"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders."
-Isaiah 9:6a
I didn't really plan on writing this blog post, but I thought that it would be good to share something on Christmas day. Isaiah chapter 9 talks about how the Israelites have been living in darkness, but would see a great light. Many promises are made in the chapter, all suggesting that the fate of the Israelites would be changed for their benefit.
Verse 6 describes the method in which this change would be brought to them. It reads "for to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders". The people would be saved from their darkness by a child. What kind of salvation is this? Perhaps when the Israelites heard this, they thought that this child would grow up to be some king. Certainly a child cannot bring salvation, right?
Ravi Zacharias once said something that totally changed my perspective about this verse. I don't remember the exact quote, but I can share the general idea. Isaiah's choice of words in verse 6 is not accidental; it actually teaches us something profound. The child is born, but the son is given. The child is born because Jesus wasn't a human until he was born. The son is given because Jesus eternally existed.
While the baby Jesus might have looked unimpressive, He was the very Son of God. The child was born, but Jesus was given to us. God didn't send salvation through some random child- He gave us His son. The word "given" suggests that God offered us Jesus freely. It is amazing that the Creator God would willingly give us His son to save us from our darkness and bring us into His marvelous light. Thank God that the child was born, and the Son was given.
-Smart
One Day Faith
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'"
-Matthew 25:21
I'm excited to write this post because the idea I want to present is so practical. I hope you are able to not only learn but also apply what you read today.
I would consider myself a results-driven person. If I see the results that I am looking for, the process by which the results were achieved is not really that important to me (unless it's unethical or something like that). I think that with the invention of the internet we have become accustomed to getting results quickly. We no longer have to look in a dictionary to define a word; we can just google the word. We can communicate almost instantaneously through email. The internet has given us the ability to get results very quickly, which for the most part is a good thing.
However, not everything can be achieved quickly. God has been teaching me over the past couple months that faith is not instantaneous. I wrote a blog post about this very topic a couple months ago. I've heard multiple sermons about this idea. I read about it in the book "Rooted" by Banning Liebscher. In my weekly group Bible study we have talked about it more than once. I even gave a message to my church's youth group on the topic of building faith.
Despite all of these different ways God has been speaking to me, I didn't really appreciate the truth of this principle until recently. When I used to think about faith, I always imagined that people with great faith were just able to find faith when they needed it. When I read about characters in the Bible with great faith, I always focused on the results of their faith. When I read about Daniel, I was amazed that he found faith to trust God in the midst of the lion's den. When I read about David, I was impressed at his faith to face Goliath.
What I never understood until now is that these people didn't just find faith one day. Daniel was able to trust God in the lion's den because he prayed three times a day to God before he was thrown in the den. Before David ever knew who Goliath was, he was faithful to shepherding his father's animals. It's so easy for us to focus on the results of faith because that is part of faith that we want to experience. However, we can never have the results of faith without first growing our faith.
I have been working at my current job for about 3 months now, and I realized that you cannot finish a project if you only focus on the end result. I work at a semiconductor company as a test engineer. Without getting too detailed, my responsibility is to develop a test program that will verify the performance of the products my company develops. If I only ever thought about the final test program, I would fail to ever complete the project. Of course, I need to have the final result in mind, but before I can reach the final result I have to go through the process of defining each test and writing code for each test.
What I learned from my experience at work is that you need to have both purpose and goals. Your purpose is what guides you; your goals are what keep you on your purpose. When I don't have clear and attainable goals at work, it's really hard for me to contribute to the project. When my goals are both clear and attainable, I am much more productive. Even though it may seem that what I am doing is insignificant when you look at the whole project, everything I do is important for the final result.
The verse written at the beginning of this post refers to a parable that Jesus told. A master is going out of town, so he gives three of his servants some money. The first two servants are able to double the amount of money given to them by the time the master comes back. The last servant does not do anything with the money entrusted to him. The master is delighted in the first two servants because they increased the amount of money given to them. He is angry at the last servant because the servant does nothing with his money.
When I read this passage in the past, I never really appreciated one small detail in Matthew 25:19. It says that the master came back "after a long time". Do you think that the first two servants were able to double the money given to them in one day? Two days? Three? Of course not! They must have spent weeks or months putting the money to work and earning more. The master is not only upset with the last servant because he didn't do anything with the money: he is upset because the servant did nothing over a long stretch of time.
If you have studied this passage before, you know that the master represents God Himself. Perhaps Jesus is trying to teach us through this parable that we have to continually work at our faith. He has given us what we need to build our faith. Are we doing all that we can to build our faith, even if it seems slow?
At the last Bible study I attended, the leader said a phrase that I really took to heart- "one day". I have changed it to "one day faith". One day faith refers to the faith that you build in one day. Instead of only focusing on the long-term result of faith, we should focus on faith for one day. How do we do this? I said it earlier- focus on clear and attainable goals.
I've always wanted to have a faith that is impressive. I wanted to have faith that could heal people, prophesy, or lead people to Christ. What I've been realizing is that I can never do these things until I grow my faith everyday. I shouldn't focus on those things. Instead, I should focus on clear and attainable things, like reading the Bible, praying, or ministering to others. It may seem insignificant to read a chapter of the Bible, but if you do it everyday you will eventually read the whole Bible. It may seem insignificant to pray for 10 minutes a day, but eventually you will have talked with God for hours. It may seem insignificant to minister to one person a week, but eventually you will have spoken to many.
This post has ended up being longer than I anticipated, but I think the message is clear. It's good to have big hopes for our lives and our faith. However, we must start with "one day faith". Our walk with God starts with one step. Then two, three, four, and so on. Our lives with God begin with one day. Focus on your one day faith, then see what God can do with your faith one day.
-Smart
-Matthew 25:21
I'm excited to write this post because the idea I want to present is so practical. I hope you are able to not only learn but also apply what you read today.
