I had a dream last night, in which I was speaking to my brother, who has not accepted Christ. No matter how hard I looked, I could never find the scriptures that I was trying to quote when talking to him. I believe this dream is telling me that I need to go back and read God’s word, so I may be able to learn more about Him and also be able to know what to say when I speak to non-believers.
John Ch 13 V1-8
. Jesus knew His time had come, so He went to His disciples and served them. Jesus, even though He is all powerful, still took time to serve others, in this case by washing the feet of His disciples. He teaches His disciples that we can show love by serving others, and the extent of His love. (V1-2)
. Some people cannot accept that God would serve His people, because there is no reason for Him too! God loves us, and have already given the gift of salvation which we can never return to Him. What we can do is to tell other’s of God’s love, so that they may also be saved. We did not understand why Jesus did all this for us until that day we finally came to know God, and accept Jesus as our savior. If Jesus did not serve others, did not love others, then why would we want to accept Him as our Savior? (V6-8)
Daily Verse:
Psalm 55:22
“22 Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.”
John Ch 12 V 37-50
. Even though Jesus had raised dead people back to life, fed thousands with a few baskets of bread and fish, cured people of diseases, etc. there were still many who did not believe. This applies to today too, even though there are so many who testify of God’s love and how Jesus has changed our lives, the people who hear our testimonies still do not believe. They have already hardened their hearts so much that they do not even try to understand Jesus. (V37-40)
. There will also be those among those who persecute Christians that come to know God’s glory, but will not confess their faith because they are afraid of their colleagues. These people would rather seek approval from mere men, when they should be seeking praise from God. Why should we be afraid of what other’s think when we have come to know God, and His love for us? We should be telling others of this great news! Those who believe in Jesus will also see the glory of God. He has come to this world so that whoever believes in Him will be brought out of the darkness, and shown the truth. (V42-46)
. Jesus did not come to this world to judge us, but to save us. For the people who reject Jesus and His gift of salvation, they will be judged in the end of times; they will get what they had wanted after death, an eternity away from God. (V47-48)
. Jesus only has one authority, and that is the Father. He seeks His guidance, and follows His every command, and that command was to be the sacrifice for mankind, so that we will have salvation. Likewise, we should come to seek and ask God for guidance, for we do not speak to glorify ourselves but our Father in heaven. (V49-50)
Daily Verse:
Psalm 52:8-9
“8 But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
for ever and ever.
9 I will praise you forever for what you have done;
in your name I will hope, for your name is good.
I will praise you in the presence of your saints.”
. Hello, my name is Joshua Wu. Since I was a little kid my parents would always take me to this Chinese church that they went to, and it was all so boring to me. While everyone was reading the Bible or singing songs of praise, I was usually off sleeping or daydreaming. The miracles Jesus did, David and Goliath, Joshua crumbling the towers of Jericho; I saw these as cool stories that taught good morals.
. During middle school, around the time I was 11, my life started to change dramatically. My parent’s arguments were getting worse. Around this time my father’s work in America wasn’t going well, so the company he works for had him return back to Taiwan. My parents also made me switch over from the school I went to my whole life to a public school, because we had to save money. I was angry at them for this decision; I stopped studying because I didn’t see anymore reason for school. At the new school I was introduced to many new things, such as gangs, cursing, and also that nerds were smart people with glasses. My life began to be shaped by what other’s thought about me. During this time I also started going to my old school’s church, because not only was it a place to hang out with my friends but also a place to get away from the problems back at home. In 2004 my family moved from Louisiana to California. Taken away from all my friends, and not having my dad around to cheer me up, I became very self-negative, I saw myself as a huge failure, and I hated my life. All I cared about at this point was my friends, they were the only thing left that I cared for. I also stopped going to church because I saw it as a waste of time.
. In the beginning of 2007, out of nowhere, I suddenly fell in love with tennis. Up until that point I did not even care for this sport. It was as if something was urging me to play tennis. I started to practice tennis everyday for many hours, and while going to my cousin’s church one day, I learned that many of the guys at church played tennis, so I started to come more often. As I kept coming each week, I began to learn more about God and the way He is in my life. Eventually sometime in early 2008, I became excited to follow Him because of the joy He had brought me since I believed He was real. This was the wrong reason for believing in God, and I learned it the hard way. In Fall 2008, when school started and the stress started to build up, the time I spent with God began to grow less, until I stopped relying on Him for my strength and guidance. The goals I were trying to achieve began to fail, one by one. With all these failures I became more self-negative.
It was when my life had hit the very bottom, when I had nowhere else to find comfort in, God opened my eyes. By showing me how imperfect I was, I finally understood God’s love when He sent Jesus down to earth to die for all of the world’s sin. God loves me so such, that even though I am a sinner and will continue to sin because I’m not perfect, He still wants me to spend my eternity with Him. At some time in Spring of 2009, I accepted Jesus as my Savior. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I told Him that I believe in His son Jesus, what He did on earth, and that because I am a sinner, I do not deserve salvation, but by the grace of God, Jesus, I am saved.
