Christian Values of Sheng Kung Hui Schools

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Christian Values

of Sheng Kung Hui Schools

2012 SKH Religious Education Resource Centre

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These twenty values are based upon the following Bible verses:

“…who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the

salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly

rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of

trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes

even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory

and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love

him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with

an inexpressible and glorious joy.” ( Peter 1:5-8)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

(Galatians 5:22-23)

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

(1 Corinthians 13:13)

“Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people,

the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.” (Ps 100:3-4)

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Foreword

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui has always provided education services based on

God’s spirit of teaching. In order to strengthen the Christian values as the core value

of Sheng Kung Hui schools, the Steering Committee of Education of Hong Kong

Sheng Kung Hui entrusts the Religious Education and Resource Centre (RERC) with

the writing of this book.

In this book, twenty Christian values including love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, faith, virtue, knowledge,

godliness, friendship, justice, truth, humility, walking with God, hope and

thankfulness are introduced to Sheng Kung Hui schools. In each chapter, a short

passage helps to explain the meaning of a Christian value. Besides, Scripture, quotes

of wisdom, testimonies of daily lives and inspiring stories that come from true stories

of historical characters or from the Bible are used to enable teaching staff to

comprehend the meaning of the Christian values more deeply and thoroughly, so that

to put the values into practice concretely. Schools are encouraged to build up their

own spirit and carry out school policies based on these twenty Christian values,

aiming at nurturing holistic students with a balance in physical, moral and spiritual

development.

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Contents

1. Love 5

2. Joy 11

3. Peace 16

4. Patience 20

5. Kindness 25

6. Goodness 30

7. Faithfulness 34

8. Gentleness 39

9. Self-control 45

10. Faith 51

11. Virtue 55

12. Knowledge 62

13. Godliness 68

14. Friendship 73

15. Justice 79

16. Truth 84

17. Humility 89

18. Walking with God 93

19. Hope 97

20. Thankfulness 103

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1. LOVE

Paul placed ‘love’ first when he listed out the fruit of the Spirit. He indicated that

among the three remain: faith, hope and love, the greatest is love (1 Corinthians

13:13). Without love, our intelligence, ability, knowledge, faith and charity to the

poor do us no good. Jesus’ love is for everyone, including the rich and the poor,

widows, orphans, tax collectors, prostitutes, and even our enemies.

Influenced by entertainments on television and movies, we tend to associate

‘love’ with ‘romance’. However, romantic love that is based on sentimental and

emotional needs is only one facet of ‘love’. The famous British writer, C.S. Lewis

once mentioned that there are four kinds of love: affection, friendship, sexual or

romantic love and selfless love.

The New Testament uses the Greek word ‘Agape’ (selfless love) to present

God’s love for mankind and the love between people originated from God’s love. As

1 John 4:19 says: “We love because He first loved us.” This ‘love’ (‘Agape’ in the

original text of Galatians 5:22 on the fruit of the Spirit) is not based on feelings or

personal interest but on selflessness and sacrifice.

The Scripture

God is Love

1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is

love.

God is so kind that He would forgive us

Psalms 86:5, 15

You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to

all who call to you.。……You are forgiving and good, O

Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.

God’s sacrificial love

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only

Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have

eternal life.

Romans 5:6-8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still

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powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will

anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man

someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates

his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

1 John 4:9

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one

and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

We cannot be separated from the love of Christ

Romans 8:35-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall

trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness

or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we

face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be

slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than

conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced

that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,

neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither

height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be

able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ

Jesus our Lord.

We should praise the Lord for His Love

Psalms

63:3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify

you.

Psalms 117

Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you

peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness

of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.

Love one another

1 John

4:7-9 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from

God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows

God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because

God is love. This is how God showed his love among us:

He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might

live through him

1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

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Quotes of Wisdom

Love rules his kingdom without a sword. (George Herbert)

Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to

your own. (Robert A. Heinlein)

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out

hate: only love can do that. (Martin Luther King)

Self-love is not opposed to the love of other people. You cannot really love

yourself and do yourself a favor without doing people a favor, and vise versa.

(Karl Augustus Menninger)

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put

in the action that we do. (Mother Teresa)

A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world.

Everyone you meet is your mirror. (Ken Keyes)

Those who love others will constantly be loved; those who respect others will

constantly be respected. (Li Lou II, Mencius)

Who in this world does not love themselves? When they love themselves much

enough, they will subsequently love everyone. (Qiu Jin)

Inspiring Stories

The Angel of Calcutta

The Nobel Peace Prize 1979 was awarded to the one regarded as ‘the Holy

Mother of the poor’, ‘the merciful angel’, ‘the guardian of the slums’, the greatest

pauper in the world’, ‘the star of India’ and ‘the living saint’, Mother Teresa.

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Mother Teresa was born in Yugoslavia in 1910. Her father was a businessman.

She had an older brother and an older sister. Owing to the early death of the father,

the family lived in poverty. As a young girl, Mother Teresa went to a public school

and there she joined the Catholic student association which gave special support to

evangelism overseas.

When Mother Teresa was 15 years old, some priests in her hometown were sent

to serve in India. In their letters to their own hometowns, the priests reported their

ministry in India. Mother Teresa was so touched by those letters that at the age of 18,

she decided to dedicate her whole life to the Lord.

When she became a sister, Mother Teresa taught geography at St. Mary High

School in Calcutta. After teaching for 17 years, she became the principal of the school.

Everything seemed to go smoothly in her career. Although the school was in the

neighbourhood of the slums in Calcutta, all the students came from well-to-do

families. Within the slums, the school seemed to be a palace in the desert, having

mighty walls that separated the two different worlds.

On September 10, 1946, Mother Teresa took the train from Calcutta to

Darjeeling to take some rest in the convent for recuperation from tuberculosis. In the

train, she received the calling from the Lord, beckoning her to leave her stable

teaching career to serve the ‘poorest of the poor’. In 1948, she left the convent she had

lived in for more than 20 years, took off that thick black European nun’s robe and put

on a white sari with blue border that resembled the clothing of Indian women farmers.

Since then, Mother Teresa crossed the mighty walls and entered into a world of

poverty, chaos and misery.

In less than a year, Mother Teresa received permission from the order to leave

the Sisters of Loretto to serve the poor. She was overjoyed. She used her best effort to

enter a nursing convent to receive intensive nursing training. Then she went back to

the slums to start her service to the poor. After relocating to the slums in Calcutta, she

established an outdoor school for poor children deprived of education. Starting with a

fund of only 2 U.S. dollars, she launched her vocation of saving the poor through

endless efforts of compassion and perseverance.

On October 7, 1950, the Pope approved Mother Teresa’s request to establish the

Missionaries of Charity that was founded exclusively to serve the poor. Starting from

1952, the poor people who were about to die were those she served. She took in those

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who were abandoned and dying near the city sewer, at the dumping ground, or on the

roadside and provided them with appropriate care so that these unfortunate

individuals were given warmth, comfort, love and dignity.

In August, 1952, Mother Teresa received a gift from the City of Calcutta which

was a house adjacent to a Hindu temple. There she started the ‘Home for the Dying’.

Thanks to the sisters’ attentive care, among the dying poor people some were healed.

‘The Home for the Dying’ gave those people not only appropriate medical attention,

but also opportunities to learn skills to make a living. So far, tens of thousands of

homeless or abandoned dying patients have received attentive care from the sisters,

doctors, nurses and volunteers at the Home for the Dying and many were able to pass

away in peace.

Until the last days of her life, like the other sisters in the Home Mother Teresa

still woke up at half past four in the morning, started her day with meditation, prayer,

daily reading, mass, and then commenced a whole day’s work. There were only three

sets of clothing for rotation. She did not wear socks, only sandals. Besides telephone

and lamps, she did not own any electrical appliances. Leading a simple life, she

cleaned the toilet and the floor by herself. Wherever she went, she would pick up

countless number of unwanted babies in the dump yards, clean the wounds of patients

with skin diseases, carry the dying poor people on the streets, embrace the lonely

people in despair, hold the hands which no others would touch of innumerable dying

people, help them close their eyes and be with them so that they left the world with

dignity.

In 1979, Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize. In response to this great

honour, she humbly said, “I am a pencil in God’s hand.” And added,” Personally I

don’t deserve this. I am accepting this prize on behalf of the poor. I am so glad the

poor receive the attention they deserve. I hope people can understand them more and

help them more.” Mother Teresa eventually spent the whole amount of the prize on

the poor and the sick.

Love Drives out Indifference

In the tenth year during the reign of the first emperor of the Sui Dynasty in

China (590 A.D.), logistics minister Xin Gong-yi was appointed the governor of Min

Zhou. People in the Min Zhou region were very fearful of diseases, thinking that all

illnesses were contagious. Therefore whenever a person became ill, he or she would

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be quarantined. Even members of their own family would stay away from them.

Consequently many sick people did not get any care and many died in misery, being

separated from their families and friends. The relationship between people became

remote and indifferent. When Xin Gong-yi came to office, he decided to influence the

people and change the social pattern through acts of benevolence.

That summer, many people were sick. Xin Gong-yi put some beds in the main

hall of his mansion and asked the patients to come to receive medical care. The main

hall and even the veranda outside were packed with hundreds of sick people. Xin

Gong-yi hired doctors and purchased medicine for the patients out of his own pocket

and he took care of them day and night. In time one by one the patients recovered.

Xin Gong-yi had his servants go and ask the families of the patients to take the healed

patients home. He said to them, “Look! Why would you think the disease is

contagious? Can’t you see I am still living healthily?”

The families of the patients were touched and they felt ashamed. As they went

back, they all spread the good words about Xin Gong-yi’s kindness. News passed

quickly from mouth to mouth. Everyone who was sick came to Xin Gong-yi and their

family stayed to take care of them as well. Since then, people learned to love one

another, and there was no more indifference.

The Merciful Lord

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite

woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy

on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." Jesus did not

answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she

keeps crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. He replied, "It is

not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." "Yes, Lord," she said,

"but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus

answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter

was healed from that very hour.

(Matthew 15:21-28)

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2. Joy

Life is full of challenges and difficulties, sometimes even fraught with sufferings,

worries and despair. Nonetheless, Christians facing the challenges still live with peace

and joy. As Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

(Philippians 4:4)

For people who take a cause-and- effect approach to life, joy is often regarded as

the ‘effect’ or ‘fruit’ of some cause (s). In other words, a person is joyful because

something good has happened to him, for example, having an affluent life or a

successful career. A person is joyful when everything in his life is going according to

his wishes or when he learns to enjoy the pleasures in life, and appreciate his

accomplishments at work.

On the other hand, joy can also be the ‘cause’. Joy is an attitude and a perception.

When we place our hope and faith in God, we can positively and optimistically face

adversity or undesirable situations. Therefore in times of difficulty, we can still

remain hopeful and joyful. This joy we possess can even influence people around us,

and be their inspiration and consolation.

The psalmist said, “I rejoice in the Lord.” (Psalm 104:34) Such a joy originates

from our acceptance of God’s protection and blessing and it also comes from our

appreciation of the magnificent wonders of the universe that make us marvel and

praise Him with gladness of heart.

The Scripture

Joy is the Lord’s gift

Psalms 103:11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is

his love for those who fear him.

Ecclesiastes 3:12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be

happy and do good while they live.

Ecclesiastes 5:19-20 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and

possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his

lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God. He

seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God

keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

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Joy for God’s with us

Psalms 16:8-9 I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at

my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart

is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest

secure.

Joy for our faith

Psalms 16:8-9 I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at

my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart

is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest

secure.

1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even

though you do not see him now, you believe in him and

are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face

trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing

of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must

finish its work so that you may be mature and complete,

not lacking anything.

The Bible teaches us to be joyful

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Be joyful with others

Romans 12:5 So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each

member belongs to all the others.

Joy heals

Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit

dries up the bones.

Quotes of Wisdom

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a

person with a certain set of attitudes. (Hugh Malcolm Downs)

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Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and

true progress. (Nicholas M. Butler)

I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress,

and grow brave by reflection. (Thomas Paine)

Being miserable is a habit. Being happy is a habit. The choice is yours. (Tom

Hopkins)

The happiest people seem to be those who have no particular cause for being

happy, except that they are so. (William Ralph Inge)

That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest. (Henry David Thoreau)

Be willing to hold on to virtues even in poverty; be satisfied in a simple life.

(The Biography of Wei Biao, The History of the Later Han Dynasty)

Be satisfied under any circumstances and anything destined, thus be free from

worries. (Shih Ji I, Yi Zhuan)

Inspiring Stories

Joy beyond Sight

Fanny Crosby lost her sight in a medical incident. Her doctor felt guilty and

remorseful for the unintentional cause of her blindness, and regarded that as the

greatest regret in his life. However, Fanny Crosby said, “If I could see him now, I

would say to him, ‘Thank you, doctor! Thank you over and over again!’ Maybe it was

the doctor’s negligence that made me blind, but I firmly believe that God will never

be negligent. He shut down my physical eyes so that I could focus more on listening

to God and seeing Him more truly.”

Despite her blindness, Fanny Crosby wrote six thousand hymns. She called

herself the “happiest person alive”.

Loss of Limbs without Loss of Joy

The Australian Nick Vujicic was born without arms and legs. When he was small,

he was quite curious why he was so different from others. He questioned the value of

his existence and became resentful.

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As he grew up, he gradually realized that “it is difficult to keep up your spirit in

tough times, but if you keep complaining about what you don’t have, you will forget

what you do have”. He started to accept his being different from others and

understood that God had some wonderful plan for him. He therefore started to feel joy

out of his being special.

This 25-year-old handicapped young man not only has two bachelor degrees in

financial planning and accounting, but also can do horse-riding, swimming and

driving. In an interview Nick said with sparkling eyes, “I believe if God doesn’t give

you a miracle you ask for, he might want you to become God’s miracle for other

people. I am really having a joyful life now.”

Paul and Silas Sang Hymns with Joyful Hearts in Prison

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl

who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money

for her owners by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting,

"These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be

saved."

She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned

around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out

of her!" At that moment the spirit left her. When the owners of the slave girl realized

that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged

them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the

magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar

by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates

ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they

were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon

receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the

stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the

other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake

that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open,

and everybody's chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison

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doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the

prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He

then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your

household."

Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then

immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his

house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to

believe in God--he and his whole family.

(Acts 16:16-34)

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3. Peace

‘PEACE’ in the Chinese language has two meanings: ‘being safe’ and ‘in

harmony’. Each meaning carries two connotations and thereby the word ‘peace’ in

Chinese has 4 levels of meanings:

The first meaning of ‘PEACE’ points to a life free from disasters or tragedy. The

Chinese expression of ‘Safe journeys!’ bears the message of wishing someone safety

in his coming and going while the greeting of ‘Peace to you and your family!’

conveys the good will of wishing safety and good health to someone’s household. The

two Chinese traditional greetings echo with what the psalmist said, ‘The Lord will

watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.’ (Psalm 121:8)

The second meaning of ‘PEACE’ refers to a person’s peace of mind. For

Christians, true peace comes from Jesus Christ (John 14:27). Those who believe in

Jesus Christ will experience calmness and peace of mind even when things in life go

against them, or when misfortunes or tragedies befall them.