I would consider myself a results-driven person. If I see the results that I am looking for, the process by which the results were achieved is not really that important to me (unless it's unethical or something like that). I think that with the invention of the internet we have become accustomed to getting results quickly. We no longer have to look in a dictionary to define a word; we can just google the word. We can communicate almost instantaneously through email. The internet has given us the ability to get results very quickly, which for the most part is a good thing.
However, not everything can be achieved quickly. God has been teaching me over the past couple months that faith is not instantaneous. I wrote a blog post about this very topic a couple months ago. I've heard multiple sermons about this idea. I read about it in the book "Rooted" by Banning Liebscher. In my weekly group Bible study we have talked about it more than once. I even gave a message to my church's youth group on the topic of building faith.
Despite all of these different ways God has been speaking to me, I didn't really appreciate the truth of this principle until recently. When I used to think about faith, I always imagined that people with great faith were just able to find faith when they needed it. When I read about characters in the Bible with great faith, I always focused on the results of their faith. When I read about Daniel, I was amazed that he found faith to trust God in the midst of the lion's den. When I read about David, I was impressed at his faith to face Goliath.
What I never understood until now is that these people didn't just find faith one day. Daniel was able to trust God in the lion's den because he prayed three times a day to God before he was thrown in the den. Before David ever knew who Goliath was, he was faithful to shepherding his father's animals. It's so easy for us to focus on the results of faith because that is part of faith that we want to experience. However, we can never have the results of faith without first growing our faith.
I have been working at my current job for about 3 months now, and I realized that you cannot finish a project if you only focus on the end result. I work at a semiconductor company as a test engineer. Without getting too detailed, my responsibility is to develop a test program that will verify the performance of the products my company develops. If I only ever thought about the final test program, I would fail to ever complete the project. Of course, I need to have the final result in mind, but before I can reach the final result I have to go through the process of defining each test and writing code for each test.
What I learned from my experience at work is that you need to have both purpose and goals. Your purpose is what guides you; your goals are what keep you on your purpose. When I don't have clear and attainable goals at work, it's really hard for me to contribute to the project. When my goals are both clear and attainable, I am much more productive. Even though it may seem that what I am doing is insignificant when you look at the whole project, everything I do is important for the final result.
The verse written at the beginning of this post refers to a parable that Jesus told. A master is going out of town, so he gives three of his servants some money. The first two servants are able to double the amount of money given to them by the time the master comes back. The last servant does not do anything with the money entrusted to him. The master is delighted in the first two servants because they increased the amount of money given to them. He is angry at the last servant because the servant does nothing with his money.
When I read this passage in the past, I never really appreciated one small detail in Matthew 25:19. It says that the master came back "after a long time". Do you think that the first two servants were able to double the money given to them in one day? Two days? Three? Of course not! They must have spent weeks or months putting the money to work and earning more. The master is not only upset with the last servant because he didn't do anything with the money: he is upset because the servant did nothing over a long stretch of time.
If you have studied this passage before, you know that the master represents God Himself. Perhaps Jesus is trying to teach us through this parable that we have to continually work at our faith. He has given us what we need to build our faith. Are we doing all that we can to build our faith, even if it seems slow?
At the last Bible study I attended, the leader said a phrase that I really took to heart- "one day". I have changed it to "one day faith". One day faith refers to the faith that you build in one day. Instead of only focusing on the long-term result of faith, we should focus on faith for one day. How do we do this? I said it earlier- focus on clear and attainable goals.
I've always wanted to have a faith that is impressive. I wanted to have faith that could heal people, prophesy, or lead people to Christ. What I've been realizing is that I can never do these things until I grow my faith everyday. I shouldn't focus on those things. Instead, I should focus on clear and attainable things, like reading the Bible, praying, or ministering to others. It may seem insignificant to read a chapter of the Bible, but if you do it everyday you will eventually read the whole Bible. It may seem insignificant to pray for 10 minutes a day, but eventually you will have talked with God for hours. It may seem insignificant to minister to one person a week, but eventually you will have spoken to many.
This post has ended up being longer than I anticipated, but I think the message is clear. It's good to have big hopes for our lives and our faith. However, we must start with "one day faith". Our walk with God starts with one step. Then two, three, four, and so on. Our lives with God begin with one day. Focus on your one day faith, then see what God can do with your faith one day.
-Smart
The Completion of Joy
"When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child..."
-Luke 2:17
There must be something about the Christmas season because I'm writing two blog posts back to back. Yesterday I wrote about the birth of Jesus described in Luke 2 and asked the question of whether there is room in our hearts for Jesus. We saw that the shepherds were examples of people who were able to accept Jesus as the Savior of the world. Today I want to talk a little more about the shepherds during the time of Jesus' birth.
After hearing about Jesus' birth from the angels, the shepherds immediately went to see Jesus. When they saw Jesus, they spread the word concerning what they saw. The shepherds not only praised God, as I mentioned yesterday- they went out and told people about Jesus. The Bible tells us that the people who heard the shepherds were amazed at what they were being told.
The natural question to ask is why the shepherds went out to proclaim the good news they had heard. Wasn't it enough to just see Jesus? Matt Chandler, the pastor of the Village Church, often cites this quote from C.S. Lewis: "I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation." In other words, joy is made complete when we share our joy. The shepherds went out to share the news of Jesus' birth because they were filled with joy. To achieve the fullness of their joy, they went out and publicly expressed their joy to others.
This truth told by C.S. Lewis is something we experience all the time but don't often think about. When something that brings us joy happens, we are eager to express our joy to others. For example, when I eat at a good restaurant, I love telling others about it. In fact, part of the reason I have this blog is to express thoughts and experiences that bring me joy.
