Devotions (Page 13)

This past Sunday we had the privilege of celebrating Father’s Day.  Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there.  Thank you for all that you do.  When I think of fatherhood, the verse that always comes to mind is Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”   When thinking of this verse, a word comes to mind as well.  The word is discipleship.  Discipleship is just not for fathers, but…

I don’t know about you, but I love people who take initiative. I love when people see a need/problem, whether it be laundry on the floor, groceries to put away, gaps in communication, etc and do something to directly help with/fix the problem. I like to think I am a person with initiative because when I see things/tasks that need to be done, I almost immediately work on it. However, too much of a good thing can be pretty bad.…

Fathers, please hear this: We Love You, We are Proud of You, and You Are Good! Being a father is an interesting journey. When I am became a father to Justus, I started to talk to my child like a Singapore aunty. “Wah – so cute lah”. And Karyne looked at me and just said “why are you speaking like that?” I had no idea. I saw my mom do that. When I see a small child I instinctively just…

In God’s design, a requirement for growth and fruitfulness in the seed world is the need for water. Water is an essential ingredient to a seed’s maturity and fruitfulness. A cute little kids science video explains it better than I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kTt4xHHLzk&ab_channel=SciShowKids The conclusion: seeds with no water, didn’t grow at all! No chance it would reach a state of maturity, absolutely no chance it would reach a state of fruitfulness. But my delight is in the law of the Lord, and…

Over the past two years, Lifespring has been on a journey of learning about refugee ministry. Through a trip to Türkiye, Family Weekend last summer, refugee dinners, and work in sponsorship, God has been leading us in ministry among and with refugees. Over the past couple of Sundays we’ve introduced our mission team that will be traveling to Greece in October (watch the full description here, or at the “watch message” link below). In the devotion this week I provide…

While our theme this year is fruitfulness, I’ll admit that I’ve never been very successful at gardening or growing any kind of plant, much less fruit. Since Theresa and I live in a condo townhouse, most of our growing is limited to a few planter boxes on our patio. Last summer, we finally took the opportunity to try to plant a few things in these boxes. The biggest investment we made was to plant two hydrangeas in one of our…

Dear Lifespring Family, Sometimes I go through periods of feeling ineffective or unfruitful in my life. That my faith is weak and my knowledge of the bible is not adequate. My self-control is not very controlled. That love and brotherly affection in my life is lacking. This reminds me of the verse in 2 Peter 1:5-8. And maybe this is why I feel “ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Holy Spirit reminded me that in…

When we think of fruitfulness, we do not think about failure. When Dr. Siang Yang taught during his training last Saturday, he highlighted the three main ways to be fruitful. To be fruitful there must be evidence of the fruit of the Spirit (agape, God-centered love); which is focused on being more like Christ, the salvation of souls, and social action and justice that is not selfish or self-centered. He also mentioned that the manifestation of fruitfulness doesn’t necessarily mean…

What an amazing weekend. We had a packed weekend with Dr. Siang Yang doing a training on Saturday and speaking at our Sunday Celebration. If you missed it, here are the links:Saturday Training: Session 1 – https://youtu.be/yLso2ENk3U8, Session 2 – https://youtu.be/N29qtxta_uM Sunday Celebration: https://youtube.com/live/_4D_Ey21hg8 There was so much to digest in Dr. Siang Yang’s training that I am sure, for those who attended, you are still thinking and wrestling through much of what was taught. In all the lessons, words…

Last week, I was at a worship weekend at Glory Zion (my Mandarin morning church). One of the things we do at Glory of Zion is pray and discern if the Holy Spirit prompts you to go up and lead worship from the stage. If this sounds familiar to you, yes, this is one of the places where I got the idea to do so for Wildfire. On Saturday morning, I didn’t really feel any kind of nudge or conviction…

Have you ever rented a vehicle in a different country? If you have, you may have noticed that the radio came with a bunch of preset stations.  If you’re used to listening to Spotify or plugging in your device into an aux cord, then this may come as a surprise to you.  Depending on who drove the car last, or what the dealership presets, each vehicle has been programmed to specific radio stations. For most people, this isn’t a problem,…

What a blessing to have Leona as well as Frank and Sue share with us on Sunday. From the updates about Thailand to learning about fruitfulness and weeds, it was a packed and rich day full of highlights. First, we had the opportunity to hear from Frank and Sue, who served as pastors in Peace Gospel Church in Thailand for many years. Last year, Arthur and Leona traveled to Thailand on a mission trip that included a visit to Peace…