Nor Cal (Redding) CBF Christmas Music Program

Riga (Latvia) UBF Christmas Worship Service

Missionary Timothy Kang shared the good news - the birth of the Savior whose name is Jesus. MAT 1:21

After the service they ate Korean food like deokbokki.

Bible Botswana (prayer for the healing of Missio^^ )

On Dec 11, 2015, at 8:09 PM, Hee Tae Chung <chtubf@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear shep Anreas!

I am Timothy Chung of Botswana. I pray that God may bless new year Africa Bible conference in Cape town mightily and fill all the attendants with his word of life. I also pray that God bless your faithfulness and love through this conference.

I and my family expected to attend this conference by car. but this Tuesday around 2-3 am, an event unexpected happened to us. Two(?) robbers broke into the yard of our house and broke the 1st door of the living living, trying to break the 2nd. i heard the noise and saw this. i hurried up to block them from entering, calling my wife and children. My wife and i kept blocking and my son called the police. then one of them went to the windows to break them. feeling urgency, i kicked the windows with my left leg, breaking them. then they ran away. however i saw a deep wound in my leg, from where much blood kept flowing. i went to the kitchen and took towels to wrap the wound. i saw the blood all around the living room and kitchen. even in the ambulance and at the hospital, blood did not stop coming out. the doctors said the vein, artery and tendons were cut. they took one and half hours for operation. Thanks to God I did not need blood transfusion and the surgery was done well. one day later, i came back home. i must remain in the cast at least for 6 weeks.

My wife and children cannot attend the conference. And as for me, if i take the airplane alone, i worry about how to carry the baggage on crutches. Please pray for my journey or probably for the journey of my family to cape town. We also pray for the security of my family. We thank God for his protection and for the prayer of his servants. We decide everything as early as possible and inform you.

May God give you all necessary wisdom to prepare for the conference.

Timothy Chung

Building a house (your person) 101

Matthew 22

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

YMCA has a logo sign connecting together the Spirit Mind and Body in a triangle indicating the soundness of one's person hinges on the soundness of the three faculties that is the Spirit Mind and Body in complete harmony.

When the Spirit goes amiss mind and body will go faulty. Shepherd William's message on a woman with a hunched back is the case in point. (Refer to http://laubf.com/?p=3809)

In today's daily bread Bible passage in answering the question about the greatest commsnd Jesus said,"Love the Lord your God with all your heart..." 

This is the "GRESTEST" command for nothing is more valuable (or greater in value) than one's own life!

Bible Tempe Az

Last thursday (Oct. 28) Missionary David Kim Sr. successfully finished a liver transplant. THE Lord Provided for him everything including the right liver donor fitting his body.

David is a humble caring man. Let us pray for his complete recovery.

After waking up from surgery he wrote an email stating:

"Dear M. Issac & Rebecca. Kim. I did surgery on Thursday right after I texted to you. Dr. said, this liver is very fitting to me and I got a good liver.  Dr.  Just stopped by and said my transplant was very successful and I'm doing excellent. Not much pain & no nausea Dr. exampled All lab result fine & new liver is already working . and discontinue nasogastric tube, Foley, Atrial line, two central line and moving to general floor. Yeah!!  I am in Intensive Care unit now and recovering. I have no cancer in my body!!!! My prayer topic is: 1) to fight any kind of infection, 2) my new liver to adjust my body . It's another big challenge but God is able & we believe he will take care of it. We always thank for your prayer support. May you find good Heath & Holy Spirt in daily living in the love of Jesus!!

Indebted yours, Ruth & David Kim."

Praise the Lord!

Bible Nocal

Today we had a Bible study with Jeff.

We sang the hymn "O Wonderful Savior my Lord" and read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.

After the study Jeff shared a sogam saying, "The Risen Jesus appeared to Paul who says is the least of all. So in Jesus even the least can be a great apostle."

So please pray that Jeff may grow and be used as a great servant of the Lord."