With the idea that joy is made complete in sharing it, we must ask ourselves a tough question. If we are truly joyful in this Christmas season, why aren't we sharing our joy with others? The shepherds had no reason to tell others about Jesus' birth except to express their joy. We can imagine that the shepherds wouldn't have shared the news of Jesus out of a sense of duty. I think we often are reluctant to share the good news of Jesus because we feel that we're doing it out of duty. Jesus' birth shouldn't give us a sense of duty but a spirit of joy. In this Christmas season let's ask ourselves this question: does Jesus' birth really give me joy?
-Smart
-Luke 2:17
There must be something about the Christmas season because I'm writing two blog posts back to back. Yesterday I wrote about the birth of Jesus described in Luke 2 and asked the question of whether there is room in our hearts for Jesus. We saw that the shepherds were examples of people who were able to accept Jesus as the Savior of the world. Today I want to talk a little more about the shepherds during the time of Jesus' birth.
After hearing about Jesus' birth from the angels, the shepherds immediately went to see Jesus. When they saw Jesus, they spread the word concerning what they saw. The shepherds not only praised God, as I mentioned yesterday- they went out and told people about Jesus. The Bible tells us that the people who heard the shepherds were amazed at what they were being told.
The natural question to ask is why the shepherds went out to proclaim the good news they had heard. Wasn't it enough to just see Jesus? Matt Chandler, the pastor of the Village Church, often cites this quote from C.S. Lewis: "I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation." In other words, joy is made complete when we share our joy. The shepherds went out to share the news of Jesus' birth because they were filled with joy. To achieve the fullness of their joy, they went out and publicly expressed their joy to others.
This truth told by C.S. Lewis is something we experience all the time but don't often think about. When something that brings us joy happens, we are eager to express our joy to others. For example, when I eat at a good restaurant, I love telling others about it. In fact, part of the reason I have this blog is to express thoughts and experiences that bring me joy.
With the idea that joy is made complete in sharing it, we must ask ourselves a tough question. If we are truly joyful in this Christmas season, why aren't we sharing our joy with others? The shepherds had no reason to tell others about Jesus' birth except to express their joy. We can imagine that the shepherds wouldn't have shared the news of Jesus out of a sense of duty. I think we often are reluctant to share the good news of Jesus because we feel that we're doing it out of duty. Jesus' birth shouldn't give us a sense of duty but a spirit of joy. In this Christmas season let's ask ourselves this question: does Jesus' birth really give me joy?
-Smart
Is There Room for Jesus?
"She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them."
-Luke 2:7
Earlier today I studied Luke 2 at the weekly group Bible study I attend. You know Christmas is right around the corner when churches begin studying the beginning chapters of Luke's gospel. Luke chapter two describes the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph. Caesar Augustus orders a census to be taken, forcing Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary to travel to Bethlehem. Jesus is born in Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecy in Micah 5:2.
When Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem, they are unable to find a room in an inn. What they end up doing is staying in what we can assume is a barn. Jesus is born in a manger, which is a box that animals ate from. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus was and is the Savior of the world. A manger is the last place people would have expected a savior to be born. The Jews were probably expecting their Messiah, or Savior, to be a powerful leader who would liberate them from the Romans. As a result, no one came to Jesus in the manger until an angel appeared to some shepherds, but we'll address that later in the post.
While studying this part of the passage, the Bible study leader asked a convicting question: is there room for Jesus in your heart? Everyone had pushed Jesus aside, by refusing Mary and Joseph a room to stay in. Isn't that exactly what we do in our hearts? We so easily push Jesus aside because He's not the Savior that we want. Just like the Jews, we want Jesus to liberate us from the circumstances around us. For the Jews, it was the Roman government. For us, it can be a lack of finances, poor working conditions, hard exams, or the people around us.
What the Jews didn't understand is that Jesus didn't come to save them from the Romans. Jesus came to save them from themselves. What does this mean? Even though the Jews were God's people, they were still sinners, just like us. They needed saving from their sin. They didn't need to be saved from the circumstances surrounding them, they needed to be saved from the sin within them. Jesus in a manger is so hard for us to accept because even though He's the savior we need, He's not the savior we want.
Later in the passage we read that an angel appears to shepherds who were keeping watch over sheep at night. Another question that was raised in the Bible study is why angels appeared to shepherds. Shepherds were not high on the social ladder, and were probably ignored for the most part. If God were to announce the coming of the Messiah, we would expect God to announce it to the Pharisees and teachers of the law. We definitely would not expect God to announce the birthing of Jesus to lowly shepherds.
So why was the birth of Jesus first announced to shepherds? I cannot give a definite answer since it is not recorded in the Scripture and I am not God. However, I believe that there are three possible reasons the angel approached shepherds. The shepherds were ready, receptive, and responsive.
First, they were ready. If you read the passage, you will see that the shepherds were tending their flocks late at night. This means that they were awake when no one else was. Everyone else was busy or tired from travelling for the census. The shepherds were faithfully doing their job, which required that they were awake at night. What we can learn from the shepherds' readiness is that sometimes all God wants is for us to be ready. We don't have to be perfect or sinless, we just need to be ready for Jesus.
Second, the shepherds were receptive. If Jesus' birth was announced to the Pharisees and teaches of the law, I don't think they would be receptive to the news. They would probably question why the Messiah was born in a barn rather than in a palace. The Jewish elite would assume that there was nothing a baby in a manger could do for them. On the other hand, the shepherds were ignored by society. Perhaps their low status positioned their hearts to be receptive of a savior born in a manger. It's important to ask ourselves if we are too proud to accept Jesus as our Savior.
Third, they were responsive. After the shepherds met Jesus, they praised God. They didn't simply return to their flocks, they praised and glorified God. I made the point while teaching some youth group kids that worship is the proper response to God (recorded by Grace in Journey Through Life). The shepherds not only were ready and receptive of Jesus' birth, they responded with worship. Jesus' birth should lead us to respond in worship.
