The Great Cover-up

We had snow for Christmas!  God created beauty as some of the dirtiness of our environment was covered with snow.  There was a freshness in the air.  Activities not done for many years (snow shoveling, watching grandchildren sledding, driving in snow, etc.) created new memories.  It seemed as if we were living in a different world, a new place.

As so often happens, reality has struck.  We have experienced some warming temperatures and even some rain. Patches of grass and other sights hidden for a few days are becoming visible.  The piles of snow from driveway shoveling are decreasing in height.  The sense of living in a new place, a new time is disappearing.  The sense of freshness was only temporary.

Something similar is likely to happen with the new year.  We have many hopes and dreams.  Yet, just a few days in, many of the familiar things are reappearing.  Are we able to continue to do things differently?  How long will it last?  Will it be temporary like the snow that covered  things for a few days.

God has promised to make all things new.  We experience that now as we believe in Him, but there is also a future not-yet-experienced aspect to what has been promised.  Will this be the year that we will experience that?  Will this be the year that Christ returns as King?

There are some things from the way life is that we cannot change.  At the same time, we can choose to focus on that which is important.  Jesus said: “the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”

Let’s pray for that to happen.  Let’s find ways to facilitate that happening in 2022.  Will this be the year when many Taiwanese hear the gospel and choose to believe?

Prayer Initiative

Thank-you to those who are participating in the prayer initiative that started January 1.  We encourage you to make a three-week commitment to pray that people who have not heard and and experienced life with Christ to discover a purposeful life in Christ.  If you would like to join in, click here and receive the daily email with the prayer guides.

Praise and Prayer

• The number of participants in the Baozhong Alliance Church Christmas events was less than we hoped.  The events did provide a connection with some people who had not attended church services recently.  Please pray that relationships with those people will deepen.  Pray that God will use what was heard at Christmas as a foundation for a closer walk with Him.
• The leadership of the Baozhong Alliance Church is encouraging members to share prayer needs and participate in praying this year.  Please pray that they will be filled with faith to ask God for good things and that they will see answers to prayer this year.  

From Our House to Yours

From Us to You

Grace and Peace from God our Father

And From Our Lord Jesus Christ

Merry Christmas!

Praise and Prayer

• Christmas Day will be the third of the Baozhong Alliance Church Christmas parent-child outreach events.  It will include a program and a meal.  Pray that both students and their parents will be attracted to learn more about the meaning of the Christmas story.  
• We pray that you will be filled with peace, regardless of environmental circumstances, as you celebrate Christmas this year.  (Our next newsletter will be in the new year.)

21 Days of Praying

We are inviting you to join with others who will be praying for initiatives by Alliance Canada workers to provide people access to Jesus.

“Welkin”

At church yesterday we sang the Christmas carol “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

The original words were written in 1739 by Charles Wesley.  Those words do not include a reference to angels.  Rather, the first line of this famous song was: “Hark! How all the welkin rings!” The melody was a solemn tune that was sung slowly.

In case you are wondering, “welkin” is an Old English word that means clouds or heavens.  In a general sense it refers to the sky. It drives home the point that it was not just a small choir of angels making the announcement to the shepherds.  All of creation joined in declaring the Saviour was born.

It was George Whitefield who changed the lyrics to refer to mention the angels singing.  The familiar melody was adopted about 100 years after the hymn was originally written.

Which version do you prefer – “welkin” or “angels”?
Are there other Christmas traditions that have an interesting origin?  Feel free to share it with us.

Praise and Prayer

• The first of the Baozhong Alliance Church Christmas events will be held on Saturday, December 11. Please pray that the weather and other things will not prevent people from attending.  Pray that both students and their parents will be drawn to want to learn more about the meaning of the Christmas story.
• Praise the Lord that the flood waters in Abbotsford are receding.  Many people are discovering whether they have a salvageable house, farm, business, etc. Pray for these families as they grieve their losses and make plans for how to move forward with their lives.  Pray for favor to obtain insurance and relief funds to pay for the needed repairs.