The third ‘PEACE’ refers to the harmony in interpersonal relationships, such as

having harmonious relationship with family members, friends, classmates, colleagues,

neighbours and other people in our life. The psalmist said, ‘How good and pleasant it

is when God’s people live together in unity!’ (Psalm 133:1) In addition, Jesus

encouraged people to be peacemakers. He said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for

they will be called children of God.’ (Matthew 5:9)

The fourth meaning of ‘PEACE’ refers to the peace among communities or

nations. The ‘new heaven and earth’ that the Bible describes is one where there is no

more aggression or fights’. ‘…Take delight in my people…’ ‘The wolf and the lamb

will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s

food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.’

(Isaiah 65:19 & 25) This indicates the days to come will be a world of peace, where

wars will be no more. ‘…They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears

into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train

for war anymore.’ (Isaiah 2:4)

The Scripture

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Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace

Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the

government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace

there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and

over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice

and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of

the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Jesus gives us peace

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to

you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and

do not be afraid.

Ezekiel 3:15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Abib near the Kebar

River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them

for seven days--overwhelmed.

Pray in peace

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by

prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests

to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all

understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in

Christ Jesus.

Peace and Justice

Psalms 72:3 The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills

the fruit of righteousness.

Psalms 85:10 Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace

kiss each other.

Isaiah 32:17 The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of

righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

Quotes of Wisdom

Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organize your life around it. (Brian

Tracy)

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Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace. (Robert J.

Sawyer)

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding. (Albert

Einstein)

He is the happiest, be he King or peasant, who finds peace in his home. (Johann

Wolfgang von Goethe)

I am ready to die for my Lord that in my blood the Church may obtain liberty

and peace. (Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury)

The future is just old age and illness and pain… I must have peace and health.

This is the only way. (James Whale)

Disciplining one’s thoughts and behaviour gives peace and comfort in one’s

mind. (Quotations of Zhu Xi)

Nonetheless, I have a peace of mind: no love or hate, no happiness or sadness,

and no colours or sound. (Weeds, Hope, Lu Xun)

Inspiring Stories

Lady of Peace, Aung San Suu Kyi

Nobel Peace Prize 1991 was awarded to the Burmese Aung San Suu Kyi. Since

she was small, Aung San Suu Kyi has been influenced by Gandhi’s philosophy of

non-violence. As she grew up, she became a political activist and dedicated herself to

the development of democracy. She devoted her life to fight for democracy and

freedom for the Burmese people and became a political leader striving for democracy

without violence. She is also the founder and chairperson of the National League for

Democracy.

Under her leadership, the National League for Democracy won the election in

1990. The election results, however, were nullified by the military government. She

was then intermittently under house arrest for 15 years. On November 13, 2010, after

the election in Burma, she was finally released.

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She said, “We need a better democratic regime, a democratic regime with

compassion and love. We should not be ashamed to talk about compassion and love in

politics. The value of compassion and love should be a part of politics, for justice

needs to be moderated by forgiveness.”

Neighbourly Barnabas

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid

of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought

him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that

the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the

name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem,

speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

(Acts 9:26-28)

Leader of Non-violent Peace, Mahatma Gandhi

Indian sage and national hero, Mahatma Gandhi, was the leader of the Indian

national movement as well as the Indian National Congress. He led his country to

break away from the colonial rule of Britain to fight for independence. His

philosophy of non-violence has influenced nationalistic movements throughout the

world as well as international movements for transformation by peaceful means.

After graduated from a British university, Gandhi moved back to India where he

joined an Indian company which sent him to South Africa for business. He felt

distressed when he witnessed how Indian immigrants who became citizens in South

Africa were deprived of their political rights and freedom. Subsequently he started

protesting and lobbying support against racism and the laws discriminating against

South African Indians.

Once, in South Africa, he purchased a railway ticket for the first-class carriage.

Being an Indian, however, he was asked to move to the third-class. He refused and

was then thrown out of the train. He therefore organized a protest, using peaceful

means to oppose racism. This was how his long battle for Indian national

independence started. After many years of hard work, India eventually attained

independence.

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4. Patience

Paul believed that true love among people should have the following attributes:

‘It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.” (1

Corinthians 13:7) Patience is different from passive submission; on the contrary, it is

a manifestation of life’s vital power.

When hardship seems to come one after another, we may become discouraged or

distressed. It is patience that gives us the power to sustain whatever perseverance and

hope we can muster in the midst of despair. Being patient is to accept honestly the

uncertainties in life and to confront courageously unpredictable difficulties and

adversities on its way. Despite human vulnerability, patience still provides people

with the impetus to inch forward and not give up.

When handling other people’s shortcomings or offence, patient people are able to

place themselves in others’ situations, with understanding and acceptance. They

would also examine themselves to guard against impulsiveness or misunderstanding.

Patience originates in perseverance and faith in God. In the midst of difficulties

and adversity, we know that we are not left alone to struggle on our own, but that we

could always trust in our loving God, wait patiently for His rescue, ask for His

strength, and experience His presence with us.

The Scripture

Suffering produces perseverance

Romans 5:3-4 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings,

because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Perseverance in suffering is a virtue

2 Thessalonians 1:4-5 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your

perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials

you are enduring. All this is evidence that God's

judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted

worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are

suffering.

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We should follow Jesus endurance

Romans 15:4-5

For everything that was written in the past was written

to teach us, so that through endurance and the

encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement

give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you

follow Christ Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and

Christ's perseverance.

Patience and love

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does

not boast, it is not proud.

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing

with one another in love.

Those stand firm to the end will be saved

Psalms 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do

not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they

carry out their wicked schemes.

Matthew 10:22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who

stands firm to the end will be saved.

2 Timothy 2:12 If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown

him, he will also disown us;

The power of Patience

Proverbs 25:15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle

tongue can break a bone.

Colossians

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his

glorious might so that you may have great endurance

and patience, and joyfully

Quotes of Wisdom

Opportunities are not offered. They must be wrested and worked for. And this

calls for perseverance and courage. (Indira Gandhi)

A man watches his pear tree, day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit.

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Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both the fruit and tree.

But let him patiently wait, and the ripe pear, at length, falls into his lap.

(Abraham Lincoln)

Great cause comes from persistent work, facing difficulties with your heart and

soul. (Bertrand Arthur William Russell)

Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance. (Samuel

Johnson)

Any mountain peaks can be conquered with strong perseverance. (Immanuel

Kant)

Do not be hasty and do not be concerned about minor gains. Haste causes failure

while concern about minor gains hinders major achievements. (Analects of

Confucius)

Only modesty like bamboo, toughness like hides, passion like fire would produce

art that is truly timeless. (Mao Dun)

Inspiring Stories

Missing Success at Close Encounter

A young man was sent to work in an offshore oilfield drilling platform after

graduation. On the first day of work, the team leader asked him to climb up tens of

meters to the top of the drilling rig to bring a nicely wrapped box to the supervisor

there within a given limit of time. The young man hastily climbed up the narrow

accommodation ladder that led to the top of the rig. Panting and sweating, at last he

reached the top level and handed the box to the supervisor. The supervisor, however,

just signed on the box and sent him back. He ran down the ladder and gave the box

with the supervisor’s signature to the team leader. The team leader also signed on the

box and once again sent him back to the supervisor.

The young man looked at the team leader, hesitated for a while, then turned back

to the ladder. As he climbed up to the top of the rig for the second time, his body was

all soaked in sweat and his legs were shaking. Like what happened before, the

supervisor just signed on the box and told him to bring it back to the team leader

down below. The young man wiped off the sweat on his face and obeyed. But this

went on. At the third time, after putting his signature on the box, the team leader again

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sent the young man up the ladder with the box.

The young man was getting really frustrated for carrying the box back and forth

meaninglessly. He tried hard to control his anger, and wiping the sweat off his face,

he looked up at the accommodation ladder that he had traveled several times, held the

box, and limped his way up. As he reached the top, he was all soaked. For the third

time, he brought the supervisor the box. In a leisurely manner, the supervisor asked

him to open the box.

The young man unwrapped and opened the box. Inside, there were two glass jars:

one contained coffee, the other coffee-mate. The supervisor then told him, “Make a

coffee for me please.” At that moment, the young man could hold back his anger no

more. He smashed the box on the floor with a “bang” and said, “I quit!” He felt all his

anger relieved as he eyed the box now lying on the floor.

The supervisor stood up, stared at him and said, “You may go now. However, as

you have endeavoured to come up the ladder three times, I would let you know that

what I have just made you do is called ‘extreme endurance training’. When we work

at sea, we have to confront danger anytime. This requires team members to have

extreme endurance to cope with all kinds of dangerous situations. Only extreme

endurance would enable us to accomplish our mission at sea. You passed all the three

times before, but unfortunately you failed the last test. You didn’t have the chance to

drink the nice coffee that you could have made. Now, you may go.”

Patience Pays in a King’s Vengeance

During the Spring and Autumn Period in Chinese history, the State of Wu and the

State of Yue near the downstream of Yangtze River were constantly at war. There was

a time when King He Lu of Wu led his army to attack Yue. He was shot by a spear

from a Yue general. He died from the injury later. After that, He Lu’s son Fu Cha

succeeded his throne. Fu Cha learned from his father’s failure. Patiently he waited for

3 years, during which he re-trained the army of his state and studied strategies of war.

Wu became a powerful state and when time was ripe, Fu Cha defeated Yue and

captured their King Gou Jian.

When Gou Jian served as a prisoner of war, he took care to show his loyalty to

his master Fu Cha. Once when Fu Cha was ill, Gou Jian offered to taste his faeces for

him in order to find the way to heal. Eventually Gou Jian gained Fu Cha’s trust and

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his permission to return to his home state Yue. After Gou Jian returned to Yue, day

and night he reminded himself of the shame he had suffered and the need to strike

back. Instead of sleeping in his bed, he slept on straws and dry branches. In addition,

He hung a bitter gall bladder in his room and he would taste it frequently to remind

himself of the bitterness of defeat. In patience Gou Jian waited until finally he got

the chance and destroyed the State of Wu. Patience pays in the king’s act of

vengeance.

Keep Praying Patiently

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray

and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God

nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him

with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' "For some time he refused. But

finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet

because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she

won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' " And the Lord said, "Listen to what

the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who

cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off ? I tell you, he will see

that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find

faith on the earth?"

(Luke 18:1-8)

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5. Kindness

Kindness is a virtue in interpersonal relationships. If we treat people with

kindness, we do not keep record of their wrongdoings or their offence. Forgiveness

and kindness are interrelated. Paul taught us to “be kind to one another”, and “forgive

each other” (Ephesians 4:32). Kindness and to forgiveness come from God. He took

the initiation to treat us with kindness, and to forgive us of our sins.

If we truly understand the meaning of “God so loved the world” (John 3:16), we

would surely know that God not only loves us, but also loves those who offend us,

as well as those others detest. God is willing to accept them, forgive them and be kind

to them. All people are sinners before the Holy God. Yet His grace, His forgiveness

and acceptance are upon us. Hence we have to treat one another with kindness as God

is kind to us.

The Scripture

God’s Kindness

Psalms

30:5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts

a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but

rejoicing comes in the morning.

Psalms

145:8-9 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to

anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he

has compassion on all he has made.

Love is kind

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it

does not boast, it is not proud.

God’s kindness follow us all the days of our lives

Psalms 23:6

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the

days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the

LORD forever.

To be kind to others is God’s will

Micah 6:8

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what

does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to

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love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Ephesians

4:23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds

Blessed are the merciful

Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown

mercy.

Quotes of Wisdom

Kind hearts are more than coronets. (Alfred Tennyson)

Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free

people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough. (Franklin Delano

Roosevelt)

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?

(Martin Luther King)

The miracle is this – the more we share, the more we have. (Leonard Simon

Nimoy)

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle. (Benjamin Franklin)

While we are serving filial duty to the elderly in our families, we should do the

same to other elderly people. While we are teaching and caring for our children

at home, we should do the same to other children. (King Hui of Wei I, Mencius)

Kindness is the basis of righteousness (Book of Rites)

Silver and money is similar to soil; kindness and righteousness is worth like gold.

(A Spring without Flowers, Pik Yeh)

Inspiring Stories

The Kind Giver of Tickets

When I was a teenager, my father once took me to buy tickets for a circus. After

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waiting on a line for half a day, we finally had only one family between the ticket

booth and us.

This family gave me a strong impression: a couple with eight children. They

wore inexpensive clothes and seemed to be not well-off but they looked clean, tidy

and well-mannered.

They queued in double file. The children went hand-in-hand in pairs of two

behind their parents, and they were talking about the clowns and elephants in

excitement. Their parents proudly stood at the very front. The mother held the father’s

hand, and was looking at him as if saying: “You look so much like a knight decorated

with medals.” He who was immersed in pride smiled, gazing at his wife as if replying:

“That’s right! I am just what you take me for.”

The ticket seller asked the father how many tickets he needed. He replied, “Two

for adults and eight for children please. I have brought the whole family to see the

circus.” The ticket seller told him the price of the tickets. His wife turned and dropped

her head. The father’s lips trembled and he leaned forward to ask, “How much it was

you said?” The ticket seller repeated the amount once more. The father’s face

darkened. He turned around and saw the look of expectation on his kids’ faces.

My father saw all these. Quietly he put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a

20-dollar note, and dropped it on the ground. (As a matter of fact, we were not rich at

all!) He then crouched down, picked up the note, tapped the man on the shoulder, and

said, “Excuse me, sir! This fell out of your pocket.”

This man knew what happened of course. He had not begged for help but he was

deeply thankful for the generosity rendered him when he felt desperate and frustrated.

He looked straight into my father’s eyes and with both hands he clasped my father’s

hands which was holding the 20-dollar note. He said, with quivering lips and tears

running down his cheeks, “Thank you, sir! Thank you! This means a lot to my family

and me. ” My father and I headed back to our car and we drove back home. We did

not see the circus that night, but we did not go home with nothing.

Kindness and Forgiveness

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to

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the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table.

When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was

eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she

stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then

she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man

were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she

is--that she is a sinner."

Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher,"

he said.

"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred

denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he

canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have

judged correctly," Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I

came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet

with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this

woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil

on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many

sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little

loves little."

Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives

sins?"

Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

(Luke 7:36-50)

Treat Each Other with the Kindness of Christ

My family and I once went to Zimbabwe in Africa to give wheelchairs to the

needy. That was the best experience I had in my life. When we arrived, our disabled

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friends came out of the forest by truck. They and their families, totaled 150, came on

a trailer truck. Their families helped carry our handicapped friends off the truck and

placed them on the ground of soil.

There was a young man weighing about 50 pounds with no arms and no legs,

only the torso. They gave the torso to me. He smiled at me, and I embraced him. I

could not place him on the ground, so I carried him in my arms across the bridge. It

was a large bridge about half a mile in length, linking Zambia and Zimbabwe. The

bridge was filled with wheelchairs, and I could not place him on the ground. I

therefore carried him until we were on the other side of the bridge. When I came close

to the wheelchairs, my arms were so tired that I had to place him in one of them. He

gave me the most beautiful smile that I would never forget!

