One week prior to thanksgiving, our pastor encouraged us to think back the past year and give thanks to God’s work in our lives. I have thought about it and decided to highlight three major things here.
Protection for His church In May, a group of policemen came to our church and took our pastor for interrogation. Given a foreign pastor is not allowed to preach in China according to the new religious regulation, we were told to dismiss the church and our pastor was forbidden to preach. All of a sudden, the whole church was exposed to a fragile situation. On the one hand, the original place was not safe to meet whilst the new place was not fixed yet. Meanwhile, for safety reason, our pastor had to leave Beijing as soon as possible. Hence the church needed to adapt to a new environment without the direct leading of our pastor. On the other hand, we were concerned that he might be restricted to enter China in the future. However, God is faithful and able to protect His church! After continuous prayer, we moved into a new place and met as a church again the following Friday. We all praised and gave glory to God for preparing a place for His church is such a short time! Moreover, our faith was refreshed for we truly experienced that God is with His church and is a shelter to those who loves Him. At the same time, our leadership team, made up of three brothers, grew mature and strong, for they were given more chances to share God’s Word while our pastor was gone. Thank God for His protection for our church! The unwanted “accident” turned into a blessing for our church in the end. No wonder Paul recommends to give thanks in all circumstances.
Opportunities to serve In my church life, I thank God for giving me the chance to serve in the past year. Through serving others, I understand more and more that God works all things together for those who love Him.
Earlier this year, I joined a support group to pick up Enying, who is eighty-eight years old and stays in a nursing home, to church on Sunday morning. Despite that I needed to wake up earlier and deal with some unreliable Didi (the equivalent of Uber) drivers, I was greatly blessed by the experience of getting time alone with Enying. “God be with you!” She would say so every time I called her. She said it in a loud voice since she is half deaf. I have heard it from different people for many times. However, it always sounds genuine and weighty when hearing it from Enying. I felt the love of God and was touched through Enying’s simple but steadfast words.
In the beginning, I thought I was serving Engying, but it turns out that I’m the one who was ministered by Enying. No wonder Jesus says that it’s more blessed to give than to receive. Growth in God’s Word
Last year about this time, I was making New Year plan for 2019. One of the major goals I want to achieve was to be more familiar with the Word of God. I resolved to read the Old Testament once and the New Testament three times, both in English and Chinese, all year through.
At the same time, I kept attending two Bible study classes each week, which helped me to delve into verse details and comprehend the truth behind. With frequent Bible reading and detailed study, I could find Bible verses quicker than before. And when things get tough, I could always draw strength from God’s Word. More importantly, my mindset was changed to see things through His viewpoint instead of mine.
Reading the Bible is no longer “doing God a favour”, but the daily bread of my spiritual life. For “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”(Matthew chapter 4, verse 4)
Thanks be to God for a fruitful 2019! May we all give thanks to God for the amazing work He has done in our life!
Cindy Cheng was born and brought up in central China. Cindy enjoys travelling and reading history books. Cindy is inspired by talking with local people when travelling abroad experiencing different parts of the world, as well as herself. Cindy’s previous articles may be found at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/cindy-cheng.html