been thinking a lot. heard a message yesterday from mike bickle, talking about how everything we do now has a consequence in eternity. he talked from 1 cor, about building on our foundation with gold, silver, straw or hay. I want to be one that builds on my foundation with gold. we all have to face christ during the last day of judgement, where he'll give according to what we did on earth(2 cor). even little things matter; christ see's them.
really praying for my church and myself. recall from my baptism class--about half of those in my baptism class don't even go to church anymore. really praying that God will bring them back. sorta depressing, but pressing on, knowing that God can do miracles.
Pastor John preached this morning about the the worship empowered by the Holy Spirit. really hoping we can later in the futre have ministry time where we lay hands on one another, seeing the power of the holy spirit.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Friday, July 30, 2010
Daily Thoughts
Today was a busy day full of various activities: an online Pre-calculus course, SAT homework, cross country. Nevertheless, I felt today was also very meaningful-I started the day with a powerful scripture passage: Romans 13:12-13. The passage states: "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." It reminds us that we should not vacillate in our devotion to God, but instead strive to be more like Him. We know that sin is incongruous in our transformed lives, and we should be relentless in ridding ourselves of anything that impedes our walk with God. I do not want to sound "spiritual" in this short discussion-there are already countless of "spiritual" messages. My goal is to be practical, to be faithful to the end despite this volatile world that we live in. Although Christianity is not always easy-we try to maintain our purity, read our Bibles daily, witness to our friends-we should see that it's all worth it in the end when we receive our reward, when the "day is here." So, let us continue in our fervor. Indeed, our faces should not be morose and pitiful in a troubled world, but instead radiant with hope as we share that hope to the world.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
A Lesson from an Older Guy
As I was reading my one year Bible today, I came across a a powerful passage-the story about Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. Moabites and Ammonites were coming to attack him, with their furtive glances and tactics. I'm sure that during those days, the emotional atmosphere was volatile-no one knew whether that week would be their last week. Nevertheless, in response to the hectic situation, Jehoshaphat did was he knew what he had to do: pray. In his veneration to the Lord, he stood in the assembly of the Lord and called upon His name: "See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you"( 2 Chron. 20:11-12). Although the attacks from the two enemies were both flagrant and unjustified-the Isrealietes had every right to complain and get discouraged-the people of God instead looked to the Lord. Likewise, in our present day-full of sexual temptations, pride, materialism-let us keep our eyes fixed on Christ, knowing that He is greater than all of the "Moabites" and "Ammonites" of our days.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Reflection
Life is rough. Today at church, I heard about someone who recently passed away-it was a casualty of an honorable soldier who died in combat. I realized that no matter how meticulous we are in trying to stay safe, events occur and many times they do not go as we would desire. When I heard of this recent passing, I was inundated with conviction, thinking about the day my life will pass. It says in Psalms that our lives of but breaths, like grass-here today and gone tomorrow. What then exactly is our purpose in life? Are we to live a mundane and materialistic life, living only for transient sources of pleasure? No. I believe that in life, if you take away all the superfluous details, on the very bottom of each individual's heart is a yearning for love. It says in Proverbs that what every man desire is unfailing love. For the Christian, the unending, passionate, and jealous love comes from one person: Jesus Christ. Our response to Him should not be superficial, but should be sincere. We should do what Paul said in Romans 6:13: "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness." Let that be our prayer.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Yes and No
What bothers me is when people agree to do something and then don't do it. One of the easiest ways to ruin a friendship with me is broken agreements, such as meeting up, promises, and secrets.
I'm sure many of you would be upset if your friends are constantly canceling on you after agreeing for the hundredth time to meet up, especially if its for a school or work project.
The converse is the same: if a friend says no, but ends up changing their mind. It's a pleasant surprise, is it not? They say they won't come to your graduation ceremony, but end up freeing up their schedule and making it in time just brings a smile to your heart.
I'm sure many of you would be upset if your friends are constantly canceling on you after agreeing for the hundredth time to meet up, especially if its for a school or work project.
The converse is the same: if a friend says no, but ends up changing their mind. It's a pleasant surprise, is it not? They say they won't come to your graduation ceremony, but end up freeing up their schedule and making it in time just brings a smile to your heart.