. Since accepting Christ, I have been able to do things that I would not have been able to if God was not in my life. I was able to finish my last year of high school with the highest grades that I had ever gotten because I was not working for my own goals but to glorify God through school. I have matured enough so much that when my family from Taiwan came to stay in America for vacation in August, my grandmother and aunt were able to notice how much I have changed from the immature person I was just a few years back. I was able to share my faith with many people, such as my family from Taiwan, random strangers I meet at school, and also Frank, who was my roommate for much of the summer because of God’s love for me, I want others to know of His joy. I am able to put all my trust in God for my future, and that He will always provide. Now whenever I need wisdom or strength, I always come to seek His help in prayer and bible reading. I have also learned many new things after accepting Jesus. I learned that a relationship based on feeling is not a true relationship, but I have to constantly be striving for God, to rely on Him through the good and the bad times. I also learned that God does not want to be only a part of my life, He wants to be my life, and to constantly remind me of His love, I always remind myself through John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” I still continue to face many problems, but each time I overcome one, whether it is with my family, friends, with my brothers in Christ, God has strengthened our relationship. God uses these struggles to mold me into the man He wants me to be.
. Thank you God for all the people You have placed in my life, how each and every one of them has been a blessing to me. Thank you God for this church; for the people of EFCHH. Please continue to guide me in my walk with You, so that my faith will not waver, and that You would be the only thing that I strive for each and everyday. Thank You.
-
- Praise God!
John Ch 12 V 20-36
. Jesus knew His time had come, and also explains that with His sacrifice many will be saved. He tells us that whoever is willing to lay everything down for God will find true joy for eternity. When we begin to live life to glorify God, we allow His will to be done and the Spirit to work through us. Jesus knew that what was coming will not be pleasant, but acknowledges that it was for this very reason He came down to earth. Put your trust in Jesus and ask Him for guidance for your future.
Daily Verse:
Psalm 51:10
“10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Yea!
I was looking all over my house for an 0.5 mm led pencil for about 2 hours, then when I was just about to give up, I asked God to either let me find one in the next box I look in, or if not, I would stop searching. Digging through the box, the very last thing I picked up was a led pencil, and it is special because there are no buttons on it; The led automatically feeds out of the pencil! I got more than I asked for, praise God!
John Ch 12 V 1-11
1Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about a pint[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5“Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.[b]” 6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. ” It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
9Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.
. God is priceless compared to anything else, He was the one who has given us everything we own, we should give in thanks, not because God needs our gifts but because we want to give them to Him. There are men like Judas, who cannot see God for who He is. God is above all else. Knowing this, how do we often fail to forget this fact and focus more on our work, school, or other matters? Let us place our hopes and our future in God’s hands.
John Ch 12 V 12-19
12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna![c]“
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[d]
“Blessed is the King of Israel!” 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
15“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”[e]
16At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
17Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
. Jesus is always there for us. Having God always there to guide us and protect us, shouldn’t we be happy? We may not be able to see Him, but we know He is there. God has promised that Jesus will return back to this world; God always keeps His promises. While waiting for our King to return, we should continue to spread the word of God so that every person may be able to hear of God’s glory, love, and free gift of salvation!
John Ch 11 V 38-57
38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39“Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
45Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place[c] and our nation.”
49Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
51He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
54Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
55When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the Feast at all?” 57But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.
. God is able to do the impossible. When some tasks we are entrusted with seem impossible, we begin to lose sight of how great our God is. If we believe, nothing is impossible, God is always here for us. If we believe, we will see God’s glory! Thank God for always hearing our prayers. Jesus brought Lazarus, a dead man back to life with just words.
. God causes all events, good or bad, to occur, so because of the events people may be able to witness God’s glory. Through miracles, people put their faith in Jesus, yet some did not. These people have already denied Jesus in their hearts, and there is nothing that can save them.
John Ch 11 V 17-37
17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles[a] from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ,[b] the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
28And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34“Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35Jesus wept.
36Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
. When tragedy strikes our house, God knows. Trust in Him always, no matter how difficult it may seem, God is always there. He knows when we are going through struggles, but He will never overburden us. Jesus is the savior and the only way to heaven. Whoever believes in Him will have eternal life after the physical death on earth, and their spirit will never die while on earth; by believing in God’s will, there is nothing that can overwhelm our trust in the Lord. Jesus loves us so much, that He wept when He knew that even though He is about to resurrect Lazarus, there are some Jews who were present that would still not believe He was the Son of God. Do not harden your hearts so that even when the most amazing miracles occur, that you are not able to see God’s glory in all of them.
Joshua H Wu
