confessions of a tiffomelon

Why non-Christians are unable to love where it matters

2010-05-08T21:37:00.000-07:00

One of my non-Christian friends posed this question on me when I was engaged to Tim. Below was my response in an email ~

Even though it seems like a simple question, it is actually quite complicated to understand. However, it can be summed up easily and a simple answer would be this: an essential part of loving is to point the other person to the Gospel and to God. Non-Christians obviously would not do this because they don’t see the value in it.

Now to elaborate on that, Christians see value in this because it is the core of what is “perfect” love. Unlike what most people think, love is more than mere emotion. Emotion is fickle and sometimes fleeting — Love is more than that, it is consistent. I think most people can understand this idea to an extent. For example, when parents love their children, it’s not because their children are always lovable or parents always feel loving towards their kids. It’s something more than that, however, I don’t think most people can clearly define what love really is or why they try to love.

For Christians, it is simply this: God is love (definition). We try to love because God loves us (reason).

The bible says: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.* Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

*This is the Gospel (very streamlined version).

In the Bible, love has multiples aspects (Greek culture itself had a deeper understanding of love); there is sacrificial love, familial love, friendship love, and erotic love. Perfect love, should encompass all of those things, but an emphasis is placed on sacrificial love. Non-Christians can undoubtedly love in one way or another, however, it is not perfect love because it does not care for the soul of the other person. Certainly, there are people who can imitate perfect love, but they leave out what Christians consider the most important part (since it deals with eternity). Even then, I think people who are able to do that are rare. If you look at our world, people don’t love each other. Divorce rate is at least 50% and many people are so disillusioned by the commitment of marriage that they just avoid it. Even amongst so-called Christians (people who should have no excuse), many are self-centered and more likely to think of themselves before another person. But God calls us to something beyond this... Beyond ourselves. He says that real love is being kind, compassionate, gracious, and giving way to people, regardless of circumstance, even if they hate you and torture you. One of the best (and possibly easiest) ways of accomplishing this is through marriage. Non-Christians will probably see this as foolish, but to the Christian, it is something that is good.

I’m not sure if any of that made sense... And it’s most definitely incomplete. Love is a HUGE topic. But yea, below is an article that may help you understand this idea a little bit better, if you’re interested. And definitely, the best way for you to see this through example. So hopefully our marriage can be a good example!

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2008/2647_Regeneration_Faith_Love_In_That_Order/

tifo

Sweet Corn Tomalito (i.e., Chevy's Corn Mush)

2010-05-04T23:34:00.001-07:00

From Sweet Corn Tomalito

Since the budget crisis hit, my department is always trying to improve the office morale by throwing "recession friendly" parties (i.e., potlucks). Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo... so, accordingly, my office is having a potluck during the lunch hour. I decided that it would be a great time to bring in some of my Sweet Corn Tomalito. Yummmieeee ~! :) If you've ever eaten at Chevy's and wondered what that delicious-melt-in-your-mouth corn mush is... well, now's your chance to find out (and make it too!). It's actually really simple to put together, however, it does require a bit of patience during the time it's cooking.

Prep time: 15 minutes / Cook time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients ~

1/2 Cup + 2 Tablespoons of Softened Margarine or Butter (1.25 sticks)
1/2 Cup Masa Harina
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Cans Creamed Corn (~15 oz/can)
1 Can Corn (~15 oz)
1 Cup Cornmeal
2 Heaping Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Milk

Directions ~

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together the margarine/butter, masa harina and sugar. If the butter is cold, pop it in the microwave at 40% for 30 seconds.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together well.
Spread out the mixture onto a 9x13 glass pyrex dish (other pans may work as well).
Place the dish with the mixture on top of another dish that is filled halfway with water.
Cover the dishes with aluminum foil.
Carefully place the dishes into the oven and bake for ~1 hour and 15 minutes.
Check with a toothpick if the dish is done. When done, the toothpick will come out clean. Scoop into serving dish or tupperware... or serve directly onto plates!
Enjoy your tifolicious tomalito! :D

And now that I finally found my camera (and also fixed my netbook), I can post up some pictures of the tifolicious food making process. Just click on the link under the picture to get to the album.

Nacho compromise

2010-04-15T11:52:00.000-07:00

On the first floor of my office building (it's really outside and around the corner) there is a Lox, Stock and Bagel. This bagel place has everything from sushi to bul-dogs (hot dogs topped with bulgogi). They also have deliciously cheap NACHOS. I mean REAL nachos... the stuff that's topped with the fake liquid cheese -- mm... yummmy. Here's a delicious example:

Anyway, it's always so tempting (especially when I'm sitting at my desk at work for like 6.5 hours) for me to go downstairs and buy some. They are actually quite affordable -- <$5 for a plate of nachos topped with beef, salsa, beans, sour cream, chives and etc. But you know... that's like a MEAL. Sometimes I just want a taste... a small snack. So today I headed over to Walgreens and picked up a few items and made myself a 100 calorie version of nachos. :D

They didn't have baked tortilla chips, so I used 3 of these Organic Corn Thins:

They are only 22 calories each and are practically fat free. Don't let them soak in your nacho cheese though... they get soggy pretty fast.

Then I microwaved a tablespoon of Tostitos Salsa Con Queso:
Did you know that 2 Tablespoons of this is only 40 calories and only has 2.5 grams of fat? Some of the other ones have 7 grams of fat per serving!!

And topped it off with like a teaspoon of generic Walgreens brand of salsa. It was all very yummy and totally hit the spot! :)

Cutesy Aprons ~

2010-04-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Patty and I took a class at Stonemountain & Daughters. It was so fun!! This was the apron that I came up with... what do you guys think? :)

I'd really like to make more half aprons... but I think I have too many aprons already (I received 3 full ones for my bridal shower!!)... so I think I'll make a few in the next month or so and give them away.

So... make sure to stay tuned for my apron giveaways! :D

Nostalgia

2010-04-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

Today I was walking around campus and I realized how much I missed being a student. Maybe I'm just lazy and I don't want to work... I wish I could go back and relive my college years. I wonder what I would do differently? Would I be more productive? I'm not sure... I really enjoyed the freedom of being a student.

Of course, I don't miss all the midterms and finals and etc.

I guess my job isn't too bad. My office is <5 minutes walking distance from the gym, near lots of good eats, in front of the BART, a 15 minute walk from home and it's still close enough that I can meet up with students from my church. The workload is pretty manageable (I'm used to it now) and the social work environment is pretty fun. :) I guess I have a lot to be thankful for... though, I still kinda wish I could just not work. That would be pretty darn wonderful too.

I saw these posters today at Etcheverry Hall. I thought it was so funny -- I guess there really aren't that many female engineers? :P

The greatest invention that altered lives!!!

2010-04-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

Well... it changes my life (made working out less boring) and it's less expensive than the Kindle. Or even just buying Kindle books and loading them onto my iphone.

Just clip the book to the clipboard and place 2 rubberbands around the book strategically (for easier page turning).

And then when you turn the page, instead of clipping the page, just place it under the other rubber band. VOILA! Amazing, isn't it. :P It fits perfectly on a treadmill book holder thingy.

I hope my brother doesn't mind that I'm doing this to his book... I promise it is gentle on the book (at least I hope so).

faithful Father

2010-02-17T23:20:00.000-08:00

Today I witnessed a brother return to Christ after a year of living in rebellion. Though many were probably faithful in praying for him, I realize that I was not one of those faithful friends. Yet, despite any of our human shortcomings, God remained so faithful to him and refused to let him go. God is true to His word and still remains the most faithful friend of all.

need a quick dinner fix? -- steak is your answer!

2010-02-05T13:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, after I worked a little overtime at the office, I came home realizing that I had a little less than an hour to make dinner! :@ So I decided to whip out one of the NY Strips that I had in our freezer and fill my hubby's tummy with something that no man would reject -- meat.

Since steak is really quick to make (just pop in the oven for ~15 minutes for fresh & ~ 20 minutes for frozen), I decided to start on the side dishes first and then make the steak. After searching the fridge for leftovers and ingredients to use, here's the menu I came up with:

garlic rosemary mashed potatoes
grapes with brie, crackers and bread
NY strip steak
orange juice

Pretty simple, right? :)

MASHED POTATOES
Usually, I buy a huge bag of red potatoes from Costco, cube them up and freeze them. I didn't have as much time this past month, so I cut them fresh. :)

Ingredients:

~ 5 red potatoes, cubed
garlic, garlic powder or garlic granules (I mince and freeze my garlic in little packets)
rosemary
~1/2 cup cream, half & half, milk or whatever you have on hand. I used evaporated milk.
1/2 onion (whichever type you have on hand, I used a sweet peru type from costco)
butter, margarine (I used Smart Balance)
parsley (optional)

1. Cook the onion, potatoes, garlic and rosemary in the butter until the onion is clear and the garlic & rosemary are fragrant.
2. Add enough cream until it just covers the potatoes. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender. Stir occasionally.

3. Uncover and mash the potatoes in the pan. Stir occasionally until the consistency is the way you desire.
4. Add parsley for extra flavor and serve. :)

CRACKERS and BRIE!
Tim bought the most delicious crackers and brie from Berkeley Bowl. I saw the brie at Costco too! :)

These were the most amazing crackers. They weren't really like crackers... more like little savory crepes. Tim said he got them because he thought I would like them... ;) he knows me so well!

This brie is so delicious that even the wax melted and spread easily on the yummy crackers. And it tasted so delicious with grapes and bread too! :)

STEAK
Like I said before, steak is incredibly easy and quick to make. You can cook it fresh or frozen! :) Since I have an electric oven :( , broiling it frozen was probably the best way. Because I wanted to get a nice brown crust on the outside and soft juicy meat on the inside... I would have to cook it longer in an electric oven than in a gas one.

Ingredients:

Steak (Ribeye is delicious, but I used NY Strip this time)
Butter or margarine (I used Smart Balance)
Seasoning of choice. Black pepper and salt work well. I used Monterey Steak Seasoning from Costco.