Hope

Yesterday was the first Sunday of the Advent Season.  As the Advent Wreath candle was set alight our focus was on hope.

People hope for many different outcomes.  The citizens of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus were hoping for independence from Roman rule. Some people, like Anna and Simeon, were almost living at the Temple and daily prayed for the Messiah to come.  It seemed as if God had been silent for about 400 years.  Yet there were people who continued to have hope that they would see the fulfillment of God’s promises, words God had spoken many hundreds of years before.

Today we hope for freedom of religious expression.  We hope for the rain and flooding to stop.  We hope for recovery for the loved one who is suffering from illness. We hope to celebrate an occasion with family and friends.  We hope. We hope.  We hope.

Hope is unusual in that it has a connection to the past, is felt in the present, and usually refers to a happening in the future.  For those of us who believe the God of the Bible, the ultimate hope is in the Second Advent.  At that time, Jesus Christ will return in glory and power.  He will vanquish sin, darkness, and death allowing those who believe in Him to experience life as it was originally created to be.

But there is one more hope that is close to our hearts.  It is the hope that, before the Second Advent, people living in Taiwan and other distant places will hear about the First Advent.  They need to be told that Jesus came from heaven to save people from their sins.  They need to be told that it is possible to live life in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.  They need to have access to this good news.

Thank-you for praying.
Thank-you for giving.
Thank-you for being personally involved.
Your investment is helping many more people to obtain hope.

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord that the river dikes in Abbotsford have been fortified.  We are praying that the repairs will hold as an abundance of rain continues to fall.  Pray for the Samaritan’s Purse volunteers assisting in the clean-up and rebuilding process.
• The Baozhong Alliance Church is hoping for 4-6 families to register to participate in the Christmas events.  So far, one family has indicated they want to attend,  Please pray that others will desire to be a part of the event.

Eagles

Sometimes life events remind us about God’s Word.

On our trip to the Comox Valley this past weekend we saw bald eagles at different times.  It made me think about Bible verses that refer to eagles.  The eagle is mentioned by name 32 times in Scripture.

Most of us are familiar with the promise of renewal in Isaiah 40:31

Some may also remember the eagle being a symbol of salvation and protection in Revelation 12:14

A similar metaphor about the eagle is found in Exodus 19:4.

But frequently in Scripture, the eagle symbolizes the judgement that God sends.  One example is Ezekiel 17:12.

What things in life remind you of the Bible’s teaching?  Feel free to write and share with us when this has happened to you.

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord that the flooding in Abbotsford is abating.  Pray for people who experienced huge losses because of this disaster.  Pray for those assisting in the rebuilding process.
• Praise the Lord that we were able to travel to the Comox Valley this past weekend.  We enjoyed the fellowship and the times that people shared with us examples of how God is working.
• Some of our readers will be celebrating American Thanksgiving Day this week.  Pray God’s blessing on them.  And, even better, join them in giving thanks to God.

Calling All Reservists!

Taiwan, this past week, announced that it will intensify training for all reservists.  Rather than five to seven days of training in alternate years, it will be changed to two weeks of annual training.  The purpose is to improve the combat readiness of the military reservists.

Thinking about God’s army, I don’t think there are reservists.  There is not someone who can train and participate in the warfare with darkness for only a few weeks each year.  Rather, God’s Word calls us to continual vigilance.  1 Cor. 16:13 tells us to: “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.”

Please be reminded that your participation in our work and in global efforts to give people access to salvation is important.  Your involvement is part of God’s plan in the war over evil.

Reading God’s Word is part of our regimen of ongoing training.  Thank-you for maintaining a state of readiness to do what our Commander asks of us. Thank-you for your prayers for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Praise and Prayer

• We are away at a pastor’s retreat this week.  Please pray that God will use the planned activities and the fellowship to encourage and renew the church leaders attending.  There are some pastors who due to the pandemic or other reasons are not able to attend.  Please pray for God to use multiple means to encourage them too.
• This year for Christmas, the Baozhong Alliance Church is planning some family activities.  Registration is limited.  Please pray that God will lead people with open, prepared hearts to attend.
• This week we choose to remember the sacrifice of those who fought in wars so that we can experience freedom. Most of us have not experienced the trauma of living in a war zone or fighting a war.  Pray for those who need healing and strength because of these experiences.

