Dear beloved,
Shalom and a blessed Christmas to you. By the grace of God, our Christmas celebration has been up graded yearly and so are the number of tables. Praise the LORD! It is a sign of God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promise about our rapid growth. But, dear beloved, never ever forget we are a family, so do bear with each other and minister to one another in love. As the saying goes “When you want to travel fast, you travel alone. But when you want to travel far, you travel as a team”.
Remember the story of Jacob and Esau? Esau, in his fleshly nature , always wanted to rush ahead with things. As for Jacob, he journeyed as a family knowing God was building a nation (Israel) through him. So he took time to build others around him.
Gen 33:12 Then Esau said, "Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of you."
Gen 33:13 But Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die.
Gen 33:14 Please let my lord go before the face of his servant, and I will move on by stages at my ease, according to the feet of the livestock which are before me, and according to the pace of the boys, until I come into my lord to Seir.
Be it Church or family, we have people of different characters, ages, languages, level of faith and so forth. Let us take into consideration what Paul said in Rom 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Rom 15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for adding unto us the people of your heart. Grant us the wisdom and understanding to build them up in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Pastor Ling Bek Sing
至爱的，
愿你度过一个平安、蒙福的圣诞节。藉神的恩典，我们每年为庆祝圣诞节而摆设的宴席有增无减！赞美主！这预表着神成就了祂向教会所发出的应许，就是要教会快速地增长。但是，千万别忘了我们是一个大家庭，我们需要彼此容忍，在爱中彼此服侍。人常说：“当你要快速抵达，你必须单独而行。但要走更远的路时，就必须成群而出。”
还记得雅各和以扫的故事吗？以扫被属血气的属性牵引，做事总是要比别人抢先一步，而雅各则是全家人一起出动，深知神将藉他建立一个邦国（以色列）。因此他花时间造就在他周遭的人。
创世记 33：12 以扫说：“我们可以起身前往，我在你前头走。”
创世记 33：13 雅各对他说：“我主知道孩子年幼娇嫩，牛羊也正在乳养的时候，若是催赶一天，群畜都必死了。14节：求我主，在仆人前头走，我要量着在我面前群畜和孩子的力量慢慢的前行，直走到西珥我主那里。”
不论是教会或家庭，都有着不同个性、年龄、语言、信心程度等等的一群人。让我们记住保罗在罗马书15：1所说的：“我们坚固的人应该担代不坚固的人的软弱，不求自己的喜悦。”罗15：2“我们各人务要叫邻舍喜悦，使他得益处，建立德行。”
亲爱的天父，感谢袮加给我们袮心目中的人选。赐我们智慧和明白的心，在袮里面建立他们。奉耶稣之名，阿们。
林必信牧师
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