Today is the ordination Sunday. We ordain brothers
Jimmy Chow and Jeason Chan as Elders of PEC with trembling and joyful hearts. We
thank God for always working in their hearts. We also testify to God’s
verification and selection in the church. Let us pray to remember their
service. The following are their sharing.
Jimmy Chow
Every time when I looked back my life since I was
saved by Jesus Christ, it always reminds me how blessed I am that God had chosen me to be saved, raised me in
PEC which is a bible-based church, and gave me opportunities to learn from
great godly people about the right attitude of serving God.
Psalm 90:12 says “So teach us to number our days that
we may get a heart of wisdom.” “To
number our days” in Hebrews means to be aware of how few they really are. Am I aware of how few of the life left for me
to serve God? Am I giving my best to Jesus Christ when He
had already given His precious life to me even before I knew Him?
According to Statics Canada, the life expectancy of a Canadian
male is 79.49 years, which reminds me that I “may have” 25 more years left to serve God
before our Heavenly Father calls me home.
Knowing if it is God’s will that I may have only 25 years to live creates
a sense urgency for me making sure what I am going to do in next 25 years will
bring glory and more nonbelievers to our Heavenly Father.
In fact, I may not have 25 years to live or 5 years to
live…. No one knows the time our Heavenly Father calls us home, but one thing
we know for sure is that the time will come.
The one thing that I am afraid of is that I have not given my best to my
Lord. What I have today is a gift from God; what I
do with it is a gift back to God. May
the rest of my life be a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Jeason Chan
Salvation Experience
Looking back at my
43 years of being a Christian, I was initially led to believe in the Lord by a
classmate in grade 9. But after graduating from high school, I pursued nursing
and gradually became attracted to the world, resulting in reduced church
attendance and eventually stopped altogether. Later on when I immigrated to
Canada in 1990, I didn't even bring a Bible with me. I thank the Lord for not
forsaking me. He guided me to return to church in Edmonton and to seriously
consider His salvation. In 1993, I was baptized to bear witness to the grace of
the Lord.
Learning to Serve
from Knowing God, and Learning More about God from Serving
I am grateful for
the Lord's grace, as He has given me numerous opportunities to serve and learn.
The experience of serving is not without difficulties and comes with moments of
discouragement, powerlessness, and weakness. God used these challenges to help
me grow, understand His mighty power, and learn to serve Him humbly.
Learning to be the
Clay that God Uses to Mold into His Vessel
Through my service
experiences, I have learned to stand before God with reverence. In Isaiah 6:2,
it is written, "Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two
he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he
flew." In the fear of the Lord, I am prepared to be sent by Him at any
time. This is similar to the pomegranates and bells that adorned the hem of the
robe worn by the priest before entering the sanctuary. The pomegranate
symbolizes spiritual fruit, and I aim to use God's gifts to serve others. The
sweet sound of the pomegranates and bells reminds me to learn the lessons of
mutual tolerance and love, and to live a life of service in a harmonious
atmosphere. It also serves as a reminder to those who serve the Lord that when
each ministry steps forward to the Lord's altar, the sound of their footsteps
should be vigilant and focused on sanctified service.
"Not that I
have already obtained this"
In Philippians 3,
Paul shares, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but
I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” I
often remind myself to reflect, meditate, and seek to understand the vision God
has given me. I learn not for myself but for the glory of God. May the Lord
accept me, a weak and seemingly useless person, as the clay in His hands, to be
shaped into His vessel.