Cultivating a heart of repentance is love!

Lately, I've been a little short-tempered, especially at my dad. This is really horrible, because it's has not only been been hurting our relationship, but it has been making me a really bad witness for Christ! I try to be good, but unfortunately, just like Paul says, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing."

So what do I do? I cry out to God, because I know that only God can overcome sin as deeply rooted as this. I believe and trust that when I acknowledge my sin, and turn back towards Him, that He will give me the courage to do what is right. This courage and strength is not something that I have myself. What's most encouraging though, is that over and over again in the Bible, God shows us that having a repentant heart is what we need, not loud acts of worship or sacrifice. And so, I pray that God will help me to cultivate a heart of repentance, so that I can love others well!

Loving Dad Part 4

My mom, my sisters and I have been fervently praying for my dad's salvation. Today, we took him to Noah's Ark at Ma Wan to show him God's covenant to mankind.

The Noah's Ark in Hong Kong is truly an amazing place! I'm in awe of how Noah could have built something like this by himself so many years ago, and without the help of modern technology and equipment! (Perhaps that's why it took him 100 years. :P)

We spent the day looking at all the different exhibits, and watching simulations and short movies (in 3D and 4D!) of the gospel. Although my dad still has many questions and hesitations, however, I was greatly encouraged that he joined us in our time of prayer at night. I do pray that God will continue to open his heart and to replace it with a heart of flesh! May he experience the covenant love that God the Father has promised us since the days of Noah!

"Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.""

Praise be to God for His wonderful love to us!

Love requires going out of your way to do something for others!

Lately dad has been pretty tired, so I try to drive him around as much as I can. Plus, he's getting old, so he deserves a break! Originally, I had planned to meet with a friend for coffee after lunch, and my plan was to drive my dad to lunch, have lunch with him, and depart for my coffee date. However, it turns out that he was a lot more tired than I had expected him to be, so instead of slipping away after lunch, I drove him all the way home, and came all the way back out to meet up with my friend.

Although I was rushing to make the coffee date, and was inconvenienced, but I realized that it's exactly the inconvenience that makes the act of love, well, loving.

May we go the extra mile for those who need our help!

Loving Dad Part 3

So my church is showing Jaeson Ma's 1040 movie tonight to raise funds for our new church plant. Jaeson Ma will also be there to perform one of his new songs. Needless to say, I've been looking forward to this event ever since I heard about it a few months back, and I was definitely one of the first to load up on some tickets, so that I could invite believing and non-believing friends alike to join me.

Sadly, my granny, who hasn't been feeling so well lately, passed away this past weekend, and after a long week away from home to be with her, my dad came back to HK today. So of course I dropped everything to spend time with him, to encourage him and to grieve with him. Poor dad. He loves my grandma so much. Although I'm going to miss being with my church to witness the revival that God will bring through this movie, but I'm so glad to be able to be an encouragement to my dad too. I pray that he will see and experience God's love, and be comforted, because God promises to comfort those who mourn. (Matthew 5:4)

Love challenge: Think of others' needs before your own.

Loving my dad 2

To continue on trying to show love and honor to my parents daily, I was able to successfully take my dad out for lunch today - just the two of us! [In a previous post, I had grumbled about how I wanted to hang out with my dad over coffee, but couldn't.]

I knew that he had been under a lot of stress lately, so I wanted to take him somewhere that was relaxing and that could help him unwind a bit. We decided on the Gold Coast, (I drove! AND backed into a weird spot without damaging his huge car! :D) and we had lunch by the water next to the Yacht Club.

Although the food wasn't as good as I had expected, but it was great to be able to chat with my dad. We chatted about life, about entrepreneurship, about people.... We had a long lunch, and I'm glad that he's my boss, so that I didn't have to get in trouble for getting back to the office late! :P

Love challenge: Show your dad you love him by taking him out to lunch!

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you."

Loving my dad

My dad is my hero. In this world, there's no one that I respect more than my dad. He is the model Hong Kong entrepreneur, who risked his life to come to this city, with nothing on him except the clothes that he was wearing, and worked his way up into the successful businessman that he is today. During this long journey, he endured many challenges; he was ridiculed and mocked, he went bankrupt, and was taken advantage of by others. Even now, he carries much of the family's burden on his shoulders. And yet, during all the years that I've known him, I've never heard him complain even once about the hardships in life, or the obstacles that he had endured or continues faces today.

Looking back, I don't think I've done much to show him my appreciation, and even now, I still wonder what I can do. But here, I want to give a shout-out to all (whoever reads this thing anyway...) for my dad. His humility, his positive outlook in life, and his love for people really inspire me to keep on striving in this fallen world. Although he is not yet a believer, but his actions speak louder to me than some of the Christians that I've encountered (myself included.) I pray that during this time that I get to spend with him, he will be able to see the love that I have for him, through the big and small things that I do everyday, whether it's driving him to work, or buying him something nice, or taking care of him when he's sick, or just spending time with him.

Love challenge: Try to appreciate and show love to your parents in big and small ways, every day.

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you."