Christmas time is often very busy and distracting. The world tells us that Christmas time is all about shopping and spending time with family and friends. While neither of these are bad in themselves, they are not the point of Christmas. Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus' birth. I admit that I am often busy and distracted during Christmas and forget the whole point. I am often busy rather than ready. I am often distracted rather than receptive. I am often passive rather than receptive.
I don't want my life to be so filled with meaningless things that I find no room for Jesus in my heart. I don't want to be like the inn that turned away Jesus because there was no longer any room. This might mean that I have to get rid of some things to make space for Jesus, but it's worth it because He's the Savior that I need. How about you? Is there room for Jesus?
-Smart
-Luke 2:7
Earlier today I studied Luke 2 at the weekly group Bible study I attend. You know Christmas is right around the corner when churches begin studying the beginning chapters of Luke's gospel. Luke chapter two describes the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph. Caesar Augustus orders a census to be taken, forcing Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary to travel to Bethlehem. Jesus is born in Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecy in Micah 5:2.
When Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem, they are unable to find a room in an inn. What they end up doing is staying in what we can assume is a barn. Jesus is born in a manger, which is a box that animals ate from. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus was and is the Savior of the world. A manger is the last place people would have expected a savior to be born. The Jews were probably expecting their Messiah, or Savior, to be a powerful leader who would liberate them from the Romans. As a result, no one came to Jesus in the manger until an angel appeared to some shepherds, but we'll address that later in the post.
While studying this part of the passage, the Bible study leader asked a convicting question: is there room for Jesus in your heart? Everyone had pushed Jesus aside, by refusing Mary and Joseph a room to stay in. Isn't that exactly what we do in our hearts? We so easily push Jesus aside because He's not the Savior that we want. Just like the Jews, we want Jesus to liberate us from the circumstances around us. For the Jews, it was the Roman government. For us, it can be a lack of finances, poor working conditions, hard exams, or the people around us.
What the Jews didn't understand is that Jesus didn't come to save them from the Romans. Jesus came to save them from themselves. What does this mean? Even though the Jews were God's people, they were still sinners, just like us. They needed saving from their sin. They didn't need to be saved from the circumstances surrounding them, they needed to be saved from the sin within them. Jesus in a manger is so hard for us to accept because even though He's the savior we need, He's not the savior we want.
Later in the passage we read that an angel appears to shepherds who were keeping watch over sheep at night. Another question that was raised in the Bible study is why angels appeared to shepherds. Shepherds were not high on the social ladder, and were probably ignored for the most part. If God were to announce the coming of the Messiah, we would expect God to announce it to the Pharisees and teachers of the law. We definitely would not expect God to announce the birthing of Jesus to lowly shepherds.
So why was the birth of Jesus first announced to shepherds? I cannot give a definite answer since it is not recorded in the Scripture and I am not God. However, I believe that there are three possible reasons the angel approached shepherds. The shepherds were ready, receptive, and responsive.
First, they were ready. If you read the passage, you will see that the shepherds were tending their flocks late at night. This means that they were awake when no one else was. Everyone else was busy or tired from travelling for the census. The shepherds were faithfully doing their job, which required that they were awake at night. What we can learn from the shepherds' readiness is that sometimes all God wants is for us to be ready. We don't have to be perfect or sinless, we just need to be ready for Jesus.
Second, the shepherds were receptive. If Jesus' birth was announced to the Pharisees and teaches of the law, I don't think they would be receptive to the news. They would probably question why the Messiah was born in a barn rather than in a palace. The Jewish elite would assume that there was nothing a baby in a manger could do for them. On the other hand, the shepherds were ignored by society. Perhaps their low status positioned their hearts to be receptive of a savior born in a manger. It's important to ask ourselves if we are too proud to accept Jesus as our Savior.
Third, they were responsive. After the shepherds met Jesus, they praised God. They didn't simply return to their flocks, they praised and glorified God. I made the point while teaching some youth group kids that worship is the proper response to God (recorded by Grace in Journey Through Life). The shepherds not only were ready and receptive of Jesus' birth, they responded with worship. Jesus' birth should lead us to respond in worship.
Christmas time is often very busy and distracting. The world tells us that Christmas time is all about shopping and spending time with family and friends. While neither of these are bad in themselves, they are not the point of Christmas. Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus' birth. I admit that I am often busy and distracted during Christmas and forget the whole point. I am often busy rather than ready. I am often distracted rather than receptive. I am often passive rather than receptive.
I don't want my life to be so filled with meaningless things that I find no room for Jesus in my heart. I don't want to be like the inn that turned away Jesus because there was no longer any room. This might mean that I have to get rid of some things to make space for Jesus, but it's worth it because He's the Savior that I need. How about you? Is there room for Jesus?
-Smart
Thanksgiving 2016
"It’s one thing to be grateful. It’s another to give thanks. Gratitude is what you feel. Thanksgiving is what you do."
-Timothy Keller
I know it's almost a week from Thanksgiving, but I figured I would still take time to write my thanksgiving topics. I recently read the above quote and it inspired me to not be lazy and to write these topics. Here we go:
-Timothy Keller
I know it's almost a week from Thanksgiving, but I figured I would still take time to write my thanksgiving topics. I recently read the above quote and it inspired me to not be lazy and to write these topics. Here we go:
- Jesus Christ. Jesus died and rose again on the Cross for my sins. Without Him I have no hope, joy, peace, or life. I thank God that He sent Jesus for me.
- Church. When I say church, I don't mean the building. A church building is nothing without the people in it. Being apart from my hometown church has made me realize how much I depended on them. I grew so much in my faith because of the people of the church.
- Family. I am blessed to have a great family. We have been through some difficult times, but for the most part, life was good because of my family. I would not be where I am today without my parents and brothers.
- Friends. I'm thankful for the people God has placed in my life that I have the privilege of calling friends. I am always encouraged when I meet with friends.
