Pain never disappears, you just learn how to deal with it

Lenten Devotional – Day 15

God’s Word: Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9) Put on

then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and

patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as

the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:12-13)

Story: Photographer Nick Ut received a Pulitzer Prize for a dramatic war-time picture taken in Viet Nam. You may remember seeing it. The picture shows a little girl in agony walking naked down a country road amongst other weeping children. Dark smoke hangs heavily in the sky behind the fleeing group. The child's arms are painfully outstretched and her face is contorted in an expression of terror and misery. A Napalm bomb, dropped on her village, seared off the little girl's clothing and severely burned her skin.

The date is June 8, 1972. The child, Kim Phuc, was carried by Nick to a truck and transported to an area hospital. She cried over and over, "Non'g Qu'a. Non'g Qu'a," which means "Too hot! Too hot!"

Kim hovered between life and death. She required 17 different surgical operations and months of rehabilitation. Today, she lives in Canada and has become an important spokesperson on issues of peace. "Pain never disappears," Kim says. "You just learn how to deal with it."

In 1996 she was asked to say a few words at the Viet Nam War Memorial in Washington D.C. Kim talked about forgiving those people who were responsible for all the misery and suffering inflicted that tragic day. She said, "Even if I could talk face to face with the pilot who dropped the bombs, I would tell him we cannot change history but we should try to do good things for the present and for the future to promote peace." It was a message of forgiveness. She knew that her acts of reconciliation were the bricks that could pave the only true road to peace.

Kim could easily spend the rest of her life blaming others for her suffering. She could have grown up a bitter and resentful woman. Instead, she made a courageous choice - a choice for peace. - Steve Goodier

Quote: If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior. -- Max Lucado

Pray: Pray today to have compassion and forgiveness to others as Jesus forgive you.

The power of fasting and prayer - 2

Lenten Devotional – Day 14

God’s Word: “On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. ² Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. ³ They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the LORD their God.” (Nehemiah 9:1-3)

Inspiration: President Abraham Lincoln called for a day of fasting and prayer. His declaration for a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer begins with this thought. And in so much as we know that, by his divine law, nations, like individuals, are subject to the punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be, but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? He went on to say.

We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God made us It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for the clemency and forgiveness.

He then set aside April 30, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer, and asked people in our nation to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite at there several places of public worship and their respective homes in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of their religious duties, proper to that solemn occasion. You can see the prayer can give you the power to change things than ordinarily can’t be changed. I’m sure, Abraham Lincoln would turn over in his grave today if he could see how far our United States has gotten from God.

Quotes: James Duncan, preaching with great unction and power, was asked what was the secret of such powerful preaching. "The secret," he said, was "thirteen hours of consecutive prayer." When asked the secret of his spiritual power, Charles Spurgeon said: "Knee work! Knee work!" Livingston of Shotts, on two different occasions, preached with such power that in each service 500 were converted. Both sermons were preceded by a night of prayer. Charles Finney, after spending a day in the woods in prayer and fasting, preached that night in a phenomenally irreligious congregation. The sermon was accompanied by such divine power that the whole congregation, except one man, fell prostrate upon the floor, and voiced their agony under conviction of sin, in such loud outcries that the preacher was forced to stop. - Christ Life Newsletter.

Pray: Jesus says, “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:21) NKJV

Be blessed!

The power of fasting and prayer

Lenten Devotional – Day 13

God’s Word: “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.”

(Ezra 8:21)

Inspiration: In the summer of 1876, grasshoppers nearly destroyed the crops in Minnesota. SO in the spring of 1877, farmers were worried. They believed that the dreadful plague would once again visit them and again destroy the rich wheat crop, bringing ruin to thousands of people. The situation was so serious that Governor John S. Pillsbury proclaimed April 26 as a day of prayer and fasting He urged every man, woman and child to ask God to prevent the terrible scourge. On that April day all schools, shops, stores and offices were closed. There was a reverent, quite hush over all the state. The next day dawned bright and clear. Temperature soared to what they ordinary were in midsummer, which was very unusual for April. Minnesotans were devastated as they discovered billions of grasshopper larvae wiggling to life. For 3 days the unusual heat persisted, and the larvae hatched. It appeared that it wouldn’t be long before they started feeding and destroying the wheat crop. On the fourth day, however the temperature suddenly dropped, and that night frost, covered the entire state. Result - it killed every one of those creeping, crawling pests as surely as if poison or fire had been used, It went down in the history of Minnesota as the day God answered the prayers of the people." That is an awesome story! But understand, it was NOT the first and certainly was NOT the last time that Almighty God answered the prayers of his people. - John Maxwell.

