01/09/2021

: “Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.” Matthew 2:7, NIV

Time is fleeting, and the class break is over. The new term of study finally kicked it off last week. The audio lecture after the introduction and announcement was uplifting. The written note has promised me new learnings. Initially, I decided to miss it because I thought the book was too familiar, even though it marks my first time studying Matthew in Chinese. However, it seemed that God had had a firm grip on my soul; that’s like every turn I made, either during my quiet times, readings or critical verses from the pulpits, all passages of scriptures pointed me to the book of Matthew. I got it, afforded not to ignore it, and immediately I finished reading the entire book. That’s what I know for the first time how I prepared my heart for the study. 

The Genealogy of Jesus, our LORD, is not a list of names for us casually skim through. Still, an incredible vision to see God’s timeline that 14 generations after 14 generations to testify Jesus’ linkage to be the Son of man. And how the five women with questionable background listed in Jesus’ family tree is no more puzzling, but to take rest that HIS thoughts are not ours, nor HIS ways are our ways. I was stunned to relate my last upload, ‘The Second Resolution’, to the personal question in the homework assignment –‘when has obeyed God been costly for you? How has GOD met your needs and demonstrated His faithfulness?’ My experiencing personal God wouldn’t merit a significant impact on others, but to share how God can drum up the vision in the past into future reality in His time. Therefore, my answer in group discussions would be that ‘God is faithful, whenever we are faithful,’ and that’s not a cliché. Faith must be tested. 

The world that we live in now is getting darker and darker. All nations are in combat with the pandemic for the past eighteen months; the mutation of the COVID have out-run the fast-track vaccines that warrant not much protection, and the availabilities are in shortage demand. In the primetime news, we saw the drama and trauma of the US sudden withdrawer from Afghanistan that after their troops stationed in that country for more than twenty years. In tune with the latest update on the Afghan withdrawal, there were suicide bombers attacks, 13 American troop members, 170 civilians were killed. Many children have died of starvation. People who couldn’t make it to the Kabul airport on time with proper travel documents would be left behind. I wonder who determined the timeline? 

We did have the Olympic game in the summer, but it wouldn’t counterbalance when people suffer from natural disasters such as a large scale of earthquakes, bush fires, tsunamis and floods here and there. Who would expect to see a surge in Central Park in New York City? And it is devastating to hear that hurricane Ida batters Louisiana on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Nearly a million customers are without power. It may take weeks before people can have it back. The ongoing hate crime in the US has widely spread into Asian American society. We have more reports on young people batters the old defenceless Asian women while no Samaritan walking by. 

Mine relearn on why king Herod was troubled and wanted to kill the baby Jesus in Matthew and reflection on what happened to baby Moses during king Pharaoh’s period in the Old Testament that help me to decern the manifestations of ‘SINO phobia ‘in the world of politics, military, and trades. What has gone wrong? What must we do as Christians? We need to seek His face to find out that is it ‘the beginning of the final day (I like David Possum’s quo better than the term of ‘the end time,’ but not on his teaching on salvation). ‘It makes the study of Matthew timely. Especially chapter 24. We need to pray for the salvation of our loved ones; pray for ourselves to allow God to expound His truth that is found in His words to tone up our spiritual muscles to prepare for His return, and no one would be left behind. 

It says that when we receive much, we must give much. Being the case, we need to be mindful the purpose of the Cross and God’s heart desires is that ‘none should perish, but to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9b). Thus, we need to reach out to pre-believers. It is probably the most challenging period for Christians to share the good news and telling people how Jesus has personified God’s love as in John 3:16. First, our nature brainwaves are not receptive to Spiritual things above; second, our emotional make-up is not capable of loving. Apostle Paul says that the Jews look for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom; Jesus’ crucifixion is the stumbling block for the Jews and the foolish things for the gentiles (1 Corinthians’ 2:22-23). 

In reflection, with many things going around beyond our human comprehension, and our life has been much affected by the epidemic, we probably wouldn’t be able to go back to where we were even after we are COVID free. Given travel restrictions, social distancing, city lockdowns, not even for children to attend school, believers to have physical, public worship, and people have employment but don’t have an office to go to but work from home. Therefore, now is probably the best time for Christians to get equipped to win souls for Christ and in His time; otherwise, it would be labour in vain. Although I am not a Roman Catholic, it is wise to echo Pope Francis’ call for all Christians to pray for world peace. 

Ecclesiastes 3:17
I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.”