My Favorite Passage

II Corinthians 4:7-10 is my favorite Bible passage. I really hold it in my heart. What does it mean for me? Well, for me it’s the real deal . . . honest, telling it like it is. LIFE is not always easy, but God does not abandon us and throw us to the wolves. I really believe that. This is true in Hokkien ministry as well. Our families crash into many life challenges including physical, mental, emotional and financial. Life can be really tough to navigate.

Pray for our Hokkien believers during this coronavirus epidemic. Pray also for their daily struggles that go far beyond illness. Many also live daily with persecution from their local government, community and family members as well. In John 10:10 God promises abundant life to those of us who believe. We also pray that for our Hokkien families.

Last week I read this devotional from Our Daily Bread. You may have also have read this post. It expresses my thoughts very well. Thanks so much for praying with us for 2020 Hokkien ministry worldwide. Enjoy the post below:

An Old Clay Pot

Our Daily Bread

We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7–12

• I’ve acquired a number of old clay pots over the years. My favorite was excavated from a site dated during Abraham’s time. It’s at least one item in our home that is older than I! It’s not much to look at: stained, cracked, chipped, and in need of a good scrubbing. I keep it to remind me that I’m just a man made out of mud. Though fragile and weak, I carry an immeasurably precious treasure—Jesus. “We have this treasure [Jesus] in jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7).
• Paul continues: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (vv. 8–9). Hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down. These are the pressures the pot must bear. Not crushed, in despair, abandoned, destroyed. These are the effects of the counteracting strength of Jesus in us.
• “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus” (v. 10). This is the attitude that characterized Jesus who died to Himself every day. And this is the attitude that can characterize us—a willingness to die to self-effort, trusting solely in the sufficiency of the One who lives in us.
• “So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body” (v. 10). This is the outcome: the beauty of Jesus made visible in an old clay pot.

By: David H. Roper

More Like Jesus

As 2020 ushers in a new year, we would like you to join us in praying for ministry among our people group, the Hokkien, and beyond to other groups as well. Our partners desire to continue assisting ministry in established churches, but they also desire to start new work as well. Some churches are doing a great job in the area of discipleship. However, one thing we noticed worldwide is that many churches struggle growing a healthy church. Please pray with us that our churches will continue to mature during this new year and seek to assist believers to be more like Jesus.

 

Points to consider for a healthy church:

1. We desire for every church to be a Second Chance Place of Grace for everyone. It is a shame free zone because we are all broken and in need of a Savior.
2. We desire for every church to be a place for ALL nations. Yes we want Hokkien people to come to Christ, but we also desire for our people to go beyond their communities to a lost world. Many churches have multiple language groups on their site, and we are so excited about that.
3. We desire for our church members to be Doers of the Word, obedient to scripture.
4. We also hope that all of our churches will have a deliberate pathway for personal growth. This will assist new comers from the “come and see” all the way to “come and serve.” Clear steps for people to follow and grow in Christ. This is an essential part of growing a mature church. So we pray that our churches will have an easy to understand pathway that will assist people in this spiritual journey.
5. We also pray for our believers to have a vision of LOVE in ACTION. We just don’t talk about it — we find ways to show God’s love through us.
6. We also desire to see our churches reflect a vision that will EMPOWER members. Every member is a minister — a servant of God and part of the church team to minister to others.
7. We also pray for members to have BOLD FAITH and be willing to take big risks. Pray for such vision during 2020.
8. And of course, we desire for our churches to have AUTHENTIC FELLOWSHIP. We must be REAL, transparent as we live our lives.
9. We also pray for our churches to have CREATIVE OUTREACH. Every community is different. Every family is different. What will it take to reach our community. We pray that our churches will be willing to experiment to find ways to reach people for Christ.
10. We also believe that churches must be KID and FAMILY FOCUSED. We want our churches to be multi-generational and focused on future generations. That is the future of the church.