Quote: “It was not merely by the light of reason that the people of God have been, in all ages, directed to use fasting as a means, but they have been taught it of God Himself, by clear and open revelations of His will. . .Now, whatever reasons there were to quicken those of old, in the zealous and constant discharge of this duty, they are of equal force still to quicken us.” - John Wesley

Decision: When you need special help or revelation from God, set a special time of prayer and fasting to get power from Him.

Hudson Taylor proved “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16)

Lenten Devotional – Day 12

God’s Word: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

Inspiration: Hudson Taylor was a man of great faith in God, as well as a great missionary. When he first went to China, it was in a sailing vessel. Very close to the shore of a cannibal island the ship was becalmed, and it was slowly drifting shoreward, unable to go about, and the inhabitants of the island were eagerly anticipating a feast. The captain came to Mr. Taylor and besought him to pray for the help of God.

"I will," said Taylor, "provided you set your sail to catch the breeze."

The captain declined to make himself a laughing stock by unfurling sails in a dead calm.

Taylor said, "I will not undertake to pray for the vessel unless you will prepare the sails."

And it was done. The missionary retired to his stateroom to pray. While engaged in prayer, there was a knock at his door.

"Who is there?"

The captain's voice responded, "Are you still praying for wind?"

"Yes."

"Well," said the captain, "you'd better stop praying, for we have more wind than we can well manage."

And, sure enough, when but a hundred yards from shore, a strong wind struck the sails of the boat, so that the inhabitants of the island were cheated out of their human prey.

Quote: "To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” - Martin Luther.

Pray: Today in prayer, remember Jesus’ promise, “Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 15:16), and pray with confident.

Be blessed!

FBBC teachers appreciation Sunday pictures by Ko Peter Lau

The power of consistent prayer

Lenten Devotional – Day 11

God’s word: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Inspiration: George Muller, the great Victorian Christian and social reformer, tells a story of persistent prayer in his diary:

In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land, on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day, I continued to pray for them, and six years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remained unconverted.'

Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of Muller's friends, were still not converted. He wrote, "But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be." In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted ­but after he died! Muller understood what Luke meant when he introduced a parable Jesus told about prayer, saying, "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up" (Luke 18:1).

Quote: The value of persistent prayer is not that He will hear us but that we will finally hear Him. - William McGill

Meditation: “Heaven is full of answers to prayers for which no one ever bothered to ask.” Have faith in the God of the dream; let’s ask God to bring the dream to completion. God’s answer is ready; it’s just waiting for our personal and persistent request. - Billy Graham.

Pray: Today in prayer, pray for a lost soul of a person you care, and commit to pray consistently.

Be blessed!

Search the scripture and found life

Lenten Devotional – Day 10

God’s word: ^“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. I have suffered much; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your word. Accept, O LORD, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws. Though I constantly take my life in my hands,
I will not forget your law.” (Psalm 119:105-109)

Inspiration: Jacob de Shazer was sent as one of Jimmy Dootlittle’s raiders on Japan on April 18, 1942. He was an atheist, believing in no God. During the air attack his plane was hit by enemy anti-aircraft bullets and he was forced to bail out. He was captured and imprisoned by the Japanese and thought certainly his life was approaching the end. He saw two of his companions shot by a firing squad and saw another die of slow starvation.

During the long months of imprisonment he pondered the question of why the Japanese hated him and why he hated them. He began to recall some of the things he had heard about Christianity.

Boldly, he asked his jailers if they could get him a Bible. At first they laughed boisterously as at a good joke, grew ugly, and warned him to stop making a nuisance of himself. But he kept asking. A year-and-a-half later, May 1944, a guard finally brought him a Bible, flung it at him, and said, “Three weeks you have. Three weeks, and then I take away.” True to his word, in three weeks the guard took the Bible away and de Shazer never saw it again.