Jesus, the rejected stone became the capstone (Prophecy 101)

In a news brief dated October 1, 2015 the Al Jazeera reports as top stories:

* Kremlin: Syria air strikes target "a list" of groups
* Reports: Iranian troops in Syria for joint offensive
* Hadi loyalists claim capture of key Yemen strait
* Afghan forces fight to push back Taliban from Kundus
* Palestine 'no longer bound' by agreements with Israel
* Iran nearly doubles its death toll from Hajj stampede
* Fresh 'revenge' blast rocks southern Chinese town
* Floods hit the US Eastern Seaboard
* Palestinians celebrate hoisting of flag at UN

Many arose to prophesy about the end times nearing. Some predict the U.S. will be hit with major disasters due to her abandoning Israel via striking the Iran nuclear deal. Another says finally the stage is set for the lawless man to appear, causing the rapture of the saints and the arrival of the Savior to become imminent etc. and so forth. Listening to them make already confused people more confused.

The reason for the confusion and loss of the peace of mind lies in the lack of clarity on the will of God. God is God. He is the God of plan and purpose. And He is in control. Nothing happens without it being consistent with the will of God. And God's will purpose and plan are all clear, as crystal clear as the light of the day.

How then can one know/understand the will purpose and plan of God? There are many Scriptures that reveal God's will, but of all, stands out the word of our Lord Jesus when he spoke to the religious leaders of his day before his suffering, where Jesus quoted from Psalm 118, "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes." 22, 23

In our days there arise builders trying to build their kingdom according to their own will. They include folks like Jihadists, Zionists, political leaders like Putin, Iranian leaders, leaders in Israel, politicians of the U.S. like Obama, Hillary Clinton or nowadays Donald Trump. All of them are playing their own cards to promote their own agenda according to their own will and purpose. It was the same with the people of Jesus' day.

When Jesus the Savior and God over all came to the land of Israel, the builders of the world such as the religious leaders of Jesus' day or the governors of the Gentiles (Romans) rejected Jesus, yet God rejected their rejection and in turn made the rejected stone the cornerstone.

Knowing that Jesus is the plan that will stand, (meaning all other plans that are inconsistent with Jesus will be set aside, coming to nothing), what should one do?

We find the answer to the question in what Jesus added: "Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed." Matthew 21:44

Everyone is a builder, building this or that, some as a politician some as the so called leader of a church organization or some declaring atheist.

But all builders ought to attend to what Peter says: "As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to  him-- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1Pe 2:4,5

You might be tempted to say, "Oh, I do not want to have anything to do with Jesus. I eat my own bread, mind my own business, live my own life." But remember: you cannot avoid Jesus for He is THE Stone. He is THE Builder. So there are only three possibilities: You either are built into Him (THe Plan of God), fall on this stone, or the stone falling on you. If you fall on this stone you will be broken to pieces. If the stone falls on you you will be crushed. So we better repent and turn to Him, so we be built into Him, the Living Stone. Otherwise, you will end up learning all of your pursuits especially 'yourself' earning nothing but eternal destruction.

And this is true both on a collective level (like the deal on Syria or Palestine vs. Israel deal) as well as a personal level.

Tim Staples vs. Mike Gendron

What is Pope Francis Up To?

Grow me up, Lord!

Once Benjamin Franklin said, "Without...continual growth such words as improvement or achievement means nothing."

Question becomes: how does a man grow up?

According to the Scriptures man grows up as his faith in the (grace and) knowledge of the Lord grows. (2Th 1:3; Col 2:19; 1:10; Eph 4:14,16)

For this reason the Apostle Peter says straightforwardly: "Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18 And he exhorted fellow siblings in the Lord to grow by eating (craving) the word of the Lord (pure spiritual milk) (namely the Bible).