- School. I graduated college earlier this year, and I'm realizing more and more everyday how beneficial school was for me. The things I've learned and the experiences I've had help me do my job today.
- Work. I started working from my sophomore year of college. I've worked two jobs before starting the job I have now. I'm grateful for each of my workplaces that have not only provided me with money but great friends.
- Money. Yes, it is said that "money is the root of all evil". However, money is a necessity. I'm thankful that I have enough money to live and still have some to save.
- Apartment. I know that I am very fortunate to have a place to live. I don't want to think for a second that I earned this apartment solely by my effort, it is a gift from God.
- Health. I'm not very old, but I am starting to feel that I am not the same as I was in my younger years. This makes me appreciate good health all the more. I sprained my ankle playing basketball, but I am recovering well. Thank God for my health.
- Music. Music does something to us that we can't explain. I'm thankful that God blessed us to have music, and increasing access to music through technology.
- Car. Having a car is something that I take for granted often. My car has taken me halfway across the country, and drives me to work everyday.
- Technology. Everyone recognizes that technology is amazing, but as an engineer I feel that I have a deeper appreciate for technology. Technology improves my life tremendously and I am grateful for that.
- Cooking. More specifically, my interest in cooking. I imagine that my interest in cooking will fade away sometime, but I'm thankful that I have the resources to cook meals for myself.
- Airplanes. This year I have ridden airplanes more than any other year of my life. Although I don't really enjoy the experience of being in a plane, I'm thankful that I have the ability to travel long distances by plane.
- Sports. I enjoy both playing and watching sports. I'm thankful that God has made exercise enjoyable through sports.
- Bed. Sleep is incredible. When I moved into a new apartment, I did not have a bed at first. The days I had to sleep without a bed were pretty miserable. I'm grateful to have a bed, even if it's just a mattress.
- Podcasts. I listen to sermons often on my phone when I'm exercising or working. I'm thankful that sermons are available through technology.
- Clothes. I feel that no explanation is needed here.
- Gaither Vocal Band. I had the chance to hear them in concert this year, and they are incredible. I'm grateful to have discovered them when I did.
- God. He is the giver of all things. Nothing I mentioned above is possible without Him. Thank you God for providing everything I need.
-Smart
Election 2016 Thoughts
"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."
-Romans 13:1
The 2016 United States presidential election ended early this morning. To the surprise of millions of people, including myself, Donald Trump has won the nomination. The result of the election is hard for many people to accept. Once I realized that Trump would win the nomination, I felt a mix of emotions- confusion, sadness, anxiety, and to be honest, fear. I did not expect Trump to have come as far as he did in this presidential race, and I certainly didn't expect him to win the presidential election. Today I just wanted to share some of my thoughts surrounding this election.
This election cycle is the first one in which I was old enough to vote. I never really took a liking to politics in my life, but when I saw the way in which this election was headed, I started paying closer attention. There were over fifteen republican candidates for president, which is a large number for one party. As the presidential race continued, fewer and fewer candidates remained. Finally, every candidate withdrew from the race except for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Again, I do not have much interest in politics, and quite frankly I don't want to talk about politics here. What I do want to talk about is what I observed in this election. First, I want to talk about the media. The media has constantly criticized Donald Trump in this presidential race. News anchors, political analysts and even comedians have continually attacked Trump during his campaign. To be fair, Trump has said and done hurtful things that needed to be brought to the public's attention. However, I believe that because the media has shown so much of Trump, it helped him catch the eye of the public. I also think that the constant criticism he received actually may have helped him gain supporters who were looking to rally behind someone that went against the so-called establishment. Since the media is seen by many as something that is controlled by the elite, people were happy to support someone that was banging heads with it.
Next, I'd like to write about Hillary Clinton. Clinton has been in office for awhile, which means that she has government experience. However, many people are unhappy with the way the government has been run in recent history. Since Clinton has been a part of that system, people saw her potential presidency as just a continuation of a government that wasn't working for them. Of course there were many other factors that made her a pretty weak presidential candidate, such as the email scandal. The perception of many that she would be unable to bring meaningful change in government is another reason Trump was able to win the presidency.
Honestly there are many reasons that play into Trump's nomination, but the last two points were just things that I think played a huge role. Now I want to get to the point that really matters- people. This presidential race has been an extremely dividing time. Trump supporters were hungry for change in the United States. They felt that Trump could offer the change that they desperately seek. Even though Trump has time and time again attacked people because of their race, gender, or nationality, people still supported him. As much as it pains me to say this, it seems that there are many people who agree with Trump's views on these matters. I could not support Trump because he is someone who spreads fear and hatred.
Clinton supporters and/or non-Trump supporters are absolutely shocked at the results of the election. Many of them are terrified, furious or both. They cannot believe that the people in America have voted for Trump, a man who seems to have no respect for people of other races, gender or nationality. Liberals generally have the belief that everyone should be accepted, regardless of race, class, gender, sexual preference, etc. However, what I realized in this election is that liberals actually go against what they believe, but in a way that they don't think.
As I looked on social media earlier today, I saw countless posts from my liberal friends that say hateful things towards Trump and his supporters. They called Trump and his supporters racist, sexist, xenophobic and many other negative things. Think about that for a second. The very people who say that no one should be attacked because of who they are or what they believe are attacking people based on who they are and what they believe. Liberals argue that even if your beliefs don't match other people's beliefs, you should still accept those people. How is it that liberals say this and yet don't accept others (Trump and his supporters) because of their beliefs?
I want to be clear in that I do not agree with many of Trump's views. I am simply stating that people cannot say that they accept everyone regardless of beliefs and yet hate Trump and those who voted for him. They are contradicting their own principles. People, whether conservative or liberal, have been hateful to others. The only difference is that conservatives direct their hatred towards people of other races, gender, and nationality, and liberals direct their hatred towards conservatives or those with conservative beliefs.