However, in those three weeks of intensive searching, meditating, and delving into the meaning of life and humanity’s ultimate destiny, a change came about. Later he was released from Japanese captivity and returned home. In 1948, de Shazer, his wife, and infant son were on their way back to Japan as missionaries, all because he asked for a Bible and a Japanese guard gave him one for three weeks. He had searched the Scriptures and found life. —Earl C. Willer

Prayer: Pray today for the worldwide distribution of the Bible and change the lives of many people. Pray also to be able to involve in the ministry of spreading of the word of God.

Sunday School teachers appreciation Sunday at San Francisco

Be blessed!

A Cup of Cold Water

Lenten Devotional – Day 9

God’s Word: "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." (Matthew 10:42)

Inspiration: A true story of a young girl who lived in California in a tent. Her home life was horrible and many would just turn their nose up at her. She was ten, her father an alcoholic, sisters were prostitutes and it was during the great depression. One day this man and woman came and invited her to church. They took her to church than after they would take her home with them and feed her and visit with her. They showed her love and because of this, she eventually came to know Christ. You say one person don’t make a difference? This little girl was my grandmother and because of the love shown her 55 years ago, everyone of her descendants are Christians and working for God. Because of her, I am here. All three children Pastor churches, Three grandchildren pastor churches, music leaders and Sunday School teachers. A whole army from one person. – John Smithson

Quote: “When you have nothing left but God, then for the first time you become aware that God is enough.” -- Maude Royden.

Prayer: Today in prayer, pray for the lost souls who need salvation of Jesus. Pray also for God’s guidance to be able to do soul winning ministry.

FBBC San Francisco

Prayer is a powerful gift the Lord has given to us

Lenten Devotional – Day 8

God’s Word: "We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers."

(1 Thessalonians 1:2)

Inspiration: In the late afternoon of February 26, 1968, James Stegalls found himself in the middle of a firefight in Vietnam. Suddenly he heard the unmistakable sound of a rocket coming straight toward him. A friend shoved him into a foxhole and he braced for the explosion, but there was only a surreal silence. The fuse had malfunctioned. For five hours Stegalls knelt in the pit as the battle raged. He fingered an unread Gideon's New Testament in his shirt pocket. Shaking uncontrollably, he began reading Matthew. It wasn't until he got to Matthew 18:19-20 that he felt a peace and he knew things would be all right. Years after returning from home, he visited his grandmother Harris. She recounted how one night she feared for him and she prayed all night for his life. She read Matthew 18:19-20: "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." She then had called her Sunday school teacher and together they prayed for James. Mrs. Harris then opened her Bible and showed James the date: February 26, 1968.

Pray: Prayer is a powerful gift the Lord has given to us. Is there someone on your heart right now? Today in prayer, lift that person to the Lord and pray that they may draw closer to Him.

Quote: "Pray as if everything depended upon your prayer." - William Booth

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." - James 5:16

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Holy and Godly Lives

Lenten Devotional – Day 7

God’s Word: “"Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives" - 2 Peter 3:11

Illustration: In August 1961, Paul Toaspern was a theologian living in West Berlin. Suddenly, the Soviets decided to erect the concrete Berlin wall dividing East Berlin from West Berlin. Quickly recognizing the situation, Toaspern took his young family and moved to East Berlin, the opposite direction from the thousands of refugees who were pouring into the West.

Toaspern realized that the church in East Berlin would be persecuted and would need his theological expertise and his passion for missions. He quickly became one of East Germany's Christian leaders.

In 1986, American preacher Robert Roxbergh visited Toaspern. Roxbergh asked: "How are your kids doing? Are they at university?"

Toaspern replied: "Oh, they don't go to university. My children are very bright and academically would go far in university, but they will not join the Young Communist League, so they cannot go to university. But praise God, they're all training for the ministry."

Roxbergh then asked: "How about your parents, Paul?"

Toaspern answered: "Oh, my parents are dead. The sad thing is that when they were dying, the government wouldn't let me back to see them, so I had to shout to friends over the wall and ask how they were doing."

Toaspern willingly gave up his freedoms to follow Christ.

Meditation: Holiness and godliness have a price, but the price is small in comparison to knowing Christ more deeply. Today in prayer, pursue Jesus Christ in every area of your life and seek to live a holy and godly life.

