Face-to-face

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Category: Teachings & Articles
Published: Monday, 29 July 2019 02:58
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Face-to-face

By Augusto A. Kho

Walter Mart, Sucat, Paranaque

July 18, 2019 (Thursday); 10:26 a.m.

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Face-to-face

Long-distance relationship (LDR) could hardly prosper without close intimacy. The same is true to a personal encounter with Christ. It is different to know God through the testimony of others but it is another thing to have a close encounter with the Living Lord. In the same way, John the Beloved longed to see the brethren personally rather than merely hearing from them through other sources or from writing. That is why John wrote the brethren a letter wanting see them “face-to-face.”

 

“I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. 14 For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face,” – 3 John 1:13-14

 

This was my devotion last July 18, 2019 at 10:26 a.m. at Mississauga, Ontario right a day later when we arrived from Toronto, Canada.

 

Webster define “face-to-face” as “within each people's sight or presence.”

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Moses ‘ desire

Moses could have learned God from his father, a Levite. Writings then was established informally by writings on the stones. The same is true when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses which was “written with the fingers of God “ on a two tablets of stones (Exodus 31:18). But prior to that, Moses met God through “an angel” in the so-called “burning bush” but He had never seen God personally yet then (Exodus 3:2). But later on, Moses pleaded God if He could see him face-to-face. That was Moses’s ardent desire. But God said, “Thou cannot see my face: for there no man see me and live” however God said that Moses can see His back but not face-to-face (Exodus 33:20, 23).

 

Have did you first meet God? Was it through preaching of a pastor or through supernatural way, a close encounter?

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Paul’s longing
Even Paul longed to see the brethren in Rome personally when he said, “For I long to see you,” (Romans 1:11). And during his struggling times, Galatians 1:18 Paul, went to Jerusalem “to see Peter” personally.

 

There is a saying that “Absence makes the heart grow fonder" and "out of sight, out of mind" are two common sayings we associate with relationships that has been forced apart by distance.”

 

Modern writings

With the development of modern writings from ancient hieroglyphics to Facebook today will it challenges human relationships whether it thrives the more? Shall we compromise fresh touch with these millennial gadgets? Apostle Paul gave his answers from 2 Corinthians 3:3 (NLT) when he wrote:

 

“Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.”

 

Sources claimed that “Paul’s first visit to Corinth was in AD50 and is described in Acts 18:1-18.

 

Sometime later, probably around AD55, it seems he made another visit to Corinth, foreshadowed in 1 Corinthians 4:19.

 

It is often described as his “painful visit” because of Paul’s later comment in 2 Corinthians 2:1

 

His third visit is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:14 and described (briefly) in Acts 20:2-3

This was probably in AD57.

 

We do not know of any subsequent visits, although it is possible (even likely) that Paul returned to Corinth as he travelled extensively after being released from prison in Rome in about AD63.”

 

Well, John the Beloved said he is not satisfied with mere writing to know the condition of the brethren. Pen and ink alone does not satisfy him. Facebook or Viber as well aren’t enough. You and I need to meet a person personally and we would like to talk from the heart. So John wants to see them personally. Again…

 

“I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. 14 For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face,” – 3 John 1:13-14.

 

Pen and ink have no personal touch. You have to meet someone in person. That gives you intimacy.


That is why the International Elders of Christ the Living Stone Fellowship (CLSF) visited Canada recently. My wife is one among the elders from the central church way back in the 1970’s.

 

 

Kuya Dan & Ate Tanet

So far there, we know that Apostle Paul frequented the Church in Corinth as time permits him.

 

In the same ways it goes with Kuya Dan Balais, our CLSF Senior Pastor together with his wife, Ate Tanette who often visit our CLSF foreign churches in Canada and United States of America to see how our brethren fares well on their affairs there on foreign shores.

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The Conference

It was the First CLSF-North American Convention and Prophetic Conference then that was held in

Holiday Inn, 327 St, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada between June 28-30, 2019.

 

The conference was hosted by the CLSF Canadian brethren. And I saw Ate Liza of Mississauga and Kuya Arnel and his wife Edwina from Windsor who were on deck personally on hands-on to the conference.

 

Why Kuya Dan, the senior pastor of CLSF Mandaluyong City has to bring the international elders with him? For what reason?

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Philippians 1:27, “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”


Take note of the word, “affairs” which is often time misquoted and misrepresented as ‘short-time affair” if not “romantic affair.” Have you heard the song, “Isang linggong pag-ibig” which is just a brief affair that gone to nothing?

 

 

 

What is an affair?

What is an affair?

 

Paul’s writings or epistles links him with both local and foreign missions. That is why, Paul writes the brethren often and if not visit them personally as often as he can. That way, he would know the “affairs” of the church.

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Similarly, Pastor Dan’s desire in visiting the churches is to know the affairs of the CLSF brethren in our foreign missions. That is to establish and develop more closer links and relationship with them.

 

To Webster, an affair means “a brief romantic relationship.” It is also mean “amour, fling, love, love affair, romance.” It is also mean, “a social gathering” or “the annual country club dance is a really fancy affair, bash, binge, blast, blowout, do, event, fete (or fête), function, get-together, party, reception,” and many others.

 

According to Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, the word “affairs” has 40 synonyms of affair from the, plus 138 related words, definitions, and antonyms

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Affairs Defined

What is an “affair” in Biblical definition?

 

Again, to quote the verse, it says, “ “ .. that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs … ” Philippians 1:27,

 

“Affairs” in Greek “peri” i.e. “about, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near.”.

 

If I would define what an affair, I would define it these ways:

  • “It is because of you”

  • “It is something about you”

  • “It is about you”

  • “It is concerning you”

 

If I would visit and see you personally be here locally or in Canada, my very reason is “because of you” or “it is about you that I am concerned with” or “it is something about you that bring me there.” It is a profound longing to see and touch and hear you because someone is concern with you.

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Concern

God is concern with you as well as the elders who are concern with every member of the church or the flock.

 

The word “concern” is mentioned in Luke 24:44; Romans 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:2 which is also inspired from the Greek word, “peri.”

 

The word “affairs” in King James Version (KJV) is being translated as “standing together” in New Living Translation” (NLT).

 

In other words, “affairs” and “concern” are one and the same.

 

New Living Translation (NLT), “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.”

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Standing together

The international elders of CSLF which includes my wife Nelids often reminded our brethren in Canada and USA about our Church’s two main objectives which are as follows: “common true knowledge” and “common unselfishness.”

 

That is how CLSF “stands together” as a church. This is CLSF’s core-values.

 

“Common true knowledge” has something to do with the “uniformity of doctrine” to avoid apostasy so that we will not veer away from the truth of Christ. Acts 2:42 says,

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“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

 

“Common unselfishness” has something to do with “camaraderie spirit” or “bayanihan-spirit” inspired from the early church that says:

 

“And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need,” – Acts 2:24-25

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Eagle Christian

The Eagle Christian is an official weekly online Newsletter of Christ, the Living Stone, Fellowship (CLSF) from Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines.

 

It is from this official online newsletter that we are being updated with the developments our CLSF Missions particularly overseas in the Middle East, USA or Canada. But this time, Nelids and myself will see the brethren in Canada, face to face.

 

The following photos reveal our face-to-face encounter with CLSF Canadian brethren:

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NOTES

Egyptian hieroglyphs (/ˈhaɪrəˌɡlɪf, -roʊ-/) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with a total of some 1,000 distinct characters. Cursive hieroglyphs were used for religious literature on papyrus and wood

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