<\/p>\n
(Translated version, original article written in Chinese by Pastor Mickey Hsiao)<\/em><\/p>\n By singing praises and hymns, awake your soul, open your heart to the Lord, and prepare yourself to welcome the presence of God and receive the Word of God that will be given to you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Petition with thanksgiving to God for a wonderful day and pray sincerely for a focused Scripture reading time! (Do not rush into reading the Bible without starting with prayers!<\/strong>) (e.g., you may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what will you be speaking to me today?)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Get the following items ready in advance: your devotional notebook, paper, pen, and\/or electronic devotional articles so that you can easily write down the Bible verses, questions, and thoughts you have noticed! You are encouraged to open your Bible and vocally read out the scriptures (Try to practice this reading method daily or once a week)!<\/p>\n Scripture Reading: Mark Ch. 5 (ESV)<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Take a moment to quietly reflect on today’s Scriptures. Through such exercises, let God’s Word be gradually written into our hearts and be inscribed to our mind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read the devotional articles prepared by CBCLWA (*Read the Bible first before reading any devotional materials.<\/strong>)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n (<\/span>vv.<\/span>1-20) Jesus and his disciples went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to the region of the\u00a0Gerasenes. From the scripture, this land belonged to the gentile because they raise pigs here. According to the Jews, pigs are uncleaned animals.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet\u00a0<\/span>Jesus<\/span>. According to the script<\/span>ures, this man behavior was<\/span>\u00a0abnormal<\/span>. He\u00a0<\/span>would even cut himself with stones. No one dared to be his friend.\u00a0<\/span>This man\u00a0<\/span>lived alone in the tombs<\/span>\u00a0and his\u00a0<\/span>heart was drowned by\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>evil spirit. It was a horrible and hopeless situation. However, when this man met Jesus, the legion of demons was chased away by Jesus, and sent to a large herd of pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then\u00a0<\/span>people saw\u00a0<\/span>the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed properly and in his right mind. He begged to go with Jesus into the boat, but Jesus told him to go home to his own people and told them how much the L<\/span>ord has done for him, and how the Lord<\/span>\u00a0had mercy on him. That man obeyed Jesus and did what he was told. Therefore, in the land of the gentiles, people started to witness to others on the amazing things Jesus had done for them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The life of this demon possessed man is actually a portrayal of our life. Prior to knowing Jesus, many of us were bounded by sins.\u00a0This sins\u00a0ruled over us and even destroyed our relationships with others. In the process we sabotaged ourselves<\/span>, but by Jesus<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0gracious salvation, we are restored to our best condition. There is hope in our live again. Let<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>us proclaim the amazing thing Jesus has done for us. Let us witness to the world that Jesus has completely changed our lives. Let us share this amazing grace with our family, friends and loved ones<\/span>\u00a0and l<\/span>ead them to our savior, Lord Jesus. All the glory belongs\u00a0<\/span>to God our almighty Father!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>vv.<\/span>21-43) Thereafter, Jesus changed two<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>people\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>lives<\/span>. The\u00a0<\/span>first story was about a woman who<\/span>\u00a0had been subject to bleeding\u202ffor twelve years. T<\/span>he second story was about Jairus\u2019 daughter<\/span>. Going back to the first story, the scripture said that<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>And\u00a0<\/span><\/b>there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood of twelve years, and how had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse<\/span><\/b>.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,\u202fbecause she thought,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIf I\u00a0<\/span><\/b>touch\u00a0<\/span><\/b>even his garments, I will be made well<\/span><\/b>.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.<\/span>\u00a0Because of her faith, Jesus announced that her<\/span>\u00a0faith had healed her. She could go in peace\u202fand be freed from her suffering.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then one of the synagogue leaders,\u202fnamed Jairus, came<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0pleaded earnestly with\u00a0<\/span>Jesus to put\u00a0<\/span>h<\/span>is\u00a0<\/span>hands on\u202fhis daughter,<\/span>\u00a0so that she will be healed and live.<\/span>\u00a0At the same moment when Jesus had just healed the<\/span>\u00a0women with the bleeding disease<\/span>, someone ran up and said that Jairus\u2019 daughter was already dead. Even so, Jesus still insisted to go over to Jairus\u2019 home.\u00a0<\/span>Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.<\/span>\u00a0Jesus<\/span>\u00a0put the people all out and went in where the girl was.<\/span>\u202f<\/span>He took her by the hand\u202fand said to her,\u202f<\/span>\u201cTalitha\u00a0koum!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u202f<\/span>(which means\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u201cLittle girl, I say to you,\u00a0<\/span><\/b>rise<\/span><\/b>!\u201d<\/span><\/b>).<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span><\/b>Immediately the girl resurrected from the dead in front of all these people!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To the<\/span>\u00a0woman with<\/span>\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0incurable bleeding disease<\/span>\u00a0and the girl who was dead<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0their situations were hopeless. However,\u00a0<\/span>Jesus saved them and ch<\/span>anged their li<\/span>ves<\/span>. Brothers and S<\/span>isters, Jesus<\/span>\u00a0has also found<\/span>\u00a0us. Each of us can meet Jesus under\u00a0<\/span>a different circumstance. It is Jesus<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0who bring<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0changes to our life. We were once dead, but now we are aliv<\/span>e. Let us be good witnesses to the others on what the<\/span>\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0had done to our<\/span>\u00a0li<\/span>ves<\/span>. We should proclaim His salvation at all time!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In addition, have you noticed that when Jesus asked,<\/span> \u201c<\/b><\/span>Who\u00a0touched my\u00a0<\/span><\/b>garments<\/span><\/b>?\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0The disciples said that\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYou see the\u00a0<\/span><\/b>crowd passing around you and yet you say<\/span><\/b>,\u202f \u2018Who touched me?\u2019<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0When Jesus said to the crowd<\/span>,\u202f<\/span>\u201cWhy\u00a0<\/span><\/b>are you making a\u00a0<\/span><\/b>commotion and w<\/span><\/b>eeping<\/span><\/b>? The\u00a0<\/span><\/b>child is not dead but sleeping<\/span><\/b>.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>And yet,<\/span>\u00a0they<\/span>\u00a0laugh<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0at Jesus?<\/span>\u00a0From r<\/span>ea<\/span>ding the\u00a0<\/span>B<\/span>ible, we understood<\/span>\u00a0that the\u00a0<\/span>disciples<\/span>\u00a0and the crowd did not really understand\u00a0<\/span>what\u00a0<\/span>Jesus<\/span>\u00a0was doing<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>It takes time and experience to fully understand the truth. On this note, please be reminded that if you are confused about your current situation or direction, or you do not understand what God<\/span>\u00a0want in<\/span>\u00a0your work, your marriage, or His plan in your life, please do not lose hope. We must have faith and be patient in our almighty God. He is wor<\/span>king on us, and will definitely lead\u00a0<\/span>down the right path.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Give thanks to God for His enabling us to read the Scriptures and for our response for living out the Word of God today! (e.g., You may start with a simple prayer like this: \u201cDear Lord, what\/where are you going to lead me to today?”)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abiding-in-the-lord","category-pastor-mickey-hsiao"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2219,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2218\/revisions\/2219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Worship<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Thanksgiving<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Scripture Reading<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Meditation<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Devotional<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Pray<\/strong><\/h3>\n