Anna M. Zhou (Beloved)
Lord, You are my hiding place. Lead me as I press on toward the final sprint, toward Christ and His Cross.
Christ’s Love Compels, for the Lord’s Coming Draws Near
Recently, my brother and youngest sister both rested in the Lord: Dorothy on my 82nd birthday, and Paul on his 87th birthday. My elder sister Mary rested in the Lord on December 31, 2019, after her whole family had gathered for a reunion. I thought, perhaps now it is my turn. So I must be strong in the Spirit and stand firm, leaving a testimony for my beloved Michael and Karla and for their children, Amelia and Luca.
It was also a joy to see Sister Su come to Boston and meet with co-workers who have led prayer and Bible study for six years. We gathered and shared freely, with spiritual joy. Christ’s love has compelled me to continue daily prayerful Bible reading, reflective meditation, and concise bilingual responses, so that office staff and others may share in the Scriptures and the Lord’s grace.
Sensitive to the Spirit’s Reminder, Joyfully Submitted to His Control
As I prepare to give an account to God, I want to pass on Christ’s Cross to the generations to come:
- Finish the heavenly race well.
Admonish and teach everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. Let what can be shaken be removed, so that what cannot be shaken may remain, and we may enter God’s unshakable kingdom. Put to death Adam’s sinful nature, the old self. Receive God’s kingdom like a little child, humble and pure in heart, rejecting the rule of treasure and fame. Enter God’s kingdom not by works, but by God’s grace alone (Col. 1:28; Heb. 12:27; Luke 18:17). - Preserve the inheritance of family faith.
“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). Godly parents raise godly children who revere and love God, who read Scripture prayerfully, sing hymns in heart and voice, and come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy, grace, and help in time of need (Heb. 4:16). - Fix our eyes on Christ and His Cross.
Sit at the Lord’s feet, listening. Be enlightened, cleansed, and healed by His Word. Receive His favor in His tender embrace. United with the Lord, trust and obey, with the Cross before us and the world behind us, following closely in His steps until we meet Him. - Rejoice always.
Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in everything. Do not quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:16-19). Do not give the devil a foothold (Eph. 4:27). Reject the false teaching of prosperity theology, and do not follow the current of this world. Be sensitive to the Spirit’s reminders, and joyfully submit to His control. Submit to one another in love out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:21).
Notes
In 1860, my great-great-grandfather sent my great-grandfather, Rev. Luk Wu Chau, across the Pacific to South America as a laborer-missionary. By my grandfather David Chow’s instruction, Uncle James, an attorney trained at Oxford-Cambridge, sold family businesses and plantations to support his siblings as missionaries to China between 1926 and 1930. In 1936, my father, Charles Ewing Chow (1904-1982), helped plant Kuan Jie Church in Beijing. A later historical note records that President George W. Bush attended worship there during his 2008 visit to China.
Daily Devotions
2025-08-23
Be Willing to Obey God
Scripture: 1 Cor. 6:19-20; Jer. 31:3; 2 Tim. 1:9; Gal. 2:20; 1 Pet. 1:3
The Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts is from God, and we are not our own. We were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
The Lord breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. God has loved us with an everlasting love, saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, given to us in Christ Jesus before time began (Jer. 31:3; 2 Tim. 1:9).
Meditation:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20). Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Pet. 1:3).
(Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 49-50)
2025-08-22
God’s Condition for Full Blessing
Scripture: Matt. 16:24-27; Eph. 3:19-20
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matt. 16:24-27).
Meditation:
Obedience receives full blessing. Seek God’s will, not mine. To know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19-20).
Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
(Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 46-48)
2025-08-21
God’s Patience: Calling All to Repentance
Scripture: 2 Pet. 3:8-9; Isa. 55:6; 2 Cor. 6:2; Ps. 69:13
Do not forget this one thing: with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Rather, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:8-9).
Were those who died when the tower in Siloam fell worse sinners than all others? Jesus says no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish (Luke 13:4-5). If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins (1 John 1:9).
Meditation:
Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. For He says, “In the time of My favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Now is the time of God’s favor; now is the day of salvation. So I pray: O Lord, in the time of Your favor, in Your great love, answer me with Your sure salvation (Isa. 55:6; 2 Cor. 6:2; Ps. 69:13).
(Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 42-45)
2025-08-20
Acknowledge God, Be Strong in the Spirit
Scripture: 1 Kings 18:17-40; Prov. 3:5-6; James 5:7-8, 17-18; Josh. 1:8-9
At Mount Carmel, Elijah stood against 450 prophets of Baal. The fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, instantly revealing the true God and exposing the false (1 Kings 18:17-40).
Keep Scripture always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go (Josh. 1:8-9).
Meditation:
Be patient, beloved, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for the early and latter rains. Elijah was a human being, just as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain for three and a half years. Then he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain (James 5:7-8, 17-18).
Acknowledge God and be strong in the Spirit. Meditate on Scripture, seek God’s heart, follow His leading, imitate Christ, and learn obedience through suffering (Prov. 3:5-6).
(Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 37-40)
2025-08-19
Hold Fast to Sound Truth and Reject False Teachers
Scripture: 2 Pet. 2:1-3; Deut. 18:22; John 8:44; 1 Pet. 3:14-18; Heb. 13:13
In former times, there were false prophets among the people, just as there are false teachers among us now. They secretly introduce destructive heresies, leading others astray and bringing swift destruction upon themselves. In their greed, deceit, and self-seeking, their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been idle.
Their immorality, greed, and falsehood reveal that they belong to their father, the devil, whose desires are destruction and murder (John 8:44).
Meditation:
Hold fast to sound truth and reject false teachers and their self-serving greed. Do not be afraid of suffering for righteousness’ sake—Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Keep a good conscience. Be willing to obey and do the will of God.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit (1 Pet. 3:14-18).
Let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach, and follow Him in the way of the Cross (Heb. 13:13).
(Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 32-34)