Quote: "When God and his glory are made our end, we shall find a silent likeliness pass in upon us; the beauty of God will, by degrees, enter upon our soul." - Stephen Charnock

"Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined." - Titus 1:8

First Burmese, San Francisco

Let us come boldly unto the throne of grace

Lenten Devotional – Day 6

God’s Word: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” – Hebrews 4:14-16

Inspiration: On May 24, 1962, Commander Scott Carpenter roared into space in a Mercury space capsule. He piloted his Aurora 7 spacecraft through three revolutions of the earth, reaching a maximum altitude of 164 miles. The spacecraft landed in the Atlantic Ocean about 1000 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral after 4 hours and 54 minutes of flight time.

Following his return, NASA Administrator Webb presented him with astronaut wings in a ceremony at the Cape. Then on June 5, New York City celebrated his flight with a ticker tape parade and President Kennedy honored him at the White House.

In the middle of the White House ceremonies, his five-year-old daughter, Candace, tugged at his sleeve. She wanted to show her daddy the scratch on her right elbow that happened while he was gone. What did he do? Yes, he turned away from the honors, away from the acclaim of a proud nation to give his attention to the concerns of his little daughter. A scratch on the elbow was important to her, and so it was important to him.

Pray: In our hurt, Jesus Christ can sympathize with us. Today in prayer, turn to Jesus and confess any sin and receive His loving comfort.

Quote: “Don’t let your weaknesses, your temptations, your suffering cause you to run from God. Run to Him. He is not the God who is far off. He is near. He’s the one who can truly meet your needs because He’s ‘Been there. Dealt with that.’” – Joel Smith

Meditation: “I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy.” – Psalm 123:1-2

Bay Area Revival Crusade

Thank God there is a God

Lent Devotional – Day 5

God’s Word: “When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14)

Inspiration: “In 1958, 35 year old Englishwoman Anita Goulden went on holiday to Peru to visit her brother. Anita was a widowed, single mother who owned two haberdasheries in Manchester, England. She was about to go home by way of the United States when she saw an unbelievable sight--children with tuberculosis and meningitis lying neglected and abandoned in the street in pools of their own blood. "In my wildest dream, I had never thought of human beings in such shocking conditions," her diary recorded. "The appalling poverty; the indifference of those around. I can only liken it to visiting a store and finding all the goods priced wrongly. Precious goods worthless. Worthless goods precious." So Anita stayed to help--for the next 44 years she stayed, only returning home one time before her death in 2002, and that trip was to buy medicine. Anita started traveling by donkey to the nearby villages surrounding Piura, Peru to find more unwanted children. Her first stop in these towns was always the pigsty, the common place for leaving physically and mentally handicapped babies with the excuse that they were of no use to their families and sent as a curse from God. "Anita's unwavering faith in God's capacity to answer her desperate prayers for food, clothing or housing when there was none left for the children, has succeeded in providing permanent care for the most sorely afflicted and has established a good education for 250 of the poorest children from the shanties," states the Anita Goulden Trust newsletter. Anita's Peruvian assistant said of her, "She has a direct line to God," and "Thank God for the British." Anita herself merely said, "Thank God there is a God."

Meditation: It costs something to care. There is often suffering involved. "It is the kind physician who lances the boil, drains off the poison, cleanses the wound, and so restores the patient." W. Phillip Keller

Prayer: “Give me a stout heart to bear my own burdens. Give me a willing heart to bear the burdens of others. Give me a believing heart to cast all burdens upon Thee, O Lord.” — John Baillie

First Burmese Updates

Total Commitement

Lent Devotional – Day 4

God’s Word: "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." - Proverbs 16:3
"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." - Acts 20:32

Illustration: Adoniram Judson was born on the August 9, 1788 in Malden, Massachusetts. He graduated from Brown University in 1809 and became a Christian shortly afterward. In February 1813, he set sail with his new bride for India to become a missionary. India was closed to foreigners, but Burma was open to his ministry. Soon after arriving, Judson made the commitment that: "I will not leave Burma until the cross is planted here forever." It was six years before one person came to Christ under Judson's ministry. It took him 10 years to completely translate the New Testament into Burmese. In 1825, he was falsely imprisoned as a spy for six months. Upon his release, his wife's health broke and he put her on a homebound vessel. He confided to his diary: "If we could find some quiet resting place on earth where we could spend the rest of our days in peace. . ." But he steadied himself with this remarkable postscript: "Life is short. Millions of Burmese are perishing. I am almost the only person on earth who has attained their language to communicate salvation. . ." Judson remained in Burma for 25 more years and fulfilled his earlier commitment to the Lord.

