DAY 271 - What's Wrong with Making A Name of Ourselves?

Today’s Reading: Genesis 11

Please read Genesis 11 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.)

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Please click the links below to Genesis 11:

Chinese: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2011&version=MSG

NIV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2011&version=NIV

ESV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2011&version=ESV

Message: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2011&version=MSG

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." Genesis 11:4

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel - because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. Genesis 11: 8-9

What I have received from the Lord today is a question: What's wrong with making a name for ourselves?

Yesterday we talked about why some names are not in the Bible and some are. Today the key word of this chapter is still the same "name". The sad story of human history has been on the building up our names instead of glorifying God's name. We can see how foolish those people were when they thought they had a new technology in the name of "brick" to build, instead of stones. They thought that they could reach heaven and even be equal with God. They moved eastward, leaving by their own ideas, leaving the land of blessing provided by God. They wanted to establish their big name so that they would not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.

In similar ways, we are doing the similar things nowadays. We feel better when we are making our name famous. We feel better when driving a car with a better brand name or possessing things with a famous brand name. We feel safer if we have enough money or RRSP so that we can be able to live a good life when we retired and not be scattered to some place called "poor and insecure".

What we don't know and need to learn is we are not in control, although we think that we have this and that we can be in control. When God acts, no one can alter anything, not new technology, not any kind of human scheme.

There is a wonderful demonstration of the reverse of the sad story of Genesis. That is Acts 2. When the Holy Spirit comes to our lives, everything is changed. We come in unity instead of separation. We can speak in a language that people can understand. We are being transformed to glorify God's name, instead of using God's provision to make our own names. So, which way do you want to choose? What is your lifestyle? Is it a Genesis 11 one or is it an Acts 2 one?! Pentecost Sunday is coming in seven days time. Ma be it's good that you ask our Lord Jesus Christ for a renewal so that you can live a lifestyle to glorify His name rather than your name.

Dear Holy Spirit,

Come, fill me and pour down your fresh anointing that I can lead a lifestyle to glorify God's Holy Name. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Michelle enjoyed the regain of her strength more and more so that she did some housework today. Ignatius was so wonderful to cook a good meal for us and to wash all the dishes. Jesus has turned a crisis into a blessing.

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Prayer items today:

For ACiC/AI

Bishop: Rt. Rev. Silas Ng

Network Leader: Rev. Peter Klenner
Network Leadership Team: Rt. Rev. Silas Ng, Rev. Peter Klenner, Rev. Ed Hird, Rev. Simon Neill
Bishop’s Chaplain: Rev. Ed Hird
Clergy Formation Advisor: Rev. Ken Bell

Administrator: Mrs. Zenia Cheng

Pray for one AMiA bishop one day at a time

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Todd Dean Hunter

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

Immanuel Church

Rector/Senior Pastor: Rev. Simon Neill

Face book version: http://www.facebook.com/silastyng?ref=profile

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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