1. Rinse the steak under some warm water. Dry well before seasoning.
2. Rub seasoning all around steak. Top with butter.

3. Broil in oven for ~7 minutes (fresh) and ~12 minutes (frozen) on one side until steak is nice and brown (slightly charred on the edges). Flip and repeat on the other side.
4. Plate and serve immediately!

I cut the steaks in half (that's why they look tiny) because Tim and I don't think we needed to eat that much meat (I never finish my steak anyway). The portions were perfect! :)

missing bowl

2010-02-04T10:22:00.001-08:00

someone took my beloved bowl from the dish rack at work. :( i really miss it... so i posted an ad in the kitchen.

anger

2009-12-14T21:55:00.000-08:00

12/8/09 - fighting the feeling to be angry at others. i think when i feel slightly spurned, i have the tendency to really take things out of proportion and become angry at everyone. every little thing other people do starts to really get on my nerves and i just sit and fume and get mad at them. i start mentally picking and criticizing everyone's flaws in an effort to make myself feel better and to defeat them by making myself appear better. but i know this feeling of "triumph" will only last so long and ultimately it won't satisfy. i know that i can't make myself taller by cutting everyone off at their knees -- even if it may appear that way, it's still a lie. i know that the Bible tells me that hate will not comfort and will only eat me up more. i have to learn to forgive, to be gracious and to love. love is the only thing that will cover up all sins -- after all, that is exactly what Christ's love did.

Wedding Pictures! :D

2009-12-14T15:31:00.000-08:00

Our pictures are up on Lynn's website!

Here's the slideshow that Lynn made for us :)

We're back! :)

2009-11-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

We're finally back from our honeymoon!!! And we're both sick! :(

I will update with some new posts once things get settled and our apartment is unpacked. :) Maybe I will update with something tonight, we'll see.

Yay! Married life...!

Branded

2009-10-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

Wedding planning is up to it's final stretch and I think Tim and I are both ready for a week long vacation at Disneyworld. :) He's been working on fellowship and grant applications (which are due the week after we get back from our honeymoon), working a full time job, AND helping a crazy bridezilla with finishing touches for our big day. :P He deserves a vacation.

Anyway, throughout this process I've been thinking about what sort of wife I will be like after all of this is over. It was an especially thought-provoking process for this subject when I was/am planning out our seating assignments for the guests. There are so many couples at our church now and it has been a bit challenging trying to figure out where to put each couple so that they can be comfortable, but yet, an effective witness to those around them. In most of the couples, only the husband stood out as people I'd like to seat our unbelieving friends next to. Few couples stood out in which both the husband and wife made a great team for reaching out to others. Within these couples, some are newlywed and some are not; likewise, some have kids and some do not. Regardless, thinking about these eternally-minded wives really made me thankful for them and spurred me on to strive for excellence in ministering to others (especially unbelievers).

I think this is really challenging for me for 3 specific reasons:

I am really self-centered (i.e. I like to talk about myself)
I can be really insensitive with my words
When Tim is around, I only like to talk to him

This is why writing on a blog is really good for me -- I can talk about me, what I want, how I see things and etc. all day long -- so hopefully when I'm around people I can just listen to them. Haha, NO, having an outlet is not the correct fix for self-centeredness. :P

Anyway, I really hope to be like the aforementioned women so that when people think of me, they would want to seat their unbelieving friends next to me. Not because it's important how people think of me, but because it would show that I exude the love of Christ and that I am always be ready and confident to share the Gospel (which I'm not). Hopefully this perspective won't changed when I get married or when I eventually have kids. I get distracted really easily... and I really don't want to get sidetracked by this life.

I will end this entry with this motivating (sometimes admonishing) quote from Spurgeon:
"Although you are not branded outwardly, live your life so that all will know to whom you belong." -Charles H. Spurgeon

As if we were alone...

2009-09-22T09:21:00.001-07:00

the world just seems to whoosh on by huh? ;)

Engagment Pics :)

2009-09-13T10:21:00.001-07:00

(click picture)

2009-09-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

I find that I'm very hardened and it's been really difficult for me to focus lately. :(

Give me, O Lord, a strong desire
To look within Your Word each day;
Help me to hide it in my heart,
Lest from its truth my feet would stray. —Branon

45 days! :)

2009-09-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

It's only 45 days away... and our invitations have not gone out yet!! :( They WILL go out by the end of this week. I promise!

Now, to distract you guys from the invites, here are some of my favorite proofs from our engagement pics. I love them! And they haven't even been edited yet! That's how amazing our photographer is (www.iamlkc.com). :)

Everyday Talk - Ch.6: Big Sins, Little Sins

2008-11-23T18:36:00.000-08:00

This is really more for me - I've decided to blog some main points I learn from the books that I'm reading. Now, I haven't been reading much lately... so this blog might be pretty empty! :P But I hope that this will help me absorb and remember some of the things that I'm learning (and maybe it might encourage some people as well!).

Everday Talk, like it says on its cover, is a book on "talking freely and naturally about God with your children." Though the author, Younts, writes this book with the intention of teaching parents to witness to their children, I find that the lessons I learn are not limited to speaking only with children. I'm not married and I don't have kids; I'm reading this book in hopes that it will prepare me as I work with children in the Toddler's Ministry at my church. I find that this book is helpful in encouraging and reminding me of how important my everyday speech is -- with children, with roommates, and especially with the unbelievers around me. Each chapter is very short (and sweet! averaging around 13 pages) and he includes application questions in the end.

Chapter Six: Big Sins, Little Sins

In this chapter, Younts discusses the importance of consistency in discipline. Regardless of how "little" the sin or how inconvenient it is for us, we must not neglect disciplining our children. If a parents tells his/her child not to run in the house, the parent must be consistent in addressing the issue of disobedience every time they find the child running in the house. In many cases, parents reprove their children only when their child’s disobedience poses some sort of “large” consequence or loss. For example, if the child runs and knocks over a cup of water, the parent sees that no "harm" has been done, helps the child clean up, and ignores the fact that the child has disobeyed the rule that the parent has put in place. However, if the child runs and knocks over an expensive vase, the child will be reprimanded for breaking something of value and scolded for not obeying the parent.

When we are inconsistent in teaching our children by distinguishing between "little" and "big" sin, we are not only confusing our children with our actions and words, but we are also teaching them that disobedience is only bad when the consequence is large. They may grow up and misinterpret that the commands that God has given to us are only applicable when it meets our self interest. For example, a child may grow up to be a teenager who views that sex outside of marriage is acceptable, as long as no one gets pregnant or develops a communicable disease. Obviously, this is not the lesson that we want to be teaching our children; we want to them obey God at all times, not only when the rules seem to benefit us.

Secondly, there is the issue of the motivation at heart. We do not want to teach our children to obey God only for the sake of obeying Him. Discipline is important, but we must remember that discipline exists only as a tool to guide our children to love and fear the Lord. If at any point our chastisement steers off this route, it is no longer glorifying God and becomes a form of self-glorification (you are not disobeying God, but ME) and abuse.

It may be tedious and difficult to reprimand our children every time they are disobedient, especially when the act seems innocent or unimportant. We must remember the reason why God commands parents to teach our children -- because our children do not know any better. Our every act and word will mold and shape their values and thinking. Therefore, until our children are able to make their own decisions and discern what is right in God's eyes, we must be zealous in protecting and guiding our children to love and fear the Lord.

Quotes

"What is important to you will dominate your thinking. The way that you talk and listen and give directions shows what is important to you."

"If your mind is focused on what the world says is important, then you are ordinary. However, if you are focused on what God says is important, then you have taken a vital step toward holiness."

"You cannot discipline properly until you see yourself as God's agent to your kids; both you and they are accountable first of all to God. Therefore, your focus in discipline is to hold your children accountable to God."

"God does not have a category of big sins (those which a parent gets really upset about), and little sins (those which the parent will usually ignore). God wants to be loved and obeyed at all times, not just when the consequences seem great to us. You must discipline your children every time they are disobedient... God requires you to bring up your children in the fear of the Lord."

"It is dangerous to judge the seriousness of sin by the consequences."

"If Andrew thinks he might break some crystal and get in big trouble and decides not to run for that reason, he has not made a decision to love God but, rather, to protect himself. This is not the everyday obedience that God desires, it is self-interest."

"Parent when you discipline for"big sins" and overlook "little sins" you are setting a bad example for your children. You are teaching them, by your own example, to obey only when it seems necessary to them. You are teaching them it is okay to disobey if they don't get caught. You are showing them that pleasing God is not really very important -- certainly not worth much inconvenience or self-denial."

feelings...

2007-12-26T07:41:00.000-08:00

this morning i realized that there are a couple of things that i am really reluctant to partake in: prayer meeting and contact evangelism. i think i was almost appalled (in my mind) with the idea that we will be having prayer meetings every single weekday. and then in addition to the appalling idea of 3 hours of contact evangelism a day... o_O it overwhelmed my brain. then i realized that these two things are crucial parts of this mission trip... and well, mission trips in general. how am i to be a missionary... if i can't even love prayer and evangelism?!!? i can only hope for the day when my heart overflows with the desire to share the gospel and my mouth flows unceasingly with words of prayer for others. ahhh... why are the desires of my heart so sinful right now?!

i am so frustrated with certain people on the team. and there are only 5 of us here right now!! what am i going to do when there are 12 people?! :( i am soooo sinful! where is my forbearance? sigh. phil 2:3-5

early team! :)

2007-12-20T23:28:00.000-08:00

today was the first day we went out and did some ministry work. dan and i got to share the gospel with 2 people. i'll write more about it on my email update. :) we had contact evangelism on campus and then flyered around NTU.

here are some definitions of what we do:
contact evangelism (CE): going around campus and starting up conversations with people who are willing to talk to us. we usually ask people if they have any philosophical or religious beliefs and then share the gospel if opportunities come up.

to be continued...

tiffoupdate, the first!!