Meditation: What does the Lord want you to do? Then commit those plans to the Lord and stay the course. Today in prayer, commit your way to Christ and follow Him in all that you do.

Quote: "Give me 100 men who hate nothing but sin and love God with all their hearts and I will shake the world for Christ!" - John Wesley

Prayer: Father, I delight myself in You, and You perfect that which concerns me. I demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of You Father, and I take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Revival 2009 updates

Serious about following Jesus

Lent Devotional – Day 3

God's Word: "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." - Ephesians 4:15

"We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing." - 1 Corinthians 2:6

Illustration: Roy Robertson was a soldier at Pearl Harbor in 1941: "My ship, the West Virginia, docked at Pearl Harbor on the evening of December 6, 1941. A couple of the fellows and I left the ship that night and attended a Bible study. About fifteen sailors sat in a circle on the floor. The leader asked us to each recite our favorite Scripture verse. In turn each sailor shared a verse and briefly commented on it.

I sat there in terror. I couldn't recall a single verse. I grew up in a Christian home, went to church three times a week, but I sat there terrified. I couldn't recall a single verse. Finally, I remembered one verse - John 3:16. I silently rehearsed it in my mind. The spotlight of attention grew closer as each sailor took his turn. It was up to the fellow next to me. He recited John 3:16. He took my verse! As he commented on it I sat there in stunned humiliation. In a few moments everyone would know that I could not recall from memory even a single verse. Later that night I went to bed thinking, 'Robertson, you're a fake.'

At 7:55 the next morning I was awakened by the ship alarm ordering us to battle stations. 360 planes of the Japanese Imperial Fleet were attacking our ship and the other military installations. My crew and I raced to our machine gun emplacement, but all we had was practice ammunition. So for the first fifteen minutes of the two-hour battle, we only fired blanks hoping to scare the Japanese airplanes.

As I stood there firing fake ammunition I thought, 'Robertson, this is how your whole life has been - firing blanks for Christ.' I made up my mind as Japanese bullets slammed into our ship, "If I escape with my life, I will get serious about following Jesus." Roy Robertson did get serious. He became the first missionary of "The Navigators" and did a lot of work with Billy Graham as well.

Are you growing mature in the Lord or are you firing blanks for Christ? Today in prayer, examine your walk with the Lord and seek to grow deeper in maturity with Him.

Quote: "Four stages of growth in Christian maturity: Love of self for self's sake. Love of God for self's sake. Love of God for God's sake. Love of self for God's sake." – Bernard of Clairvaux

Prayer: I thank You Father that You are able to keep that which I have committed to You. I will think only on those things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and deserving of praise. I will not let my heart be troubled. I abide in Your words and Your words abide in me. Thank You Father, in Jesus' name. Amen

Revival 2009

Lenten Devotional Day two - Confession

Confession

God’s Word: "O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens." - Ezra 9:6

"Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"--and you forgave the guilt of my sin." - Psalm 32:5

Illustration: On September 3, 1989, Varig Airlines Flight 254 was at Brazil's Maraba Airport preparing for takeoff. Under normal circumstances the short flight to nearby Belém Airport would only take 48 minutes.

Captain Cézar Garcez consulted a computer-generated flight plan and read the number 027 which corresponded to the magnetic heading from Maraba to Belém. But Garcez was distracted while listening to a World Cup Soccer Championship game and inadvertently dialed 270 into the Horizontal Situation Indicator.

Minutes later, flight 254 took off and climbed to an altitude of 29,000 feet. Instead of heading northeast toward the Brazilian coastline and the city of Belém, the plane turned west and headed straight toward the Amazon forest.

Captain Garcez sensed something was wrong. At this point in the flight plan he expected to be able to have visual contact with the Belém airport. Despite not knowing where he was, Captain Garcez informed the Varig flight coordinator on the ground he estimated the plane would be landing in Belém in five minutes.