To grow up the slave nation Israel out of slavery onto his greatness the Lord revealed himself to his children so that they might come to the knowledge of him as the Lord (Jehovah) God stated through Moses:

'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. [And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.' ” Exodus 6:6-8

The Lord revealed himself to them so he could dwell among them and make them holy. Exodus 29:46; 31:13

When Jesus came he expressed the same purpose saying in effect, "on that day you will know that I am in the Father, the Father in me, you are in me and I am in you." So all three (God the Father who sent Jesus, Jesus the Son, and you, his child/brother/friend) are in one, so God would be "all in all." (JOHN 14-17; 1 Co 15)

So growth comes through (the growth in the faith in the) knowledge of  Christ maturing in and to the full knowledge of the full measure of His greatness.) Col 4:13; Eph 1:28

Biblical Concept of Man (Man 101)

Once upon a time, King David said, "What is man that you are mindful of him (so much)?" Psalm 8:4
What then is man? There is a pictorial answer to this question, illustrated in Exodus 1-4.

In calling Moses to go and save the slave nation Israel, the Lord said, "This will be a sign to you - the sign that it is I who sent you: "After you have brought the people out you will worship God on this mountain."

God created man in His image. By worshiping God man can thrive functioning like Him, so that man would be like God serving Him as His child enjoying the fellowship with Him, taking care of His creation.

The Israel of Moses' day fell short of this glorious state. The downward trip began with Abram and eventually all of his 70 going down to Egypt where its ruler began to treat the people Israel as slaves. After about 4 centuries the Lord heard their cry. Through Moses the Lord chose to recover them back to the original state, that is, the life that worships and serves God, deriving from the fellowship with Him the full life and thriving onto His infinite beauty.

No creatures were endowed with this feature, that is, the image of God and the feature to worship Him. Only human beings were created in His image, not even angels. No wonder that the devil also known as Satan grew jealous that through the serpent tried to tempt man causing his downfall and since then continually attempting to pull him down. But still the Lord God chose to save man back to the original state of glory. Speaking of this restoration the Lord God said, "Here on this mountain you (Yes, even you yourself Moses) will worship God!

Man worships God in spirit and in truth. Spirit and truth refer to the Living Word that comes from the mouth of the Living God. After giving Moses the sign for him, the Lord performed three miracles: staff turning to snake, hand turning leprous, water turning to blood. While the three miracles of snake, leprosy, and blood address the way/power of redemption, it denotes the Lord God being holy, who alone is set apart, in that he alone is self-sufficient, so that under His holy wings man though in and of himself self-deficient can stand perfect in righteousness, holiness, and redemption, becoming fully sufficient through God-sufficiency.

Speaking of this truth the Apostle Paul states, "Now if we are children, we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with the Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings, in order that we also may share in his glory." Romans 8:17 [For those who live by faith in the Lord, participating in His sufferings for His name's sake represents opportunities to experience His glory.]

The Biblical definition of sleep

You  say "I sm going to go and sleep." Then you go to your room fall down on the bed and sleep, or lie down in a couch for a night's sleep.

What then do you mean by sleep?

Here is the answer: to go to the Lord (Jesus Christ) and rest in His arm and find rest in Him.

This definition is true for in the true sense of the word sleep it represensts finding rest in it and this rest is found only in the Lord. 

In this world there is no rest. There you are made only restless. This is seen in the book of Exodus 1 where while the Istarlites were in Egypt they were made restless, for Pharaoh put slave masters over them who in turn drove them to work work and work but no rest. 

Understanding their restlessness the Lord says: come TO ME all of you who are weary and burdened. I will give you rest." King David heard the Lord went to him and found rest (or sleep) in the Lord so he says "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want."

For the same reason John says: do not love the world and anything in it, for if you do love of the Father is not in you. 

This command may sound hard to practise for you say, "the world offers so much but I don't see the Father." Then you need to understand this: all that are in the world came from the Father." 

So which one woud you rather choose? The world that is seen or the Father who is unseen? Further "Why is it said "God chose the things that are not to nullify the things that are"? Or why did Jesus say to Martha: "Lazarus is not dead but asleep?"