By Peter and Edith Chang

June 1, 1997

Would you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, join us in giving thanks to our Lord for this day and the opportunity of sharing another anniversary of life in this wonderful world that the Lord has made. For although we may be old and weak, he has given by his grace yet another opportunity to praise him and to say: “All thre glory shall be to God, our Heavenly Father.”

As Psalm 66:9 do wonderfully states: “He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. “ Hallelujah! We will give thanks to God. Even as we wonder why God continues to give us life we are confident that together with his love for us he continues to have a purpose for that life. A purpose which would be to serve him as a witness to his loving and saving grace for you and for us.

Mankind as it views the world and its natural and man-made calamities wonders as to the cause and reason for such disasters. The answer to these questions is simple: the calamities occur because the world has gone against the laws of God. God, who while not only creating the world and all the things in it, gave regularity to his creations. The people in this world in its arrogance and pride, has attempted to use its limited and finite knowledge to change the regularity of God and to boast that “man will triumph over nature.” O how pitiful is this situation, for if they continue in their sins the result is destruction. The only way to serve the world and mankind is to lead all men to the Lord and to lead them to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation in Christ will result in a great future of lovely life. The world of God teaches us: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Act 3:19) We can put our complete trust in this promise. As Christians we should preach the Gospel, make testimonies, let the world know that Word of God, and be obedient to his laws and commands. The Scriptures say: “…And how can we believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Again as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14-15)

Today we make an appeal to every Christian: As the Lord has commanded, Go and preach the Gospel, Make testimonies to all people: do not say I am shy or I can not. Every Christian has the obligation to publicly testify to others about the grace he has received from God. Do not be ashamed of the Gospel, “because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16) “And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

Amen and Amen. (Mark 16:15)