One of the biggest failings in people is the unwillingness and/or inability to see themselves for who they really are. The Bible states that we have all sinned and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). No one is perfect, and no one is free from sin. We all have the capacity to hate. That is simply the ugly truth. However, the beautiful silver lining is that Jesus has shown us that there is another way. He has shown us through the cross that we all can choose to love. The Bible teaches that some actions and beliefs are wrong, but it also teaches us that we should reach out to those who do or believe in wrong things. When Jesus died on the cross, He died for all people. He did not die for those who agreed with Him, He died for everyone. He loved everyone the same. If we can accept that we are sinners but Christ still loves us, maybe then we can reach out and love others.
-Smart
-Romans 13:1
The 2016 United States presidential election ended early this morning. To the surprise of millions of people, including myself, Donald Trump has won the nomination. The result of the election is hard for many people to accept. Once I realized that Trump would win the nomination, I felt a mix of emotions- confusion, sadness, anxiety, and to be honest, fear. I did not expect Trump to have come as far as he did in this presidential race, and I certainly didn't expect him to win the presidential election. Today I just wanted to share some of my thoughts surrounding this election.
This election cycle is the first one in which I was old enough to vote. I never really took a liking to politics in my life, but when I saw the way in which this election was headed, I started paying closer attention. There were over fifteen republican candidates for president, which is a large number for one party. As the presidential race continued, fewer and fewer candidates remained. Finally, every candidate withdrew from the race except for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Again, I do not have much interest in politics, and quite frankly I don't want to talk about politics here. What I do want to talk about is what I observed in this election. First, I want to talk about the media. The media has constantly criticized Donald Trump in this presidential race. News anchors, political analysts and even comedians have continually attacked Trump during his campaign. To be fair, Trump has said and done hurtful things that needed to be brought to the public's attention. However, I believe that because the media has shown so much of Trump, it helped him catch the eye of the public. I also think that the constant criticism he received actually may have helped him gain supporters who were looking to rally behind someone that went against the so-called establishment. Since the media is seen by many as something that is controlled by the elite, people were happy to support someone that was banging heads with it.
Next, I'd like to write about Hillary Clinton. Clinton has been in office for awhile, which means that she has government experience. However, many people are unhappy with the way the government has been run in recent history. Since Clinton has been a part of that system, people saw her potential presidency as just a continuation of a government that wasn't working for them. Of course there were many other factors that made her a pretty weak presidential candidate, such as the email scandal. The perception of many that she would be unable to bring meaningful change in government is another reason Trump was able to win the presidency.
Honestly there are many reasons that play into Trump's nomination, but the last two points were just things that I think played a huge role. Now I want to get to the point that really matters- people. This presidential race has been an extremely dividing time. Trump supporters were hungry for change in the United States. They felt that Trump could offer the change that they desperately seek. Even though Trump has time and time again attacked people because of their race, gender, or nationality, people still supported him. As much as it pains me to say this, it seems that there are many people who agree with Trump's views on these matters. I could not support Trump because he is someone who spreads fear and hatred.
Clinton supporters and/or non-Trump supporters are absolutely shocked at the results of the election. Many of them are terrified, furious or both. They cannot believe that the people in America have voted for Trump, a man who seems to have no respect for people of other races, gender or nationality. Liberals generally have the belief that everyone should be accepted, regardless of race, class, gender, sexual preference, etc. However, what I realized in this election is that liberals actually go against what they believe, but in a way that they don't think.
As I looked on social media earlier today, I saw countless posts from my liberal friends that say hateful things towards Trump and his supporters. They called Trump and his supporters racist, sexist, xenophobic and many other negative things. Think about that for a second. The very people who say that no one should be attacked because of who they are or what they believe are attacking people based on who they are and what they believe. Liberals argue that even if your beliefs don't match other people's beliefs, you should still accept those people. How is it that liberals say this and yet don't accept others (Trump and his supporters) because of their beliefs?
I want to be clear in that I do not agree with many of Trump's views. I am simply stating that people cannot say that they accept everyone regardless of beliefs and yet hate Trump and those who voted for him. They are contradicting their own principles. People, whether conservative or liberal, have been hateful to others. The only difference is that conservatives direct their hatred towards people of other races, gender, and nationality, and liberals direct their hatred towards conservatives or those with conservative beliefs.
One of the biggest failings in people is the unwillingness and/or inability to see themselves for who they really are. The Bible states that we have all sinned and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). No one is perfect, and no one is free from sin. We all have the capacity to hate. That is simply the ugly truth. However, the beautiful silver lining is that Jesus has shown us that there is another way. He has shown us through the cross that we all can choose to love. The Bible teaches that some actions and beliefs are wrong, but it also teaches us that we should reach out to those who do or believe in wrong things. When Jesus died on the cross, He died for all people. He did not die for those who agreed with Him, He died for everyone. He loved everyone the same. If we can accept that we are sinners but Christ still loves us, maybe then we can reach out and love others.
-Smart
For Such a Time As This?
"And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?"
-Esther 4:14b
This year has been full of experiences and changes that I never would have imagined. I don't want to talk about all of those experiences here, I'll save those for my New Year's Testimony. I've lived in the state of Maryland for my entire life. I've never left Maryland with the exception of vacations and conferences. I definitely never lived anywhere outside of Maryland for more than a couple weeks. In Maryland I've enjoyed to company of my family and many friends. I could never imagine living anywhere else. Being with cherished family members and friends, driving down familiar roads day after day, and going to a church that I love were such precious times that I enjoyed.
In September 2016, everything changed. I left my hometown of Maryland to travel to Texas, the state of big things, apparently. My heart was filled with a mix of anxiety, anticipation and excitement. When I finally arrived, it just felt like another vacation. However, after a couple weeks passed, the harsh reality of what was happening hit me. I had to wash my clothes, clean my floors, buy toilet paper- all things I never really had to worry about before. The more time passed, the more I finally began to accept that this is now my life.
