1 Corinthians 16:5-9 

⁵ After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. ⁶ Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. ⁷ For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. ⁸ But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, ⁹ because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

Work Smartly

         What is your purpose? What’s your goal in life? Normally, we wish to have good paying livelihood to sustain a lifestyle we dream to enjoy. Surely, luxurious lifestyle is enviable. Ordinarily, people advise, “Work hard!” But, to surpass the ordinary life, work smartly instead. Don’t just work hard. Repeat! Work smartly!

         Do you plan to accumulate wealth and retire? Are you working hard and saving enough money to finance your dream project? Or, do you simply want to retire, relax and do nothing but to watch tv, travel and eat your favorite cuisine?

         The wise King Solomon declared in Ecclesiastes 3:12, ¹²I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.

         Solomon concluded in Ecclesiastes that everything is meaningless, vanity. Earthly life will end. Everything on earth will certainly end. However, our final destination is not in this world. As children of God, we are heaven bound. Amen! We are citizens of heaven. Therefore, we have to be serious on how we spend our limited stay on earth and be concerned of preparing for life in heaven.

         We should be more active in storing up treasure in heaven for ourselves. Remember to rely upon the Holy Spirit—he directs, guides and teaches us of things we should accomplish. Christ declared in John 16:13, ¹³When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

         Remember what Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” The Spirit of Truth, then, is the Spirit of Christ. If we declare that Jesus Christ is our Lord, we abide and obey his Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit works actively in our life, it practically proves that Christ is active as Lord of our life.

         Anytime, you may receive social media updates from friends and relatives. Normally, they will post great adventures and delicious food they ate. As normal human, we can be enticed, envious to try those beautiful satiable experiences.

         The Lord won’t forbid us to enjoy life, but we’ve got to be aware of our testimony as Christians. Christ reminds us in Acts 1:8, ⁸You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses,

         Witnessing for Christ practically exhibits if we have received his Holy Spirit. Witnessing for Christ is spontaneous effect when his Holy Spirit empowers us. Again, we rely upon the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for effective witnessing for Christ. So, whatever we do should testify that we are believers of Christ.

         If Apostle Paul was born in our generation, would he take pictures or video of all his activities and post them on social media? The Scripture has records of Apostle Paul’s travel to Macedonia. Who among us traveled to Macedonia?

         Apostle Paul sent a letter to inform the Corinthians that he will be going through Macedonia before he visited them and stayed with them for a while.

1. Stay

⁵ After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. ⁶ Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. 

         Apostle Paul and his mission team started a church in Corinth. There was a problem of division among the Corinthians. Paul wanted to visit the Corinthians and stay with them for a while to help them spiritually grow mature. Involvement in ministries promotes spiritual maturity. Harmony exhibits spiritual maturity.

Paul planned to visit Corinth but he wanted to travel to Macedonia also. He did not hesitate to ask for help from the Corinthians. He expected them to be generous. He implored them to help him in his missionary journeys.

         What can we learn from this imposition of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians? Did he exemplify that we should consider how we can visit different places and encourage other believers abroad? Even if you are not officially commissioned as missionaries, plan to visit your former church abroad. Your presence may serve as encouragement and inspiration to them to keep on serving the Lord.

         From biblical perspective, it is very encouraging to be visited by brothers and sisters in Christ, especially if you work away from home or live abroad.

Nehemiah

         Let us learn from the Israelite exiles. It was narrated in Nehemiah 1:1-4:

¹The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah: In the month of Kislev in the 20^th year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, ²Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.³They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” ⁴When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 

         Nehemiah was one of the Israelite exiles, but he rose to prominence when he became the cup bearer of King Artaxerxes. As cupbearer to the king of Persia, Nehemiah was one of the most trusted officials of the king . As proof of his trust in Nehemiah, King Artaxerxes drank the wine that Nehemiah would serve him.

Subsequently, when Nehemiah asked permission to return and build Jerusalem, King Artaxerxes allowed him. Nehemiah was concerned about the needs and safety of people in Israel. Before he returned to Persia, he stayed in Jerusalem for 12 years and made sure that the walls of Jerusalem was restored.

         Similarly, when you go for vacation abroad, pray for opportunity to help.

If you have attended church abroad, find out how you can financially or prayerfully help them. Apostle Paul told the Corinthian church that he will stay with them for a while, when he visited them. He wanted to spend time with them and help them grow mature spiritually and not just to see them.

2.  See

⁷For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. ⁸ But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, 

         Intentionally, Apostle Paul said the would spend time with the Corinthian believers, not just to see them. He wanted his visit to be productive spiritually and not just a brief or momentary greeting. Apostle Paul did not proceed to Corinth right after he wrote his 1^st letter to them. He stayed in Ephesus for a while. Why? Maybe, he also implored the Ephesians to collect money for the church in Judea.

