theclarionVoluMe 2 iSSue 2 | WinTer 2008 liVinG hoPe bible ChurCh neWSleTTer

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SING TO THE LORD, BLESS HIS NAME; PROCLAIM GOOD TIDINGS OF HIS SALVATION FROM DAY TO DAY. PSALM 96:2SING TO THE LORD, BLESS HIS NAME; PROCLAIM GOOD TIDINGS OF HIS SALVATION FROM DAY TO DAY. PSALM 96:2

AFter a lonG Year oF political ads, debates and elections, it is clear that there is change coming to our government in 2009. With this

change, however, comes the reminder that your duty as a Christian to pray for your political leaders remains the same. In 1 Timothy 2:1-3, Paul urges the church to be in constant prayer for all people, especially the leaders of government, i.e. “kings and all who are in high posi-tions.” From this passage, we see three ways you as a Christian should pray for your leaders.

1. Prayer of thankfulness – the beginning of this passage tells us we should be thankful for those who God has placed in the leadership of

our country (no matter what you think of them personally). 1 Peter 2:14 states God has established rulers to enforce justice and commend those

who do good. Th erefore you should thank God specifi cally for them and His use of them for your good and His glory.

2. Prayer for guidance – since these leaders are appointed by God to uphold justice and affi rm good, it is right for you to pray the Lord gives them guidance in fulfi lling this duty. Whether one is running the local

school board or running the country, we can all recognize that God’s guid-ance is needed for them to make both wise and sensible decisions.

3. Prayer for salvation – above wisdom and guidance is the need for our political leaders to be saved! Paul notes in verse 4 that praying for our leaders is pleasing in the sight of God who “desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth.” Consider how diff erent our country would be if all of our leaders submitted to the authority of Scripture and the Lordship of Christ! Of all the decisions our leaders need to get right, this is the most important.

No matter where your political allegiances lie, let me encourage you to spend time in prayer for the leaders of our country; in this the Lord is pleased.

“We cannot all be leaders, but we can all be pleaders.” – C.H. Spurgeon

Praying for Our Leaders“UrGe that suPPlications, PraYers, intercessions, and thanKsGiVinGs Be Made For all

PeoPle, For KinGs and all Who are in hiGh Positions … this is Good, and it is PleasinG in the siGht oF God our SaVior.”

– 1 TiMothY 2:1-3

JaMES BaRBOULEtOS | PAStor

understanding MeeknessJOhaNNa LEE | contriBUtinG WritEr

P A S T O R ’ S C O R N E R

}The Clarion 2}

loving God’s Word

OFten, MeeKness is seen as a spiritless or docile characteristic. However we learn from the Bible that it

isn’t really a matter of being spineless or unmotivated. God states in Isaiah 55:9 that His ways are higher than our ways and in 1 Corinthians 1:27 that He chooses “the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” According to Numbers 12:3, Moses was the meekest man, yet we’ll fi nd that he was anything but weak.

During the exodus, God gave Moses a great deal of power to help free the people of Israel, leading them out of Egypt after the twelve plagues and the miraculous parting of the Red Sea. When the Israelites once again angered God with their disobedience in Numbers 14, He off ered to wipe out the entire nation and start anew with Moses. Agreeing to God’s off er meant that Moses would have been made the patriarch of a chosen nation to replace the sinful Israelites. Instead, he begged God to have mercy on his countrymen even though they constantly challenged Moses, built an idol when he turned his back and were always discontent and ungrateful. He did not owe the Israelites anything, yet he remembered the promise made to Abraham by God. He understood that it was not his position to replace his forefather’s role. By refusing God’s off er and begging for the nation’s forgiveness, he did what pleased God, consequently looking out for God’s glory instead of his own.

In Numbers 12, we fi nd another example of Moses’ meekness when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses’ authority. God’s anger burned against them because of their ignorance of God’s relationship with Moses, and He struck Miriam with leprosy. Moses did not seek to get back at her or even gloat. In fact, he immediately prayed for God to heal her instead. Even when he was wronged by his own family and rightly vindicated by God, Moses chose forgiveness and mercy.

Essentially, meekness is a controlled power that is both humble and long suff ering. Even when Moses’ siblings insulted him, he didn’t return the insult. Likewise, when we are persecuted, we can rejoice in God’s promise. Despite our ability to retaliate and “prove ourselves,” the aptitude and power that we have were given by God and therefore should be used fi rst for His glory, not for the sake of vengeance or selfi sh desires.

Essentially, meekness is a controlled power that is both humble and long suff ering.

PsalM 119 is a classic psalm that expresses the author’s complete devotion to and love of the Word of God. Th is

ought to be our desire as well because we come to a greater love for God through knowing His Word.

I desire to teach the Word of God so that God’s people will be built up in the faith, and one of our goals is to improve our adult and student Sunday school classes. Recently, about 38 adults and 15 students (HS & College) took a formal Bible knowledge test designed by the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC). Th e test comprised of 150 multiple-choice questions (55% OT and 45% NT related) which students had 45 minutes to complete. In comparison to the median score (defi ned as 50% above and 50% below) of students entering in Bible colleges, the results were as indicated in Figure 1.