Jesus actually tells a parable about something like this back in the halcyon days of Ancient Jerusalem:
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Matthew 21 (Biblegateway.com), NLT:
28 “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30 Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.
31 “Which of the two obeyed his father?”
They replied, “The first.”h]">[h]
Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. 32 For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.
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I used to think that this was a passage about obedience; and it is to a certain extent. Whenever my parents, friends, or authorities would ask me a favor/request, I would do my best to somehow finish the task, regardless of my verbal agreement or refusal to do so.
This morning, however, as I read, I couldn't believe how blatantly I missed Jesus' true meaning of his parable: salvation and the Kingdom of God.
Here is a short, simplistic breakdown:
1. There are many "sons" of God who say "yes" to God, but refuse to go out into the field and work for the Kingdom.
2. There are also many sons of God who say "no" to God, but end up obeying because they change their mind.
3. There are NO sons of God who willingly say "yes" to God and enthusiastically labor for the Kingdom.
Wow!!!! This is unbelievably convicting and true. Jesus isn't trying to discourage the Christian body and our efforts to follow Him. He is saying that it is naturally against our flesh to obey God.
Paul infamously wrote in Romans how his flesh often makes him do the things he does not want to do, and don't do what he wants to do. Jesus is acknowledging the sinful nature of man and granting grace! The first son refused to do so, but the father did not persist! This is our God, friends! He doesn't force us to do anything. The pursuit of holiness is through work of the Holy Spirit living inside of us, which changes our mind.
Jesus is saying that he KNOWS you won't say "yes." Actually, he probably knows you'll say "no" when he tells you to stop doing your work or errands to evangelize to that person standing in line/sitting across from you. But in the end, even though you initially outright refused, YOU are the son he wants. As I said before, he is just so pleasantly "surprised" that you ended up obeying! God is so good.
On the other hand, there are the Christians who follow #2. We think saying "yes" one time to Jesus is good enough. A sinner's prayer, one mission trip, and reading our Bible once a month is satisfactory. Shouting "OH YEAH! I'M SO GONNA DO THAT!!" every time a preacher challenges you at church is not what brings the fruit (which is the context of chapter 21). Just like Jesus says in v31 and v32, we are missing the Kingdom because of our religious spirit and practices.
Haha, but guess what's amazing? Jesus says "the [sinners] will enter the Kingdom BEFORE you." Does that mean we won't enter at all? By no means! It means that the church rats who play games with God and Christianity will/probably know what it means to have true salvation eventually, but they will be much slower in getting it. After all, there were a few Pharisees, Roman centurions, and other "pagans" who grasped the concept of the Cross and salvation through Jesus!
Isn't God unbelievably gracious?
Friday, January 15, 2010
Apnea
[This is a post I wrote shortly after the new year had begun, but I felt like creating a new year post before it so I'm publishing it a couple weeks later. It's a long post, but, as always, I put a ton of thought and effort into it. Who knows? You might one day hear it spoken in message format by me or someone who reads it/receives similar revelation!]
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All throughout my childhood and adolescent years, the guys would always pick on the individuals who would fall asleep first at sleepovers and snore loudly. I still have a collection of hilarious pranks caught on video and silly pictures that were elaborately set up. Ah, the memories of rudely taking advantage of my poor slumbering friends. Good times. I don't know what exact the reason is, but I simply find listening to people snore incredibly amusing. Even now, I periodically giggle while typing as my good friend Jensen is grunting away on my bed.
Not too long ago, I learned in my Psychology class that snoring was merely a combination of improper sleeping posture combined with heavy nasal cavity pressure which emits a distorted sound of breath. The professor, Prof. Dickinson, also noted that the compression that is created through the throat actually interrupts our cardiac rhythm for a temporal period of time whenever the snoring bursts would occur. In other words, the heart skips a beat. This puts immense pressure on the heart and, over time, can be cause of nocturnal heart failure (dying while asleep).
When I heard this, I did not think much of its spiritual significance. After all, many people wish to die in their sleep to avoid a painful death. However, I felt the Lord telling me that many common church goers today are not only falling asleep, but also snoring away. We are unaware of what is going on around us and the enemy laughs at us. We are no threat to the kingdom of darkness! When a bunch of weak, comfortable, slumbering Christians get together to worship and warfare against Satan, it's equivalent to a bunch of 5'5 guys trying to out-jump a 6'0 guy in Jr High basketball (True story. I actually managed to get a solid 12 pts and 10 rebounds that game though!).