Before I get to dramatic, let me just say that I am not writing this to draw sympathy. I chose to live here in Dallas. I knew what was coming, but there was one thing I couldn't expect. The third Sunday I was in Texas I attended a Bible Study with some UBF members. We studied the book of Esther, focusing on chapter four.
The book of Esther describes a Jewish girl who hides her identity as a Jew to become the queen of a power nation. While Esther is queen, the Jews are put in danger of a massive execution. Mordecai, who raised Esther as his own daughter, pleads with her to help the Jews. He reminds her that she herself is a Jew, and thus has a responsibility to act on their behalf. In his plea, Mordecai says something has stuck with me for weeks. "Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?"
As we were studying the passage, Stephen, the Bible study leader, recounted the recent events in Dallas. Stephen and his family arrived in Dallas three years ago. Jonathan and his wife arrived in Texas a couple months ago. Brian, Jonathan's bible student, also came to Dallas a couple months ago. Finally, I came to Dallas in September. None of us had ever planned to meet each other- not even Brian and Jonathan. And yet, God has brought all of us here.
When I thought about how we all came here to Dallas only recently, the same question that Mordecai asked Esther burned in my mind. Who knows that we have come to Dallas for such a time this? Esther had no idea what was in store for her life when she became queen. When Mordecai approaches her with his plea for help, she is given a choice. Either she can agree and help the Jews, or she can keep silent and continue living a comfortable life as a queen. Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. If Esther agreed to help the Jewish people, it could very well cost her life.
I can't help but believe that God has placed me here in Texas for a reason. Who know but that I have come here for such a time as this? Like Esther, I am given a choice. Either I can accept God's calling and obey Him, or I can keep silent and continue living a comfortable life as a working adult. I know that obeying God won't be easy. It could cost me my pride, position, money, time, or even my life.
I don't know what God wants from me here in Dallas. Yet I do know that as in Esther's time, people are awaiting an inevitable destruction if no one comes to save them. When Esther responded to Mordecai's plea, she saved the many Jewish people. God placed her in her position at a perfect time. Who knows but that God placed me here for such a time as this? I know that if I obey God's call, He is mighty to save. I cannot save an entire race of people, but God can.
So what about you? Who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this? Are you going to let God's power pass over you? Obeying God's call is never easy. In fact, it is costly. However, obeying God's call is the best decision we can make in our lives. If you're like me, the thought of leaving a comfortable life is scary. I don't feel as if I can do anything meaningful for God. However, I refuse to believe that I am here at this time for no reason. Who knows but that I have come here for such a time as this? Who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this? Who knows?
-Smart
-Esther 4:14b
This year has been full of experiences and changes that I never would have imagined. I don't want to talk about all of those experiences here, I'll save those for my New Year's Testimony. I've lived in the state of Maryland for my entire life. I've never left Maryland with the exception of vacations and conferences. I definitely never lived anywhere outside of Maryland for more than a couple weeks. In Maryland I've enjoyed to company of my family and many friends. I could never imagine living anywhere else. Being with cherished family members and friends, driving down familiar roads day after day, and going to a church that I love were such precious times that I enjoyed.
In September 2016, everything changed. I left my hometown of Maryland to travel to Texas, the state of big things, apparently. My heart was filled with a mix of anxiety, anticipation and excitement. When I finally arrived, it just felt like another vacation. However, after a couple weeks passed, the harsh reality of what was happening hit me. I had to wash my clothes, clean my floors, buy toilet paper- all things I never really had to worry about before. The more time passed, the more I finally began to accept that this is now my life.
Before I get to dramatic, let me just say that I am not writing this to draw sympathy. I chose to live here in Dallas. I knew what was coming, but there was one thing I couldn't expect. The third Sunday I was in Texas I attended a Bible Study with some UBF members. We studied the book of Esther, focusing on chapter four.
The book of Esther describes a Jewish girl who hides her identity as a Jew to become the queen of a power nation. While Esther is queen, the Jews are put in danger of a massive execution. Mordecai, who raised Esther as his own daughter, pleads with her to help the Jews. He reminds her that she herself is a Jew, and thus has a responsibility to act on their behalf. In his plea, Mordecai says something has stuck with me for weeks. "Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?"
As we were studying the passage, Stephen, the Bible study leader, recounted the recent events in Dallas. Stephen and his family arrived in Dallas three years ago. Jonathan and his wife arrived in Texas a couple months ago. Brian, Jonathan's bible student, also came to Dallas a couple months ago. Finally, I came to Dallas in September. None of us had ever planned to meet each other- not even Brian and Jonathan. And yet, God has brought all of us here.
When I thought about how we all came here to Dallas only recently, the same question that Mordecai asked Esther burned in my mind. Who knows that we have come to Dallas for such a time this? Esther had no idea what was in store for her life when she became queen. When Mordecai approaches her with his plea for help, she is given a choice. Either she can agree and help the Jews, or she can keep silent and continue living a comfortable life as a queen. Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. If Esther agreed to help the Jewish people, it could very well cost her life.
I can't help but believe that God has placed me here in Texas for a reason. Who know but that I have come here for such a time as this? Like Esther, I am given a choice. Either I can accept God's calling and obey Him, or I can keep silent and continue living a comfortable life as a working adult. I know that obeying God won't be easy. It could cost me my pride, position, money, time, or even my life.
I don't know what God wants from me here in Dallas. Yet I do know that as in Esther's time, people are awaiting an inevitable destruction if no one comes to save them. When Esther responded to Mordecai's plea, she saved the many Jewish people. God placed her in her position at a perfect time. Who knows but that God placed me here for such a time as this? I know that if I obey God's call, He is mighty to save. I cannot save an entire race of people, but God can.