2007-12-18T03:33:00.000-08:00

So now we begin!

Q&A

Where are you going? Taipei

How long will you be there? ~ one month; 12/18-1/15

Where will you be staying? Apartments rented by EBCT (Eastbay Baptist Church of Taipei), church plant of EBCB (Eastbay Baptist Church of Berkeley)

What will you be doing? The main task? Developing relationships with the taiwanese people there; taking advantage of opportunities to share the Gospel; Lord willing, making disciples

What airline will you be taking? EVA

Who are you going with? (Observe attached picture) From left to right, start at top row: Kevin, Nate, Jon, Tim Kim, Sam, Tim Kwan, John, Dan, Janet, ME, Sarah

Who will be leaving early (12/18)? Kevin, Tim Kim, Dan, Me

When is the rest of the team leaving? 12/28

Are you excited? Honestly, I'm kind of tired. The idea that I'm going to Taiwan in 12 hours still has not hit me. :P But before I know it, I'll be coming back!!

Prayer Requests

- to be healthy: I don't want to get sick. I think I'm already getting sick. I can feel it in my throat. I think I will drink a lot of airborne tomorrow.

- to take advantage of every opportunity to talk to people: there are those times when I just want to ignore people and walk in the other direction because I want to avoid getting into deep conversations or just because I want to be alone... well, there's just no time to be selfish like that.

- to have a heart of compassion and eyes that truly see the state in which people are in -- lost: it is easy for me to do things for the sake of doing things. it is easy for me to talk to people and be nice to people for the sake of fulfilling my "agenda" (which is to share the Gospel or challenge people's world views). it is easy for me to think of people as objects or quotas or things and not people with feelings nor that they are people that God cares for and loves. every trip we make this one request -- that the love of God, the love of Christ, may be seen through our actions, words and relationships. even if the Gospel is never shared or that no one comes to Christ... we could at least be a good witness of Christ's love. I believe that in order for me to be a good witness to unbelievers, I must love them... as Christ loves them. I must love them because God loves them. and I confess, I often lack this love.

2007-06-16T09:36:00.001-07:00

Returned to my quarters; and enjoyed some sweetness in prayer alone, and mourned that I could not live more to God.
- DAVID BRAINERD

things i learned this semester

2007-05-15T02:08:00.000-07:00

- i am so weak -> constantly failing in keeping my convictions and resolutions
- i like attention too much
- i am not productive at study hall
- too much caffeine makes me tired and jacks me up
- i spend too much money
- my thoughts are so shallow and superficial
- i don't pray enough
- God is sovereign. always sovereign. even when we don't get our way. even when unfortunate things happen. even when things people tell you will not happen, happen... God is sovereign.
- my life is so trivial. the things that i do, say and think are so shallow... i want to live for God? what am i doing?
- my journal entries pale in comparison to those of the likes of david brainerd, jim elliot, elisabeth elliot...
- my life is drama. but why? these things that i am so drama over... do they matter? in the big picture of eternity... do these things matter?
- i am selfish. there is drama because i am so selfish. i care only about myself. it seems like i care about other people, but really, it all points back to me. i do things only for myself.
- i don't hate sin enough. i don't hate sin. heck, sometimes i even like sin. i need to hate sin.
- i don't love God enough.
- when we know that something is sin and we continue to engage in it... it is not just disobedience to God, it is a mockery of Him.
- i mock God a lot.
- i am a hypocrite.
- i have a very hardened heart.
- playing basketball with jon tsai can be potentially dangerous.
- i am not as strong as i envisioned.
- size does not equal strength (tim kwan owned sam lee in arm wrestling)

I saw that I had been heaping up my devotions before God, fasting, praying, etc. pretending and indeed really thinking sometimes, that I was aiming at the glory of God; whereas I never once truly intended it, but only my own happiness.

But when I saw evidently that I had regard to nothing but self-interest, then they appeared a vile mockery of God, self-worship, and a continual course of lies; so that I now saw that something worse had attended my duties, than barely a few wanderings, etc.; for the whole was nothing but self-worship, and a horrid abuse of God.

- David Brainerd

Chastity meant for us not taking lightly any least act or thought that was not appropriate to the kind of commitment we had to God.

- Elisabeth Elliot

My heart was saying, "Lord, take away this longing, or give me that for which I long." The Lord was answering, "I must teach you to long for something better."

- Elisabeth Elliot

I said this before and I say this again:

Lord, teach me to long for something better.

amazing!

2007-05-04T00:33:00.001-07:00

I will lift up my eyes to the hills--
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

this verse... is so simple
yet, it is so amazing...

the LORD who made the heavens and the earth... He's helping us!

doesn't that... amaze you?

2007-04-30T01:06:00.000-07:00

My heart was saying, "Lord, take away this longing, or give me that for which I long." The Lord was answering, "I must teach you to long for something better." -- Elisabeth Elliot

2007-04-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

See, when we pursue holiness we are proclaiming to people who don't yet know the LORD that God is real and that God's gospel really transform lives. You have a heart for lost friends or relatives or coworkers. You have people in your life that you want to know Jesus and to experience the power of His grace in their lives. But don't only invest in friendship with them. Don't only invite them to church on Sundays. Don't only share the gospel with them and speak to them about God. All that is wonderful; keep doing those things. But don't forget to live a life of holiness that puts on display the reality of the power of the gospel. Because let me guarantee something to you -- that unsaved friend is watching your life... We have to remember that the pursuit of holiness is not at odds with the pursuit of the lost. Being zealous for godliness is not the enemy of zeal for saving souls... See, we're not called to be separate from the world in just outward things. We're called to be separate from the world in our hearts... We're called to be holy in the midst of the world. We're called to be in the world but not of the world... but it's only by living holy lives that we can be in the world and be different from the world; so the world can see the alternative, and the hope and the glory of the gospel. Holiness is not the opposite of relevance... If we lose our holiness as Christians we become completely irrelevant to the world because we have nothing to offer them. God wants us to pursue holiness, motivated by a passionate love for people who are still in darkness. Your example, your pursuit of holiness could be the thing that God uses to awaken in their hearts the realization that they're in darkness and need to be in the wonderful light of God's presence. So let's pursue holiness, let's press on in holiness for the sake of those who are lost.
Joshua Harris on Purity in Holiness. From his purity series -- Purity 6.

Today I had lunch with an old aquaintance. We've known each other for a long time be we didn't really know anything about one another. We talked a bit about hypocrisy within the church and amongst Christians. It is really sad to see and hear how people are dissuaded by their experiences in the church or with other Christians. Christians really are the number ONE reason why unbelievers choose to not believe.

I hear this a lot from my non-believing friends --> "Tiffany, not all Christians are like you." "If all Christians were like you then this world might be a better place... " (gosh, they really don't know me that well!!! :P ) But even then, sometimes I feel like my one example makes no difference in their lives... because they have seen so many "bad" Christians that they are still so turned off by Christianity. It is very disheartening. But I am glad for Joshua Harris, because he reminded me that i must continue to pursue purity in holiness... 1) for God's glory and 2) out of love for those who are unsaved. Even if i feel like it doesn't make a difference... I know that my unbelieving friends notice -- and for that, I will try to not give them any more reason to be bitter towards God.

(Psa 119:136) My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

2007-04-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

so a lot of people have been asking me how the Muse concert was...
well, what can i say?
let me show you guys...

when they first entered...

a song that i like...

anyway... it's not very clear... sorry :P

but how did i like it? well... i'll elaborate tomorrow... so sleepy.
------------------------------------------------------------------

elaboration:

I know that a lot of people will probably not agree with what I have to say or how I feel. I myself am not quite sure how I feel upon this subject. It is something that I have yet to figure out... but for the time being, I prefer to stay on the safe side.

Before Monday, I have yet to ever attend (b/s that one Shane West incident Sr. year in hs... but that wasn't a real concert) a non-Christian concert. I was excited, kind of scared... and not quite sure what to expect. Yes, in my head I knew what concerts were all about -- there would be screaming, pushing, "moshing", crowd surfing, jumping... just craziness, you know? That was exactly what I was warned of and that was exactly what I was expecting. "Bring it on, baby!" I thought. While waiting for the BART to go to SF, someone jokingly told me "It will be worship. Just a different kind of worship -- worship of the musicians." I giggled along. After all, I don't think anyone (including myself) could have anticipated the feeling I was about experience at the concert.

We arrived, waited outside in the cold & windy downtown SF for 2 hours, entered, scored prime spots on the floor, bought ridiculously expensive sour skittles and waited... I was excited! Then the opening band came and played. Not too bad. Legs were a bit tired because all we did was just stand. No moving. Just standing. Then finally after another hour... Muse came onstage.

Yes, I must admit... it was fun in the beginning. Though at times I couldn't breathe and people were stepping on me and I thought I was going to die... I did enjoy screaming and jumping and pushing and... well, going crazy. At first, there were only a few minutes of this -- of stopping and taking notice of what was around me. A few scared faces, people panicking because they couldn't breathe... and the people around them not noticing or caring at all. Yes, well, it was a concert afterall.

And then more of that... more and more and more... and before I knew it all I could see were the sea of faces around me. I felt like I was in a dream... or a movie, a horror movie. You know the type where the person is awake and walking around a crowd that is like frozen in time? That's how I felt. I felt like time had stopped around me and I was trapped inbetween people who were stuck in a trance. Screaming, jumping, pushing, singing, closing their eyes, swaying, hands lifted high in the air... somehow the scene seemed oddly... familiar. Then I realized why. It was like worship. Like Sunday worship or a revival worship. Except, these people weren't here to worship God. What were they lifting their hands to? What were they closing their eyes and meditating upon? What were they ... singing to? If I could only describe to you the expressions that I saw... the look of solace upon their faces... as if this music was bringing them peace... and joy?