I turned around and saw my daughters. They too could not put down the old

woman in their arms and therefore had to carry her together. She, on the other hand,

had her arms around their necks. They brought this old woman to the wheelchair. She

was a leper. Her arms and legs were impaired. Even half of her nose was gone. The

scaly skin out of leprosy was apparent.

Christ calls us to follow His example of kindness. He did what He asks us to do

many times himself: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,

just as in Christ God forgave you.” Treat everyone as one’s neighbour and have

mercy on those who are hurt. Put love into action, and let our faith shine forth in

effective service rendered to our fellowmen.

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6. Goodness

Goodness refers not only to being kind or avoiding evil behaviour, but also to

making every effort to help others achieve goodness in thoughts and deeds. The best

example of goodness is found in Jesus. Goodness is also one of the attributes of God.

Those who follow the Holy Spirit will have their heart overflowed with goodness and

in turn their acts of goodness would be an inspiration to others.

’Goodness’ from the original text of the Bible is translated as ‘good man’ (Ro. 5:7),

‘good work’ (Eph. 6:8, Col. 1:10), ‘good things of moral value’ (Ro. 7:13, 18, 12:2, 9,

16:9) or specially refers to ‘doing something honestly with one’s own hands’ (Eph.

4:28). The fundamental meaning of ‘doing good’ is used most frequently in the Bible

(Ro. 2:10, 6:10, Eph. 4:28, Ro. 7:19, 13:3b, Eph. 6:8).

One who is ‘good’ is a person who is kind hearted, never deceitful, never

scheming, and never harbours wicked thoughts; he is generous, gracious, friendly and

helpful to people.

The Scripture

God is Good

Nehemiah 9:20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did

not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you

gave them water for their thirst.

Psalms 86:5 You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love

to all who call to you.

Psalms 25:8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs

sinners in his ways.

We Must Pursue Goodness

Psalms 38:20

Those who repay my good with evil slander me when I

pursue what is good.

Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment

of God rather than burnt offerings.

Hosea 8:3 But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will

pursue him.

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Thessalonians 5:15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but

always try to be kind to each other and to everyone

else.

Good People Please God

Romans 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my

sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good,

but I cannot carry it out.

Quotes of Wisdom

Goodness is the only investment that never fails. (French Proverb)

An act of goodness is of itself an act of happiness. No reward coming after the

event can compare with the sweet reward that went with it. (Maurice

Maeterlinck)

Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful. (William Shakespeare)

Beauty is the radiance of truth, and the fragrance of goodness. (Vincent

McNabb)

Goodness is beauty in the best estate. (Christopher Marlowe)

Well, for us, in history where goodness is a rare pearl, he who was good almost

takes precedence over he who was great. (Victor Hugo)

All the people have a heart to distinguish goodness and evilness. (Mencius)

Inspiring Stories

Partake in Good Deeds

Qiu Jin was a heroine of the revolution at the end of Ching Dynasty. She came

from a rich and well-educated family and had been willing to help others since she

was small.

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One year, there was a natural disaster. Owing to the poor harvest, the peasants

were having great hardship. Some of them therefore pleaded with their landlords for

rent reductions.

A peasant, Ah Po, came for such a request at Qiu Jin’s home when another

tycoon in the area was there also. Ah Po asked Qiu Jin’s mother if a rent cut was

possible. The tycoon obstinately opposed. He explained to Qiu Jin’s mother that

though peasants claimed that they could not pay the rents because of the poor harvest,

they could eventually pay in full if they were pressed to do so.

Qiu Jin knew that this tycoon often oppressed the poor. She was anxious to see

that her mother was hesitating. She knew that Ah Po was the only man in the family

who could do the farm work but he had a family of five to feed, and that it was

impossible for him to pay the regular rent. She therefore appealed to her mother on

Ah Po’s behalf and her mother granted her plead.

Qiu Jin even gave Ah Po a sack of rice and some of her own savings before he

left.

I Was the Last to Finish the Race But I got the Loudest Applause

In the state high school track meet in Ohio, U.S.A, 17-year-old Meghan Vogel

took part in the 3200 metre race. Megan was exhausted after winning the 1600-metre

finals. She was therefore lagging behind and her only goal was to complete the race.

When she was about 30 metres from the finishing line, she saw one of the

competitors painstakingly dragging herself along and was about to collapse. Basically,

she could have paid no attention to her need, easily overtook her, and spared herself

the embarrassment of being the last one to finish the race.

Meghan, however, went up to her distressed competitor, and supported her so

that the two of them finally reached the finishing point. Eventually, Meghan was still

the last to pass the finishing line since she gave the second last position to the girl

who was about to pass out.

A photographer took a shot of the incident and had it posted on the newspaper.

Surprisingly, Americans warmly applauded Meghan’s sportsmanship and her story

was widely circulated in the internet.

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Between her personal honour and the life of her opponent, Meghan chose the

latter. She opted for goodness and lent her hand to a neighbor in trouble. She lost the

race but her act of goodness gained her a standing ovation.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked,

"what must I do to inherit eternal life?""What is written in the Law?" he replied.

"How do you read it?" He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love

your neighbor as yourself.' ""You have answered correctly," Jesus replied."Do this

and you will live."4 But he wanted to justify himself,

5 so he asked Jesus, "And who is

my neighbor?"In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,

when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and

went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road,

and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he

came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. (Please check with the

Bible to see if this is the right quote. I dare not amend the Bible). But a Samaritan, as

he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He

went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man

on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out

two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I

return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these

three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The

expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and

do likewise."

(Luke 10:25-37)

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7. Faithfulness

The word ‘faithfulness’ in the original Greek text means ‘loyalty and without

deceit’. It refers to people who are truthfully loyal to God’s laws and values. They

strive to follow God’s will, and forsake their own desires. In the parable Jesus praised

the servant who received five thousand from his master and worked hard to gain five

thousand more and the servant who received two thousand from his master and

worked hard to gain two thousand more as ‘loyal and faithful’ (Matthew 25:14-30). In

the early church Ananias and Sapphira who sold a piece of property but kept back part

of the money for themselves before bringing the rest to the apostles were rebuked by

Peter for lying to the Holy Spirit. They then fell down and died (Acts 5:1-6).

The faithful people in the Bible were not necessarily people of great stature or

distinctive achievements. Yet they had one thing in common: they believed and

trusted in God and His promises. They did not lose faith in adversities or under

persecutions, but held fast to their belief and pressed forward to the goal set by God.

The psalmist said only the faithful could come before God: ‘Who may ascend the hill

of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure

heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.’ (Psalm

24:3-4)

Faithfulness is a common attribute of many Christians in history. All of them

were loyal to their belief and they persevered in realizing their ideals. Robert

Morrison, the pioneer evangelist in China, came to spread the gospel with sincerity

and aspiration. He once prayed, ‘May God station me in that part of the missionary

field where the difficulties are greatest and in human eyes the most insurmountable ‘.

The Scripture

God is faithful

Psalms 36:5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your

faithfulness to the skies.

Hebrews

10:23 Remember those earlier days after you had received the

light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the

face of suffering.

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God’s Promises

2 Corinthians 1:20

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are

"Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken

by us to the glory of God.

Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner

of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith

in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

James

2:5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who

are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to

inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

Receive the promise if we persevere

Hebrews 10:36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will

of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Hebrews

11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died.

They did not receive the things promised; they only saw

them and welcomed them from a distance. And they

admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

Quotes of Wisdom

The most powerful element in advertising is the truth. (William Bernbach,

Advertising executive)

My father taught me that reputation, not money, was the most important thing in

the world. (William Rosenberg)

A firm belief attracts facts. They come out of holes in the ground and cracks in

the wall to support belief, but they run away from doubt. (Finley Peter Dunne)

I have found that being honest is the best technique I can use. (Lee Iacocca)

There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity. (Tom Peters)

Confidence… thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations,

on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them, it cannot live.

(Franklin Delano Roosevelt)

I urge you to speak the truth always. Misunderstandings and disputes out of

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speech has always been the origin of calamities. (Manslaughter of Cui Ning,

Popular Novels from the Capital)

Rather than deceiving each other with lofty claims, be truthful to one another

with sincere words. (Shi Gong, Discourse of the Anonymous, Wang Fu)

Inspiring Stories

Faithfulness as Evident in Keeping One’s Word

The wife of Zengzi was about to run an errand. Her son nagged her to take him

with her. She therefore amused him by saying, “Be nice and stay at home. I will have

a pig slaughtered and bring you some pork to enjoy.”

When Zengzi’s wife came home, she saw her son excitedly looking forward to

eating some pork. In the meantime, Zengzi was preparing to slaughter a pig. His wife

quickly stopped him and said, “My words were just intended to amuse our son. How

can you be serious about that?” Zengzi said, “It can never be a joke when you talk to a

child. Kids are naïve and innocent. They will imitate their parents and follow their

teachings. If you are not honest with him today, he will learn to be dishonest with

others. When a mother deceives her son, he will never trust her anymore. Will the

child still be faithful to others? Will he still believe in faithfulness? This is not the

proper way to educate children!” Zengzi therefore killed the pig and prepared some

pork for his son.

Putting a Promise into Action

Johnny’s father had a foldable bicycle which Johnny was very fond of. One day,

he asked his dad to give it to him. His dad however was not willing.

Johnny’s dad therefore told him, “I will give my bicycle to you only if you

rank number one in the examination in your class.” Johnny had not been very good at

his studies, but after he heard his dad’s words, he said, “Is that for real, Dad?” His

father responded, “You think I am joking, kiddo?” Johnny said, “That’s the deal,

dad.” The matter was settled.

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For the sake of getting the bike, Johnny started studying hard. He first sought

help from grandpa, asking for his tutoring in Chinese. Then he turned to his grandma

for help in Natural Science. His mother, on the other hand, taught him Mathematics.

After going through all these for some time, Johnny did finally get the first

position in class in the final exam.

With the school report in his hand, Johnny dashed home. Upon arriving, he

shouted that he got the first position.

Johnny’s father never expected his son to reach the top of the class, and

pondered for a while if it was possible not to utter a word about the bicycle. However,

he knew that he could not go back on his pledge and therefore he gave Johnny his

bike.

The Story of Abraham

God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her

Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I

will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come

from her."

Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a

man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"

And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"

Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call

him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his

descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I

will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of

twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will

establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." When he

had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

(Genesis 17:15-22)

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Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was

past the age of childbearing.

So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master

is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really

have a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to

you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you

did laugh."

(Genesis 18:11-15)

Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for

Sarah what he had promised.

Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very

time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.

When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God

commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to

him.

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this

will laugh with me." And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah

would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

(Genesis 21:1-7)

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8. Gentleness

People often mistake ‘power’ and ‘action’ for strength and ‘gentleness’ for

weakness. The Bible, however, says, ‘…a gentle tongue can break a bone’ (Proverbs

25:15) and ‘Blessed are the meek’ (Matthew 5:5). There is no conflict between

gentleness and strength; they can co-exist with no contradiction. The Indian sage hero

Mahatma Gandhi, the African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.,

and the Burmese leader of democracy Aung San Suu Kyi all opposed violence.

Nonetheless, they all had exceptional charisma to inspire and promote social changes.

Their speech and their belief revealed both gentleness and strength. In the face of

oppression from the absolute authorities, they all demonstrated both gentleness and

determination.

Gentleness is a state of serenity, calmness and peacefulness that is free from

anxiety. Jesus was a gentle person. He said, ‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from

me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’

(Matthew 11:29)

In the Bible ‘gentleness’ has nothing to do with the strength of our hands or the

loudness of our voice. It has everything to do with our relationship with God and

people and in that relationship we do not attach much importance to our ego.

Gentleness comes from good self restraint, empathy and forgiveness towards others.

Matthew 5:5 says, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.’ It tells

us that the fruit of gentleness is ‘inheritance of the earth’; and ‘earth’ refers to ‘land’,

which means ‘God’s gift’.

The Scripture

Blessed are the meek

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

1 Peter

3:4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty

of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's

sight.

Learn from Jesus as He is Gentle

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Matthew

11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and

humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

The bible teaches us to be gentle

Titus

3:2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show

true humility toward all men.

Instruct others gently

Galatians 6:1

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual

should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may

be tempted.

2 Timothy

2:25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that

God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of

the truth,

To learn the truth with a gentle heart

James 1:21

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so

prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can

save you.

James

3:17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then

peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good

fruit, impartial and sincere.

The power of gentleness

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up

anger.

Proverbs 25:1

5

Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue

can break a bone.

Ecclesiastes 10:4

If a ruler's anger rises against you, do not leave your post;

calmness can lay great errors to rest.

Quotes of Wisdom

Kind words do not cost much. They never blister the tongue or lips. They make

other people good-natured. They also produce their own image on men’s souls,

and a beautiful image it is. (Blaise Pascal)

On the first day, I should want to see the people whose kindness and gentleness

and companionship have made my life worth living. (Helen Adams Keller, Three

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Days to see)

Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak,

and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and

unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory. (Douglas

MacArthur, General MacArthur’s Prayer for His Son)

Kindness and gentleness are more powerful than any form of violence in

changing others’ mind. (Dale Carnegie)

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat,

known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of

the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an

understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep

loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen. (Elisabeth Kübler-Ross)

Follow suit when you see some good deeds. Act diligently when you hear of the

right things. Keep being gentle and kind. Avoid acting arrogantly or aggressively.

(Guidelines for Students, Guanzi)

Laolaizi said, “Have you ever observed your teeth? Your teeth are hard and

strong, but they keep grinding each other. Your tongue, however, is gentle and

soft and will never be hurt.” (Kang Zhi, Confucius and His Students)

Regarding the virtues of a woman, gentleness comes first, decent appearance

comes after. (The Notebooks of Lu Yuan, Qian Yong)

Inspiring Stories

The Power of Gentleness

My two-year-old daughter was learning how to speak. She babbled a series of

words which I did not understand a bit. I still responded with nodding as if she had

said something really deep and replied, “Oh really?” She would then nod happily. We

could then continue with our conversation…

Sometimes I became very tired after work. When the kids circled around me, I

would lose my patience. My son asked me, “Mom, you look unhappy…”I would

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admit and tell him, “I am very tired today and don’t want to talk. Please leave me

alone. When I am okay, I’ll be back with you.”

I was born with a bad temper, but I would always be gentle to my two kids. They

are angels in my mind.

The kids saw me taking all kinds of pills including vitamins, isoflavones and

whatnot. They asked me curiously why I took all those. I said, “They will make me

prettier!”

From then on, my son had been bringing me the pills together with some water

every morning and night. He knew very well which pills should be taken before meals

and which after and he never made a mistake. He told me, “I want you to be very

pretty. When everyone says you are pretty, you will be happy. I want you to be

happy…”

It was very cold one day. I tried to wake my son up. When he felt my cold hands,

he pulled out his warm hands from his duvet and rubbed them against mine hard.

“Mom, your hands are as cold as popsicles…” He rubbed even harder, trying to make

my hands warm quickly. His little act of gentleness warmed my heart and brought

tears to my eyes.

