There's so much pain and sorrow from my past, I have trouble struggling with it.
I cannot over come it, I cannot let go of the hurt from my dad. I cannot overcome my selfishness, my social immaturity, fear of confrontation, my foolishness.
The more I look at these flaws, the more I sink. Like Peter who took his eyes off of Christ, I sink into an ocean of depression and pain.
The thing I need to do is to leave my past hurts, mistakes and failures behind, look forward to Christ and press on. That is life.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Love like a hurricane
God is love. Not like the emotion we think love to be. But a hurricane.
Wrecking the wicked and unrighteous for the sake of protecting the weak and oppressed.
But in the eye of the storm, there is peace and quietness.
In Christ we rest, while the whirlwind rages on.
Wrecking the wicked and unrighteous for the sake of protecting the weak and oppressed.
But in the eye of the storm, there is peace and quietness.
In Christ we rest, while the whirlwind rages on.
Bandwagon Christianity
When we stop focusing on Christ our Lord, all sorts of confusion and chaos will happen among his people.
In recent years, people have created many bandwagons in Evangelical Christianity.
Not that these things are bad, but too easily the pendulum can swing too far in an effort to be seeker friendly, that we lose wisdom and discernment in seeking God's will.
Just ask people who are involved, how many people involved in the above bandwagons have done it out of a conviction from communion with the Holy Spirit and Scripture? How many people have done it just because it is the latest trend?
I believe we need to ask ourselves these questions as well and work on our relationship with God through prayer and reading the scripture before hopping onto one of these wagons.
The ironic thing is some people who are involved in advertising one of these strategies say there is no silver bullet. But at the same time will criticize others for not leading/administrating a church in the same way. This is shameful and sad when human methods and strategies become huge idols.
What we need is not to come up with ways to contextualize anything. especially not the Gospel and our faith. We need godly character, to grow in wisdom and our relationship with our Lord, or else contextualization, being seeker friendly and all that stuff will be used to excuse our weakness and inability to stand firm in the torrents of the present age. We need to be first and foremost Biblical and letting faith be our assurance of things hoped for and evidence of things unseen.
Whatever happened to our Lord who did not submit to culture and told us that the world will hate us? What happened to pursuing Biblical wisdom in presenting the truth, pursuing holiness, and loving each other in deeds and good works in ways the world has never seen before? What happened to church discipline and a conviction of sin, repentance, and teaching of the truth by the Holy Spirit? What happened to the old faithful men and women like Tozer, Ravenhill, Newton, Elliot, Wilkerson, who by the power of God did not submit to the trends of this world but reflected God's Kingdom to the world by their very lives?
We need to reflect on our motivation and examine the lives we live. We need to seek our Lord.
In recent years, people have created many bandwagons in Evangelical Christianity.
- Contextualization of the Gospel with culture
- Breaking down of Biblical truths into dialogues and reason
- Emerging Church
- Missional Church
Not that these things are bad, but too easily the pendulum can swing too far in an effort to be seeker friendly, that we lose wisdom and discernment in seeking God's will.
Just ask people who are involved, how many people involved in the above bandwagons have done it out of a conviction from communion with the Holy Spirit and Scripture? How many people have done it just because it is the latest trend?
I believe we need to ask ourselves these questions as well and work on our relationship with God through prayer and reading the scripture before hopping onto one of these wagons.
The ironic thing is some people who are involved in advertising one of these strategies say there is no silver bullet. But at the same time will criticize others for not leading/administrating a church in the same way. This is shameful and sad when human methods and strategies become huge idols.
What we need is not to come up with ways to contextualize anything. especially not the Gospel and our faith. We need godly character, to grow in wisdom and our relationship with our Lord, or else contextualization, being seeker friendly and all that stuff will be used to excuse our weakness and inability to stand firm in the torrents of the present age. We need to be first and foremost Biblical and letting faith be our assurance of things hoped for and evidence of things unseen.
Whatever happened to our Lord who did not submit to culture and told us that the world will hate us? What happened to pursuing Biblical wisdom in presenting the truth, pursuing holiness, and loving each other in deeds and good works in ways the world has never seen before? What happened to church discipline and a conviction of sin, repentance, and teaching of the truth by the Holy Spirit? What happened to the old faithful men and women like Tozer, Ravenhill, Newton, Elliot, Wilkerson, who by the power of God did not submit to the trends of this world but reflected God's Kingdom to the world by their very lives?
We need to reflect on our motivation and examine the lives we live. We need to seek our Lord.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Not knowledge but true understanding and wisdom in Christ
We are blind unless we are in Christ.
Reading scripture with the intent and purpose of drawing meaning and forming principles is not helpful, but only through the revelation and guidance of Christ the true infallible Word of God and our light do we gain understanding and wisdom through Scripture.
Jesus Himself said the Scriptures bear witness of Him. Life is not in the Scriptures themselves, but in Jesus. Trying to draw meaning will only make us more confused and driven into madness, for our nature can use knowledge as weapon to sin.
