Through their blows, the persecutors and the persecuted came to know one another. This is an important gain for both of us, as we continue to walk through persecution. This is what it means when we Chinese say: “Out of blows, knowledge grows!”
There will always be conflicts for people who grow up in a traditional Chinese education, because a Chinese education is an atheistic education. But I never doubted the existence of God. The existence of God was as natural to me as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. It was as natural to me as getting up in the morning.
I am a subversive patriot because, despite the progress we have made as a nation, America is not my best hope for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." My ultimate allegiance is to a King who gave up his own life, liberty, and happiness to redeem us from the tyranny of sin.
God began a great work in China many, many years ago, and today, you are the evidence of what God began many years ago. Phil. 1:6 is a great promise from God; a promise for you and for the whole church in China. That verse kept my parents going even when they had to leave China, as they remembered it was God who started the work. It was not their work, it was God’s work, and you are a wonderful evidence of that promise.
Read MoreLord, I also pray for house church leaders, especially for pastors who are going through persecution, pressure, trouble, anxiety, and stress. Lord, I pray that you will help them to have inner fortitude to speak as a great witness to a watching world, that they would not waver in their commitment, that they will not be tempted by materialism and the opportunities for going it the easy way.
Read MoreMy passion is to walk with other people and be an instrument of healing for other people. I know most Chinese have similar family wounds. That affects their relationship with their spouse, with God, with their children, all of it. I expect God to use it—somewhere.
Read MorePlanting a church and starting a church planting movement is an act of faith in the invisible future people of God. It is also a way to behold the inaugurated and present kingdom of Christ.
Read MoreNothing Christians suffer is new; what we face today is not new. When the gospel and Christ come into the world, the kingdom of heaven comes with power. When Christ, the heavenly king, comes to become king of the earth, there will be misunderstanding and conflict.
Read MoreToday’s church is the construction site in which the Holy Spirit is building a new creation. You and I – pastors, preachers, each and every Christian – are builders of this holy city, and also builders of the ultimate humanity. The Holy Spirit is working through us to re-create mankind.
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