When my son saw the tears running down my face, he turned over at once and

took a tissue paper. He put it on my face and wiped my tears away. Though my face

hurt a little with his repeated wiping, I laughed out loud…

If you are gentle to your children, your children will learn to be gentle too. You

don’t have to beat them or scold them to do that. Once they learn gentleness, they will

treat everyone with a gentle heart, both inside and outside the family. You don’t have

to worry about their getting mean or becoming bad anymore because you know they

will not have the heart to do so. If children are gentle, they would know how to reflect

on their behavior even when occasionally they may be careless or commit errors.

Then they would regret and find out where they have gone wrong. Eventually, you

would see them apologize and make up with people they wrong.

The Gentleness of Emmanuel

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Wearing long hair, worn-out T-shirt and distressed jeans, the barefooted Bill was

a hippie and a cynical undergraduate student.

After entering the university, Bill suddenly became interested in religion. He

would keep reading the Bible in the dormitory for hours. One day, he suddenly felt

that life was meaningless and that he himself was smeared with sins. The Bible spoke

to him and he was overwhelmed with the realization of God’s grace. Alone in the

dormitory, he knelt down; in tears he prayed and accepted Christ.

One Sunday morning, Bill passed by a church in a small town near the campus.

He stopped and wanted to take a look. He did not know that was a church of the

middle-class, with a congregation exclusively made up of well-educated, successful

people who would attend church in elegant formal attires. Cars of famous brands were

parked at the church entrance. People from this church were eager to preach the

gospel to the students on campus, yet they felt it hard to approach them. They seemed

to share no common language with those young people living in the world of IM,

iPods and SMS.

Bill entered the church, still in the casual worn-out outfit. The worship had

already started for a little while. The sanctuary was not a big one, but filled with

people and he could not find a single empty seat.

He walked along the aisle. People started to notice this young man who dressed

differently. Many of them began to feel a little uneasy, but nobody spoke or did

anything. The young man searched for a little longer but still could not find a seat. He

then stooped down and sat cross-legged on the floor. Some among the congregation

sat upright, even somewhat stiffly. There seemed to be some tension in the air.

The pastor on the podium had just started his sermon. Suddenly he saw an

elderly gentleman stand up and walk slowly towards the young man. The elderly

gentleman was a senior deacon who was virtuous, devout and highly respected in the

church. Wearing silvery hair and a formal suit, he had some difficulty walking and

had to use a cane to inch forward.

The pastor stopped his sermon. The whole church was in absolute silence, with

only the tapping noise made by the cane on the floor. Everybody thought that this

elderly man could not be blamed. He was only doing what he needed to do.

Somebody had to play the villain. After all, that was the place for worshipping God

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and God could not be mocked! They all held their breath and waited for the elderly

man to take action. All eyes in the sanctuary were on him.

The elderly man walked very slowly, as if it took him centuries to reach the

young man. He put his cane down on the floor and slowly and painstakingly stooped

down. He then seated himself quietly on the floor next to the university student. The

elderly man and the young man sat side by side on the floor and they worshiped God

together. The worship resumed. Everyone’s heart was suddenly touched by the elderly

man. Their throats were choked with sobs, and their eyes became watery.

As the pastor pulled himself together once again, he said, “You might forget my

sermon today rather soon, yet what you have just seen could linger on in your

memory forever!”

He then continued with the sermon. The topic that morning was “The Gentleness

of Emmanuel”.

Be Gentle to Your Enemy

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a

large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of

the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the

man; arrest him." Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed

him.

Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward,

seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his

sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. "Put

your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die

by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my

disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be

fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"

At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Am I leading a rebellion that you have

come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts

teaching, and you did not arrest me. But this has all taken place that the writings of

the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

(Matthew 26:47-56)

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9. Self-control

The Apostle Paul helped us learn self-control by using himself as an example:

‘…I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave…’ (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Self-control does not require us to lead an ascetic life. It requires us, in fact, to learn to

develop self-discipline in life, to take-charge-of our body, emotion, behaviour and

speech, and to restrain our selfish desires. Without self-control or self-restraint, we

would act on impulse and will cease to be master of ourselves. Consequently, we

would be subject to our emotion and whims, especially when we are in the company

of other people.

We need to develop self-control because we need to work towards an even more

important target which is also the goal of life. The Bible teaches us: ‘Do not

conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of

your mind ...” (Romans 12:2).To triumph over the worldly temptations that we face,

we must hold fast to the aspiration and attitude of self-control.

An absence of self-control would make a person ‘without love, unforgiving,

slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good’ (2 Timothy 3:3). In

addition, other sinful traits in the human nature such as ‘hatred, discord, jealousy, fits

of rage, selfish ambition and dissensions’ would emerge. Short-tempered people

should especially exercise self-control; lest a rough word or a thoughtless deed would

inflict pain on God and other people.

The Scripture

Learn from Jesus

Romans 13:14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do

not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Self-control because of mission

1 Corinthians 9:27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have

preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the

prize.

Self-control is a training in life

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1 Timothy 4:8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has

value for all things, holding promise for both the present life

and the life to come.

Emotional control

Proverbs 16:32 Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his

temper than one who takes a city.

James 1:19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be

quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

Control what we says

James 3:2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in

what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole

body in check.

Quotes of Wisdom

Nothing of importance is ever achieved without discipline. (Bertrand Arthur

William Russell)

Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do when you

should do it, whether you feel like it or not. (Brian Tracy)

If I want to be great I have to win the victory over myself… self-discipline.

(Harry S. Truman)

Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability

to say no to oneself. (Abraham Joshua Heschel)

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

(Benjamin Franklin)

Wealth depends chiefly on two words, industry and frugality; that is, waste

neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. (Benjamin Franklin)

The two essential needs in education in China: one is enrichment of students’

creativity, the other is strengthening of their discipline. (Zhang Boling)

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Inspiring Stories

Self-control Leads to a Victorious Life

A brother in Christ showed great joy on his face.

A friend of his, an atheist intellectual, noticing his joyful mood, asked

provocatively, “You received salvation by believing in Jesus, didn’t you?”

The brother responded, “Yes!” The intellectual said, “Well then, you must have

very thorough knowledge about God. You do know a lot about the life history of

Jesus, don’t you?”

The brother replied, “Well… not quite.” The friend said, “Could you tell me

where Jesus was born and where he died?” The brother vaguely replied, “It seems

like….”

His friend said, “How many times did he preach? How many people were

touched by his teaching?” The brother said, “I have no idea.” The intellectual said,

“How many miracles did he perform?” The brother replied, “I don’t know.” Finally,

the friend concluded, “You consider yourself a believer, but you know so little about

Jesus!” The brother said ashamedly, “You’re quite right. I know too little and I feel

sorry about that. I need to study more about Jesus. However, what I do know is that 3

years ago, I was an alcoholic and was in big debts. My family was going to fall apart.

My wife and my kids were scared to see me returning home. 3 years later…, I paid all

my debts. Now I have a harmonious and happy family. My wife and my kids eagerly

wait for me to be back home every night. I have to thank Jesus. He did great things for

me. This I know very clearly!”

His friend opened his eyes wide and said, “If your God can make an alcoholic

who can’t live without alcohols quit drinking, your God must be real!”

Self-control Makes Man Holy

I became ‘addicted to coffee’ for many years. In the beginning, I only felt that

coffee smelled good, tasted good and helped to keep me awake, a great help to me as I

was preparing for my Advanced Level Examinations. Afterwards, I also drank coffee

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when I read or wrote in my spare time. Gradually, drinking coffee became my daily

habit. When I moved into the dormitory in the university, I drank more and more

coffee as I was free to do whatever I wanted to.

I came to a situation that I could not live without coffee and my addiction took

control over me. To get rid of the dominance of coffee in my life, I tried to quit

drinking coffee many times. However, without determination, every time I failed.

Once my pastor delivered a sermon titled ‘Receive the Power of the Holy Spirit’.

As I listened, I felt a strong yearning. I longed to be filled with the Holy Spirit and

receive more spiritual power. I longed to hear God’s voice more clearly and more

directly. I also longed to be able to speak in tongues, dream dreams, see visions, cast

out demons… not for the sake of having these extraordinary abilities, but for opening

up myself for God’s use so as to witness and glorify Him.

The pastor said that to experience the power of the Holy Spirit, we needed to

lead a life of holiness. He meant we should open up the part of ourselves that were not

yet in God’s control and repent. Without holiness no one will see the Lord, for He is

holy and is not pleased with our sins. He mentioned that a sister in Christ had longed

to be filled with the Holy Spirit. She spent several months continually confessing her

sins and surrendering the sovereignty of her whole life to God. She then asked the

pastor to lay his hands on her. She was immediately filled with the Holy Spirit.

I instantly recalled what Paul said: “Everything is permissible, but not everything

is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by

anything.” After I listened to this sermon, I felt that I heard the Lord say to me: “Quit

coffee! Now!”

Right on that day, I stopped drinking coffee. I had a severe headache, so severe

that I felt that my head was exploding. I could not concentrate and did not get any

better until I drank some Oolong. The next day was the same. I searched the Internet

and found that those who had been drinking coffee regularly would experience some

physical reactions once they stopped drinking, such as headache, muscle pain,

restlessness, irritability and loss of concentration. These are called ‘caffeine

withdrawal symptoms’. It is because our brain nerves became dependent on caffeine.

Once no caffeine is taken, the brain nerves will suffer certain reactions. People on the

Internet said such symptoms would persist from 2 to 9 days. Quitting coffee could be

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done progressively by phases, or by using replacements containing caffeine, such as

tea, chocolate or cola before one is to quit it thoroughly.

I did not choose the progressive method that resembled quitting drugs by

methadone. Rather, I opted for the one-off method like gospel rehabilitation and

decided that I would not even take tea as a replacement. When the addiction

symptoms took effect, my headache exploded, my eyes reddened, and I was totally

not able to focus. All I could do was praying, singing hymns and praising God. In

God’s presence, I declared to be healed by Him and that He willed my victory. The

Lord was not pleased by my addiction. He would guide me in my efforts to overcome

it, and I knew I would overcome it. While I was suffering terribly, Satan came to tell

me, “Go drink coffee! You will be much better after drinking!”

‘Away from me, Satan!’ I rebuked him. The Lord was pleased by my

determination. I was committed to leading a victorious life. I promised to strive for

holiness. I yearned for being filled with the Holy Spirit. I sought God’s help as I

proclaimed His promise to heal me. He was the God who helped me with his

countenance. He was the Lord who healed me and released me.

In the early stage of rehabilitation, I went to bed early. On the bus in a

long-distance journey, exhausted with pain I dropped asleep. I got some rest in the

sleep.

I was no longer under the control of coffee. In the evening service, I repented for

my addiction. The Lord healed me and forgave me. I was deeply touched. I shared

this testimony with others as well, hoping that they would be blessed too.

Self-control and Kindness to Each Other

Family counseling expert Dr. Wat Wai-ho shared two secrets to success in

marriage. The first was self-control: control yourself in language, anger and lust. The

second was kindness to each other: with the help from Christ, follow His example of

kindness and acceptance. However, this was often easier said than done.

Dr. Wat pointed out that when spouses quarrel, they usually vent their anger on

their partners. It is noteworthy that some words are lethal and should never be used.

Therefore, spouses should know when to stop during heated debates. One of them

should say, “No, we have to stop here!” Dr. Wat stated that self-control is important

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in marriage. Otherwise, the devil would come in the relationship and ruin the

marriage.

Dr. Wat suggested that husbands and wives should often use the following magic

words: “That’s okay! It doesn’t matter!” He said a friend of his had to sell his

properties after the financial crisis. Every time when he sold a house, his wife did not

utter a word. When it came to the last one, the husband was in despair. His wife then

gave him a hug and said, “That’s okay! It doesn’t matter. What matters more is to

keep our family in harmony and intact.” Such patience and acceptance is very

touching.

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10. Faith

Faith means believing in the invisible God, affirming His truthfulness, and

believing in the moral and spiritual teachings drawn from the Bible and our faith.

Faith is a vital strength in life. Jesus said if we have faith, we can move the mountain

into the sea. (Mark 11:23)

Faith is also a vital power that can free us from anxiety at times of adversity, and

enable us to hold fast to courage, hope, joy and love which are gifts from God.

The Christian faith includes knowing God, as well as venturing on the

exploration of the ‘profound and mysterious’ God. Without any knowledge of God,

‘faith’ would become a ‘superstition’ - a blind faith. Without the adventurous

exploration of Him, it is at best no more than doctrines, theories and information, but

not the faith that enriches our lives.

Following God and knowing Him by faith is closely related to our growth. Our

faith in God gives us courage to search Him; and each step of our exploration leads us

to know Him more. Once we know God more, we realize how limited our knowledge

is. This makes us admit that with man’s limited wisdom, we can never know God

fully for His truth is infinitely profound and rich. However, such recognition further

arouses man’s desire to search and explore Him. In other words, it is a cycle of greater

faith bringing about deeper understanding of God; and with deeper understanding, we

have greater faith in Him.

The Scripture

What is faith?

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of

what we do not see.

Faith is the gift of God

Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and

this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works,

so that no one can boast.

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Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith

Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our

faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross,

scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the

throne of God.

Faith is essential

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because

anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and

that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

The power of faith

Matthew 17:20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the

truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can

say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will

move. Nothing will be impossible for you. "

Faith expresses itself through love

Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor

uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is

faith expressing itself through love.

Have joy even in adversities because of faith

Habakkuk 3:17-18 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on

the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce

no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle

in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful

in God my Savior.

Quotes of Wisdom

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God

will do what is right. (Max Lucado)

Faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so

assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake (Martin Luther)

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the staircase. (Martin

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Luther King)

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see

it, but because by it I see everything else. (Clive Staples Lewis)

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan,

but also believe. (Anatole France)

In a decisive set, confidence is the difference. (Chris Evert)

Inspiring Stories

Affirmation Brings Faith

I once taught a student regarded by people as ‘a low achiever’. He had been in

the school for five years yet kept going no higher than the second grade. This student

therefore felt inferior and had an extremely low self-esteem. He always kept his head

low, eyes averted from a direct gaze and a feeble voice.

To encourage my students to think on their own, I occasionally brought up

questions to challenge them. Once I asked, “A piece of bamboo is heavy and a piece

of straw is light. If we put them in the water, which one will sink first?”

A hot discussion among the whole class ensued.

The ‘low achiever’ sitting at the back suddenly stood up and said, “I know the

answer, Sir.”

Other students started murmuring among themselves. The ‘low achiever’ blushed.

After repeated encouragement from me, finally he gave his answer timidly, “Neither

of them will sink.” I proclaimed loudly, “Absolutely correct!” Other students had their

eyes wide open and could not believe their own ears.

I saw radiance coming out from the eyes of the ‘low achiever’. For a while he

stood dazed and then he bent over the desk and burst into tears.

Since then, he seemed to have become another person. He did not give himself

up to despair anymore and gradually he made steady progress in his studies.

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Many years passed. One day in school, I received a letter from him. He thanked

me for helping him build up his confidence and recognize his own worth. He was

admitted to the Institute of Education to study special education. He was committed to

the education of mentally challenged and slow learning students, so that they could be

filled with confidence and had a positive outlook on life.

Success out of Confidence

For thousands of years, nobody could finish a one- mile race within four minutes.

On May 6, 1954, however, the American athlete Roger Bannister made that world

record.