"It's like a drug. It's like a drug. It's like a drug" was going through my head over and over as I looked around me. It's ironic. Thousands of happy people surrounded me (excluding those who felt like they were dying)... and there I was... in the center of this crowd... feeling very disheartened, quite saddened. The feeling captured me before I could stop it and sorrow quickly gripped my heart -- this was... idolatry. Looking back, I feel like crying. What were they doing? What were these thousands of people doing? It was beyond mere enjoyment of music. It was beyond mere appreciation. The mob mentality is a scary thing -- you are so full of emotion that you lose your sense of what is right and wrong and you lose self-control and do something foolish. Such is concert mentality. I can definitely understand how people can die and get injured at concerts.

There were certain points where I was wishing and hoping that I could lose myself in the music. But I couldn't. I was stopped by thoughts of "No... you cannot... God is not that kind of a god..." No, He is not. He is coherent, rational... not controlled/driven by emotions. Hah. I consider myself to be a pretty emotional person... but here at a setting of heightened emotions... I could not bring myself to succumb to it. But the people around me... I mean, yea, some of them were lighting up the MJ... but for the most part were... "sober" -- toxically speaking. I couldn't understand it... how can music do something like this to people? After all, it was just <gasp>... music.

Someone said to me afterwards: "No, they weren't idolizing the music. They were idolizing the musicians." "Hmm... well," I thought as I chewed my lip, "that's not any better." Sigh. Perhaps, I am thinking too much into it. But am I really? Am I being too... serious? What does it mean to be too serious about the purity of worship? Of idolatry?

Don't get me wrong. I like Muse. I like music. Oh, yes... I enjoy music. Music is beautiful. But there is a right perspective when thinking of music... it is such a beautiful thing that it is easy to fall in love with it and forget the Maker. Honestly, I don't think "Oh, what a beautiful sound! Praise the LORD for creating such complex harmonies!!" Perhaps that is the ideal? But no, I don't do that all the time. It is so sad... that all of creation breathes worship and praise unto the LORD... even inanimate things... even music... but humans... humans choose not to. Think about it... music is SO beautiful. It is dripping in the glory of God's handiwork -- but yet people are drawn in and think "pretty!" and forget about God.

Anyway, that was my first and probably last ever non-Christian/non-Classical concert experience. Why? not because I almost died by being squished to death (which isn't too bad... it's only bad if you panic. just relax and you'll be fine). But because I don't think I can stand in the midst of thousands of thousands of people lifting their hands and voices up to... an artist, a band...the sound of music... as if any of the words or music had intrinsic meaning. No matter how great the musicians are, no matter how great the singing is... no matter how wonderfully "sick" all of it sounds... I can't help but be distracted by the sea of lost faces, the lost souls, around me. No, I can't. Because, even though it was blasting when I was there at the concert, I could not hear the music... I kept thinking "Oh my gosh... there are thousands of people in this room... and probably 90% of them are going to hell."

Because of this, God gave them up to impurity in the lusts of their hearts, their bodies to be dishonored among themselves, who changed the truth of God into the lie, and worshiped and served the created thing more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. -- Romans 1:24-25 LITV

I know people probably think me to be... I don't know, odd? Too serious, perhaps. People will probably make fun of me, maybe even mock me. "Oh, don't invite Tiiiffffaaaany... she doesn't like concerts, remember?" (and when I say people, I mean church people) It's not that I don't like concerts. And it's not that I don't like music. I just can't enjoy it... like that -- when people around me are captivated by the creation rather than the Creator. No, I cannot enjoy music when my LORD and God is being ignored and robbed of His glory. Simply, I like my God more than I like music (and it'd be much more enjoyable to see these people worshiping God than music).

Yes. I am a party pooper. I'm sorry. I really wish I enjoyed the 50 bucks I spend on this concert. I just can't help it. Perhaps there is something wrong with me... :(

And so I end my entry to music with lyrics (Starfield) from a song:

My soul's screaming out
To be found in you
Spirit draw me to my knees
Captivate all of me, all of me
Here before you honestly
Captivate all of me, all of me

2007-04-11T23:41:00.001-07:00

Psalm 119:106-108, 111-112
I have sworn and confirmed
That I will keep Your righteous judgments. I am afflicted very much;
Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word.
Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD,
And teach me Your judgments...
Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever,
For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
I have inclined my heart to perform Your statues
Forever, to the very end.

I will rejoice forever because You, my LORD and my God... You are my portion. And in that I have been satisfied... And in that I have no other reason but to have everlasting joy. You are enough. You are more than enough.

so blown away.

(Psa 46:10) "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

Is the Apostolic Preaching of the Cross Insane?

2007-04-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

so I first heard this article, quoted on Al Mohler's blog, on Sunday morning, read aloud by my roommate Zinnia...

The Very Rev Jeffrey John, who had to withdraw before taking up an appointment as bishop of Reading in 2003 after it emerged he was in a long-term homosexual relationship, is set to ignite a row over one of the most fundamental tenets of Christian belief.

Clergy who preach this Easter that Christ was sent to earth to die in atonement for the sins of mankind are "making God sound like a psychopath", he will say.

In a BBC Radio 4 show, Mr John, who is now Dean of St Albans, urges a revision of the traditional explanation, known as "penal substitution."

The explanation I was given went something like this. God was very angry with us for our sins, and because he is a just God, our sin had to be punished. But instead of punishing us he sent his Son, Jesus, as a substitute to suffer and die in our place. The blood of Jesus paid the price of our sins, and because of him God stopped being angry with us. In other words, Jesus took the rap, and we got forgiven, provided we said we believed in him.

Well, I don't know about you, but even at the age of ten I thought this explanation was pretty repulsive as well as nonsensical. What sort of God was this, getting so angry with the world and the people he created, and then, to calm himself down, demanding the blood of his own Son? And anyway, why should God forgive us through punishing somebody else? It was worse than illogical, it was insane. It made God sound like a psychopath. If any human being behaved like this we'd say they were a monster.

Well, I haven't changed my mind since. That explanation of the cross just doesn't work, though sadly it's one that's still all too often preached. It just doesn't make sense to talk about a nice Jesus down here, placating the wrath of a nasty, angry Father God in heaven. Christians believe Jesus is God incarnate. As he said, 'Whoever sees me has seen the Father'. Jesus is what God is: he is the one who shows us God's nature. And the most basic truth about God's nature is that He is Love, not wrath and punishment.

On the cross God absorbs into himself our falleness and its consequences and offers us a new relationship. God shows he knows what it's like to be the loser; God hurts and weeps and bleeds and dies. It's a mystery we can hardly glimpse, let alone grasp; and if there is an answer to the problem of suffering, perhaps it's one for the heart, not the reason. Because the answer God's given is simply himself; to show that, so far from inflicting suffering as a punishment, he bears our griefs and shares our sorrow. From Good Friday on, God is no longer "God up there", inscrutably allotting rewards and retributions. On the Cross, even more than in the crib, he is Immanuel, God down here, God with us.

Al Mohler's Response:

What Dr. John repudiates is precisely what the Bible teaches. The Bible does not merely assert that Christ died on the cross for our sins -- it goes on to explain why this substitutionary death was necessary. In Romans 3, the Apostle Paul explains that God put forth Jesus on the cross as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. God's love is demonstrated in the fact that, even as his own righteousness demanded a perfect sacrifice for sin, He determined to send the Son as that perfect sacrifice. In Paul's words, this means that God is both just and the justifier. He rightly demanded an acceptable sacrifice in order to satisfy His wrath, but He also provided that same sacrifice.

The ground of our salvation is the substitutionary atonement accomplished by Christ. Our response in faith to Christ is essential to our experience of salvation, but the work of our salvation us fully accomplished by Christ.

What will Dr. John do with Paul's explanation of the Gospel and the meaning of the cross? Well, probably something like what he does with Paul's teachings on homosexuality. It takes no genius to detect a pattern here. Dr. John, who entered into a homosexual civil union last year, obviously disregards the Apostle Paul's very clear teachings on homosexuality. What would keep him from doing the same with an atonement theology he finds to be "insane?" Obviously, the answer to that question is "nothing."

He explicitly rejects the wrath of God. His authority for doing so is Julian of Norwich, who wrote, "For I saw that there is no manner of wrath in God, neither for short time nor for long;-for in sooth, if God be wroth for an instant, we should never have life nor place nor being."

The only obstacle to accepting that argument is the Bible. As represented in that quotation, Julian of Norwich denies what the Bible unquestionably declares -- the God will pour out His wrath upon sin.

Writing in The Guardian [London], Giles Fraser throws his lot in with Dr. John. In his words, "For, once again, what [John] has been saying is nothing other than a truth known by most people in the pews: that the idea of God murdering his son for the salvation of the world is barbaric and morally indefensible. It turns Christianity into "cosmic child abuse".

We are left with an unavoidable choice. We must stand with the Apostle Paul in seeing the cross as the place where God is shown to be both "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Or, we must stand with Dr. John and Mr. Fraser in describing the New Testament's teaching of the cross as "insane" and a form of "cosmic child abuse." On this question there is no middle ground.

_________________________

For further reflection: No model or theory of the atonement can exhaust all the biblical materials on the glory of the cross. We must insist that the penal substitutionary understanding of the cross is central and essential, but that does not mean that we deny that other models can extend and enrich our understanding of the cross.

My response:

Dr. John's opinion of the cross is not something that is entirely new to me. No, it is something that we've all heard before, though, not perhaps in those exact words. The cross is "repulsive, nonsensical... illogical... insane." These words, this idea, it seemed all too familiar to me -- and then I realized what it was -- it was foolishness.

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE." Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)

Though Dr. John would probably not admit that he claims this (partially because he rejects the biblical idea of the cross) -- but essentially, what he is doing is claiming that he is wiser than God. I mean, why not? He already accuses God as being nonsensical, illogical and even insane. Why, Dr. John must be (has to be) perfect in order to have the courage (or is it foolishness?) to suggest such things. Of course, he doesn't think that he is blaspheming against God... because he doesn't believe that God would punish His son. No, because he does not agree with the word of God... I may go even as far to say that he doesn't believe those passages (that present God's wrath) to be the word of God.