Today we have different generations: Builders, Boomers, Busters, Millennials and Gen Z. Whether we are talking about babies, teenagers, young adults, median or senior adults, we are all an important part of the church and we need each other.

Pray with us for 2020, that our eyes will be focused on reaching people, maturing believers and loving on the people around us. We pray for a spiritual awakening not only among Hokkien people, but worldwide. Thanks for joining us on the journey.

 

JUST THE BEGINNING

Chinese New Year is almost here, but we already have some good news to share. While we were in Taiwan, we had the privilege of sharing in the engagement ceremony for this young couple. Actually, they are people who have not been friends very long. They grew up in the same neighborhood, but they were introduced to each other. As in most situations, their families are very different. The groom grew up in our church; however, the bride’s family does not have that kind of background. We have known the groom for a long time.

I think all of us have to admit that when we get married, we are joining two different families together. No matter what two people we are talking about, a lot of things are different. In fact, when we attended their engagement dinner, the brides family announced that they would be following a family tradition. It was very interesting, because no one on the groom’s side had even heard of it. When we left the ceremony a friend googled it, and sure enough it is a tradition in some Chinese families. Hey, these two families live in Taiwan. Taiwan is not a large island, but yet there are differences. That is life, right?! And this is only the beginning.

So as these two are now united in marriage, we ask you to pray for them. Pray that the groom will be humble and loving toward his new wife. Pray that he can be respectful of his new family. Pray for the bride to also love her husband. And also pray through this union that all family members will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Pray for them to maintain relationships with the Hok-Tek Baptist Church so that they have a place where they can celebrate happy times and a place where they can find solace in times of need.

Pray against Satan and the destruction that he desires for all lives. Pray that this couple will be filled with God’s love, find his abundant grace and grow to love each other very much.

With love in our hearts, we congratulate them on this very special event and keep them in our hearts and prayers.

2019 PHOTO GALLERY

It’s always nice to have a walk through memory lane. Some memories are fun and filled with such sweetness, while others are thoughts of difficult times. It’s hard to believe that 2019 has come and gone, but we do welcome 2020 with great expectations. Here are just a few of the photos from Robert and Donna through 2019.

L.I.F.E.

This week we said goodbye to one of our dear friends and precious ministry partners, Robert Lee. Robert Lee and his wife, Mary, have meant so much to us. To connect with them and others in SE Asia has been our privilege and a real gift from God.

When we met Robert and Mary, Robert was already a retired senior adult but full of LIFE. We not only joined hearts to minister in the community where they lived, but also traveled together to minister to island people as well. We watched them. We knew that he was challenged with heart issues, but you would never know it. You should have seen him on a bicycle peddling all over that fishing island where we ministered. Amazing. He and Mary have also invested their lives among other people groups of their nation as well. Robert’s impact on the junior high and high school students of that fishing village is HUGE. He weekly went out to the island to tutor and LOVE on those kids. Oh there  are so many things that he and Mary have done that I can’t name them all.

7 months ago when we were told that Robert Lee had cancer, we took that very seriously. Just about 5 years ago, my Robert was also diagnosed with cancer. That news is difficult for any of us to hear. These 7 months have been a real challenge for Robert and Mary. And now that battle is over. Robert is now with our Lord.

This week, we had the opportunity to watch the funeral for Dr. Lois Evans, wife of Dr. Tony Evans. Oh, I was very touched by all that was said. Of course there were so many people, both family and friends, who shared loving and gracious words about Lois — a real angel from my perspective. And it was especially precious to hear their youngest son, Jonathan, share the message, and to worship with their older son, Anthony, as he sang. Their two daughters, Chrystal and Priscilla, also well known shared beautiful thoughts as well. And then this week we received the word about Robert Lee’s death.

There is one thing Jonathan Evans shared that really stuck with me. He read a verse from the New Testament and then commented on it.

Acts 13:36  Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep . . .

Jonathan then shared his struggle before God. Why didn’t God heal her. She was so faithful to God and active in helping many other people. There were people worldwide praying for her, and yet she died. Jonathan shared that God touched his heart and also helped him to realize that he felt entitled. God was supposed to do things Jonathan’s way. Who was in charge? Jonathan or God? He also shared that whether or not Lois was healed here or in Heaven, the answer to both of those was YES. If she were healed here it would be YES. If she were healed in Heaven the answer to all of our prayers would also be YES. He then once again shared the verse that said David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, and then he fell asleep.

That really touched me. Robert Lee indeed served God’s purpose in his own generation and in his own people group and beyond, and then he fell asleep in the arms of Jesus. We are so thankful for his life and the impact it has had on us and sooooo many others.

We do celebrate Robert Lee’s life. Please pray for Mary and the family as they grieve and journey through these days. Robert Lee indeed was an example to challenge us in L.I.F.E.

L.I.F.E. —– LIVING IN FAITH EVERYDAY

View Robert Lee’s Wake Service below.

 

SMILE, IT’S TUESDAY!

We are so excited because it’s almost Tuesday, January 7, and we are beginning a new ministry at Cross Church:  CELEBRATE RECOVERY.  We are also excited because this ministry is also available in Chinese among our people group. Whether at home in America or around the world, please pray that people in need will connect and open their hearts for healing. You may ask, well WHAT is Celebrate Recovery?

 

WHAT IS CR?
Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered recovery community helping others celebrate freedom from all types of painful hurts, habits and hang-ups. Celebrate Recovery utilizes the biblical truth that we need each other in order to grow spiritually and emotionally.  Together we experience life changing transformation as we learn to apply the Twelve Steps along with biblical comparisons and Eight Recovery Principles based on the teachings of  Jesus. God’s healing power leads us to a life of  serenity, joy and most importantly, a strong  personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Check out CR’s website for more information. Just click HERE.

We learn to break free from our need to rely on our dysfunctional, compulsive, and unmanageable behaviors as a “fix” for our pain, and turn to Christ, our personal, loving and forgiving Higher Power.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
We all struggle!  Anyone who desires a new way of managing life should consider attending Celebrate Recovery. Participants may include people who struggle with any other issue that keeps us from  becoming the people we are called to be. A brief list is included below.

HOW ARE MEETINGS STRUCTURED?
The evening begins with coffee and fellowship and flows to a Large Group meeting with worship, prayer, a reading of the steps or recovery principles, and a biblically based teaching or a testimony. Gender specific support groups immediately follow the Large Group fellowship. We share our experience, strength and hope in an open share fashion.
Step studies, an in-depth concentrated study of the steps and recovery principles are periodically offered throughout the year. Step Studies are gender specific, but include people working toward freedom from a variety of recovery issues.

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF ME?
Come as you are! No registration is needed. Celebrate Recovery is an anonymous recovery meeting. No matter your hurt, pain, or struggle you are welcome. You are free to share or not to share inside the support groups. All meetings are open to anyone who desires change, but anonymity and confidentiality are basic requirements. We encourage you to visit five or six times before deciding if Celebrate Recovery is right for you!
Celebrate Recovery does name and celebrate Christ as Higher Power, but anyone seeking a new way to manage life is welcome.

Come with an open heart, an open mind and ears ready to listen. Newcomers are always welcome!

Soooooo . . .  If we are struggling with anything like these below, just come join us. We look forward to seeing you.

This Bible based recovery program can help all of us find freedom from lifelong struggles such as: * Overworking * Divorce * Food Addiction * Overspending * Physical/Sexual Abuse * Lying * Perfectionism * Fear/Anxiety  *  Sexual Addiction * Guilt * Eating Disorders * Grief * Hurtful Relationships * Rejection * Need to Control * Alcohol/Drugs * Co-dependency * Gambling .  .  and many more.