How was he able to do that? Each morning as he woke up he declared to himself,

“Surely I can finish one mile in four minutes! I surely can! I surely will succeed!” He

kept saying that for more than a hundred times, and he followed the guidance of his

coach by going through a series of intensive training. He eventually broke the world

record of a one- mile race with his 3 min. 56.6 sec.

When he was asked what made him believe that he could achieve the speed, he

answered, “I am confident in myself. I believed I could do it, therefore I did it.”

A Woman Got Healed

Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up

behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, "If I only touch his

cloak, I will be healed." Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said,

"your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.

When Jesus entered the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy

crowd, he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him.

After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and

she got up. News of this spread through all that region.

(Matthew 9:20-26)

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11. Virtue

The Bible says, ‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do

what it says.’ (James 1:22) Christians need to have virtues, but virtues do not come

from strict adherence to the laws or blind obedience to the rules. The virtuous deeds

of Christians should come from their hearts and are manifestations of the abundant

life given by God.

People usually judge others by their appearance, but God watches people’s hearts

and what kind of life they lead. Paul pointed out that Christians would do no good if

their ministry does not come from the love in their hearts. (1 Corinthians 13:1-8). The

virtuous life of a Christian, in essence, is a truthful and concrete realization of his

wonderful love for God and his fellowmen.

Christians do not have any rigid patterns to share in their decision making

because every decision or action taken is for every individual an opportunity to

undergo God’s training. Through virtuous deeds, Christians continually train and

develop themselves and through putting Christian faith into practice, they can enrich

their own lives and those of the others.

The Scripture

Virtue makes us win favor and good names in the sight of God and man

Proverbs 3:3-4 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around

your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you

will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and

man.

Virtue does not mean to follow the law

Romans 7:6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been

released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the

Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

The Lord looks at the heart

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance

or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not

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look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward

appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

The Lord tests the heart

Proverbs 17:3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord

tests the heart.

Quotes of Wisdom

Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, the more often

and the more intensely the mind of thought is drawn to them: the starry heavens

above me and the moral law within me. (Immanuel Kant)

The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would

never be found out. (Thomas Bobington Macaulay)

Success is always temporary. When all is said and done, the only thing you’ll

have left is your character. (Vince Gill)

Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of real education. (Martin Luther

King)

Consider your origin: you were not made to live like brutes, but to follow virtue

and knowledge. (Dante Alighieri)

Cultivate in them physical strength that can endure tough situations, ethics of

noble standard, open minds that can accept wide range of new trends, which is

the power to swim across oceans of new waves in the world without getting

drown. (Lu Xun)

I have my own character and conscience which money cannot buy. My music is

to be a gift to my motherland, a gift to the mass of workers, and a service to save

our nation in crisis. (Xian Xinghai)

People who possess virtues, wisdom, resourcefulness and knowledge are usually

those living in harsh conditions. The isolated officials and disfavoured

concubine’s son, out of their insecurity, usually possess in-depth thoughts and

understandings of many things. (Jin Shin I, Mencius)

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Inspiring Stories

Abdication of Yao for the Succession of the Virtuous Shun

“Yao’s abdication in favour of Shun” is a well-known story in Chinese history.

In ancient China, Emperor Yao, instead of leaving his throne to his own sons in the

line of succession, gave the virtuous Shun the mandate to rule for the good of his

people. What kind of virtues did Shun possess that caused Yao to make that

extraordinary decision?

Shun earned his good name for his exceptional filial piety ever since he was

young. At that time, Shun’s father was partial to Shun’s stepmother and her son Xiang.

The whole family treated Shun very badly. Shun, however, did not bear any grudge.

On the contrary, he reflected upon himself sincerely and lived genially in harmony

with his family. His filial piety therefore was well-known from near to far.

At his old age, Yao asked his feudal vassals and lords who they thought could

best succeed his throne. They all recommended Shun and said, “He is the son of a

blind man. His father is ignorant, his mother stubborn, his brother arrogant.

Nonetheless Shun gets along well with them. He is a good son and brother, and he

manages his home well.” The common understanding was that only those who could

manage their household properly were capable of ruling the country.

However, Shun was just a civilian. Yao dared not give him rashly the important

power to rule. He therefore first let his two daughters, E-huang and Nu-ying, marry

him and let his nine sons live close to him, so that he could observe Shun’s behaviour

through his relationship with these people. Shun’s virtues indeed gained the wives’

admiration and inspired Yao’s nine sons.

When Shun went to Lishan to cultivate, people of Lishan became very generous

and gave up their own lots. When Shun relocated to Leize to fish, residents of Leize

also became very generous and surrendered their own houses. When Shun moved to

the banks of the Yellow River to make pottery, no ceramic ware produced there since

then was of bad quality. Therefore, wherever Shun chose to live, the place would

become a village in a year, a town in two years, and a big city in three years.

Yao saw that not only could Shun manage his family very well, but he also

inspired his wives and people around him. He was therefore very impressed by

Shun. He appointed Shun as the Minister of Lands. He also entrusted him to promote

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to his people ethics, in particular the five virtues: righteousness of a father, kindness

of a mother, friendship of an elder brother, respect of a younger brother and filial

piety of a son. Such teachings were well-accepted by the people.

Yao then appointed Shun to take up important roles in various public services,

and the administration of the different services under Shun’s leadership became

efficient and orderly. Furthermore, Yao let Shun receive guests at the city gates of the

capital, and under Shun’s coordination, all the guests from the other places got along

harmoniously. All the feudal lords and important guests from distant lands held Shun

in high respect. To further test Shun’s ability, Yao made him go on errands to

dangerous places like jungles, moors and wild terrains. However, in such dismal areas,

Shun remained composed. Even when he encountered heavy downpour, severe

thunder and storms, Shun never got lost and always had his missions accomplished.

Finally, Yao was satisfied that Shun had high intelligence as well as good virtues for a

ruler and so he determined to abdicate and gave his throne to Shun.

The Legendary Virtuous Official

Wu Yin-zhi, alias Chu-mo, was a man from the town of Puyangjuan in the

Eastern Jin Dynasty. He was gentle and scholarly and was very well-educated in

history and literature. Throughout his life he maintained a very high moral standard

and was honest, pure-hearted and righteous. He was never greedy and never gained

wealth by improper means. He attained the honourable post of the Glorious Grand

Master and was considered by historians as the foremost virtuous government official

in the Jin Dynasty.

When Wu Yin-zhi was young, his family was poor and impoverished. Though

food was sometimes in want, he would never covet any food beyond his means. Even

with a life on a shoestring, he never had greed for ill-gotten gains.

Wu Yin-zhi was well-known for his filial piety. Out of admiration of his virtues,

the Officer of Rituals, Hang Kang-bai, appointed him to be a Military Secretary.

When his brother, Wu Tan-zhi, got implicated with a serious political issue and his

life might be at stake, Wu Yin-zhi went to see a senior military officer, Huan Wen. He

beseeched Huen to allow him shoulder the penalty of his brother with his own life so

that his brother could be spared. Huan Wen was deeply touched and released his

brother. Huan Wen had high regard for Wu Yin-zhi and promoted him to be the

Governor of Jinling.

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Internal Secretary, Xie Shi, appointed Wu Yin-zhi to be the Secretary to the

General. When Wu Yin-zhi’s daughter got married, Xie Shi knew well that Wu was

poor and that he had no means to pay for his daughter’s dowry. Xie Shi therefore gave

a special order that Wu Yin-zhi was to use the allocated kitchen fund to provide for

the daughter’s wedding. When the messenger bearing Xie Shi’s order arrived at Wu

Yin-zhi’s house, he found that the maid was on the way out to take Wu’s dog to sell

to get money for the dowry. Other than that, there was no money that Wu could spare

for the dowry.

Later Wu Yin-zhi was appointed to work at the central government. In there, he

was given important posts including Assistant Legal Minister, Principal of the

Imperial College, Attendant to the Emperor, Imperial Historian and Minister Against

Corruption. Even though he was in very high positions, he maintained his integrity

and led a very simple frugal life. In winter he did not have warm blankets in his house

for comfort. Once when his only clothes were washed and did not get dry in time, he

could only wrap some cotton wadding around his body to keep warm. After office

hours he still did daily chores like the poor people of his time. Even though he was a

senior government official, his wife still had to collect the dry branches and hay for

making fire herself. He gave all of his income to support the people in need in his

clan.

At that time, the city of Guangzhou and the southern part of China was a

mountainous costal region where there was rich underground reserve of rare and

precious stones and minerals. It was said that if someone could unearth a load of

treasures from the land, there would be enough to spend for his people for generations.

But swamps in the region gave out miasma, a contagious vapour and the ordinary

folks in the region lived in hardship. Nobody was willing to serve as an official in

that dangerous region. Even those officials sent there would only focus on taking

bribes for themselves and did not care about the livelihood of the people. The central

government wanted to carry out major reforms in the southern region of China and

therefore it sent Wu Yin-zhi to Guangzhou in the era of the Longan years to be the

Major General, the Governor of Guangzhou as well as the Lieutenant Colonel of

Pingyue.

About 20 miles from Guangzhou was a place called Shilmen where there was a

spring called the Spring of Greed. It was commonly believed that after drinking

from this spring, people would turn greedy. As Wu Yin-zhi arrived at Guangzhou, he

shared his thoughts with his relatives. He said, “The crucial factor is to have steadfast

adherence to moral principles. If a person cannot keep his heart pure, he will be

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greedy though he has never seen that spring. Upon arriving at this place, I understand

why people lose their integrity. It has nothing to do with the spring.” With this, Wu

Yin-zhi declared his determination to remain honest and upright.

In Guangzhou, Wu Yin-zhi resolved to stand firm on his principles. His daily

diet was inexpensive food like vegetables and salted fish. To avoid any chance of

people approaching him with bribes, he let the revenue office purchase his clothing,

bedding and daily necessities. Some people were skeptical that Wu was just making a

big show of his integrity but such criticism never bothered him. Once, an official gave

Wu some fish and he went to the length of removing all the bones in the fish. Wu

resented the obsequious attitude and he demoted the official as a penalty. After that,

officials in the region were cautious and exercised restraint. Bribery then ceased to be

an accepted norm of practice.

During Wu’s office, he brought important changes in Guangzhou. Under his

leadership the administration of the regional government was uncorrupt and ethical,

and the people lived in stability. In the first year of Yuanxing, the Emperor issued a

decree: “It is a precious moral achievement of a gentleman to be consistently virtuous

in his private life and have integrity during hardship. As Major General and Governor

of Guangzhou, Wu Yin-zhi has demonstrated in his deeds a standard of filial piety

and brotherly love that surpasses the norm of even a gentleman. He shares his

earnings with his clansmen who need help but lives such a simple life himself that

salted fish is his regular frugal meal. He lives in a land where people pursue material

desires but he has never lost his integrity and fallen into an extravagant lifestyle. He

could have illicit means to gain great wealth but his family does not even have extra

clothing for change. His insistence of a life with rigorous economy has changed the

extravagant life style of people in the southern part of our land. We thereby award

him by a promotion to the post of General as well as a prize of five hundred thousand

coins and ten thousand dous of crops.”

In the eighth year of Yixi, at an advanced age Wu Yin-zhi applied for retirement.

The Emperor approved by issuing a decree with elaborate awards. He was named

Glorious Grand Master with special honours. He was also awarded one hundred

thousand coins and three thousand dous of rice. After his death, he was conferred

posthumously as Glorious Grand Master of the First Rank and Advisor to the

Emperor.

Throughout his life Wu Yin-zhi practiced the virtues he believed in and led an

honest and simple life. He was repeatedly commended by the central government. He

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received great honours and awards from the Emperor and aristocrats. Honest people at

that time looked up to him. His two sons and his grandsons all inherited his legacy of

virtues. His virtues were exemplary to people of all ages.

Don’t Behave Like Hypocrites

"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them.

If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So when you give to

the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues

and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their

reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what

your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who

sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing

in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they

have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the

door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done

in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans,

for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them,

for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. "This, then, is how you

should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,

your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us

our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but

deliver us from the evil one. ' For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your

heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your

Father will not forgive your sins.

（Matthew 6:1-15）

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12. Knowledge

Knowledge, in a broad sense, is an understanding of things, principles or truth. It

is acquired through learning or observation. Knowledge related to work is the

acquainted skills in a certain field or profession. For mankind, knowledge is the state

of cognition attained by learning, experiencing or synthesizing.

God is the creator of all things in the universe. Everything on earth is from God,

and so are the human body, mind and soul. Through the study of physical sciences,

observations of the procreation of life, and the knowledge and skills of modern

technological inventions and development, God’s miraculous power and His wisdom

in creation are discovered.

The Biblical definition of ‘knowledge’ is ‘understanding’, ‘identification with’

and ‘affirmation’. ‘Knowing’ implies ‘realization’ and ‘cognition’. However, the

pursuit of knowledge needs to be complemented with the inculcation of virtues.

Otherwise, intelligent and knowledgeable people can do great harm to their

fellowmen and the world. The Bible reminds us that ‘knowledge puffs up while love

builds up’ (1 Corinthians 8:1).

The Bible also states explicitly that knowing God’s existence in the head is not

enough. Knowing God also implies believing in Him, following Him, establishing a

relationship with Him, as well as loving Him and accepting His love.

The Scripture

Knowledge Came from God

Exodus 31:3 …and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and

knowledge in all kinds of crafts.

Job 12:13 To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are

his.

Psalms 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools

despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 14:6 The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes

easily to the discerning.

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Knowledge is Given by God

Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come

knowledge and understanding.

Psalms 119:66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your

commands.

Isaiah 11:22 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom

and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the

Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

Jeremiah 3:15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead

you with knowledge and understanding.

Daniel

2:21 He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes

them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the

discerning.

All Creatures Proclaim the Glory of God

Psalms 19:2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display

knowledge.

Romans 1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God

has made it plain to them.

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his

eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being

understood from what has been made, so that men are without

excuse.

Those Who Fear God Receive Knowledge

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools

despise wisdom and discipline.

We Must Pursue the Knowledge of God

Proverbs 2:10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant

to your soul.

Proverbs 23:12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of

knowledge.

Isaiah 11:9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the

earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters

cover the sea.

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus

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Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

The Knowledge of God Gives Man Life

Ecclesiastes 7:12 Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of

knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its

possessor.

Isaiah 33:6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of

salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is

the key to this treasure.

Use Knowledge to Witness God

2 Corinthians 8:7 But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in

knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us--see

that you also excel in this grace of giving.

Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in

knowledge in the image of its Creator.

We Must Pursue Virtues Other Than Knowledge

1 Corinthians 8:1 Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

2 Peter 1:6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,

perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness.

Secular Knowledge Pursued without Following God is Worthless

Ecclesiastes 1:17-18 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also

of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing

after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the

more knowledge, the more grief.

1 Timothy 6:20-21 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away

from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely

called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing

have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.

We Must Pursue the Truth

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 14:7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.

From now on, you do know him and have seen him.