Previously, Paul told the Corinthians to regularly collect money to be sent to the needy believers in Judea. So, he stayed in Ephesus for a while so that the Corinthian church had enough time to collect money to help the church in Judea.

Vacation

         Most Filipino-Canadians are eager to have vacation in their native land Philippines. As much as they want to visit the Philippines annually, they have to save money for several years because they are expected to share with their relatives and friends their abundance. For Christians who visit the Philippines, it is also a great testimony to extend financial help to churches in the Philippines.

         Surely, there are Filipino churches that are self-sufficient but one can easily find churches that greatly appreciate financial help. If ever you go for vacation in your native land, return to your former church or find smaller churches that need help. If you personally know a church with doctrines similar to us, inform our church leaders so that we may consider partnering with them in mission works.

         Mission is always significant in the design of God for his people. How do you interpret what the Lord instructed in Psalm 46:10? ¹⁰Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

         So, if God wants us to be still, relax or observe, why do we participate in missions then? Well, the Lord implied that even without our participation, he will be exalted among people groups in the world. Participation in his mission work is greater opportunity for God’s blessing. Why? Mission is central to God’s heart.

         Our participation in mission is for our personal benefit actually. We store up eternal treasure in heaven for ourselves when participate in missions. It proves also that Christ is at work in our life when we actively serve God in mission. Our mission support as a church is congregational means to advance God’s kingdom.

         Wherever God is at work there will always be oppositions. Apostle Paul and his mission team testified that they stayed in Ephesus for a while and passed by Macedonia because the Lord opened opportunities for the gospel of Christ. They encountered many oppositions, and they needed support from Christians.

Surely, God was with them. Apostle Paul testified that the grace of God is sufficient for effective mission work. It is great testimony to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit when as individual Christians or as a church, we support missions.

3.  Support

⁹because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

         Apostle Paul implied his need of support when he testified that there were many who opposed him. It is possible that similar opposition happens when we actively participate in the ministry. Most often, the enemy of the gospel tries to oppose us. Have you observed it when you participated in the ministry?

         Have you observed that when you desired to be active in the ministry, you struggle with personal or family problem. Why? How should we explain to a child what it declares in Ephesians 6:10-12? ¹⁰Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

         When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the enemy of the gospel of Christ is actively scheming for opportunity to discourage us, why? As Christians, we are still growing in our faith and working out our salvation. We are assured of eternal dwelling with God in heaven but the enemy of the gospel tries to destroy our testimony so that potential believers could be discouraged.

Filipino Nurses

         Someone observed that Filipino nurses are very caring people. I observed that to be true during the 7 weeks hospital vacation. In the hospital, nurses come from different backgrounds. There are also medical staffs who care for patients who are not nurses. So, you can expects different behaviors. How should we behave when we encounter difficult personalities? We’ve got to be patient right?

         Have you heard the reason why hospital patients are called patients? It is because patients wait patiently for surgery schedule or wait for health care staff?

Nevertheless, children of God should be inspired by the Spirit. Together, let us reflect on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. ¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray continually, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus

         Always remember that godly instructions require godly effort even praying.

         Can we really rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks to God in all circumstance, good or bad situation? Yes we can, if the Holy Spirit is active in our life. Do you know the open secret of blessed life? Obedience to godly instructions is integral to blessed life? God wants to bless us so that we can rejoice, thankful and not worried by whatever circumstance that we may go through in this life.

         God shows no favoritism, and nobody is exempted from problems common to mankind. But, as we traverse this life and struggle with difficulties, like health problem, financial shortage or relationship challenges, we still sense rejoicing and thankfulness of heart when we pray continually and rely upon the Lord to get us through and overcome our problems. Have you explored that reality, just yet?

         Do not wait until your problems are solved before you participate in the ministry. God allows problems for us to relate to those who have similar problem. God allows us to get sick to sympathize with a sickly person. God allows us to have financial difficulty to understand the dilemma of people in poverty.

         God allows us to have relationship problems for us to seriously minister to anyone who struggles with relationship. How do you interpret and explain this to a child? Pertaining to King David, it declares in 1 Samuel 13:14, ¹⁴The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people.

         The Lord blessed King David as the greatest king of Israel. King David had no perfect righteous life. Actually, he had marital problem. He was not very great father to all his children. He was not well respected by his own relatives. He also committed a serious mistake when he commanded a census of his soldiers, and that census had caused terrible sufferings among his people.

         Seriously reflect on what Apostle Paul testified in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

⁷Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

         Difficult problems are like thorn in the flesh. It’s bothersome for sure. Yet, Apostle Paul had proven that God’s grace is sufficient. You can even take smiling selfie even in the midst of storm. God can make us despite struggles. God allows difficulties for us to personally prove the sufficiency of his grace.

We must seek the help of the Holy Spirit for us to rejoice always and be thankful in all circumstances. And then, we can responsibly do our mission purposes by God’s grace. When God opens ministry work for us to participate in, we can get involved in the ministry despite our difficulties in life. Amen!

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