My Christian Experiences in Taiwan (5) Crossroads (2)

   I don't know how many people take the time and effort read the whole Bible, the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT), together in 'one' session. I know quite a few believers who did this and not only once... When people read the Bible as 'a whole' the reader or believer will realize that there is an underlining tone which connects both parts which is God's love.

   The OT says: 12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors (Deuteronomy 7, NIV). Thee NT, as an extension of the OT, adds; 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 (John 3). 

   The connection between the two parts of the Bible very obviously is God's love, mentioned over and over again. In the OT God created the world with the first humans out of love, “15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden ', ...18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. (Genesis 2)”. 

If this is not love, what is it?

   Later God saved Noah, “9 a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God (Genesis 6)" from the flood. God reached out to call Abraham, because “3 Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (Romans 4).” “11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac (Genesis 25)”. It is very clear In above examples that God's love is not a one-way relationship. Noah was saved because of His righteousness Abraham was called because he was righteous, Isaac was blessed because he followed God. 

   It is very clear, not only for me, that the love from God is not a one-way street. God created the garden Eden for Adam “16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him (Genesis 2)”. But “when the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it (Genesis 2)”. 

   Because Adam and his wife did not follow the command of God “23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken (Genesis 2)”.

   While it is clear that people have to 'earn' the love of God by respecting Him through a righteous life it is strange that there are still many 'vague ideas' about the relationship between God and humans. This is because many Christian leaders and teachers do not teach very clear.

   In the Great Commission Jesus told His disciples: “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 19 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28)”. Teaching them is a very clear part of the Great Commission...

   While serving the homeless I took my job serious, not just go there to 'have a good time' but trying to teach the Bible in a way that everyone could understand it. I did not take a prepared 'old' sermon like an older Pastor advised me but each time I started with a white piece of paper. prayed and asked God to give me a direction for the sermon which I followed. Before my sermon I made a habit to handle out Chinese (Mandarin) copies of the Bible verse because many homeless do not have an own Bibles. These papers became so popular that many started reading immediately after they got them in their hands...

Homeless and Low Income Family Members lining for Dinner

   I had one sister, clearly possessed by the devil, who volunteered to read the scripture in Taiwanese, a local dialect. Many elderly people in Taiwan can not read but they listened carefully and even asked questions and gave comments concerning the Bible. It was a wonderful experience to see people thinking about their lives. I saw many changes within the brothers and sisters as a result of God's words.

    The person in charge came once to me saying “It is strange that now so many people are in this church...Last week when you lead the sermon there joined a record of 72 people attending Sunday worship”.

   My 'secret' is that I take God seriously, I am serious about my call and work and respect people generally; if old or young, female or male, rich or poor! And I know that it is not my work but the work of God!

Be blessed, Gerhard   

My Christian Experiences in Taiwan (4) Crossroads (1)

   I am a German living in Taiwan and very glad about this fact. My family was made out of an alcoholic father and a Nazi mother which would hardly count as 'glad'. But I've learned that a nearby community service center of a local church can be a safe haven from all the troubles in the world. The pastor and the youth leaders did not solve my personal problems but they created a sense how a peaceful world close to God could function for real.

Aborigine Church in Taidong County, Taiwan

   Many people do not quite notice that most of the humans move constantly between two worlds - the spiritual and the worldly. In the world we have society standards like separating the human races into colors of skins, levels of educations, religions, culture and so on. But Christianity in fact, according to the Bible, unites us in Christ.

   Jesus was born as a Jew, his parents both have been Jews. The Jewish religion is based on their father Abraham, according to the Bible:

   "When Abram was ninety-years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers (Genesis 17)." 

   Not much later the Bible added:

   "9 Then God said to Abraham, "10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you."

   So every Jew must be, according the the Old Testament, a descendant of Abraham and undergo circumcision to belong to the 'chosen people of God.

Inner of Church in Hsin Chu County, Taiwan

   The Bible is divided into the Old and New Testament and, even most Christians do not read the Old Testament, the old part is quite essential to understand the roots of our Christian faith. A testament is not 'an act by which a person determines the disposition of his or her property after death' but rather 'a covenant (agreement, promise) between God and the human race'. 

   When Jesus was born the land, which God promised to Abraham and his descendants, was occupied by the Roman Empire. This happened because, as the Prophet Isaiah explains "They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him."

   Jesus came into the world "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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him (John 3, NIV)."

   This is clearly a new covenant from the former relationship between God and the human race: away from the family of Abraham and the circumcision to a new relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ!

   Jesus promised His disciples "19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live you will also live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them."

What a great promise! 

For me, writing this is so clear and touching that I wonder why this is so difficult to teach in a way that others are touched in a similar way! Jesus came here that we repent and return to Him, that we understand His grace and became a new human being in Him!

(to be continued)