Tag Archives: Riverside Christian Alliance Church

No One Could Have Expected It To Happen

By Reverend Wayne Chu

On Friday, March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed after a bank run. This was the second-largest bank failure in US history and unfortunately the largest bank failure since 2008. Two days later, Signature Bank followed. Who’s next? Shockingly, it was Credit Suisse, a giant in the investment field. A raging wave of global banking crisis took us off guard and brought back the painful memory of the 2008 financial crisis.

What can we learn from these events in a spiritual sense? First, prosperity does not last forever. Society enjoyed the low-interest rate for a long while, but when inflation collides with us and the interest rate rapidly climbs, we do not prepare well enough, especially banks like SVB. The collapse of the SVB was truly a sad sight. The SVB helped many startups and promoted the growth of technology development. It was considered as “financially sound”. Sure, SVB had issues in keeping the liquidity, but no bank could possibly survive if customers withdraw $42 billion in a single day. We cannot do business without banks and banks operate on trust. SVB was destroyed by the fear of its customers, and this is the second lesson we learned. We are indeed living in a fragile world. Everything we build up can be destroyed in the blink of an eye. God gives us “fear” to avoid danger, but the Enemy can also use it to cripple us. Trust in the loving God who sustains His creation. “Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea” Psalms 46:2 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Psalm 56:3. In times of financial turmoil, let us trust in our God, for He will restore the order of the world and give us the ultimate sense of security.

Riverside Christian Alliance Church

10:30am Sunday Worship

9640 Jurupa Road, Jurupa Valley CA 92509

951-360-0113

https://www.riversidecma.org/

It’s Time for Spring Yard Cleanup

By Pastor Wayne Chu

Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. Mark 4:7-8

I have many friends who love gardening and planting fruit trees. When we plant, we want to see them blossom and bear fruits. Jesus presents this picture to show us the life He gives us, it is joyful and meaningful, just like receiving fruits from our garden. However, that requires a lot of work. Now, Spring is here. It is time to clean up the weeds. Similarly, there are the worries of the earthly matters, such as our health, our job, our financial situation, and our relationships. These can take up all our minds and energy much like how a weed will take up the nutrients necessary for plants to flourish. Moreover, Jesus talks about worldly desires, indeed, we are very materialistic. We get tempted to spend money to “enjoy more” easily. Unfortunately, our desires make us keep chasing what seems to be “better” and in doing so we pursue a path where there is no end. As a result of this mindset, we cannot enjoy what we already have and are unable to find contentment in our everyday lives.

Jesus reminds us to focus on “Life in Him”. Living a life in Jesus is a worthy endeavor that allows us to pursue a happier and healthier life. If we turn our eyes to Him, our worries and desires will go away. We will be able to spend our time with others and enjoy their company. We will be able to see the needs of the others who are near us. We can offer love, care, and help to those we love. A meaningful, happy, and healthy life is the fruit Jesus wants us to bear.

Riverside Christian Alliance Church meets every Sunday at 10:30am for Worship. They are located at 9640 Jurupa Road, Jurupa Valley CA 92509. They can be reached at 951-360-0113. You can also visit them at https://www.riversidecma.org/