All Saints Day

Today is “All Saints Day.”  That was the original reason the night before was considered “holy” or “hallowed. November 1 is also known as “All Hallows’ Day.” It is a day on the Christian calendar to remember the known and the unknown saints.

Recognizing that certain traditions and arms of the church have taken this a different direction, I want to pull us back to the original meaning, the original intent.  It has a connection with a core belief claimed by our denomination—Christ is our Sanctifier.

The New Testament frequently refers to those who are in Christ Jesus as being saints.  A few, because they are apostles or had their story recorded in Scripture, seem to have special recognition or precedence.  But Scripture does not make that demarcation.  All true believers who are redeemed by Christ’s blood and made holy in Christ are saints.

So, today we salute the saints in our lives. We appreciate the work that God is doing in your lives and appreciate your example of commitment to belief in our Lord.  We value your partnership through prayer and sacrificial giving that make it possible to give more people access to becoming saints.

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord for opportunities to share with groups both online and in person.  (Photo above is from a recent online presentation.)  Your words of encouragement and support are something God uses to energize us.
• Planning for Christmas events is in progress at Baozhong Alliance Church, just like it is at your church.  (I have our grandchildren’s Christmas program marked on my calendar.)  Please pray that God will use the celebrations to lead people toward putting their trust in Christ.
• Plans are being made to restart the ukulele classes at the church in Baozhong.  Now that pandemic protocols are being eased, this is again possible.

As Often…

This past weekend, we shared during the service and ate Holy Communion with the church family in Langley BC.  That was the church that prayerfully commissioned us when we first went to Taiwan in 1990.

As often as we partake in the sacrament by eating the bread and drinking the cup, we remember Jesus death; It is the thing that Christ-followers do together regardless of where in the world one lives.  While on Home Assignment we have the privilege of doing this in different local churches with different believers.  Each time we proclaim our unity in Christ.  As often as we do it, we together proclaim Jesus’s death and resurrection.

It is not just the cause of giving people access to Jesus so that they can choose to become disciples that unites us.  It is our Saviour and His sacrificial death that truly unites us.

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord for the unity of soul and mind at the Annual Meeting of the C&MA in Taiwan on Oct. 16
• Praise the Lord for the teaching and interaction with classmates at the course Lorne attended last week.  May God help him to use some of the skills to serve God in additional ways.
• While on home assignment, we try to schedule medical check-ups and even some treatment.  Pandemic protocols are creating longer than usual wait times for many procedures.  Please pray that things can be accomplished and for peace from God for things that cannot be done this time.

The Places We Go

Arriving home after being with family for Thanksgiving, we discovered an email from Google.  It informed us that we visited 24 cities and 113 places in September.

Whether accurate or not (we sometimes went places without our phone or with the data turned off on our phones), it does remind us that life has been busy.

A more important question might be:  While at those places did I represent God’s kingdom well?  Did Christ’s rule expand in my own life or in the lives of those with whom we spent time?  Did we witness for Christ?…

Jesus taught his followers to pray: “…Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”  Saying those words may be easier than allowing the Father to act in those ways in our own lives.  Don’t you think so?

Let’s pray those words and also give God permission to answer those requests as we go different places each day.

Praise and Prayer

• Please pray for unity and Christ-inspired fellowship as the Taiwan C&MA pastors and church leaders meet Oct. 16 for the annual denomination business meeting.  The pandemic, political views, societal problems, and personal biases all tend to divide.  We believe that the Holy Spirit wants to unite people in Christ.  Let’s pray for this to happen.
• Praise the Lord for safety as we travelled this past week.  Because of schedule changes, we took some time to rest before joining our daughter and son-in-law for Thanksgiving.  We have much for which to give thanks.