Quotes of Wisdom

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Possession of knowledge alone is not adequate to achieve excellence. One also

needs to crave for it and use it. (Aristotle)

It's possible to know a lot of facts but not know anything at all. (Richey James

Edwards)

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited,

whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving

birth to evolution. (Albert Einstein)

What is important in knowledge is not quantity, but quality. It is important to

know what knowledge is significant, what is less so, and what is trivial. (Leo

Tolstoy)

A life without books is like a life without sunlight; wisdom

without books is like a wingless bird (William Shakespeare)

All I know is that I know nothing (Socrates)

The purpose of education is to be reasonable. The purpose of being reasonable

is to be a person with integrity. (Pang Zhao-sun, Ching Dynasty)

Doubts are important in pursuing knowledge. Big doubts bring big

improvement. Small doubts bring small improvement. If you make doubts and

ask questions, you are in half-way to knowledge (Chen Xian-zhang)

Inspiring Stories

Curiosity Brings Knowledge

After receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics 1944, the American scientist, Isidor

Isaac Rabi, was asked by a journalist his secret of success. His answer was similar to

most Nobel Laureates: “First, I have to be thankful for my parents. They gave me a

good family education.”

”Back in my elementary school years, every day when I went home from school,

my mother would ask me if I had asked the teacher any questions.” Rabi then added.

The question Rabi’s mother asked every day is the question many Jewish

mothers often ask of their children.

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Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics 1946, Percy W. Bridgman, had an

inquiring mind since he was small. Bridgman’s father always reminded him that in

order to gain knowledge, one needed to keep asking “why?”. Not until one had no

further “why” questions to ask, one could not consider oneself having a good

understanding of the problem.

Arno Allan Penzias, the Jewish American scientist who won the Nobel Prize in

Physics 1978, wrote the words encouraging Chinese youths, “Scientists need to ask

the right questions.”

Jesus Made People See

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about

seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that

had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus

himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing

him.

He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"

They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him,

"Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened

there in these days?"

"What things?" he asked.

"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word

and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him

over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was

the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all

this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb

early this morning but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a

vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the

tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."

He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that

the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter

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his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them

what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he

were going farther. But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening;

the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and

began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and

he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning

within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

(Luke 24:13-32)

What the Majority Advocates might not be the Truth

Copernicus was the first astronomer who suggested that the earth revolves about

the sun. Since people at that time kept on believing that the earth was the centre of the

universe, Copernicus’s idea was queried and opposed.

Once, when Copernicus was observing the stars with a good friend of his on the

roof of his house, people on the street mocked at them, “Look! What an idiot! He said

the earth revolves about the sun. How ridiculous!”

The crowd pointed at Copernicus on the roof and laughed at him. Later, someone

shouted, “Hey! We have been standing on this street for such a long while, but the

ground didn’t move an inch. So how would the earth rotate?! Go home, you idiots on

the roof!”

Criticisms from the crowd did not stop. After a while, they even threw stones

towards the roof to drive Copernicus away.

Copernicus had been used to matters like these. ”People usually follow what the

majority says.” He told his friend, “They are too stubborn and often mistake the false

opinions for ‘truth’. Who are the real idiots?”

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13. Godliness

Godly people know God’s righteousness and love. They know that God loves the

world, but judges on sins. Godliness is adoring God and obeying Him, admitting our

weaknesses and wrongdoings, seeking fervently God’s strength, and striving for a

holy life. God makes judgment about all things. He inspects our actions, and knows

the secrets of our heart (Psalm 44:21; Romans 8:27). Therefore, godliness is not only

about the practice of a religious life, but also the continual renewal of the soul.

Godly people are neither perfect nor superior. That is because no matter how

hard we try to become holy, before the Almighty God, we are only humans with

limited ability who must rely on His grace and be humble. A man is godly when he

depends on God’s grace and strives to live according to His holiness.

The Scripture

Be holy because God is holy

1 Peter 1:14-16 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you

had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called

you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy,

because I am holy."

Be fearful of the holy God

Revelation 15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name?

For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship

before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

Live by the spirit and be sanctified

John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

1 Peter 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so

that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another

deeply, from the heart.

Galatians 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires

of the sinful nature.

Godly Training

1 Timothy 4:8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value

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for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the

life to come.

Godly people look after the others

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is

this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to

keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Be committed to pursue Godliness

2 Timothy 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus

will be persecuted.

Quotes of Wisdom

Do not abuse life. Live in today. Be reverent towards each day. Love it, respect it,

do not sully it, and do not hinder it from coming to flower. Love it even it is gray

and sad like today. Do not be anxious. See. It is winter now. Everything is asleep.

The good earth will awake again. You have only to be good and patient like the

earth. Be reverent. Wait. (Romain Rolland)

Everything I have said or done is in the hands of God. I commit myself to Him! I

certify to you that I would do or say nothing against the Christian faith. (Jehanne

la Pucelle)

We are oft to blame in this. 'Tis too much proved that with devotion's visage and

pious action we do sugar o'er the devil himself. (William Shakespeare, Hamlet)

I do not want merely to possess a faith; I want a faith that possesses me. (Charles

Kingsley)

The faithful do not speak many words, but their works are numerous. (The

Sentences of Sextus)

What reveals his faithfulness is neither the sword nor the flag, but the body and

mind he dedicated to his country. (Fallen Letter on an Unstable Nest, Xu

Dishan)

Therefore, before God, you should be respectful and godly; before the temple,

you should be modest and sober. (The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons,

Liu Xie)

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Inspiring Stories

A Memorial Offering Before God

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known

as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave

generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.

One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an

angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!"

Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked. The angel answered,

"Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.

(Acts 10:1-4)

Godliness Brings Blessings to Family and Descendants

Henry Parsons Crowell (1855-1943) was the founder of Quaker Oats Company.

When we go to the supermarket to buy oatmeal, we could find among various brands

on shelf a very familiar packaging, one with a silver haired elderly man in eighteenth

century costumes smiling at you – that is Crowell.

There is a famous quote from Crowell: “If the life I am living pleases God in

every aspect, then that will be my greatest happiness.”

His placing God as the focus of his life was influenced by his pious parents. His

father Henry Luther Crowell (1824-1864) was a very devout Christian as well as a

successful businessman in shoemaking. One day, while counting God’s blessings, he

suddenly told his wife seriously, “The wealth we gained is all from God’s blessings.

Too much money will easily corrupt a person. When people are wealthy, some of

them become idle and unproductive and then they dismiss God. Therefore we should

put God as the focus of our lives and teach our children to lead a godly life. We must

keep praying to God fervently.”

Later, Henry Luther Crowell was ill. When he learned that he was going to leave

this world soon, he thought about the issue of wealth disposition even more seriously.

He established a trust fund to provide for the basic needs of his wife and children. He

then donated the rest of the money to the church to support God’s ministries. He

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ensured that his children who were not mature enough then would not have the chance

to misuse the money.

The godly life that his parents led every day deeply influenced the young Henry

Parsons Crowell. The family read a passage from the Bible every evening before

dinner. Every night young Henry prayed with his mother before he slept. These gave

Crowell a good understanding of the faith of his family. Pilgrim's Progress was his

favourite book. His mother and the pastor of his church were his spiritual mentors.

His uncle (and his guardian) often gave him books on history and biographies. These

teachings and books all had significant influence on his life.

When Crowell was seventeen, he contracted tuberculosis and took a leave from

school under the doctor’s advice. It was hoped that his lung could get stronger and be

healed through hiking and mountaineering. After 7 years of absence from school,

Crowell indeed recovered and went home in the autumn of 1878. He started doing

business when he was twenty-four. When he was twenty-six, after several failures and

being deceived many times he prayed to God, “Dear Lord, I put my life in your hands.

Please teach me how to do business well, so that I can do big things for You and give

65% of my earnings to You.” After eleven years of learning through trials and errors,

he founded the Quaker Oats Company. He kept his promise to God and gave 60%

to70% of the profit to ministries, establishing evangelical organizations, supporting

the Moody Theological Seminary and independent evangelists. He also helped group

together people with aspiration to fight against organized crimes. In his business life

of more than forty years, he donated more than 70% as offerings each year.

In Crowell’s elderly years, his company’s business was still in its peaks. He

invited outside professionals to take over the operation of the company, making

Quaker Oats the world’s first global non-family enterprise in history. He said,

“Quaker Oats was established for the glory of God, therefore I will not put my name

on it.”

In 1927 when Crowell was seventy-two years old, he started to establish a trust

fund out of the wealth accumulated in his life – the Crowell Trust, designating every

penny in the Trust to be used in evangelical ministries.

Because he cared for God’s ministries, God blessed his business abundantly.

Godly parents bring blessings to their children. The children bring heavenly blessings

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to even more people because of their godliness.

Godly People Deny Themselves to Follow God’s Will

Robert Morrison was born in 1782 in Northumberland, England. His father came

from the northern part of Scotland.

Morrison’s parents were both devout Christians. However, he indulged himself

and almost took the evil path when he was young. In his early years he worked in his

uncle’s factory, making iron rings for clogs. He also joined a traveling theatre group

and visited many places. After he committed himself to Christ, Morrison’s life was

renewed. He read the Bible diligently, attended church gatherings, and visited those

who were sick. At 17, he had the chance to read two influential magazines at that time

on evangelism and he felt a strong inspiration urging him to join the evangelical

missions overseas. However, since he was the youngest of the eight siblings in his

family and his mother was very attached to him, he did not apply for admission to the

Hoxton Academy until after his mother’s death. The training he underwent in the

Academy prepared him to be a missionary.

In 1804, he applied to join The London Missionary Society and was readily

accepted. Morrison originally wanted to join a mission team to Africa. This team

however encountered danger on its way but Morrison survived. Several indications

afterwards revealed that God wanted him to go to China.

Morrison accepted the challenge to go to China. The next question was then how

to get there. At that time, Sino-British trades were monopolized by the East Indian

Company. For their own interest, the company would never let their boats bring

missionaries to China because China did not welcome missionaries or allow

foreigners to evangelize in the country. Morrison had to go to America first and from

there he took a boat to a neutral country before he embarked on the long trip to China.

He traveled for more than halfway around the world before reaching China and the

journey took him nine months. Morrison arrived at Guangzhou, a city in the southern

part of China, in September, 1807, or the 12th year of the Jiaqing Period during the

Ching Dynasty, when he was 25 years old.

Because of Morrison’s submissiveness to God, and his decision to devote his life

to serve God, the Gospel reached China, and we have the chance to know Christ,

accept Him and be saved.

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14. Friendship

We need friends for we cannot live in seclusion. True friendship enables us to

share our joy and sorrow, and experience together with people we trust life’s richness

and hardship. Through sharing with friends what we have, whether it is something

spiritual or tangible, we can experience extra joy and satisfaction. More importantly,

during difficult times of sorrow, frustration and deprivation, our friends give us the

encouragement and support we need to fight on. True friends also provide us with

exhortation and vigilance when we go astray.

However, we find our most precious friend in Jesus Christ who sacrificed his life

for us. Jesus is always with us: in our moments of happiness as well as our time of

sufferings and tears. To depict Jesus’ friendship for us, the Bible says, ‘Greater love

has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ (John 15:13) Jesus died

for us so that we may live and His sacrifice is definitely the noblest friendship man

could ever aspire to.

The Scripture

Friends are born for adversity

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

To lay down life for friends is the most precious friendship

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for

his friends.

Friends’ influences

Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of

fools suffers harm.

Living up to the truth

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith,

love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a

pure heart.

Wounds from a friend can be trusted

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Proverbs 27:6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies

kisses.

Friends sharpens each other

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Jesus Christ befriends those who follow his commandment

John 15:14-15 You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call

you servants, because a servant does not know his master's

business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that

I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Quotes of Wisdom

A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you. (Elbert

Hubbard)

Every man, however wise, needs the advice of some sagacious friend in the

affairs of life. (Titus Maccius Plautus)

The making of friends who are real friends is the best token we have of a man’s

success in life. (Edward Hale)

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how

to get along with people. (Theodore Roosevelt)

Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.

(Gerald R. Ford)

Friendship is both a source of pleasure and a component of good health. (Ralph

Waldo Emerson)

Collective life is a major driving force for a child’s transition from self to

socialization and is required for their normal psychological development. A child

who is deprived of normal development like this will probably have a tragic life.

(Tao Xingzhi)

There is nothing sadder in life than being separated; there is nothing happier in

life than starting a good friendship. (Nine Songs, Verses of Chu)

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Inspiring Stories

Friendship Shown by Kong Rong’s Courteous choice of Pears

Kong Zhou had seven sons. Kong Rong was the sixth. He was considerate,

gentle and sincere. Ever since he was small, he was able to show respect and care for

others. He got along well with his brothers and set a good example for brotherly love.

One day when he was 4 years old, a guest brought their family a big basket of

pears. Kong Zhou told Kong Rong that he could pick a pear first. Kong Rong

searched all over and finally selected the smallest one.

Seeing that, Kong Zhou was very surprised and asked him, “Son, why didn’t you

pick the largest one?” Kong Rong answered, “I am the smallest in the family. The

small one is good enough for me. I leave the big ones for my elder brothers. As the

younger one, I should give them respect.”

Kong Zhou nodded and praised him, “It is remarkable that you understand what

brotherly love is at such a young age.” When other people learnt about this, they all

considered Kong Rong an outstanding child. The story of “Kong Rong’s Courteous

choice of Pears” therefore became legendary.

Sacrificing One’s Life for a Friend

Xun Ju-ba was a man of great virtues in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Once he went

to visit an ailing friend who was living in the far northern part of China. The place

was invaded by the Xiongnu tribe from the north. Worrying that the life of Xun Ju-ba

would be in danger, his friend persuaded him to leave the city and return home as

soon as possible. Xun Ju-ba, however, refused to leave his sick friend behind in a city

under invasion.

When everyone in the city fled, Xun Ju-ba still stayed with his sick friend in the

city. The Xiongnu people came and they were surprised to find Xun. They asked him

why he did not flee for his life. Xun Ju-ba replied, “My good friend is sick. If you

need a take a life, you could take mine but please spare his!” The Xiongnu people

were very impressed for Xun Ju-ba had chosen not to forsake his friend in a time of

turmoil and offered to sacrifice his life for a good friend. The invaders regarded him

as a great virtuous man. Out of respect for Xun Ju-ba’s great love for his friend, they

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decided to withdraw and leave that city intact.

The Friendship between David and Jonathan

David stayed in the army for a while and became a close friend of Saul’s eldest

son, Jonathan. Jonathan loved David as himself. He took off the robe he was wearing

and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

He also made a covenant with him. Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it

successfully. He therefore pleased Saul very much.

The good words about David’s heroism were well-spread in Israel. Whichever

town he went, the women would come out to welcome him joyfully with music with

tambourines and lutes. They danced and they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and

David his tens of thousands.”

People in all the towns sang this song. It did not take long to reach Saul’s ears.

Saul started to be jealous and hate David. He became mentally disordered and uttered

senseless words.

David however was the right-hand man of Saul. With his merits second to none,

Saul made an exception in giving him command over a thousand men. David, in his

teens, became the youngest high-rank officer in the history of Israel.

David was gaining his fame as well as high popularity from the people. At the

same time, Saul’s jealousy on him kept growing. Only because of his respect for

Samuel and the public opinion, he dared not do David any harm explicitly. He

therefore set up a trap and let the Philistines to do the dirty work of killing his

opponent.

Although David was an annoyance to Saul, he developed a brotherly relationship

with Jonathan. Saul repeatedly warned Jonathan that David would be the main

obstacle of his succeeding to the throne. Jonathan, however, did not take it to heart.

