OUR DAILY BREAD : CHINESE PROVERBS

[cimi]

February 3
Tuesday


CHINESE
PROVERBS

READ:
2 Timothy 2:1-6
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Always abounding in
the work of the
Lord,knowing that
your labor is not in
vain in the Lord.
__1 Corinthians 15:58
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Chinese proverbs are common and often have stories behind them. The proverb "pulling up a crop to help it grow" is about an impatient man in the Song Dynasty. He was eager to see his rice seedlings grow quickly. So he thought of a solution. He would pull up each plant a few inches. After a day of tedious work, the man surveyed is paddy field. He was happy that his crop seemed to have "grown" taller. But his joy was short-lived. The next day, the plants had begun to wither because their roots were no longer deep.

In 2 Timothy 2:6, the apostle Paul compares the work of being a minister of the gospel to that of a farmer. He wrote to encourage Timothy that, like farming, making disciples can be continuous, hard labor. you plow, you sow, you wait, you pray. You desire to see the fruits of your labor quickly, but growth takes time. And as the Chinese proverb so aptly illustrates, any effort to hurry the process won't be helpful. Commentator William c states: "If Timothy...exerts himself to the full in the performance of his God-given spiritual task, he...will see in the lives of others...the beginnings of those glorious fruits that are mentioned in Galatians 5:22,23."

As we labor faithfully, we wait patiently on the Lord, who makes things grow (1 Cor. 3:7). __Poh Fang Chia

````````````````Dear Lord of the harvest, help us to work faithfully as`````````````````
````````````````we wait patiently on You for the fruit. Encourage us``````````````````
`````````````````when we are discouraged and strengthen us when we`````````````````
`````````````````are weary. Help us to persevere, for You are faithful.`````````````````
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We sow the seed__God produces the harvest.

********************Today's Bible Reading __ 2 Timothy 2:1-6******************

1 You therefore, my son,
be strong in the grace that
is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the
things that you have heard
from me among many
witnesses, commit these to
faithful men who will be
able to teach others also.

3 You therefore must endure
hardship as a good soldier
of Jesus Christ. 4 No one
engaged in warfare
entangles himself with the
affairs of this life, that he
may please him who
enlisted him as a soldier.

5 And also if anyone
competes in athletics, he is
not crowned unless he
competes according tot he
rules. 6 The hardworking
farmer must be first to
partake of the crops.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Timothy is first introduced in Acts 16:1. Paul and Silas had been
working their way through the provinces of Asia Minor (modern-
day Turkey) sharing the gospel of Christ. When Paul and Silas
arrived in tystra, they met timothy (a follower of Christ) and Paul
invited this young man to join them. Timothy became a student
of Paul's and a pastor who, according to tradition, shepherded
the church of Ephesus. Eventually, he received the two letters
from Paul that bear his name. each of those letters was intended
to instruct and encourage the young pastor in his work with the
congregation he served.