It's a joke.
And that's what our faith has come down to. Christianity today has since become a punchline for cinema, comedians, and books; dismissed as uneducated, ignorant, and judgmental. And the worst part is that as we're being lulled into this deep coma, we are not even aware that our hearts are slowly weakening!
Well, we aren't the only ones. The disciples (haha, these guys are so funny) struggled with sleeping too. When Jesus was praying in Gethsemane, he was interceding with all heart and mind to the point where he was sweating blood (that must have been one intense session with the Lord, but that's another topic for another post). As Jesus wept and cried out to His Father, his loyal disciples were snoozin'! Unbelievable!
I mean, think about it: The disciples publicly VOWED that they will stay loyal and defend Jesus' honor to the death. Jesus took a select few of his disciples, the cream of the crop (Peter & crew), into the last and most critical phase of prayer in Gethsemane before the ultimate plan of crucifixion that would ensure the salvation of all mankind--and these guys decide to take a nap?! LOL! Can these guys get anything right?
Unfortunately, this is a perfect picture of American Christianity today. Jesus is constantly praying and interceding for the nations. What are we doing? We are off in our careers, academics, and own interests in order to benefit our families, our friends and ourselves. It is so easy for us Christians to doze into our religious form of Christianity with little to no fruit. And when we get become hypnotized by the enemy into only caring about our own matters, we won't have the power to influence others'.
Satan ain't a fool--he won't directly confront the saints in face-to-face combat. He fights dirty and attacks when you least expect it. We must, as it says in Isaiah 62, become like watchmen on the tower who gets no rest. Samson wasn't taken captive while he was awake, but rather when he was asleep!
It's time for the church to WAKE UP!
...and, while we're at it, make a trip to the sleep clinic to get one of those snoring mouth guards.
=====
All throughout my childhood and adolescent years, the guys would always pick on the individuals who would fall asleep first at sleepovers and snore loudly. I still have a collection of hilarious pranks caught on video and silly pictures that were elaborately set up. Ah, the memories of rudely taking advantage of my poor slumbering friends. Good times. I don't know what exact the reason is, but I simply find listening to people snore incredibly amusing. Even now, I periodically giggle while typing as my good friend Jensen is grunting away on my bed.
Not too long ago, I learned in my Psychology class that snoring was merely a combination of improper sleeping posture combined with heavy nasal cavity pressure which emits a distorted sound of breath. The professor, Prof. Dickinson, also noted that the compression that is created through the throat actually interrupts our cardiac rhythm for a temporal period of time whenever the snoring bursts would occur. In other words, the heart skips a beat. This puts immense pressure on the heart and, over time, can be cause of nocturnal heart failure (dying while asleep).
When I heard this, I did not think much of its spiritual significance. After all, many people wish to die in their sleep to avoid a painful death. However, I felt the Lord telling me that many common church goers today are not only falling asleep, but also snoring away. We are unaware of what is going on around us and the enemy laughs at us. We are no threat to the kingdom of darkness! When a bunch of weak, comfortable, slumbering Christians get together to worship and warfare against Satan, it's equivalent to a bunch of 5'5 guys trying to out-jump a 6'0 guy in Jr High basketball (True story. I actually managed to get a solid 12 pts and 10 rebounds that game though!).
It's a joke.
And that's what our faith has come down to. Christianity today has since become a punchline for cinema, comedians, and books; dismissed as uneducated, ignorant, and judgmental. And the worst part is that as we're being lulled into this deep coma, we are not even aware that our hearts are slowly weakening!
Well, we aren't the only ones. The disciples (haha, these guys are so funny) struggled with sleeping too. When Jesus was praying in Gethsemane, he was interceding with all heart and mind to the point where he was sweating blood (that must have been one intense session with the Lord, but that's another topic for another post). As Jesus wept and cried out to His Father, his loyal disciples were snoozin'! Unbelievable!
I mean, think about it: The disciples publicly VOWED that they will stay loyal and defend Jesus' honor to the death. Jesus took a select few of his disciples, the cream of the crop (Peter & crew), into the last and most critical phase of prayer in Gethsemane before the ultimate plan of crucifixion that would ensure the salvation of all mankind--and these guys decide to take a nap?! LOL! Can these guys get anything right?
