He That Honors Me I Will Honor!

 

 

Please click this link for the video version of today's blog :

https://youtu.be/qAXAF21q9AE?si=dY8z6jHaRI30bvE2

Silence

1.   Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

      2.   Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace and feel His presence. Exhale your worries.

     Praise and Thanksgiving

1.   Think through your day, all the times that made you smile. 

2.   Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3.          **Sing a song to praise the Lord

      

     Confession and Repentance (Subjective Shifting Devotion Method) 

      https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

1.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to shine on you that you are able to discover your sins and be willing to repent:

     “Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God and having Jesus as my Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2.  Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

     "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sins to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gifts to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

3.  John Stott's daily prayer of Christlikeness (Christopher J.H. Wright, Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017, 13)

**Please click this link to read how God used John Stott to change my life:https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/

           "Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more.

             Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

             Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

Today's Time with Abba:  Psalm 73:1-14; 1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17; Romans 2:1-24; Proverbs 19:8-9

Please click this link for today's Time with Abba one year Bible: http://twa.pastoralcareschool.org/

Key passages: 

Those who honor me I will honor.       1 Samuel 2: 30 

Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. 16 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:“Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 17 And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, Lord God, have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men.18 “What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, 19 Lord. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.20 “There is no one like you, Lord, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 21 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 22 You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.23 “And now, Lord, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, 24 so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you.

25 “You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. 26 You, Lord, are God! You have promised these good things to your servant.27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Lord, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.”                          1 Chronicles 17: 15-27

                         

       Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passages we have just read. Offer this time to Jesus as you listen to Him.    

The topic I received today from Jesus is: He That Honors Me I Will Honor!

Jesus reminded me of a very important scene in the movie "Chariots of Fire" of how God honored Eric Liddell when Eric honored God by not running 100 meters in the Olympic on a Sunday. God used that movie as one of His many ways to call me to quit my job in the Hong Kong Government as a Music Officer and go to seminary in 1982. 

I remember how Eric Liddell got a little slip from his opponent a minute before his 400 meters final and he took that in his hand and started his historical and victorious running. The small note was from 1 Samuel 2:30, "Says in the Old Book, 'He that honors me I will honor." I watched that movie five times during the time I had my discernment of whether the call was from God. Every time I was in tears when I saw how Eric opened that note and the letter became so big to me:

He that honors me I will honor.

Then he ran, and the music was on, and then we saw the smile of Eric on his face and we heard he says, "Where does the power come from, it's from within... I believe God made me for a purpose. He also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure. "

Eric Liddell was a Missionary from Scotland who 

sacrificed his life to bring Gospel to China and die in concentration camp in China during the 2nd World War. Michelle and I have been in Scotland since two days ago to celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary. Wow! I do think this is not a co-incidence and this is a big gift from Jesus to us to remind us how He has been blessing us since we followed Jesus path and not our path forty years ago!

Yesterday we read how David put his first priority to worship God; then in today's chapter we read how God honored David because David honored Him!

I remembered how angry my father was when I told him that night I made a decision to quit my job in the Hong Kong Government because God called me to prepare myself to become an Anglican priest. It was because I broke his dream of having a son to become a high ranking officer in the Government. That was May 1982 and he did understand God's promise was far better than he could ever think of. I earned many times less than I used to but our whole family is being blessed thousands of times more than we ever think of. My father passed away in 1996 and I know that he is smiling there in heaven, for he now understands:

He that honors me I will honor

May Jesus bless you as you digest what I share and listen to a new call from our Lord Jesus Christ. 

May the Holy Spirit fill you and strengthen you now to do His will and not your will. 

May the love of our heavenly Father soften your heart so that you are able to love and to be loved.

You got to click this links of Chariots of Fire ( 

Please click this link to worship with us - Chariots of Fire Finale

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPB7r0UpNIE&feature=related )

 to know more about what I said. 

I do pray and hope that God will speak to you  just as he spoke to me in 1982!!! 

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you for your presence in this hotel room in Edinburgh and gave me a message to share with my beloved brothers and sisters. Help us to experience your promise that those who honor you, you will honor. In Jesus name we pray . Amen.

Eric Henry Liddell (/ˈlɪdəl/; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish sprinter, rugby player and Christian missionary. Born in Tianjin, China to Scottish missionary parents, he attended boarding school near London, spending time when possible with his family in Edinburgh, and afterwards attended the University of Edinburgh.

At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Lidell refused to run in the heats for his favoured 100 metres because they were held on a Sunday. Instead he competed in the 400 metres held on a weekday, a race that he won. He became ordained as a Congregational minister in 1932 and regularly taught bible classes at Morningside Congregational Church, Edinburgh. He returned to China in 1925 and served as a missionary teacher. Aside from two furloughs in Scotland, he remained in China until his death in a Japanese civilian internment camp in 1945.

Liddell's Olympic training and racing, and the religious convictions that influenced him, are depicted in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire, in which he is portrayed by fellow Scot and University of Edinburgh alumnus Ian Charleson.

Reflect on these questions:    

1. What inspiration have you received from today's catch and what have you heard from Jesus now?

     2.  What is your next step to be more closer to Jesus, to be holy - that is to do what Jesus wants you to do and not to do what Jesus wants you not to do?

    

    Family Corner:

   Find an opportunity to share with your family the importance of today's message. 

    Please click this link for today's Time with Abba one year Bible four passages: http://twa.pastoralcareschool.org/

     Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage we have just read. Offer this time to Jesus as you listen to Him.    

   For the Chinese version of this daily blog and video, please click this link (中文版請按此連結):

    https://timewithabbaprayinglisteningchinese.blogspot.com

     

     To know, learn and practice the method of Time with Abba, please click this link:http://twa.pastoralcareschool.org/

     If you would like to follow my "Subject shifting Devotion Method" from the "Time with Abba, Praising Singing", you are welcome to follow the direction below and then go back to the top of this blog to read today's key passage and my listening and sharing:

        Silence

1.   Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

      2.   Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace and feel His presence. Exhale your worries.

     Praise and Thanksgiving

1.   Think through your day, all the times that made you smile

2.   Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3.   Sing a song to praise the Lord

      

Confession and Repentance (Subjective Shifting Devotion Method) 

https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

1.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to shine on you that you are able to discover your sins and be willing to repent:

     “Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God and having Jesus as my Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2.  Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

     "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sins to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gifts to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

3.  John Stott's daily prayer of Christlikeness (Christopher J.H. Wright, Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017, 13)

(Please click this link to see how God used John Stott to change my life:https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/

           "Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more.

             Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

             Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

 My first blog "Devotion on Fire"  was written in English only  (July 17, 2009年7月17日至November 22, 2012年11月22日). Each day one chapter of Bible, from New Testament and then Old Testament. Completed in four months and three years:

http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/blessings-from-rev-dr-john-stott.html

My second blog "Discipler 123"  was written in both Chinese and English (March 6,2011to December 31, 2016 ):

https://discipler123.blogspot.com/2011/02/day-1-choose-light-away-from-darkness.html

and "Time with Abba" blog and video (January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2024): 

https://discipler123.blogspot.com/2017/01/1-2017.html