Weeks 49 & 50 (10) - Blessings of Divine Guidance

This will be the last Christmas that we greet you before Kim and I relocate permanently back to Hong Kong, although I have gone ahead to make preparation. This Christmas has a very special significance for both of us!



Kim & I spent our 1st Christmas in London in 1998, and although it has been a long 12 years, it seems like yesterday when we landed in London Heathrow Airport – on Thursday, 21st May 1998, to be precise!

Kim & I look back with many fond memories of our early meetings in the small living room of our North London flat. We certainly remember vividly our 1st public service at London City YMCA on 2nd August, 1998. We had 12 people and a dog. :)

Besides Hope London, Kim & I are honoured to be part of the church planting work in Europe, visiting Albert in Holland for the first time in 1999, conducting a Bible Seminar in Berlin, and going to Switzerland in the same year to prepare the launch of Hope Zurich in 2000. Since then various groups blossom in different parts of Europe to become what Hope Europe is today. We are privileged to have known and worked with the early pioneers like Marcus, Tor & Wanda, Tonje, Albert, Joel & Olivia, Reto & Christine, under the remote guidance of Ps. Ben in Singapore before Ps Prakich came to Europe much later. It is such a joy to see how they have prospered, got married, started families and continue to move strongly in God in their different ways today. We are eternally grateful for the friendship and partnership in the Gospel in Europe!

In the UK, we feel tremendously blessed to have faithful co-workers being brought by God into our lives one by one to build up what is Hope UK today. Vincent, Twin, Aaron, Roger & Lorisa, Dexter & Precious, Eldos and others who are too many to name, you all have a very special place in our hearts.

Of course Kim & I do not forget the friendship and guidance of our leaders in Asia, since we join Hope in October 1993. Kim & I met a lot of you, if not all, in our first conference in Bangkok, Thailand in January 1994 – Ps. Simon, Ps. Wilson, Ps. Ben, Ps. Prakich, Ps. James, Ps. Dennis, Ps. Kwong Li, Ps. Willie….you are all good and faithful servants of the Lord!

Also, I must thank you Adelaide for being my praying partner since early days in Hope Europe, until now (and hopefully many more years to come). Your rewards in Heaven shall be great. Your “behind the scene” dedicated intercessions and countless prayer sessions on the phone have made it possible for the many victories we have won. You are a great woman of God!

And finally, even if my brain ceases to function, losing all of my memories, and my heart beat is slowed to a murmur, how can I not remember and thank you Kim, my wonderful wife of 34 years. You shall have the lion share of our rewards in Heaven. And I thank God for our dearest Nic & Ben, our precious flesh & blood, and Wai-Wa & Suki, our beautiful daughters-in-law. You are my joy and my delight. Please forgive me for not being the normal dad that you deserve to have. But I want you to know that you are always on my mind. If I could save time in a bottle, I would spend them with you!

Very often, when I sit alone in my room or my office in Hong Kong, preparing some teachings or quietly doing my devotion, many of your faces come to my mind. I have had some success in the secular world, but none of them come close to knowing you and co-working with you in advancing God’s Kingdom. We will have much to share and celebrate when we get to Heaven one day!

As I continue this journey in Christ, starting a new chapter in Hong Kong, my zeal for the Lord has grown stronger despite of the slow start. My excitement is due partly to the sensing that the end is near. There is a real urgency to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ!

If you are a believer in Jesus and for whatever reason your fire has grown dimmer along the way, may I fan that fire of yours and encourage you to come back strongly to the Lord without delay. You will not regret it, I guarantee you!

And if you are not a believer yet, I encourage you to find a good church to get to know Jesus without waiting much longer. You will not regret it either, I double guarantee you!

Indeed, we will have much to celebrate in Heaven because “When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations," The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” [Ps 126:1-6 NIV]

When that glorious Day arrives, “….no longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor. The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly." [Isa 60:10-22 NIV]

As we get closer & closer to that Day, we shall see God’s glory displayed among His people through signs & wonders & miracles. Jesus healed a man born blind to make the point. “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life……Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.” [John 9:1-11 NIV]

Let me close by asking you a few questions. “Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know!”. [Prov 30:1-9] I only know Him as God the Creator, our Heavenly Father. But the name of His Son is Jesus Christ and we celebrate His birth on earth this Christmas Season. :)

Amen and amen!

Weeks 47 & 48 (10) - Blessings of Divine Guidance

If you ask a mainland Chinese who has visited Hong Kong where Canton Road is, I believe most of them can tell you. It is well known for luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo …….. And very often you see cash rich mainlanders queuing up outside the shops as if a big sale is on (even when it is not)!

Once on TV, I saw this group of Mainland Chinese men coming to Hong Kong regularly on shopping trips, each spending 6 figures at a time! These days, Mainland Chinese spend an average HK$7,000 plus, surpassing the Europeans on HK$6,000 and the SE Asians on HK$4,000. What a change from 30 years ago before China’s modernization. Is it a good thing or not? I will let God be the judge!



Whilst Chairman Mao has successfully imposed himself as the only god for his people to worship, modern China is hungry for a new form of worship. The heart of worship that God has created in all of us will always be empty without an idol, be it the true God, an imitation deity or a man-made object.

This is nothing new. I have been there. I see how my form of worship changed over the years:

As a poor boy, I worshipped the toy cars that my friends owned. I went as far as stealing one of them!

In my school years, I worshipped my Chemistry teacher for his self-confidence & cool look, and my History teacher for her beauty.

After graduation, I worshipped money for the many dream things that I could buy. For a season, I worshipped Seve Ballesteros when I was crazy about golf.

Then 20 years ago, I found an idol (Jesus Christ) that can give me true peace, even in the midst of all the troubles that we face today in different parts of the world. Now I can understand what Jesus meant when he said:

[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.”

And although Job in the Old Testament was before Jesus’ time, I can believe that he had God’s peace in his heart when he went through the trial that Satan put him through with God’s permission. It is interesting to note that when one is doing a “Job” time, there are always a few “Eliphaz/Bildad/Zophar” on hand to provide folly advices. I am experiencing that right now!

Jesus can give us peace because He is the Word of God and a timely Word of God (not words of man) can do wonders. In the past 2 weeks, I was reading a paragraph of Psalm 119 a day and every one was a gem. They reflected my heart cry. “Righteous are you, O LORD, and your laws are right. The statutes you have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy. My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore your words. Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them. Though I am lowly and despised, I do not forget your precepts. Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true. Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight. Your statutes are forever right; give me understanding that I may live. [Ps 119:137-144 NIV]

If you are truly a servant of God, He can strengthen you in times of trouble. “He said to me, "You are my servant….in whom I will display my splendor." But I said, "I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God."……But this is what the LORD says: "Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save. I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer……." [Isa 49:1-4,25,26 NIV]

When Jesus was persecuted, He only spoke when it was time to do so. “At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. "If you are the Christ," they said, "tell us." Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God." They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?" He replied, "You are right in saying I am." Then they said, "Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips." [Luke 22:66-71 NIV]

If you are interested in what God says about us, here they are. “It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel……The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?......A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much. …….If a man curses his father or mother, his lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness……A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?.......The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his inmost being.” [Prov 20:3,5-7,19,20,24,25,27,29 NIV]

Amen and amen!