Post By - Joseph and Melanie Wong
News Letter February 2021 : Count His blessings
As we enter the Chinese New Year, may the true blessing of the Lord be upon you and your family; that you may receive His goodness and the peace that surpasses all understanding, healthy in body as you are strong in spirit! Count His blessings Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Ps 103:1-2 We are over a month into the new year. But as Chinese we are also preparing for the arrival of the Lunar New Year. According to our tradition, the start of spring (li-chun 立春) also marks the beginning of a new year. Therefore, by the time you receive this newsletter, we should have celebrated of new year of Ox! Over the past year, we might have experienced a great deal of inconvenience due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic. We might have friends or family members getting ill or even passed away, causing us great pain, affecting our hearts tremendously. But the Word of God continues to bring us comfort and to be our strength. As the new year unfolds, let us count His many blessings together through Ps 103 and 104, and give our praise and worship to the Lord Most High! 1. The Lord is my strength in times of need: Early in December, just when I finished recording all my lectures for a course in Missiology, my laptop decided to “sleep” instead of letting me upload all those videos! But God has listened to my prayers. Under the restraining order of indoor gathering, He has sent me a brother in Christ and resurrected my computer in the nick of time! And because of that, the course went ahead as planned. 2. The Lord is our wonderful savior: On Christmas day, we led a young person from Mainland to receive Christ via WeChat. 3. The Lord’s plan is perfect, and He completes it with His power: When I took up the role to serve in the Chinese Diaspora Ministry back in 2016, I know full well that not all my plans and ideas will be accepted or adopted. But through a recent meeting with other partnering mission agencies in January, I witnessed God mightily revealing His plan which echoed what I received before. Although we might be looked down or rejected, He will always work according to His will and time. He is the one who searches the heart and mind of men and will not let anyone hinders His perfect plan. This brought me to my knees, humbly admitting that I am not the one who seeks, but to work with the Lord on things that are pleasing to Him with a clean heart. The foundations He set will never be moved! 4. The Lord provides in His time: Time flies. This year will be my seventh year being part of SEND International Canada, learning to live by faith. All along, the Lord has always provided my personal and ministry needs, a true taste of His promise as described in Ps 104:27.