But what is almost just as disturbing is Dr. John's explanation of the meaning of the cross:

God shows he knows what it's like to be the loser; God hurts and weeps and bleeds and dies. It's a mystery we can hardly glimpse, let alone grasp; and if there is an answer to the problem of suffering, perhaps it's one for the heart, not the reason. Because the answer God's given is simply himself; to show that, so far from inflicting suffering as a punishment, he bears our griefs and shares our sorrow.

I'm sorry, but I really do not see why God would set aside His glory, humble Himself to become a man, be borne through a woman, live thirty-something years, be ridiculed, be spat on, be betrayed, and then die the death of high treason/capital offense... all for the sake of showing us sympathy and so we can know that God understands how we feel?! Was God... really that bored? Is He... really that cruel? Because if Dr. John's explanation were really true... then He sent His Son to die/suffer for a really purposeless reason. I find this reason to be much more "illogical", monsterous, barbaric and "insane". Why should God show us that He "knows what it's like to be the loser" "through punishing somebody else?"

Sympathy? I think not. It would seem more like mockery. "I know what it feels like to be a loser. I know what it feels like to suffer. See my pain and my blood shed? Yes, it is quite painful. I hope you know that I understand how you feel... Gosh, do you feel better? I hope you do... because in the end you're going to hell. Even though I suffered... you're still a sinner and no one has paid the atoning cost for your sins... because I died so that you can feel better knowing that I share your sorrow."

Oh yea, that's right. In Dr. John's eyes, God is all love and no wrath -- that must mean that hell doesn't exist and that everyone is going to heaven. That is quite too bad. I'm afraid that Dr. John is in for quite a shock when he dies because I think the Bible is very clear about there distinctly being a heaven... which in itself means that there is also another place that people go to after they die (that is not heaven).

I'm glad the cross has more meaning than simply -- God understands. I am thankful that God loves us so much more than that. It is very saddening to see how the most costly sacrifice that God could make for us... has been cheapened to such a state.

2007-04-07T22:07:00.001-07:00

It is the great duty of all Christians to put off anger. It unfits for duty…A man cannot wrestle with God and wrangle with his neighbour at the same time. Short sins often cost us long and sad sorrows. -- Philip Henry

agck! sigh...

Spheres of Joy

2007-04-07T00:26:00.000-07:00

The duty of the minister is to preach to different characters. Sometimes we admonish the confident, lest they should become presumptuous; oftentimes we stir up the slumbering, lest they should sleep the sleep of death. Frequently we comfort the desponding, and this is our duty this morning—or if not to comfort them, yet to give them some exhortation which may by God's help be the means of bringing them out of the sad condition into which they have fallen, so that they may not be obliged to cry out for ever—"Oh that I were as in months past!"

-- Charles Spurgeon

"Our problems seem so big to us because we forget that we deserve hell." -- James Lee, emphasis mine.

click for more complete tifonotes...

i realize that i forgot to include application questions this time... oh well.

2007-03-22T21:01:00.001-07:00

Psalm 51:1-4, 15-17

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.

Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak

And blameless when You judge.

O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise.

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 119:9-16

How can a young man cleanse his way?

By taking heed according to Your word.

With my whole heart I [want to seek] You

Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

Your word I have hidden in my heart,

That I might not sin against You.

Blessed are You , O LORD!

Teach me Your statutes.

With my lips I have declared

All the judgments of Your mouth.

[May my heart rejoice] in the way of Your testimonies,

As much as in all riches.

I will meditate on Your precepts,

[O LORD, please help me do so]

And contemplate Your ways.

[O LORD, bring clarity to my mind]

I will delight myself in Your statutes;

[O LORD, how I desire to]

I will not forget Your word.

[O LORD, please allow me to remember...]

what has love become...?

2007-03-20T13:24:00.001-07:00

This is an ad that I saw while waiting for the bus this morning:

At first, it struck me as a very odd ad. And then, it just became a really sad ad.
Knowing exactly what the campaigners were referring to in their "love is fleeting" statement, I found it very sad to realize what the word "love" has become in our culture and time. I thought it more appropriate if the statement were something like... "Lust is fleeting. Knowledge lasts longer." Even then, if you really ponder about that campaign slogan, it doesn't really make sense. Regardless, the point I'm trying to make is... what has love become?

According to our beloved dictionary.com:

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source love [luhv] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, loved, lov·ing. –noun

1.	a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

2.	a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

3.	sexual passion or desire.

4.	a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.

5.	(used in direct address as a term of endearment, affection, or the like): Would you like to see a movie, love?

6.	a love affair; an intensely amorous incident; amour.

7.	sexual intercourse; copulation.

8.	(initial capital letter) a personification of sexual affection, as Eros or Cupid.

9.	affectionate concern for the well-being of others: the love of one's neighbor.

10.	strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything: her love of books.

11.	the object or thing so liked: The theater was her great love.

12.	the benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God.

13.	Chiefly Tennis. a score of zero; nothing.

14.	a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter L.

A sexual passion or desire?! An intensely amorous incident?!! A strong prediection, enthusiam or liking for anything?!?! A tennis score...

Yes. There is no wonder why so many in our world have lost hope in knowing the sweetness and beauty of what true love is. And there is no wonder why so many have problems with believing in God. I mean, why not? They don't believe in love anymore... and well, God is love (1 john 4:8).

And aren't we guilty of it too? By downplaying what it is through our usage of it in speech (oh i looove that, i love to eat this, i love it!) and our actions.

One might argue that it is a mere matter of semantics and that though the meaning of the word changed, the object still exists, no? Yes, the object (true love) still exists. But are not words and semantics that which give meaning to all things? After all, in the book of John the word, logos, was chosen to allegorize Christ Jesus. For to the Romans and Greeks during that time, logos (word) was that which gave meaning to all things.

Without words, how are we to define anything clearly? Without correct meaning of words, how is one to understand the Word of God properly? Have we grown so liberal that even words have become a relative matter of one's own interpretation?

Ergo, we must go back to the source. What is perfect love?

1. Love is first displayed to us by Christ

(1Jo 3:16) We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
(1Jo 3:17) But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?
(1Jo 3:18) Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

2. Love forgives

(Pro 10:12) Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.

3. Love overcomes, is intense, invincible, and priceless

(Son 8:6) "Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD.
(Son 8:7) "Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it; If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised."

8:6, 7 For love. This represents the 1 Cor. 13:1–8 of the OT. Four qualities of love appear: 1) love is unyielding in marriage, as death is to life; 2) love is intense like the brightest flame, perhaps as bright as the glory of the Lord; 3) love is invincible or unquenchable, even when flooded by difficulty; and 4) love is so priceless that it cannot be bought, only given away.

MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (So 8:6). Nashville: Word Pub.

4. Love is unchanging

(Mic 7:18) Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love.

5. Love is unconditional

(Mat 5:44) "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
(Mat 5:46) "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
(Mat 5:47) "If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

(Luk 6:27) "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
(Luk 6:32) "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
(Luk 6:33) "If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

6. Love is obedient (to God)

(Joh 14:15) "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
(Joh 14:24) "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.

(2Jo 1:6) And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

7. Love does no wrong

(Rom 13:10) Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

8. Love edifies

(1Co 8:1) Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.

9. Love unifies

(Col 3:14) Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

10. Love disciplines

(Rev 3:19) 'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.

and of course...

(1Co 13:4) Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
(1Co 13:5) does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
(1Co 13:6) does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
(1Co 13:7) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
(1Co 13:8) Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.
(1Co 13:13) But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

And lastly..

(Mat 24:12) "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.
(in context this verse is referring to the end times...)

the time is near! maranatha!

2007-03-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the reason that we continue in sin is because we deceive ourselves into thinking that we can conceal our iniquities from God. Perhaps it is that we don't truly believe that He sees and knows all.

Jeremiah 16:17

For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes.

2007-03-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

I admit it, I am weak.

When it comes to sin, it seems that I always give in. Why? :( I have never been tempted long enough to feel the pains of temptation; I have never fought long enough to receive battle wounds. My will seems to waver and fade away. Simply put, my desire to fight temptation is just not strong enough. According to Piper, I do not delight enough in Christ.

What can I do about it?

Pray that God would be gracious with me and allow me to grasp the sweetness of pleasing Him
Pray that I would have the understanding of how abominable sin is
Read the Word and pray that as I learn more, I would believe and know the things mentioned above.

That is all I can do. Read, pray and hope on the grace of the LORD.

Jeremiah 13:15-17, 21

Hear and give ear:

Do not be proud,

For the LORD has spoken.

Give glory to the LORD your God

Before He causes darkness,

And before your feet stumble

On the dark mountains,

And while you are looking for light,

He turns it into the shadow of death

And makes it dense darkness.

But if you will not hear it,

My soul will weep in secret for your pride;

My eyes will weep bitterly

And run down with tears,

Because the LORD's flock has been taken captive.

What will you say when He punishes you?

Jeremiah 13:7

O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us,

Do it for Your name's sake;

For our backslidings are many,

We have sinned against You.

Jeremiah 14:20-22

We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness

And the iniquity of our fathers,

For we have sinned against You.

Do not abhor us, for Your name's sake;

Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory…

Are You not He, O LORD our God?

Therefore we will wait for You,

Since You have made all these.

Psalm 118:15-20

I shall not die, but live,

And declare the works of the LORD,

The LORD has chastened me severely,

But He has not given me over to death.

2007-03-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

The Enemy Within
Kris Lundgaard

Security is mortals' chiefest enemy. -- Shakespeare, Macbeth

For this is what the high and lofty One says -- He who lives forever, whose name is holy:
"I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.
I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry,
for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me-- the breath of man that I have created.
I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways.
I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him, creating praise on the lips of mourners in Israel.
Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them." -- Isaiah 57:15-19

When God creates peace for whom he pleases, it is Christ's privilege to declare that peace. He is the "faithful and true witness" (Revelation 3:14) who shows us the condition of our souls. His judgement is righteous; his judgment alone can be trusted.