Unfortunately, this is a perfect picture of American Christianity today. Jesus is constantly praying and interceding for the nations. What are we doing? We are off in our careers, academics, and own interests in order to benefit our families, our friends and ourselves. It is so easy for us Christians to doze into our religious form of Christianity with little to no fruit. And when we get become hypnotized by the enemy into only caring about our own matters, we won't have the power to influence others'.
Satan ain't a fool--he won't directly confront the saints in face-to-face combat. He fights dirty and attacks when you least expect it. We must, as it says in Isaiah 62, become like watchmen on the tower who gets no rest. Samson wasn't taken captive while he was awake, but rather when he was asleep!
It's time for the church to WAKE UP!
...and, while we're at it, make a trip to the sleep clinic to get one of those snoring mouth guards.
Monday, January 4, 2010
New year, new decade
First off, happy new decade and new year everyone! I am so thankful to God for living through the entire 2000s without having to go to war or suffering drastically from the economic recession. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ for my ability to live with food/clothes, attend a fantastic church with an amazing fellowship, and pursue my dream through academics.
2010, for me, will be the start of my 20s. By 2020, I will be hitting 30 years of age and the very thought of me being 30 is scary, considering that I am finally managing to close my teenage years. May God take me and you on a wonderful journey for the next 10 years to stay strong in His presence and love!
I do have a few resolutions, but to summarize, I simply want to continue to pursue the destiny God has called me to and not the one that others expect of me. I also will continue attempting to enforce a time schedule on my life with conjunction to Mike Bickle's The Power of a Focused Life.
The past 10 years have been extremely hard on the church and they are only going to get harder. Many pastors, prophets, and preachers believe that the upcoming decade will show who truly remains in God and who simply goes to church for the blessings and religion. This is not to point fingers, but to encourage those who play games with God to get serious and get moving. Time is of the essence. It doesn't take a physics engineer to figure out that the world is in chaos and danger of ending at any given moment.
On a more positive note, I believe that the grace of God will shower down even more heavily upon those who abide in Him. Favor unending will pour out like never before for Christians who serve God wholeheartedly and remain clean before him. Things like famine, recession, disease, and death will plague the body of Christ like never before, but the power and light of Jesus will shine through even brighter!
Keep praising the Lord and charge the throttle to full speed ahead! Pastor Grace Chiang described it as boarding the bullet train. There will be those who opt to freely riding the train to get to where they want and many who choose to bike everywhere and struggling with manual labor on a dirty piece of metal. I don't know about you, but if all I have to do is surrender everything to have God make everything easier sounds good to me!
All aboard!
2010, for me, will be the start of my 20s. By 2020, I will be hitting 30 years of age and the very thought of me being 30 is scary, considering that I am finally managing to close my teenage years. May God take me and you on a wonderful journey for the next 10 years to stay strong in His presence and love!
I do have a few resolutions, but to summarize, I simply want to continue to pursue the destiny God has called me to and not the one that others expect of me. I also will continue attempting to enforce a time schedule on my life with conjunction to Mike Bickle's The Power of a Focused Life.
The past 10 years have been extremely hard on the church and they are only going to get harder. Many pastors, prophets, and preachers believe that the upcoming decade will show who truly remains in God and who simply goes to church for the blessings and religion. This is not to point fingers, but to encourage those who play games with God to get serious and get moving. Time is of the essence. It doesn't take a physics engineer to figure out that the world is in chaos and danger of ending at any given moment.
On a more positive note, I believe that the grace of God will shower down even more heavily upon those who abide in Him. Favor unending will pour out like never before for Christians who serve God wholeheartedly and remain clean before him. Things like famine, recession, disease, and death will plague the body of Christ like never before, but the power and light of Jesus will shine through even brighter!
Keep praising the Lord and charge the throttle to full speed ahead! Pastor Grace Chiang described it as boarding the bullet train. There will be those who opt to freely riding the train to get to where they want and many who choose to bike everywhere and struggling with manual labor on a dirty piece of metal. I don't know about you, but if all I have to do is surrender everything to have God make everything easier sounds good to me!
All aboard!
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