Ultimately, the church in Hong Kong can show the very real hope they have in Christ by living as people who are truly free. It is right and just for churches to speak out against unjust laws and defend freedom, but they will never have to do it from a place of desperation. They can perhaps learn from their brothers and sisters in the mainland, and from Pastor Wang Yi, who is now in prison for his faithfulness to the gospel. Even though individual rights can be violated and religious freedom can be limited, the church of Christ cannot be bound.
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New Year greetings are quite literally wishful thinking. They carry no actual promise, power, nor potential; they point to empty cisterns that do not satisfy. But we have with us the weighty glory of good news. We have the Father's adoption, the Son's death and resurrection, and the Holy Spirit's intercession for us. We have real hope.
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One New Years Eve, while the villagers were preparing to once again escape from the village, an old beggar came into the village to ask for food. An elderly woman quickly gave him a bowl of rice and warned him that the monster was on its way, and he too should leave the village soon. The old beggar said, "If you let me stay in your house for one night, I have a plan to scare the monster away." The woman was skeptical, but she was in a hurry to leave, so she gave him the permission to stay.
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If all of that is confusing to you, I hope it at least helps you appreciate the depth of meaning behind a Chinese name. Naming is one of the most important acts parents do for their children because it expresses the care and hope the parents place on their children. Not only is a person known by a name for the rest of his or her life, but the meaning behind a name may also define his or her character.
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Despite raids by police, house churches continue to meet and preach and pray on every Sunday. Their devotion to these spiritual disciplines is preparing their bodies and souls for whatever is to come. If we were placed in their situation, would our spiritual disciplines give us the resilience to endure this kind of suffering?
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With so many items on our prayer list, why should we pray for churches and Christians in other countries? For one, they are members of the same body (1 Corinthians 12). The whole body of God is infinitely impoverished if believers from another country are weakened. Conversely, the whole body of God will benefit if believers in another country thrive.
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How did the number of Protestant Christians grow so quickly in China, while the number of Catholics remained steady despite a three-century head start? We may trace the reasons according to the five solas of the Protestant Reformation
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This is one of China's four most celebrated folklores. Like the other great love stories, it contains humor, separation, longing, heartbreak, death, and of course, unrelenting love. We cherish these stories with plays, films, and music because our souls are helplessly stirred by their yearning. They echo the great cosmic love story that we live in, which also contains humor, separation, longing, heartbreak, death, and unrelenting love. In all of these stories, our souls are not satisfied until the lovers are united. So too with the cosmic love story in which we live; our hearts are restless until we are united with the God who pursues us with his relentless love.
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Christmas is not a national holiday in China (and in many other nations), and I do not imagine that my relatives in China will be getting together to sing carols and exchange presents. But I am willing to bet with my life that in China, in other parts of Asia, in the Middle East, in Africa, in South America, there are thousands of followers of Jesus who will be risking their livelihood to gather on this Christmas Sunday for no other reason than being together to celebrate our hope in the birth of Christ. I know Christians in recent years have often only held services on Christmas Eve, but this Christmas Sunday should be especially meaningful because we will not only be celebrating with our earthly families, but also with our brothers and sisters around the world. Even the closest earthly families are only foretastes of the communion of the saints we have in God's eternal kingdom, and this Christmas Sunday we will have a chance to celebrate both.
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We may not identify with their experiences, but stories like these still resonate with us because you and I both know we long for unconditional love like this. Regardless of what we have done, how long we have been missing, or whether we are still recognizable, we want someone who will love us enough to search for us when we are lost.
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