Of course, this is not a measure of godliness, giftedness or theological convictions. However, having a Biblically based theology, embracing a Christian worldview and knowing God all begin with knowing His Word. Knowing His word gives us wisdom in decision making, guidance in parenting, convictions in doing what is right, ethics in the workplace, development of Christian character and ultimately leads us to salvation and godliness. Th e question for us all is, “How much do we know and truly love the Word of God?” Do we say, “I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love” (Ps. 119:47), or “Th e law of Your mouth is better to me, Th an thousands of gold and silver pieces” (Ps. 119:27), or “Your testimonies are wonderful; Th erefore my soul observes them” (Ps. 119:129)?

If you have not been reading or studying the Word of God, will you commit to doing so in this new year ( Josh. 1:8)? Will you commit to teaching your children and family God’s Word (Dt. 6:7)?

JOE LUM | PAStora

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FIGURE 1

The Clarion3} The Clarion}We are liVinG in a changing world. Th e latest news

is at the tip of our fi ngers by way of the Internet. Vision can easily be corrected with a short fi fteen-minute laser procedure. E-mail has replaced the handwritten letter as the most popular form of communication. It is very hard to fi nd anything in our culture that has not changed within the past few years. But even with our world’s embrace of change, some things will remain unchanged – our traditions. When I think of traditions, my mind jumps to the holidays, times in which traditions are integral. So, with one of the biggest holidays rapidly approaching, I went out into our church to fi nd out some of the Christmas traditions within our church family.

changing world. Th e latest news is at the tip of our fi ngers by way of the Internet.

Vision can easily be corrected with a short fi fteen-minute laser procedure. E-mail has replaced the handwritten letter

hard to fi nd anything in our culture that has not changed

tIM MaR | cLArion StAff

aLYSSa FUNg | contriBUtinG WritEr

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they

will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

ISAIAH 40: 30 – 31

HaVe You eVer Felt the world weighs down too heavily on you or that God is putting you through too much?

During our lifetime we know that the trials will come. Whether you’re a child, teen, student or adult, we all feel the pressure of life.

Sometimes it seems impossible to get through the rough times, or you might feel like you have to go through them alone. But Isaiah 40: 30 – 31 tells us when we hope in Him, the Lord will be with us. Th ese verses are some of my favorite because they tell us that when trials come into our lives, He will always be there to help us through it. It gives me comfort to know that He will always be there for me through thick and thin as long as I trust in Him.

Not only will the Lord be with us and help us through our trials, but He will help us run our race and “not grow weary.” Th rough the Lord I can overcome the obstacles and achieve anything.

God is a great God, and He does things in our lives that we do not and will not understand. All He asks us to do is trust Him, and He will see us through. Th e best part is that God reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that He will never give us more than we can handle!

On Wings of Eagles

James barbouletos: on christmas Eve, the family eats cocktail shrimp and watches two movies, “christmas Vacation” and “it’s a Wonderful Life.” in between, they each open one present.

Spencer Chee: Each member of the family chooses one present to open on christmas Eve.

Johanna lee: family sings hymns and stays up until midnight to open presents.

Wendy Mar: family bakes Jesus a birthday cake.

elisha Marble: Visits grandparents with her family.

nigel Saw: Goes to Whistler with family and watches “Jingle All the Way.”

anson Tse: family watches “Elf” with the Moy’s.

The Clarion 4}The Clarion STaffEditor in ChiefNathan Chang

Managing EditorJonathan Moy

StaffVivien Chang, Timothy Mar, Jessica Yamashita

DesignRuth Mar

ContributorsJames Barbouletos, Alyssa Fung, Johanna Lee, Joe Lum

abouT The ClarionThe Clarion is Living Hope Bible Church’s quarterly newsletter. Our goal is to edify the church by proclaiming God’s truth and His faithfulness.

NathaN ChaNg | Editor-in-chiEf

Until I read John MacArthur’s Alone with God: Rediscovering the Power and Passion of Prayer, the way

I prayed limited the fullness of the joy I could experience in my communion with God. My requests were self-centered, and I often prayed out of obligation instead of love. As a result, I often lacked faith and the proper attitude. Disconnected from the real purpose of prayer, I was unable to experience what God intends for us through prayer.

One of the most convicting illustrations in the book follows:

“Imagine spending an entire workday with your best friend at your side. You would no doubt acknowledge his presence throughout the day by introducing him to your friends or business associates and talking to him about the various activities of the day. But, how would your friend feel if you never talked to him or acknowledged his presence? Yet that’s how we treat the Lord when we fail to pray. If we communicated with our friends as infrequently as some of us communicate with the Lord, those

friends might soon disappear.” In the book, MacArthur also uses the Lord’s Prayer in

Matthew 6 to explain the elements and importance of God-glorifying prayer and show how Jesus focused His entire prayer on God. In other chapters, MacArthur elaborates on how to pray for the right things and praying for the lost. The back of the book also contains questions, activities and applicable Bible passages for personal reflection or group study.

Alone with God redirected the content and focus of my prayer. As a result, He is causing me to see the work of His hand in my life, and I am experiencing the greater rewards of God-centered prayer. Now, I ask God to teach me to pray in a way that pleases and

glorifies Him instead of me. I encourage you to do the same and receive the many blessings that will be added to you. John MacArthur’s books are always great resources for teaching and correcting the Christian walk. This one is no exception.

Alone With God: a primer for purposeful prayer