For example, is it reasonable to try to figure out what Jesus meant when he says when someone strikes you on the left cheek let them strike the right? is it even reasonable to form principles to live our lives by? By nature we will try to use our own understanding to live up to this standard. But in the end it will just be behavior modification. Like Jesus said, only the outside of the mug is cleaned but the inside is still dirty like white washed tombs. I believe that's why Paul says he makes no opportunity for the flesh, and he boasts in his weakness, for God's strength is made perfect in his weakness.
When are we weak? We are weak in Christ. This is a simple yet complex and profound thing. I cannot explain with words. You just have to go and relate with Christ through prayer. Listen to what he says, talk to him about everything with an open and abandoned heart.
When we are in Christ, our mind and heart are transformed by Scripture. We no longer try to draw meaning from scripture, but our way of thinking and living is transformed.
I don't know how to put this in a clear manner, but we need to go to Jesus. He is our way, our truth and our life. Don't just stop at scriptures.
Reading scripture with the intent and purpose of drawing meaning and forming principles is not helpful, but only through the revelation and guidance of Christ the true infallible Word of God and our light do we gain understanding and wisdom through Scripture.
Jesus Himself said the Scriptures bear witness of Him. Life is not in the Scriptures themselves, but in Jesus. Trying to draw meaning will only make us more confused and driven into madness, for our nature can use knowledge as weapon to sin.
For example, is it reasonable to try to figure out what Jesus meant when he says when someone strikes you on the left cheek let them strike the right? is it even reasonable to form principles to live our lives by? By nature we will try to use our own understanding to live up to this standard. But in the end it will just be behavior modification. Like Jesus said, only the outside of the mug is cleaned but the inside is still dirty like white washed tombs. I believe that's why Paul says he makes no opportunity for the flesh, and he boasts in his weakness, for God's strength is made perfect in his weakness.
When are we weak? We are weak in Christ. This is a simple yet complex and profound thing. I cannot explain with words. You just have to go and relate with Christ through prayer. Listen to what he says, talk to him about everything with an open and abandoned heart.
When we are in Christ, our mind and heart are transformed by Scripture. We no longer try to draw meaning from scripture, but our way of thinking and living is transformed.
I don't know how to put this in a clear manner, but we need to go to Jesus. He is our way, our truth and our life. Don't just stop at scriptures.
Monday, January 2, 2012
The harvest is plentiful
But the workers are few.
As I was praying today I saw a field of golden wheat.
God is doing a mighty work of salvation in Asia.
50 years ago, a government leader in China said that Christianity belongs to the museum, God and Christianity can go to hell. At that time, it certainly seems so. But look at it today, grains of seeds that fell in the field have finally ripened.
There are millions upon millions of Asian people coming to Christ(being the predominant religion in 4 countries, and having 40-120 million Christians in China alone). Doctors, lawyers, businessmen, to lowly folks in rural villages. Their faith, hope and love are pure and innocent. With passionate hearts some of them will go to the west, bringing the good news of God's salvation back to Jerusalem.
God is fulfilling his promise in Isaiah 49. We can't just sit and waste our lives. Let's pray for people to reap the harvest.
As I was praying today I saw a field of golden wheat.
God is doing a mighty work of salvation in Asia.
50 years ago, a government leader in China said that Christianity belongs to the museum, God and Christianity can go to hell. At that time, it certainly seems so. But look at it today, grains of seeds that fell in the field have finally ripened.
There are millions upon millions of Asian people coming to Christ(being the predominant religion in 4 countries, and having 40-120 million Christians in China alone). Doctors, lawyers, businessmen, to lowly folks in rural villages. Their faith, hope and love are pure and innocent. With passionate hearts some of them will go to the west, bringing the good news of God's salvation back to Jerusalem.
God is fulfilling his promise in Isaiah 49. We can't just sit and waste our lives. Let's pray for people to reap the harvest.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Will of God: Rejoice always
Heard a story about St.Francis.
One day he was walking back to church in a snow storm with a brother.
He asks his brother, "If I preached a sermon today and many are converted, should I rejoice?"
His brother says, "Of course."
Francis answers, "No, no, I shouldn't rejoice."
"But if we arrive at our church and knock, but no one answers, yet we knock again, but our brothers come at us with sticks and beat us, if then we are still able to rejoice, then that is true joy that comes from God."
One day he was walking back to church in a snow storm with a brother.
He asks his brother, "If I preached a sermon today and many are converted, should I rejoice?"
His brother says, "Of course."
Francis answers, "No, no, I shouldn't rejoice."
"But if we arrive at our church and knock, but no one answers, yet we knock again, but our brothers come at us with sticks and beat us, if then we are still able to rejoice, then that is true joy that comes from God."
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Things I need
When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
I lack trust in people and it displeases God. My nature is to measure myself with the short stick and put the long stick to others. Always trying to figure out if another person is a Christian by their small faults and blunders.
I really need Jesus to transform my heart and nature. Give me your heart to love, to accept all and to always trust. Let me not ask "Lord, what about him?" but "Lord, what about me?"
I lack trust in people and it displeases God. My nature is to measure myself with the short stick and put the long stick to others. Always trying to figure out if another person is a Christian by their small faults and blunders.
I really need Jesus to transform my heart and nature. Give me your heart to love, to accept all and to always trust. Let me not ask "Lord, what about him?" but "Lord, what about me?"
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