Remember that the flesh is a con man, and it will do anything to keep you from killing it. One of its best cons is to make you believe that God is soothing your wounded conscience, so that you ease off your battle against sin. You've got to learn how to discern between the comfort of God and the easy peace of flesh. Here are some distinguishing marks:

You know it's your flesh talking when the peace comes and you don't yet abhor the sin. You know that the only remedy for your sin is the mercy of God through the blood of Christ. So when you are wounded by sin and feel the alienation from God and his people, you look to him for healing and quiet your heart: "Everything will be fine. Christ died for my sins. All is forgiven. Praise God!" But if with this your heart doesn't swell with hatred of the sin that wounded you, the words of peace are your own and not God's... When we see our bleeding Savior, we mourn and grieve (Zechariah 12:10) because it was our sin that pierced him. It is only his punishment that gives us peace, so when we look to him for peace, we must remember his pain. And we will detest our sin. Detesting sin is not the same as dreading the consequences of it. ... Your heart takes hold of God's judgment that "if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15), and your heart weeps with self-hatred. Then God consoles you with his mercy in Christ.
You know it's your flesh talking when peace comes only by logic. It's possible, without the work of the Spirit, to use naked reasoning to apply Scripture to soothe your conscience... "reasoned peace" doesn't change your life. When God declares peace, he turns his people away from sin.
You know it's your flesh talking when you take peace lightly. How easy it is to treat sin and forgiveness as an everyday thing--and yet how dangerous.
You know it's your flesh talking when peace is selective.

How timely.

2007-03-16T23:15:00.001-07:00

download pdf (prettier version)

Sola Scriptura - Nelson Hsieh

Friday, March 16, 2007

7:42 PM

Key Verse 2 Peter 1: 12-21

Theme: Authority of Scripture

Important Points:

· "For to go against conscience is neither right nor safe." - Martin Luther

· The church does not stand on sinking sand... but on the solid rock of Scripture.

· The Bible never teaches right conduct until you first have right thinking; the Bible is a book of truths before it is a book of commands.

· You don't pray because you don't believer prayer will work. You're not reading the Bible because you don't really believe it is the Word of God.

· If you don't think before you act; if you merely just obey then you are being a legalist. Jesus hates legalists. Woe to you Christians sitting in this room who do these things without thinking.

· The Bible is not a book about God; it is a book from God. There's a big difference between speaking about God and speaking from God.

· To reject the divine origin of Scripture is rejecting the authority of God.

· You cannot be a Christian and be dispassionate for Truth. The reason why the church is dead in today's time is because Christians are not passionate for things of God.

· Proclaim sola scriptura to this generation. We can do no other. God help us.

Cross References:

· (Rom 12:2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

· (Eph 4:24) and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

· (1Co 2:12) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,

· (1Co 2:13) which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

· (2Ti 3:16) All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

· (Isa 40:6) A voice says, "Call out." Then he answered, "What shall I call out?" All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

· (Isa 40:7) The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.

· (Isa 40:8) The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

Sermon Notes:

The church does not stand on sinking sand but on the solid rock of Scripture.

How can we know that the Bible is the Word of God?

1. Reminders (v. 12-15)

(2Pe 1:12) Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.

(2Pe 1:13) I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,

(2Pe 1:14) knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

(2Pe 1:15) And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

2. Argument #1: Witnesses (v. 16-18)

(2Pe 1:16) For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

(2Pe 1:17) For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased"--

(2Pe 1:18) and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

· Apostolic verification

· Eye witness testimonies

3. Argument #2: Prophecies of Scripture (v. 19)

(2Pe 1:19) So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

· "pay attention"

· Divine Origin

· Bible is divinely inspired, it has come from God and not from men

4. Think before you act (v. 20)

(2Pe 1:20) But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation,

"But know this first of all"

· We must know something before we can behave, it starts in our mind. We must think before we act.

· Good people don't go to heaven, they go to hell. God saves sinners.

· The Bible never teaches right conduct until you first have right thinking. The Bible is a book of truths before it is a book of commands.

(Rom 12:2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

(Eph 4:24) and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

· The Bible must be authoritative over how you think before it is over how you live.

· Attitudes are more important than actions.

· You don't pray because you don't believer prayer will work. You're not reading the Bible because you don't really believe it is the Word of God.

· Think before you act. Think before you read the Word, think before you pray. Why do you do these things?

· If you don't think before you act; if you merely just obey then you are being a legalist. Jesus hates legalists. Woe to you Christians sitting in this room who do these things without thinking.

· We have to be changed in our thinking first. Think rightly and you'll act rightly. Think biblically and you'll act biblically.

5. Two truths (v.21)

(2Pe 1:21) for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

· Know that the origin of Scripture is not human

· Know that the origin of Scripture is divine

· V. 20 " that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation

§ Scripture didn't come from the mind of men. None of it originated from man.

· V. 21 "for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will,"

§ "for" -> because

§ Men did not intend on their own to create or write Scripture.

· They did not just decide one day to get up and go write scripture

· V. 21 " but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."

§ Origin of Scripture is Divine

§ "from" points to the source, the origin.

§ The Bible is not a book about God; it is a book from God. There's a big difference between speaking about God and speaking from God.

· Piper, MacArthur write about God.

· The Bible is supreme over all other books.

§ How is it that the message was not from men's minds?

· The prophets were moved, carried along by the Holy Spirit.

§ This verse is the clearest articulation of how Scripture is inspired by God.

· The Holy Spirit guided and guarded as He moved and carried along men who spoke from God.

· Ex. Mother and toddler. Mother guides toddler in the right direction. The child is still walking on his own, but the mother is guiding him.

· Holy Spirit guide the truth and guard from error.

§ What we have is the perfect and supreme Word of God.

· God had carefully guided and protected His word.

· If scripture is supreme, then everything else is inferior

The authority of Scripture is under attack in today's society. We cannot just sit back idly while the Word is being attacked. We must fight for Truth.

What is the big deal about the Bible and it's authority?

Understand that you are the pillar and support of truth called to guard and protect the treasure that you have been entrusted to.

You cannot be a Christian and be dispassionate for Truth. The reason why the church is dead in today's time is because Christians are not passionate for things of God.

(Isa 40:6) A voice says, "Call out." Then he answered, "What shall I call out?" All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

(Isa 40:7) The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.

(Isa 40:8) The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

· Brothers, don't waste your life by being passionate about "grass" that withers. Pray for a holy ambition for Truth.

· And sisters, you are also called to fight. You do not get to stay home.

Proclaim sola scriptura to this generation. We can do no other. God help us.

Application Questions:

· Do you accept the Bible as the Word of God? Is it supreme over your thinking, over your beliefs? Or do you regard it as the word of men?

· Is the whole of your thinking governed by scripture? Or do you sit there picking?

· Why do you pray? Why do you read the Word? Do you think before you act?

2007-03-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

And the LORD said, "Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts..."

- Jeremiah 9:13-14

2007-03-11T21:22:00.001-07:00

II Corinthians 4:13-18

Pastor John Shim

Fruits of Faithfulness VIII

Faith works and when working faith is placed into a person then it produces faithfulness because the man is full of faith.

A Christian who gives up on his faith is an oxymoron. A Christian perseveres.

4 Products of Faithfulness:

1. Faithfulness is a catalyst that promotes greater and further faithfulness (v. 13-14)

(2Co 4:13) But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE," we also believe, therefore we also speak,

(Psa 116:15) Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.

Where does such certainty come? It comes from knowing with certainty the Lord (v.14).

(2Co 4:14) knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.

False teachers do exist.

(Mat 7:23) "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

God was the true catalyst. God was faithful.

2. Faithfulness ignites the flames of concecration. (v.15)

(2Co 4:15) For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.

there is a definite article in the greek

(2Co 4:15) For all the [things are] for your* sakes, so that grace having increased [or, having spread] through the many should cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. (Analytical Literal Translation)

all these painful things in paul's life is for a purpose and they were not endured in vain
what is the result/purpose? the grace of God can be spread to others.
When do sinners give thanks to God?

and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.

Paul is saying that he remains faithful because God remains faithful. His perseverence glorifies God. It is pleasurable, but not in the superficial sense.
Gratitude is one that has deep satisfaction. When we are thankful towards the Lord, you know that you have been saved and it is He who allows you to feel this way. This is what motivates us to serve the Lord.

3. Faithfulness bolsters confidence. Therefore we do not lose heart. (v.16)

(2Co 4:16) Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

Paul had great confidence in his spiritual strength.

(2Co 12:10) Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

What is being strengthened? Godly characteristics. We are being sanctified.

Our greatest problem is sin. Sin's captain is pride.

coming to an acceptance of our self-worthlessness. looking at life for what is actually is.

(Jam 4:14) Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

Faithfulness is being content with suffering. If you hold on to physical things that will lead you to be puffed up.

4. Faithfulness produces continuance. (v.17-18)

(2Co 4:17) For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

Paul knew that his affliction was nothing compared to the eternal weight of God's glory. God's glory is not something light. On one hand there is pain and suffering and on the other is the glory of God. One is light and one is heavy.

(Phi 2:8) Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

(Phi 2:9) For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

keeping these things in mind, we are able to persevere through sufferings

(2Co 4:18) while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(Heb 12:2) fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

(1Pe 3:14) But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED,

(1Pe 3:15) but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

(Col 3:2) Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

(2Co 4:8) we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;

(2Co 4:9) persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

God is glorified when we are sanctified. God is glorified when we are ultimately satisfied with Him when we are in heaven.

We should be open to the sanctifying work of the Lord. This includes accidents, failures, illnesses and death.