There was a time when Saul sent someone to kill David. Jonathan knew the story and

quickly informed David to run away. He himself went back to the palace to speak well

for David, risking in provoking his father.

David led the king’s army and won all battles they fought. Saul was suddenly

agitated and tried to drive the guard’s spear into David. David eluded him, and the

spear was pinned to the wall. This time, David determined that he had no choice other

than fleeing. Saul subsequently had several other attempts to kill David.

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David told Jonathan, “What have I done? What wrong did I do before your father?

Why is he so zealously trying to take my life?”

Jonathan replied, “Never! My father confides in me before doing anything. Why

would he hide this from me?”

David said, “Perhaps your father knows that you and I are good friends and

purposefully hide it from you lest you would reveal to me.”

Jonathan asked David, “So what can I do for you now?”

David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival. All officers are to dine with

the king and discuss on the issues of the kingdom until the end of the third day. I am

not going to show up tomorrow. If your father asks about me, you reply that I went

back to Bethlehem with my family to make a sacrifice. Look how he reacts to this. If

he says it is good and let him do it, there is still chance for our reconciliation. If he

gets angry, it is an indication that he determines to put me to death. Please make an

oath with me: if your father shows anger, you must inform me by any means.”

They went into the field and made a covenant before God. Jonathan set up a way

of notification: “On the day after tomorrow, you stay at where you hid and wait by the

stone. I will shoot three arrows to the side of it as if shooting at a target. I will send a

boy to search for the arrows. If I tell him, ’The arrows are on this side of you, bring

them here’, that indicates everything is alright and you can come back. If I say, ‘The

arrows are beyond you’, you should quickly leave.

During the dinner, Saul saw that David’s place was empty. He therefore asked

Jonathan who stood by, “Why hasn’t David come to eat in the past two days?”

Jonathan conveyed what David told him to say to the king. Saul furiously said,

“You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with

the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? As

long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be

established. Now send and bring him to me, for he must die!”

Confused by what his father said, Jonathan answered back, “Why should he be

put to death?” Without hesitation, Saul hurled his spear at him. Without officers’

stopping, Jonathan could not escape. In the evening of the next day, Jonathan went to

the hiding place of David as promised and informed him in the way they agreed to flee

quickly.

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Jonathan and David therefore sadly parted in sobs.

(Adapted from 1 Samuel 18-20)

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15. Justice

God wants us ‘to act justly and to love mercy’ (Micah 6:8). The righteous God

hates any act that is sly, exploiting, oppressing and belligerent. People who believe in

Him should seek justice.

On a personal level, when we seek justice we should be righteous in both words

and deeds. We should root out any slyness, exploitation, oppression or aggression in

our hearts and in our relationship with others. Righteous behaviour shines like stars in

this warped and crooked generation (Philippians 2:15). While emphasizing personal

discipline, we should also seek and practice social justice. In order to build a just

society, we should take note and help eliminate all slyness, exploitation, oppression

and aggression in our community and society’. We should also care for those who

have been deceived, exploited, oppressed or persecuted, and work to ensure that they

would be treated justly and fairly.

The Scripture

People worship God for His righteousness and holiness

Revelation 15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your

name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and

worship before you, for your righteous acts have been

revealed."

God renews us with righteousness and justice

Psalms 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast

spirit within me.

The path of the righteous is bright

Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,

shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

To be righteous by having faith in Jesus

Romans 3:25-27 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through

faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice,

because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed

beforehand unpunished-- he did it to demonstrate his

justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who

justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is

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boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of

observing the law? No, but on that of faith

Romans 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a

righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is

written: "The righteous will live by faith."

The Bible trains us in righteousness

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,

rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

Quotes of Wisdom

To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or

measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity. (Douglas Adams)

The triumph of justice is the only peace. (Robert Green Ingersoll)

Without justice courage is weak. (Benjamin Franklin)

Let us have justice, and then we shall have enough liberty! (Joseph Joubert)

It is better to fight for justice than to rail at the ill. (Alfred , Lord Tennyson)

He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it.

(Plato)

In every incident about reforms recorded in history, something old was replaced

by something new mostly because of justice. (Halo Collection II, Lu Xun)

Inspiring Stories

Just Trials

During the Ming Dynasty, a man named Sheng Ji was a commandant of justice.

He had never made any judgment that was unjust to the innocent, nor had he delayed

processing any case to prolong the agony of the suspect.

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In ancient China, prisoners sentenced to death were executed in winter. On the

eve before the execution day, under the lamp light Sheng Ji and his wife wept over the

list of prisoners on the death row. His wife would remind him, “You should never

make unfair judgments in trials lest you too would be subject to retributive justice.”

Sheng Ji judged cases for 12 years. People all pointed out that he made just trials

without any prejudices.

The Value of Justice is Universal

The Nobel Peace Prize 1984 was awarded to the former South African Anglican

Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Ever since the 1970’s, Tutu has been a prominent leader of the racial

reconciliation movement in South Africa. He actively fought for the ending of

apartheid in South Africa and openly equated racism to Nazism. As a result, the South

African government twice invalidated his passport and forbade him to leave the

country. In 1980 Tutu was sentenced to imprisonment after he took part in a protest

rally against apartheid. Tutu denounced terrorism and criticized sternly the acts of

violence conducted by anti-apartheid organizations such as the African National

Congress of South Africa.

Tutu explicitly opposed apartheid both inside and outside South Africa. He advocated

economic sanctions against South Africa by other countries. Even though the

withdrawal of foreign investments would adversely affect the labour market of the

South African black people, Tutu conceded that such damage was “purposeful” and

necessary” to the advancement of racial equality of the country.

In 1985, when U.S.A. and U.K. (the two countries with the most investment

projects in South Africa) stopped all investments in South Africa, the withdrawal of

funds caused the value of Rand to plunge for more than 35%. Tutu seized the

opportunity to organize a peace march of 30,000 people on the streets in Cape Town.

As a result, the South Africa government was forced to launch a series of reforms.

Through the perseverance of Tutu and people who supported his vision, in 1994

apartheid finally came to an end in South Africa. Nelson Mandela was elected the first

African president in South Africa.

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After the end of the apartheid, Tutu stated that when the apartheid policy was in

force, under the direction of the state offices many people were forced to commit

crimes and participate in political and physical oppressions on South African blacks.

Nonetheless, as long as these people were totally honest and admitted their crimes,

Tutu declared that they should be granted an amnesty if they met the qualification for

amnesty.

Tutu believed that the importance of justice was universal. To heal the country a

dual approach should be adopted. On one hand, to re-establish social justice in South

Africa, investigations of atrocities committed by the former totalitarian regime (such

as the killing and persecution of dissidents and innocent people; secret takeover of

public assets by the party or individuals) should be carried out to identify people

responsible and to seek political rehabilitation of those wronged. On the other hand,

forgiveness should be emphasized to promote social reconciliation.

Tutu pointed out that it was important to re-establish social justice because

without justice, there would not be rule of law, democracy or fairness. However, it is

equally important to promote social reconciliation because without reconciliation,

there cannot be any hope of healing and integration in the society. Instead, the nation

would fall into a vicious cycle of enmity, confrontation and vengeance. In Tutu’s

words - “without truth, there can be no reconciliation” and “without forgiveness, there

can be no future”.

When Tutu was asked in a televised interview why a clergyman should become

so deeply involved in such political issues, he answered with a smile, “The only

secular thing is sin. All others belong to God. God wants us to help him with His tasks.

He calls us to proclaim His justice.”

God is Merciful and Righteous

Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and

their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as

the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing

before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the

righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will

you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous

people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the

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wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the

Judge of all the earth do right?"

The Lord said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare

the whole place for their sake."

Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the

Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is

five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find

forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."

Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For

the sake of forty, I will not do it."

Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty

can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."

Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if

only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy

it."

Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What

if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy

it."

When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham

returned home.

(Genesis 18:20-33)

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16. Truth

Social values in our modern society are confusing, ambiguous and ambivalent.

Many people question whether there is absolute truth in this world. However, if there

were no differentiation between right and wrong, there would be no moral guidelines

for human behavior and people would indulge in their own personal desires and act on

whims.

Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father

except through me.’ (John 14:6) Jesus has revealed to us the mystery and the truth of

life. Through Jesus Christ, we come to know God, His relationship with us and His

will on us. The truth we find in Jesus is essential to our understanding of the goals in

our lives, the purpose of our existence and the right attitude we should develop

towards life.

If men believe there is truth, yet ignore it, they are deceiving themselves and

refusing to distinguish between right or wrong. This is a distorted view of life. On the

contrary, we should seek truth with earnestness, humility and perseverance.

To us truth should be much more significant than some objective knowledge we

learn. Truth should be the basis on which we reflect our own lives, and the guidelines

for us to put into practice values we believe in. From truth we gain the fulfillment and

satisfaction in life.

The Scripture

Truth sanctifies people

John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Truth sets people free

John 8:31-32 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold

to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will

know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Pursue truth in the church and the bible

2 Timothy 3:15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures,

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which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith

in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 3:15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct

themselves in God's household, which is the church of the

living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

The Holy Spirit teaches us the truth

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will

send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind

you of everything I have said to you.

Love and truth

2 Timothy 13:6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Quotes of Wisdom

Live truth instead of professing it. (Elbert Hubbard)

Truth is what stands the test of experience. (Albert Einstein)

Truth is more of a stranger than fiction. (Mark Twain)

It would be difficult to dispel ignorance unless there is freedom to pursue the

truth unfettered by fear. (Aung San Suu Kyi)

Neither believe nor reject anything, because any other person has rejected of

believed it. Heaven has given you a mind for judging truth and error, Use it.

(Thomas Jefferson)

Inspiring Stories

Newton’s Search for Truth in His Faith

The story of Isaac Newton (1643－1727) discovering the law of gravity through

his observation of apples falling down from the trees is very well-known.

Newton entered Cambridge University when he was 18. He became a Cambridge

professor when he was 27. He was a famous British physicist, mathematician and

astronomer. He discovered the law of gravity and the three laws of motion and set the

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foundation for modern mechanics. The Principia, published in 1678, was his magnum

opus and the cornerstone of modern science. It gave detailed account of principles of

mechanics, tides and motion of planets. It also extrapolated the revolutions in the

Solar System.

Newton was also a devout Christian. He who received high acclaim with his

Principia reiterated that his book was only a kind of phenomenological description

and that he never dared to claim an understanding of the true meaning of God’s

creation of the universe. Newton wrote in his book: “This most beautiful system of

the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an

intelligent Being …. As a blind man has no idea of colours so we have no idea of the

manner by which the all-wise God preserves and understands all things.”

As he summarized the pattern of the progress of science, Newton suggested that

the rational perceiving ability of mankind was limited and could not be inclusive of all

experiences. He once said, “What is there in places almost empty of Matter, and

whence is it that the Sun and Planets gravitate towards one another, without dense

Matter between them? Whence is it that Nature doth nothing in vain; and whence

arises all that Order and Beauty which we see in the World? Was the eye of an animal

contrived without skill in optics? Is there not a Creator in the universe? Although

science does not enable us to understand immediately the origin of everything, all

these guide us to come before the God of the universe.”

Apart from his excellent achievement in science, Newton’s knowledge and

understanding of the books of Daniel and Revelations was at a level that shocked

many scholars in theology. In his death bed, Newton said humbly, “The greatness of

God made me feel I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself

now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the

great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

The Courage of Holding on to Truth

When Albert Einstein first published his Theory of Relativity, it was said that

only 12 people in the whole world agreed with him, even though thereafter have all

been based on Relativity, revealing how influential the Theory is.

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Many people at that time were skeptical about the theory that we now considered

truth. A woman once asked Einstein directly if he believed the Theory of Relativity he

proposed was true.

Without hesitation, Einstein replied, “Of course I believe it is true. However, it

might not be proved until a hundred years from now.”

Puzzled, the woman asked, “What will happen when that day comes?”

Einstein grinned and said, “On that day, if I am proved to be correct, the

Germans will say I am a German while the French will say I am a Jew. However, if

were proved to be wrong, the Germans would say I am a Jew while the French would

say I am a German.”

Job Held on to Truth in the Time of Adversity

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was

blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three

daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred

yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was

the greatest man among all the people of the East. His sons used to take turns holding

feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with

them.

When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them

purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them,

thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was

Job's regular custom.

One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also

came with them. The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan

answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in

it." Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no

one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns

evil."

"Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. "Have you not put a hedge

around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of

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his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out

your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on

the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the

LORD.

(Job 1:1-12)

All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and

ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the

LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen

thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand

donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he

named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the

land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted

them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty

years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so he died,

old and full of years.

(Job 42:11-17)

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17. Humility

As we come before the omniscient Almighty God, or face the boundless sea of

knowledge, we can only humble ourselves. Being humble is not backing down or

giving in, but sincerely accepting our limitation and cheerfully moving forward to

overcome our limitation through learning.

As Paul said, ‘… in humility value others above yourselves’ (Philippians 2:3),

we need the same humble attitude in our relation with other people. With the able and

learned, we definitely have to be modest. With the weak, or the less able and

knowledgeable, we also need to humble ourselves. Humility is recognizing that even

if we excel in many ways, we can still learn new knowledge and skills from others.

All those people we encounter, young or old, can bring us new inspiration and benefit

us if we are willing to learn from them with humility.

The Scripture

Be humble before the Lord

Isaiah 57:15 For this is what the high and lofty One says-- he who

lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and

holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly

in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive

the heart of the contrite.

Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do

what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility;

perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD's

anger.

Jesus is our model of humility

Philippians 2:6-8 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality

with God something to be grasped, but made himself

nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made

in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a

man, he humbled himself and became obedient to

death-- even death on a cross!

Not be proud and haughty

Psalms 131:1 My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not

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haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or

things too wonderful for me.

Proverbs 27:2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;

someone else, and not your own lips.

Consider others in humility

Romans 12:10,16 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one

another above yourselves.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one

another above yourselves.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but

in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Quotes of Wisdom

Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is

self-given. Be careful. (John Wooden)

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.

(Bill Gates)

Losing is a learning experience. It teaches you humility. It teaches you to work

harder. It’s also a powerful motivator. (Yogi Berra)

Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true

greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength.

(Douglas MacArthur, General MacArthur’s Prayer for His Son)

We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility. (Rabindranath

Tagore)

Complacency incurs losses; humility brings benefits. (Plans of Yu the Great,

Book of Documents)

Humility and self-discipline are the basis of pursuing a virtuous life. (Fang

Xiaoru)

Inspiring Stories

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Experience and Knowledge are not Always Reliable

Once, a man needs to go to a meeting in a firm in Shatin. The staff in the firm

asked him if he needed driving directions. The man used to work in Shatin and felt

very confident in finding his way in the area. He therefore replied, “No, thanks. I can

drive in Shatin even with one of my eyes closed. I can never get lost in Shatin!” He

thought that the staff should have known better than to think he needed any help.

On the day of the meeting, he drove to the area and was surprised to see that

there were great changes in the streets and buildings. It was not the Shatin he used to

know. From street to street, he drove along, circling round and round, and just could

not find his destination. However, he was too embarrassed to call and ask for direction

from the staff in the firm after his arrogant refusal of any assistance.