At 7:39 p.m., when the flight was 68 minutes overdue, the first officer identified the problem and started to explain to the captain his mistake. But the captain dismissed his explanation. Refusing to ask for help, he began counting the minutes until the plane would run out of fuel. All the while he searched the ground hoping to find an airport where he could land the plane.

About an hour later, out of fuel, Garcez made a remarkable crash-landing in total darkness in a dense tropical forest. The plane was 700 miles from the intended destination. Although all six of the crew survived, 13 of the 48 passengers were killed. Both Captain Garcez and the first officer had their commercial licenses revoked. They never flew again.

Sin blinds us to our need that we need Christ to lead us. It is only when we confess we are lost that the Lord can safely lead us. Today in prayer, look to the Lord and confess any sin in your life and receive the forgiveness that only Christ can give.

Quotes: "You cannot repent too soon because you do not know how soon it may be too late." - Thomas Fuller
"For a successful season of prayer, the best beginning is confession."

Prayer: Almighty God, who does freely pardon all who repent and turn to Him, now fulfill in every contrite heart the promise of redeeming grace; forgiving all our sins, and cleansing us from an evil conscience; through the perfect sacrifice of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Lenten Devotional Day One - Ash Wednesday

God’s Word: “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.” (Luke 15:20-21)

Inspiration: At nineteen, Al Johnson had joined two other men in robbing a Kansas bank. The case was closed by police after two other convicts were killed in an auto crash and mistakenly identified by bank officials as the robbers. Al felt sure he would never be caught. He married a Christian girl and pretended to be a Christian before her. She knew nothing of his past crime. Then someone sent him a tract in the mail, titled “God’s Plan of Salvation.” Reading it, he noticed that one of the Bible verses said, “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The realization struck that salvation was for him. He could be forgiven and his conscience set free. He knelt in prayer and accepted Christ.

His life changed. He stopped a lifelong habit of lying. And after much thought and prayer he confessed his crime. His confession made television newscasts and newspaper headlines even in Canada. Under a Kansas statute of limitations, he was set free, although he chose to repay his share of the stolen funds to the bank. Today, Al Johnson is the manager of a service station, the father of three admiring children, and an outstanding Christian layman.

Meditation: “A Christian is not one who never goes wrong, but one who is enabled to repent and begin over again after each stumble—because of the inner working of Christ.” C.S. Lewis

Prayer: “Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son. Lord, I ask your forgiveness, cleansing, guidance, strength, and healing for my sins and weaknesses. Guide me to walk closely with you through out 40 days of Lent season and the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name.” Amen.

In Christ, Pastor Latt (FBBC San Francisco)

Preparing for 40 days of Lent 2009

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Lent season for 2009 starts on Ash Wednesday, February 25 to April 12, Easter Sunday. It is the best time to come and walk closer with our Lord Jesus Christ during this season. You will definitely come to know how Jesus suffered for us, how much He loves us, and how great our salvation is, by walking along with Jesus in His final days on earth in physical. Day by day you will be encouraged by His Spirit, inspired by His words, and equip by His power. I hope that you already have plan for Lent 2009, if not here are some suggestions to plan to have a meaningful Lent this year.

• Set a personal quiet time for reading the word of God, reading devotional materials, and time for prayer. (Early morning is the best time). Thank God for many devotional reading and audio available around us.
• Commit yourself to attend each and every Sunday worship service without fail.
• Commit yourself to attend Bible study classes and prayer meetings.
• Commit yourself to do fast and prayer for 40 days. (partial fast, or rotational fast).
• Try to involve and give more time and treasurer in God’s ministries.
• Try to help the poor, the needy people, suffering people, and the homeless.
• Commit to share the Good News of Jesus for soul-winning purpose. To be His evangelist.
  

During these 40 days, there will be special activities and program we can observe together at Church to have more meaningful and effective event. Watch for further readings.

May you all have a blessed day,

In Christ,

Pastor Latt

Learn Love Lessons from Eagles

"Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself." (Exodus 19:4)

"But ask now beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air and they shall tell thee. Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee." (Job 12:7-8)

"But they that wait unto the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wins as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31).


Learn love lessons from eagles on this Valentine's day.
Be blessed!
Pastor Latt Yishey
Turn your speakers on for Valentine message.