May you rejoice as God squeezes out of your life all the worldliness as He purifies you.

ecf - march 2, 2007

2007-03-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Ben Sae-Tang

2 Corinthians 5:6-10

Created to Please

Isn't it obvious... that we were created to please? We enjoy it when we please others. We were created to please God.

9 And so we ambitiously strive, whether being at home or being away from home, to be acceptable [or, pleasing] to Him.

How does this relate to me? One day we will be judged before God (v.10) and be held accountable to how we lived our life and how our life related to God.

v.10 "bad" --> kakos (gk) --> worthless, useless

(1Co 3:13) the work of each will become evident, for the Day will make [it] clear, because it is revealed in fire, and the work of each, the fire will prove what kind it is.

(1Co 3:14) If the work of anyone remains which he built on [it], he will receive a reward.

(1Co 3:15) If the work of anyone will be burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, but so as through fire.

rewarding of the good and rejection of the worthless.
should make us desire to know what is "good" and what is "bad"
but remember :: deeds isn't our goal, it isn't our aim or our end.
we ought to be seeking nearness and intimacy with God, not just God's approval in deeds

How then, can I be sure that I am being pleasing to God?

v.6-7 We experience intimacy with God through faith. We may not always feel it or "experience" it.

⁶ So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷ For ^gwe walk by faith, not by sight.

Most of the time when we don't feel like we're pleasing God, it is probably because we are not. Our sinfulness is preventing us from doing so. But as we are reminded with Job, there are times that are not due to what we have done but to God's sovereignty. In those times, though we feel as if we are not pleasing God, we are in actuality pleasing to God. Therefore, it is not possible for us to live merely by sight and by how we feel (unreliable). We must live by faith in God.
Making decisions according to what is pragmatic, how we compare with others, how we feel (does this benefit me? Is this burdening me?) is completely antithetical to what God teaches.

God, if you give me the strength and grace to do this, then I will. Father, even if this doesn't feel right, if it is what I know to be right, then I will do it.

Walking by faith... often does not make sense. It doesn't appeal to our senses. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And we live to please God. Pleasing God is our reward, that is what we were created to do. Walking by God's authority is our reward. God's authority must be our ambition. Pleasing God must rule our life.

¹⁴ For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that ^oif One died for all, then all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, ^pthat those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again

The love of Christ was Paul's authority. The love of Christ captivated Paul and made it his ambition to please God.

When the world thinks of authority (general), they think of bondage. When a Christian thinks of authority (biblical), we ought to think it as our aim, our ambition.

tbs - march 1, 2007

2007-03-05T19:48:00.000-08:00

Pastor John

Leviticus 12

Our relationships can be easily corrupted too.

1 Cor 15:33
2 Sam 13 - Absalom and Tamar

Sin entangles and defiles us.

Our physical bodies defiles us. It is necessary for us to have glorified bodies in order for us to fellowship with God. Without glorification we cannot get to heaven.

Purification

This is an experience that every Israelite woman went through.

Purification for a Male Child (v.2-4)

**** unclean does not mean sinful

7 days quarantined.
same rationale as during menstruation -- blood
8th day, circumcision for son (mother shall not miss out on joyous day) Gen 17:12
40 days unclean

Purification for a Female Child (v.5)

twice the amount of time than for a male child
clear distinction btwn male and female for time of separation and ritual for defilement... for reasons that only God knows. The wisdom of God is much more powerful and potent and delightful than the wisdom of men.
80 days unclean

Purification Offering (v.6-8)

Burnt offering first (lamb if possible, if not, pigeon or turtledove)
Sin offering second, God doesn't care whether pigeon (non-migratory) or turtledove (migratory)

2007-03-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

The Enemy Within
Kris Lundgaard

Chapter 6

A double duty of the mind that is our first line of defense against the flesh's deceptions...
Joseph's mind was protected by two thoughts: the vileness of sin ("How then could I do such a wicked thing?") and God's grace and goodness ("How then could I... sin against God?). Because his mind was prepared for action (1 Peter 1:13-16), he could see through the deceit of the flesh and resist temptation. Remember that the mind is the watchman of the soul, commanded to judge and determine whether something is good and pleasing to God, so the affections can long for it and the will can choose it. The mind must stay fixed on God, especially on his grace and goodness towards us.

I know that this is stuff that I already know. In fact, it reminds me much of what CS Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity-- the idea that we must continually feed our minds with the Word because of the natural inclination of our minds to be opposed to what the Word teaches. We must read the Word in order to keep our minds sharp and able to judge whether something is good and pleasing to God. We must read the Word so our affections would long for what is good and choose it. The Word truly is our sword... equipping us for battle against whatever sin comes our way... But yea, even though this is stuff that I already know in my mind... it is often something that I choose not to remember. It is so good to be reminded of how we ought to be thinking... (and an encouragement to read the Word )

The most wretched attack is to abuse God's grace in order to make sin seem less sinful, less dangerous, less threatening... we know that if we do sin, "we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense" (1 John 2:1).

I don't know about you... but that last statement is so shocking to me. Not because I am appalled by Kris' reasoning, but because I am appalled by the truth that lies within it. It's so shocking because I can see that this is exactly what I do... but it had never occurred to me before that, every time I sin, Jesus is pleading to the Father in my defense. It is bad enough that he does so when I sin unintentionally... but with full intent... and knowing that Jesus is defending me for my actions/thoughts when I am undeserving to be defended... it makes me feel sick. Doesn't it make you feel sick too? How can I continue on doing that?

The flesh works to make you forget the design (that you are saved to be holy) and think only of the remedy (if you sin you'll be forgiven)... so that you are careless about sin.

The main ploy of the flesh is to slip worldliness into the mind under the guise of necessity. It isn't hard to imagine a man starting off in his business with his heart set on honoring God in all his ways, then being led astray... his hard work and the demands of his success start to encroach on his time in the Word and private prayer.

Maybe because it's finals season... but Kris' words really remind me of myself during test times. Somehow I become so busy and consume with success in academia that I start putting off reading the Word and praying. I can't read the Bible now because it's necessary for me to study. I can't pray right now because my test is tomorrow and I have use every second of my time to prepare for it. I can't do this right now because it's necessary for me to go take my final exam right now. Okay, may that last one is a bit of a stretch. :P But really, how often do I say this or do this? How often did I put my schoolwork ahead of my time with God? Just because God is patient... or just because those academic things seem more "real" to me... It doesn't give me to right to abuse His patience... and it also doesn't lessen the importance of spending time with God. Yet, I allow it to encroach on my time with God. Hmm. Don't I realize that reading the Bible and spending time in prayer is using my time to prepare for my exams?

If you want to know how far God was willing to go to rescue you from sin, you have to see his precious Son hanging on the cross for you. Then, even if it costs you your job and your dreams...

... you would do what you know what to be right. Can you imagine how bad sin must be... if Jesus would go to the extent of dying on the cross and be rejected by the Father... in order to save us from it? Can you imagine how great His love for us must be?

This all reminds me of a song by Avalon ...part of the lyrics goes:

Hanging blameless on a cross
You would rather die than leave us in the dark...

2007-03-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

Stop Dating the Church
Joshua Harris

What exactly is a solid church, you ask?
Well, let see what Mr. Joshua Harris says in his book entitled Stop Dating the Church:
I'm going to just quote bits and pieces from the book... not ALL of it... it's so long...mmm p. 83-97

Ten Important Questions 1. Is this a church where God's Word is faithfully taught? "The kind of church you want to be a part of," writes Donald Whitney, "is one where, when the Bible is read at the beginning of a sermon, you can be confident that what follows will be build upon it. God made our hearts, and only He knows what we need most. And He made our hearts for the Word of God. Nothing nourishes us like His message." So your first priority is to look for a church whose teaching is driven by a confidence in the authority of Scripture.
2 Timothy 3:16

2. Is this a church where sound doctrine matters? Doctrine may sound like an intimidating word. But it simply means what the Bible teaches about any given subject. Therefore, a church in which doctrine matters is one that values biblical truth, knows what it believes, and is guided by these beliefs in the way if functions. Sound doctrine is always under attack. A friend who attended a large conference for youth workers told me that the host started the event by walking onstage and declaring, "It's not about doctrine! It's about Jesus!" We don't have to choose between caring about doctrine and loving Jesus. In fact, they are inseparable. A concern for truth doesn't take us away from a deeper relationship with Him. It leads us closer to Him, in greater worship, adoration, and obedience. Look for a church that clearly knows and defines what it believes--a place where the statement of faith actually makes a difference. If this is the church home for you, you should be able to agree with this statement on its major doctrines.
Acts 2:42
2 Timothy 4:3-4

3. Is this a church in which the gospel is cherished and clearly proclaimed? Charles Spurgeon once said : "Do not go where it is all fine music and grand talk and beautiful architecture; those things will neither fill anybody's somach, nor feed his soul. Go where the gospel is preached, the gospel that really feeds your soul, and go often."
4. Is this a church committed to reaching non-Christians with the gospel? Make it a priority to look for a church that not only celebrates the gospel, but also reaches out to the unsaved in the community with the same Good News. Without an emphasis on evangelism, a church becomes selfish and ingrown. The clear message of the gospel should never be altered to make it more marketable. People separated from God by their sin are never served when a church places relevance about its missions of faithfully proclaiming the gospel.
Matthew 28:18-20
5. Is this a church whose leaders are characterized by humility and integrity? No pastor is perfect, but when it comes to evaluating a church's leaders, you want to find men you can trust and whose example you can follow. No amount of skill, leadership ability, or communication skills can replaced godly character. Look for a church where personal character is of higher importance than title, position, or outward success. I've found that the most effective leaders view themselves first as servants. And leaders with integrity keep themselves accountable. They don't view themselves as being immune to sin, but build safeguards around themselves financially, morally, and in every other category to keep themselves from compromise. They see themselves as servants of the Great Shepherd-- and live in light of their accountability to Him.
1 Timothy 3 (qualifications for pastors)

6. Is this a church where people strive to live by God's Word? No church can claim to live out God's Word perfectly. What's importanct is to look for a church that is seeking not only to believe rightly, but also to live rightly. That means that the churhc you're looking for will seek to build a culture and community of both hearing and obeying God's Word. It will not seek only to win converts, but to make disciples by helping them to mature in godly living in every area of life.
James 1:22
7. Is this a church where I can find and cultivate godly relationships? Does the church you're considering provide settings where you can enjoy biblical fellowship, mutual encouragement, and application of Scripture? This will look different at different churches. What matters is that godly relationships happen. Think about whether you'll be able to invest adequately in the relationship opportunities the church offers. No matter how great the church, if you live 2 hours away you'll be very limited in your ability to be a meaningful part of the community. The local church you choose should indeed be local.
8. Is this a church where members are challenged to serve? Look for a church that equips its members to serve and minister, and then challenges them to do so. True service means giving cheerfully to meet someone else's genuine need. My advice, then, is to make sure you're not evaluating a church primarily by its capacity as a stage to showcase your gifts. Look for a place that will challenge you to care deeply about the needs of others. then be ready to do whatever it takes to meet those needs.