The time of the meeting was approaching. If he still could not find his way, he

would definitely be late. Finally he had to humble himself and call the staff in the firm

for directions. Not until then, did he realize that he had been too arrogant and

self-confident.

Humility after Understanding One’s Identity and Role

Hudson Taylor was a famous evangelist. Once when he went out for evangelism,

the host of the evangelical meeting introduced him as an “honourable guest”. When

Hudson Taylor stepped up on the podium, he said with a smile, “I am not an

honourable guest, but a servant of the honourable Lord.” Hudson Taylor was a very

humble man and the Lord entrusted him with work of great responsibility.”

Jesus Washed His Disciples’ Feet

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him

to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world,

he now showed them the full extent of his love.

The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas

Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things

under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got

up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

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After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying

them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said

to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will

understand.

”“No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."

Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head

as well!"

Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his

whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."

For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not

everyone was clean.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his

place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me

'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and

Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set

you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no

servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent

him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

(John 13:1-17)

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18. Walking with God

The Bible sometimes describes our relationship with God as followers and guide:

God guides, we follow. Indeed, sometimes God is the leader: He decides the course of

our life and he requires us to submit and follow. However, the Bible also reminds us

that we should ‘walk with God’. Micah 6:8 says, ‘He has shown you, O mortal, what

is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and

to walk humbly with your God.’

When God gives us the privilege to walk with Him, implicitly He is also giving

us the privilege to share with Him ‘intimacy, communication, joint participation,

mutual affection and responsibility’. God gives us the wisdom as well as the freedom

to deal with different situations in life. Although God has His plan, He is never

manipulative and He allows us to make our own choices and decisions, including

major and minor decisions. In addition, God gives us the free will to set our own goals.

However, at the same time He asks us to be humble and never make decisions

arbitrarily and arrogantly. Those who walk with God should actively seek God’s will,

strive to understand God’s truth, and make the fulfillment of God’s purpose their goal

of life.

God hopes that we can understand His will and He will support and take care of

us. As Psalm 23 points out, ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear

no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.’ (Psalm 23:4)

The Scripture

God guides our way in his righteousness

Proverbs 6:22-23 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they

will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.

For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and

the corrections of discipline are the way to life,

Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines

his steps.

Psalms 25:4-5 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me

in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and

my hope is in you all day long.

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Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your

own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he

will make your paths straight.

Psalms 73:24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take

me into glory.

Live by God’s will

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be

transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be

able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing

and perfect will.

Work with God

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's

building.

Quotes of Wisdom

God intends the Christian life to be a life of joy - not drudgery. The idea that

holiness is associated with a dour disposition is a caricature of the worst sort. In

fact, just the opposite is true. Only those who walk in holiness experience true

joy. (Jerry Bridges)

God wants us to walk in obedience - not victory. Obedience is oriented toward

God; victory is oriented toward self. This may seem to be merely splitting hairs

over semantics, but there is a subtle, self-centered attitude at the root of many of

our difficulties with sin. Until we face this attitude and deal with it, we will not

consistently walk in holiness. (Jerry Bridges)

God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies. (J. Hudson Taylor)

If I am not (in the state of grace), may God put me there; and if I am, may God

so keep me. (Joan of Arc)

I fear nothing, for God is with me. (Joan of Arc)

I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a

fingerprint –– and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and

then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also

allowing the energy of the universe to lead you. (Oprah Winfrey)

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The birth and death, wealth and poverty of a person are all destined. (Yan Hui,

Analects of Confucius)

Since everything is predestined, we might just as well give it a try and accept

whatever results given. (The Gallant Maid)

Inspiring Stories

Walking with God if You Love Him

Brother Lawrence was a living example of a life walking with God.

His mindset and the quality of his life could be revealed in his words. His words

came from God’s wisdom and power and were therefore filled with insights. He

sought God with diligence and sincerity and abandoned any ungodly thoughts.

Brother Lawrence sought God with fervour and determination. In faith he

nurtured his soul and walked with the Lord. In all ways he could he loved God and

glorified Him. In everything he did, he sought God’s presence. For anything he did

well, he gave thanks to God. Otherwise, he asked for His forgiveness.

He said, “We look for ways and reasons to love the Lord but eventually became

confused because of ignorance. In seeking God’s presence, we unwittingly bring

ourselves unnecessary anxiety and confusion. But in fact loving God is simple. In or

daily life we only have to do everything out of our love to God and offer our work to

God. We talk to Him with our heart and enjoy His presence with us. It will suffice if

we come to God simply as who we truly are.”

He also said, “I am no longer entangled by the issues of virtues and salvation. For

my love for Him, I offer myself as a sacrifice. I totally reject everything He doesn’t

like. In the end, my only vocation is to live as if there were only me and my Lord in

this world.”

The witness of Brother Lawrence helps us realize that as believers we are not to

ask God for wisdom in making our own decisions but let God make the decisions for

us, inviting Him to take charge of our lives in every aspect, every task, every deed and

every thought, and this is the concrete manifestation of walking with God.

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Noah walked with God

This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the

people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and

Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.

God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had

corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for

the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both

them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and

coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450

feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within

18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and

upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the

heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.

But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark--you and your

sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of

all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind

of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the

ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to

be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

(Genesis 6:9-22)

A Set of Footprints

An old man looked back on his life. He had never questioned about God’s

presence and for this he was thankful.

One night, he dreamed he was on the beach. Looking back on the footprints

he had made, he found that in the beginning there were two sets, but in the end

there was only one set left. He therefore asked the Lord, “Lord, why is there only

my set of footprints in the latter half of the journey? Why did you forsake me?

Where were you during the most trying periods of my life?”

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The Lord replied, “Did I really forsake you? Look closely at that set of

footprints!”

The old man therefore examined the footprints and found that they were

larger than his feet.

The Lord said, “My child, in your most difficult time, it was me who carried

you through.”

The old man was so touched that bursting into tears he gave his thanks.

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19. Hope

Hope is not merely wishful expectations for the future, but anticipation built on

faith of what will happen in the future. Hope gives us the strength and confidence to

address the difficulties and challenges that we face in the present with a positive

outlook. For Christians, hope is based on God’s promises and His faithfulness.

God has never promised His believers that things will always go the way they

want. Christians, like others, have to face all kinds of difficulties and challenges.

However, God has promised us His presence and His peace (Philippians 4:9).

Therefore we can firmly believe that God has His good will and plan for us even in

our desperate situations, for ‘… in all things God works for the good of those who

love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.’(Romans 8:28) He is

always with us and he will walk with us through our ordeals. Therefore, at times of

difficulties, it is hope which gives Christians peace, optimism and positive attitudes.

More importantly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals God’s great power. Our

Lord has triumphed over evil and death. Through the victory of Jesus darkness will

soon come to an end and day and light will prevail.

The Scripture

There is Hope in God

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as

you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by

the power of the Holy Spirit.

1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living

hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the

dead.

Hope for the future glory

Romans 8:17-18 Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God

and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his

sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I

consider that our present sufferings are not worth

comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I

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have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the

crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous

Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me,

but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Truth gives hope

Colossians 4:5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the

most of every opportunity.

Hope is built upon God’s faithfulness and promises

Psalms 31:24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

Romans 8:24-25 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is

no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But

if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it

patiently.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he

who promised is faithful.

2 Corinthians 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they

are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is

spoken by us to the glory of God.

Quotes of Wisdom

Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit.

We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each

of us. (Wilma Rudolph)

Do not think of today’s failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You

have set yourself a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you

will find joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to

attain something beautiful is ever lost. (Helen Adams Keller)

The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind.

Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small

amount of heat. (Napoleon Hill)

High expectations are the key to everything. (Sam Walton)

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Hope is a vigorous principle; it sets the head and heart to work, and animates a

man to do his utmost. It makes a seeming impossibility give way. (Jeremy

Collier)

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.

(Martin Luther King)

Regarding hope, it can never be denied because it is something depending on the

future. (Lu Xun)

With determination, anything can be achieved. (The History of the Later Han

Dynasty, Fan Ye)

Inspiring Stories

The Sleeping Bean

On Easter Day, each member in the church congregation was given a bean

engraved with three words: “God is Love”. Recently, when I purchased a book as a

gift to my friend in a bookstore, they also gave me a bean engraved “Hope Always”.

At that time, I thought they were just like other free gifts and souvenirs that we

receive from time to time.

I put the beans aside in a drawer in my office and paid no attention to them ever

since. Last week, I was confirmed of my being laid off and had to take all my

belongings and leave. I found the beans and discovered, to my surprise, that they had

quietly germinated. Inside a drawer with no sunshine, no water, no soil, no fertilizer,

they indeed silently grew a leg out. They were, in fact, not just a souvenir, but

something with vitality!

I was so excited. As I arrived home, I used a glass bottle as the pot, put in the

beans, added some water, and put the bottle by the window. The next day, I saw the

beans swelling. Today, they become even bigger, the legs even longer. The

engravings “God is Love” and “Hope Always” are becoming bigger as well. By now

the beans have been in the bottle for one week. The speed of their growth is really

astounding. The time inside my drawer was in fact their time of resting. The beans

were taking their little nap and storing up energy for what was to come. When

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opportunities came, the power of growth within them exploded and now their vitality

is in full force!

Then it comes to my mind the saying, “Rest.... for the sake of going even further.” I

notice the similarity in my present situation of being unemployed. I do not have to see

myself negatively as an unproductive idler. From another point of view, this could be

a valuable rest period in my career path, so that I can pause, reflect, plan, rest, in order

to equip myself, hone my strength and get ready for future challenges. I am just a

sleeping bean.

What the Lord actually wants to give me and tell me is that “God is love” and

“hope always”. Thank you Lord!

Hope that Surpasses Pain and Sickness

Fai has suffered from physical disabilities since he was small. Due to cerebral

palsy he has difficulty walking and has to use a wheelchair. He can neither write nor

pick things up with his hands. He has speech impairment and cannot enunciate with

clarity. He has to rely on his relatively more agile head. With a special helmet device

Fai works with a stick on the helmet to control the computer to write, read the Bible

and other books and listen to music and perform other tasks.

Wearing the helmet device often causes his neck great stress and severe pain and

makes him dizzy. Despite all his sufferings, Fai has never complained, nor has he

given up his passion and love for life. This is because he knows that since God gave

him his physical constraints, He will definitely give him sufficient grace to face the

difficulties and challenges in life. The numerous hardships he undergoes make him

rely more strongly on God, experience more fully God’s presence and guidance as

well as the peace and joy in Him.

He has a passion for poetry writing and from his daily life he draws inspiration

for his poems. He hopes that one day he will have the opportunity to publish his

collection of poems. Through his poems he will give his readers encouragement and

help them appreciate how invaluably precious are the lives created by God. His

passion for life touches the hearts of people and inspires them to treasure life and

understand what a blessing it is being alive.

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Ezekiel Saw Hope in the Dry Bones

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the

Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and

forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that

were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign

Lord, you alone know."

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear

the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will

make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and

make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you

will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.' "

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a

noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and

tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in

them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it,

'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and

breathe into these slain, that they may live.' "

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life

and stood up on their feet - a vast army.

Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.

They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore

prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I am

going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the

land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your

graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I

will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and

I have done it, declares the Lord.' "

(Ezekiel 37:1-14)

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20. Thankfulness

God asks us to ‘give thanks in all circumstances’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Does

‘all circumstances’ include the undesirable ones? Yes! A thankful person sees God’s

grace and blessing in all situations, whether favourable or unfavourable. Thankful

people take a positive perspective of what they encounter, considering the difficulties

they go through as part of God’s training programme, and turning obstructing forces

into impetus to move forward. Thankfulness brings about joy and peace. Sometimes

people tend to take God’s grace for granted, or forget the grace they once received.

But those who love God always count their blessings.

Thankfulness and optimism have many aspects in common, and both draw

people’s attention to the positive perspectives. Looking at a glass half filled with

water, a thankful and optimistic person sees the ‘full half’, not the ‘empty half’; and

he would not regret that ‘there’s still another half to be filled.’ Thankfulness and

optimism, however, are not identical. Thankfulness helps people see not only the

positive sides of matters, but also the grace giver behind – God. Other than seeing the

half-filled glass of water, a thankful person also sees the gracious God – the giver of

this half glass of water.

The Scripture

Giving thanks is to follow God’s will

1 Thessalonians

5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in

all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in

Christ Jesus.

Psalms 50:14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to

the Most High,

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and

thankful.

The loving God provides everything

1 Timothy 6:7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can

take nothing out of it.

Psalms 42:8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song

is with me-- a prayer to the God of my life.

God blesses everyone

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Matthew 5:45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He

causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and

sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

We should call on the name of the Lord

Psalms 116:12-13 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to

me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the

name of the LORD.

Quotes of Wisdom

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving

it. (William Arthur Ward)

When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears. (Anthony

Robbins)

The most beautiful scene occurs when we think of our mothers. (Guy de

Maupassant)

Bees sip honey from flowers and hum their thanks when they leave. The gaudy

butterfly is sure that the flowers should thank him. (Robindronath Thakure)

I thank God for my handicaps, for, through them, I have found myself, my work,

and my God. (Helen Adams Keller)

Be thankful for what you have. You'll end up having more. If you concentrate on

what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. (Oprah Winfrey)

Be thankful upon receiving favours and ponder on what to do in return. (Letter to

the Honourable Ouyang, Zeng Gong)

Think of the kindness of the tree while picking its fruit; meditate on the

generosity of the stream while drinking its water. (Song of Requisition, Yu Xin)

Inspiring Stories

Be Thankful Even if the Cup is Only Half-filled

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To most people, life is a half-filled cup of coffee. Most people complain that it is

‘only’ half-filled. Those who are thankful, however, see that it is ‘still’ half-filled. In

addition to their thankfulness for that, they will add milk and sugar as well as music

and sunshine and then enjoy the coffee and the good time it brings.

The Reward of Thankfulness

In a materially impoverished city, there lived a kind baker. Every time he saw

children from poor families ask for food, he would bring out a basket of bread to let

each child have a piece. Those hungry children would rush to the basket and fight for

the largest piece. After getting the bread, they would go home in satisfaction. None of

them, however, would give thanks to this kind baker.

Eva was the only exception. She never fought with other kids but would stand at

a distance and wait. After the other children left, she would then pick up what was left

which was usually the smallest piece of bread. She would thank the baker and kiss his

hand before she went home.

When once more the baker brought out the basket filled with bread before the

children, the kids again fought over the bread. This time the shy miserable Eva got a

piece only half the size of what she usually got.

After she went home, her mother cut the bread. A glittering silver coin dropped

on the floor with a jingle.

The honest mother said, “Take the money back to the baker immediately. It must

have gotten into the dough accidentally. Go quickly, Eva! Go!”

As Eva came to the baker with the coin, he kindly smiled and said, “No! It was

no accident. The coin was put there in the bread by me as a reward to you. I hope you

could keep being thankful. Now you may go home at ease!”

With a thankful heart, Eva went home and shared the money she received with

her family.

“Where Are the Other Nine?”

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Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria

and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They

stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they

went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud

voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan. Jesus

asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to

return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and

go; your faith has made you well."

(Luke 17:11-19)