DAY 517 - God Always Prepares The Best for You

Please click link to our 40 days Fasting and Prayer:

http://www.theamia.org/am_cms_media/40daysfastflyerfinal.pdf

Praise the Lord that we completed our 500 days/24 hours Prayer Campaign! We have a new link for you to sign for the new stage. You really need to join us now to pray! The easiest way is to take one hour slot for the whole week. Please do it now!

Please sign up for the 6th stage - 600 days
**NEW link for the 6th 100 days 24 hours prayer campaign(January 3 to April 12, 2011)

Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 21
Please read 1 Samuel 21 and listen to what the Lord Jesus Christ would like to tell you before reading my Spiritual Journal below. If you would like to learn a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please read my “Count Down 5” from this blog. You may click this link directly for the method: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf. (You may begin with a song to praise the Lord and complete you devotion by singing another praise song.)

Please click this link to worship with us - Mighty to Save

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-08YZF87OBQ&feature=fvw

Please click the links below to 1 Samuel 21:

• Chinese: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Samuel 21&version=CUV
• NIV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Samuel 21&version=NIV
• ESV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Samuel 21&version=ESV
• Message: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Samuel 21&version=MSG

The priest replied, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one." David said, "There is none like it; give it to me." 1 Samuel 20:16-17

As I am in the hotel room in London having my daily devotion (I arrived this evening and will fly to Rwanda for our new Primate, Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje's enthronement this coming Sunday), Jesus gave me a new understanding to this chapter!

In the deep fear of being killed by king Saul with even nothing to eat, God gave him three special gifts to experience that He had not leave him. (Even though David was unable to listen to God personally, that may be due to his own fear!)

1. God gave David his daily bread - no one can eat those bread except the priest but God allowed that to happen.

The Jesus asked me to find the passage in the New Testament about how Jesus talked about David's example:

Jesus answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread - which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests." Matthew 12: 3- 4

2. God gave David his best confirmation - How could it be?

In the midst of David's deep fear, God gave back the sword with which he cut off Goliath's head. That was Goliath's sword and later became David's sword, but then for some reason he left it there and forgot! Praise the Lord for giving me this wonderful picture of how God reminded David of the similar previous fearful situation. God once not only brought him through but raised him to a high place because of that when he was still young. Praise the Lord that He is now showing me all my memories of how He saved me through many difficulties. Oh, Jesus is so wonderful today. He asked me to find the Matthew passage and then now a verse in Psalm. Today is a wonderful day that the Lord asked me to read so many chapters in the Bible in order to find that two passages! A Bible reading day in London early in the morning from 3a.m. to 5a.m.!

Oh, a miracle happened right now! I thought the passage is in the Psalms and I started to read Psalms. Then the Lord told me, "That's the sword I gave to Michelle to give it to you in May 1981 to win over your deep fear of following me, instead of staying in your own way in the Music Office thinking you could worship music and receive a good salary and status. Don't forget that sword!" Jesus reminded me of that precious eight months of born-again experience from September 1981 to May 1982. When I was torn over serving God or music, God sent Michelle to give me a "sword" - a bookmark (see attached - Romans 8:35-39. See the picture behind us, that was Michelle in around 1979)! I used this 'sword' to kill my "Goliath" in May 1981(This bookmark is still in the little pocket of my Bible) - fear, pride, insecurity... just as David did in this chapter!

Have you forgotten the "sword" God gave you? Are you now in fear? If you are, then this is how Jesus asks you to pick that up again and win the Devil over.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Romans 8: 35

Yes, praise the Lord! "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8: 31

3. God gave David a special strategy - To pretend he was mad before Achish king of Gath.

5a.m. in London! Oh, I am so blessed in this special two hours intimate personal relationship with Jesus! Thanks for your fasting and prayers for me all of you! Without our fasting and prayers, we may still live in fear waiting by our own pool of "Bethesda"(John 5: 1-40) thinking that someone would come to save us! Rise up, fire up, soldiers! Live out your Christlikeness that you can be a disciple of Jesus to bring healing and power!

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Lord! Help me to remember today and the "sword"! In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Please click this link to worship with us - How Great Is Our God

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OsyiGgSlqY&feature=related

Prayer items today:

For ACiC/AI
Bishop: Rt. Rev. Silas Ng (Michelle)
Network Leader: Rev. Peter Klenner (Jenny)
Network Leadership Team: Rt. Rev. Silas Ng, Rev. Peter Klenner, Rev. Ed Hird (Janice), Rev. Simon Neill (Jo), Rev. Ken Bell (Sonya)
Bishop's Chaplain: Rev. Ed Hird (Janice)
Clergy Formation Advisor: Rev. Ken Bell (Sonya)
Administrator: Mrs. Zenia Cheng (Clarence)

Pray for one Anglican Mission bishop one day at a time:

The Rt. Rev. Thomas William (TJ) Johnston, Jr. (Rees)

Pray for one ACiC/AI church one day at a time:

St. Simon’s, North Vancouver

Rector/Senior Pastor: Rev. Ed Hird (Janice)

Honorary Assistant priest: Rev. John Lombard (Beverly)

Deacon: Rev. Ron Gibbs (Beverly)

Youth Pastor: Jill Cardwell

Music Director: Janice Hird (Ed)

Twitter version:http://twitter.com/bishopsilasng

Welcome! The purpose of this blog is to encourage Christians to have daily devotion - a wonderful and intimate time with Jesus.

There are three reasons for you to use this blog as your daily devotion:

1. A healthy spiritual diet - One chapter of the Bible daily. We really need at least one chapter of Bible daily so that we are well fed.
2. A good example of Spiritual Journaling - What I have committed for 1,189 days(the Bible has 1,189 chapters) to write this daily post is not for teaching purposes but this is my daily spiritual journal - I write down what I hear from Jesus and how I experience His intimate relationship with me each day. I have launched a wide-spectrum research on daily devotion and have found out that there are less than 10% of Christians that are having daily devotion. Out of that 10%, many having daily devotion are doing so because of guilt (they know that they are Christians and need to have daily devotion and feel guilty if they don’t do that), duty (they need to fulfill their duty as a Christian) or study(lots of Christians primarily use their daily devotion as a time to study the Bible). I do pray and hope that you will make up your mind to have a relational daily devotion so that you can have an intimate time with Jesus. I pray that you will write your own spiritual journal as well.
3. An online discipler – One of the reasons that so many Christians do not have daily devotion is because they do not have a discipler. A discipler can help them build up this basic element of discipleship when they first become Christians. The best way for you is to have a discipler to walk with you for a certain period of time so that daily devotion become a good habit. Or, you may have a small group of two to three people to encourage and be accountable to each other so that you won’t stop your daily devotion. I offer myself as your online discipler to walk with you daily to enrich your spiritual journey. So, shall we start this journey with Jesus Christ our Lord now!

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• **NEW link for the 6th 100 days 24 hours prayer campaign (January 3 to April 12, 2011)
• Our 5th phase of 100 days of prayers (September 25, 2010 to January 2, 2011).
• Our 4th phase of 100 days of prayers (June 17 to September 24, 2010).
• Our 3rd phase of 100 days of prayers (March 9 to June 16, 2010).
• Our 2nd phase of 100 days of prayers (November 29, 2009 to March 8, 2010).
• Our 1st phase of 100 days of prayers:
• Part 2: 60 days (September 29 to November 28, 2009)
• Part 1: 40 days (August 20 to September 28, 2009)