9. Is this a church that is willing to kick me out? When a person who claims to be a Christian lives in a way that blatantly contradicts all that it means to be a disciple of Christ, a faithful church's responsibility is to begin the process of removing that person from membership and treat him or her like an unbeliever in the hope that he or she will repent and ultimately be restored. This practice is called church discipline and was instituted by Jesus. 400 years ago Menno Simons wrote: "We do not want to expel any, but rather to receive; not to amputate, but rather to heal; not to discard, but rather to win back; not to grieve, but rather to comfort; not to condemn, but rather to save." So church discipline is an expression of love. It's a way to try to restore a sinning brother as well as a way to protect the witness of the church. So look for a church that will not only welcome you into membership, but will lovingly hold you to your commitments as a Christian--a church that will love you enough to put you out of fellowship for the good of your soul.
1 Corinthians 5
2 Corinthians 2
Matthew 18

10. Is this a church I'm willing to join "as is" with enthusiasm and faith in God? I've often advised men and women not to marry someone if their unspoken plan is to change them "into the person they ought to be." Ask anyone who's been married more than a year. It just doesn't work. In your church quest, ask yourself, "Can I joyfully and fully support this church's leaders, their teachings, and the direction they have set?" Find a church you can be excited about. If it's the one fo ryou, you should be ready to join it "as is"-- that is, join it with faith that God is at work. Leave your gripes and complaints at the door. Those attitudes will only detract from your experience, limit your involvement, and wekan the church's unity.

Ask these questions with the right attitude. Approach every church you visit with humility. Pray for ever church you visit. Even if it's not the right church for you, remember how much God loves the work of a church even when it's being carried out imperfectly. Do your best to find a good church as quickly as possible. If you're feeling overwhelmed by too many points, boil them all down to three:
- You want a church that teaches God's Word
- You want a church that values God's Word
- You want a church that lives God's Word
These are the nonnegotiables.

The foundational elements that we have explored are scriptural and truly important. If they're completely missing, a church isn't merely imperfect; it's disobedient and dishonoring to God. The sad fact is that bad churches are out there. These are churches that have abandoned the authority of God's Word or who selectively apply it. These are churches that have neglected the gospel or added to or distorted it. It grieves me to say it, but there are some churches I would strongly encourage you to leave. I want to say this clearly because the last thing I want is for this book to be used to convince any person to stay in a bad church. We are called to be committed to the church. But sometimes that commitment involves leaving an unbiblical church.

Anyway. This is my cliffnotes verson of his book. And his book is the cliffnotes version of a bunch of other books. So, my advice (if you truly want to know more)... is to read his book... and then the other books. buahaha.

2007-03-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

The Enemy Within
Kris Lundgaard

so i was having this conversation with my friend Kris (see book reference) today...

this is how it went (chapter 3)...

Kris: The heart is "deceitful above all things." Do you doubt it?
me: no...
Kris: Think how fickle you are. One day Jesus is all the world to you; the next, you love the world more than King Midas did.
me: that is true...
Kris: Or you know that secret communion with God is a feast for your soul, and you long for it-- but you can't roll out of bed, or if you do, your mind zooms everywhere in the universe except to heaven.
me: yeea... that's why my dates with God are later in the mornings...
Kris: Or your mind knows that lust is evil and dangerous, but you put yourself to sleep at night imagining a weekend in [Seoul with that boy across the ocean].
me: whaaaa? i never told you that! o_O !!!!! KRIS! how do you know me so well?!!!!!! What can i do?!

Kris: Sin can be like trick birthday candles: you blow them out and smile, thinking you have your wish; then your jaw drops as they burst into flames.
me: okaaaaaaay....?
Kris: Never think for a minute that the war against sin is over in this life. If you cut the flesh any slack, you'll watch it regroup and revive. You may even end up worse off than you were before. "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
me: ah...
Kris: "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood (heb. 12:1-4)."
me: Wow. I really haven't. But if my heart is so deceitful... what can i do? How would i know if i'm deceiving myself?!
Kris: [Don't worry.] We don't know our hearts, but he does.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. psalm 139: 23-24

isn't my friend kris so brilliant?

2007-03-05T19:13:00.000-08:00

A Hunger For God
John Piper

the solution for my previous entry.

"Desires for other things" -- there's the enemy. And the only weapon that will triumph is a deeper hunger for God. The weakness of our hunger for God is not because he is unsavory, but because we keep ourselves stuffed with "other things." ... What we hunger for most, we worship.

When I think of the illustration that Kris Lundgaard uses in his book The Enemy Within, I think, "Why would anyone want to swim upstream while they can just relaxingly float downstream?" okay. So i didn't really think that when I read it, because subconsciously I knew why. But when I read what Piper says about hunger, I realized it.

This is something that happens often in nature. If you've ever observed salmon, you might wonder... why do salmon work so hard to swim upstream to lay their eggs? Did you know that a lot of salmon die in their journey? And that most, for the sake of their eggs, stop eating and lose their intestines and stuff just so that there would be more room in their tummies for the eggs to grow? Because there is an innate knowing imprinted in them that dictates that fresh water is where their eggs should be hatched. So the poor salmon struggle and fight and swim from the ocean to fresh water to lay their eggs.

Okay. back to people. I've always wondered what Joshua Harris meant in his book Not Even a Hint ( i think the new title is something like... Sex is not the problem, Lust is).

It reminds me that God's standard is so much higher than the standards I place for myself that only the victory of Christ's death and resurrection can provide the right power and the right motive needed to change me. Willpower won't work. Only the power of the cross can break the power of sin that keeps us on its treadmill. Despair or pride about changing won't work either. Only the motive of grace-- trust in the undeserved favor of God-- can inspire us to pursue holiness free from fear and shame.

And i would wonder, what does that mean? that "only the motive of grace can inspire us to pursue holiness free from fear and shame?" And I would think... "Okay! God's grace. That He gives us the gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus.... so by God's grace I have been saved and have conquered sin." But that didn't really help me applicationally. And I realized now, while reading about what Piper says about hungering after God, that my thoughts were only half complete.

What drives Christians (and only Christians, as you can see unbelievers are oblivious to the fact that the current of sin even exists) upstream is the desire for God. It is by God's grace that we realize the current that is pulling us down. It is by God's grace that we realize that only He can satisfy the hunger in us. That He is so much sweeter than the taste of any temporal thing in this world. It is in trusting that He will aid us in our swim upstream, that He won't fail us, and in times will even carry us. It is knowing that God will fight the battles for us... only if we would put on the armor, draw our sword and take that step of obedience into the battlefield. If we ask God to, He will cut the sin from our lives and purify us and make us holy... but we must be willing.

I think many times I stand in the middle of the river. Not willing to swim upstream but yet the current will still cause me to stumble backwards. With that kind of mentality, I will ultimately end up at the bottom of the river... because sin will end up pulling me down there. The greatest thing about the swim upstream is knowing that even though I'm swimming against the current, and though i may get pulled back a bit, eventually, I will reach that final destination. And the hunger for God, the hope for Him is what will drive us there.

After reading only the intro for A Hunger for God I'm starting to realize how there's so much that prevents me from hungering after God. And that I'm starting to fill up on the simple pleasures of God's gifts to us... growing satisfied with being in this world and losing that sense of temporality.

Jesus said some people hear the word of God, and a desire for God is awakened in their hearts. But then, "as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life" (Luke 8:14) In another place he said, "The desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful" (Mark 4:19). "The pleasures of this life" and the "desires for other things"-- these are not evil in themselves. These are not vices. These are gifts of God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and traveling and investing and TV-watching and Internet-surfing and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking. And all of them can become deadly substitutes for God.

I don't want to become one of those. You know, those seeds that grew and then were choked to death by the things of this world. I don't want to become complacent with being here. I don't want to be carried by the current. I don't want to lose that sensitivity to sin. I don't want to lose that hunger for God.

I don't want to hesitate in the middle of the river any longer.

Yet the thought of the swim scares me. The battle against the flesh... is just so bloody. And I'm afraid. But the hope for what lies ahead will carry me. The battle is already won!

2007-03-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

The Enemy Within
Kris Lundgaard

This was our book of the month (for September)

So our Thursday night Bible Study group decided to read it together...

Page 25:

Unbelievers can't feel [the force of sin within]. The law of sin is a raging river, carrying them along; they cannot measure the force of the current, because they have surrendered themselves to it and are borne along by it. A believer, on the other hand, swims upstream-- he meets sin head-on and strains under its strength.

So this is one thing that should set us apart from unbelievers. Yet, I can think of countless times of how I have reverted to be like an unbeliever, allowing myself to surrender to sin and to be carried along the current of it. What's worse, though, is that I do it consciously. I allow it to happen.

"Dont you sometimes feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?" Yes, Kris, that is exactly how I feel.

"We have met the enemy and he is us." --Pogo