this amusing example of prayer?   There are times when we, like the farmer, think we have received answers to our prayers and are mistaken.   Then, how should we pray to God in order to receive answers to our prayers?  ...

A man of prayer (1)     [Nehemiah 1:1-4]       On the afternoon of Sunday, December 21, 2003, according to God's grace and guidance, I became the senior pastor of Victory Presbyterian Church.   The following year, in January 2004, I chose the Book of Nehemiah among the 66 books of the Bible and began to proclaim the word of God.   The reason I chose the Book of Nehemiah is because I had a heart that longed for the Lord to accomplish the work of rebuilding Victory Presbyterian Church through us while meditating on Nehemiah with the concept of “rebuilding”.   In particular, I wanted the Lord to build a “wall” again while tearing down our “walls” that had foundations but collapsed, or our “walls” that needed to be demolished.   How should we rebuild the “walls” that have been or should be demolished in our church?   Pastor J. I. Packer, in his book “A Passion for Faithfulness: The Wisdom of Nehemiah,” said: ‘Nehemiah bui...