As we prepare for Thanksgiving Day celebrations here in the United States, I’ve been thinking about expressions of thanks in Chinese culture and language. The most common way of expressing thanks in Chinese is xie xie (谢谢). But there is another word: gan’en (感恩). I love that en means “grace.”
Pray that the Chinese Gen Z can find their true meaning and identity, that their worth would not in their achievements, but of a higher force.
During the zero-COVID chaos, Chinese churches found hope and resilience, witnessing God's presence amid isolation.
A group of devout Christians, who lived out the Bible's teachings, made its words come alive—tangible, and visible. As I was influenced by them, I began to experience joy, gradually transforming from a person prone to anxiety and worry to one filled with hope.
Only by accepting Jesus can we know the truth and accept the truth, and only then can we be free, and live above the law and under grace. If we do not…accept the freedom of Jesus but continue living in the so-called freedom under the law, then we are simply taking joy in our sin.
Our new identity in Christ allows us to bravely face everything that being a woman entails… Even if the world, Satan, or our own sin constantly seek to deceive us, we can, by fixing our eyes on God, bravely and strongly maintain our feminine identity.
We want to follow the lead of Chinese Christians. If they are praying for one another in a specific way, we want to lift them up in the same manner. If they feel a need to better know and understand one another, then we also share that same need.
As Chinese New Year approaches, Barbara Kindschi shares memories of holidays in China from years past and invites us to remember our Chinese brothers and sisters in prayer, using some recent ChinaSource articles as guides.
Bringing our pain to God is an act of profound faith. Believers in China who experience trauma can be encouraged by the truth that God will never leave them or forsake them. He is with them in their pain, and they can trust him through the sorrow.
Let Go is to ultimately “let God;” becoming vulnerable and humble… By naming or giving shape to things that we need to let go of—pain, disappointment, offense, trauma, broken dreams, or unhealthy relationships, we are able to make decisions to detach ourselves from them, creating space for healing, forgiveness, growth, and freedom.
Christmas is about love. It’s about peace. It’s about joy. These are not things that you have or you don’t—they are things you have already been given. They are yours, but you must choose to open them, to release them.
Sometimes God keeps graciously nudging our hearts as we pray, gifting us discomfort or a lack of peace until we make things right. Thank God for this nudging so our hearts can be set free, and relationships set right.