Rev. Tong’s last bible-study for the first half of the year was held yesterday at the Grace Baptist Church. The theme is “Explication of book of James”, and the content spoken was directed towards the part in James 1:5-6.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Continuing from last weeks explication, Rev. Tong again emphasized that our lives must be directed by the wisdom of God. The Lord’s wisdom is greater than any knowledge, and this is incomparable to the experience and knowledge that man has; however, those who depend on their own wisdom, often times will fall into their own false thinking. Thus, a person who truly possesses wisdom will obey the Lord’s word. “God’s word is His promise, which is never-changing. This world has many unexpected changes, so we should use the Lord’s wisdom to look at this generation of instability.”

Richness and Poverty

“The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.”-James 1:9-10.

Then, Rev. Tong explained the problem between richness and poverty, he asks, “You want to live a life that is first poor then rich; or a life that is rich first then poor?” Obviously, most people would pick the former, where it is first bitter then followed by sweetness. Rev. Tong said, “In richness, don’t be satisfied with our possessions, but pray to the Lord to help us not forget the time of poverty; during time of poverty, look at God; it doesn’t matter if we’re in richness or in poverty, we must walk with the Lord. The grass will dry out, flower will wither, but the God’s words are everlasting. God’s wisdom is higher than ours, leading us, so we should follow God in any kind of circumstances.”

He used Beethoven and Mozart as examples to illustrate his point. Both of them experienced pain and the struggles in life. The conclusions of all this are the pieces of music, which will be passed down from generation to generation. “Rich people cannot sympathize with poor people; for those who have never suffered before, the display of his writing, speaking, and drawing won’t have any signs of fighting. The greatest scholars have all experienced difficult situations, gained victory in the end, and become the representatives of people’s collective spirit.”

Lastly, Rev. Tong said, “How do you cope with the sudden changes in situations? The changes in the world are unpredictable. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor. What matters is that you depend upon the unchanging God. There are tears, pains, abandonment….to some people, these things are necessary for training purposes. Especially, during the time of poverty, times of lacking, we are satisfied because of God. We must train ourselves to become a great person, who can live it both richness and poverty.”

This is the Rev. Tong’s last bible-study in the first-half of 2005, and the seminars of last-half year will be held on July 20th. The time, location, and theme will remain the same as Wed night from 7:30pm to 9:30pm, Grace Baptist Church, explication of the book of James.