So what about you? Who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this? Are you going to let God's power pass over you? Obeying God's call is never easy. In fact, it is costly. However, obeying God's call is the best decision we can make in our lives. If you're like me, the thought of leaving a comfortable life is scary. I don't feel as if I can do anything meaningful for God. However, I refuse to believe that I am here at this time for no reason. Who knows but that I have come here for such a time as this? Who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this? Who knows?
-Smart
Do You Want to Get Well?
"When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, 'Do you want to get well?'"
-John 5:6
For whatever reason it seems that God has been revealing John 5 to me. First, I heard a song by the Gaither Vocal Band titled "Do You Wanna Be Well" which is based on John 5. Next, I heard two different sermons from two different ministries on the passage. I believe that this passage will have a significant impact on my life, and I hope it will for you too.
John 5 follows the story of a man who is an invalid. This man's condition is not specifically described, but we can assume that he is partially or fully paralyzed. This man has been in this condition for 38 years, and stayed near a pool called Bethesda. This pool was surrounded by those who were disabled just like the man described as an invalid. The reason these disabled people remained near the pool is that from time to time the waters would be stirred, and the first person in would be healed of their disability.
One day Jesus comes by the pool and He spots this man who has been paralyzed for 38 years. Then Jesus asks the man a staggering question, "do you want to get well"? Can you imagine being asked this question if you were in this man's condition? What a ridiculous question! I immediately would have been offended at this question if I were this man. Of course he wanted to get well!
What's even more amazing is the man's response, seen in verse 7- "'Sir,' the invalid replied, 'I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.'" Instead of simply saying that he wanted to be healed, he starts telling Jesus the reason he cannot be healed. Isn't that weird? And yet, isn't this how we sometimes respond to Jesus' invitation for healing? Instead of simply accepting Jesus' healing, we tell Him all the reasons we cannot be healed.
Every one of us is an invalid in one way or another. We are disabled because of anger, bitterness, depression, pride, jealousy, hatred, lust, and idolatry, just to name a few. The good news is that Jesus came so that we could be free from all of these things, but He is still asking the same question He asked the man- "do you want to get well?"
Why did Jesus ask the man this question? I believe there are two main reasons. The first is that the man had gotten used to his condition as a paralyzed and broken person. Did you notice that the man lived at the pool where all the other disabled people were? He simply accepted that he was broken, and surrounded himself with other broken people to feel better about his condition. Jesus asks him if he wants to get well because Jesus knew that this man had gotten so used to his brokenness and didn't really want to be healed anymore.
The second reason Jesus asks this question is that the man was seeking a change in his circumstances rather than a change in his condition. Recall the man's response to Jesus' question that I quoted earlier. The man blamed his condition on those who went into the pool before him or didn't help him into the pool. This man wanted Jesus to help him into the pool, not to help him get well. The man was so focused on his circumstances that he almost missed an opportunity to be healed by Jesus.
Jesus is offering each of us a chance to get well. However, just like this man, we have gotten used to our brokenness and keep blaming our circumstances for our condition. One of the lyrics that I really like in the song "Do You Wanna Be Well" is in verse two. "Have you gotten used to the chains; are you so attached to the pain that you're afraid to part and ask the Man for a brand new heart?" Jesus wants to heal us of our brokenness but we keep holding on so tightly to it. We only want our circumstances to change, not our condition. However, Jesus didn't die on the cross only to change our circumstances; He came to change us. Are you willing to admit your brokenness and accept Jesus' healing? Are you willing to stop looking at your circumstances and start looking at your heart? Do you want to get well?
-Smart
-John 5:6
For whatever reason it seems that God has been revealing John 5 to me. First, I heard a song by the Gaither Vocal Band titled "Do You Wanna Be Well" which is based on John 5. Next, I heard two different sermons from two different ministries on the passage. I believe that this passage will have a significant impact on my life, and I hope it will for you too.
John 5 follows the story of a man who is an invalid. This man's condition is not specifically described, but we can assume that he is partially or fully paralyzed. This man has been in this condition for 38 years, and stayed near a pool called Bethesda. This pool was surrounded by those who were disabled just like the man described as an invalid. The reason these disabled people remained near the pool is that from time to time the waters would be stirred, and the first person in would be healed of their disability.
One day Jesus comes by the pool and He spots this man who has been paralyzed for 38 years. Then Jesus asks the man a staggering question, "do you want to get well"? Can you imagine being asked this question if you were in this man's condition? What a ridiculous question! I immediately would have been offended at this question if I were this man. Of course he wanted to get well!
What's even more amazing is the man's response, seen in verse 7- "'Sir,' the invalid replied, 'I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.'" Instead of simply saying that he wanted to be healed, he starts telling Jesus the reason he cannot be healed. Isn't that weird? And yet, isn't this how we sometimes respond to Jesus' invitation for healing? Instead of simply accepting Jesus' healing, we tell Him all the reasons we cannot be healed.
Every one of us is an invalid in one way or another. We are disabled because of anger, bitterness, depression, pride, jealousy, hatred, lust, and idolatry, just to name a few. The good news is that Jesus came so that we could be free from all of these things, but He is still asking the same question He asked the man- "do you want to get well?"
Why did Jesus ask the man this question? I believe there are two main reasons. The first is that the man had gotten used to his condition as a paralyzed and broken person. Did you notice that the man lived at the pool where all the other disabled people were? He simply accepted that he was broken, and surrounded himself with other broken people to feel better about his condition. Jesus asks him if he wants to get well because Jesus knew that this man had gotten so used to his brokenness and didn't really want to be healed anymore.
The second reason Jesus asks this question is that the man was seeking a change in his circumstances rather than a change in his condition. Recall the man's response to Jesus' question that I quoted earlier. The man blamed his condition on those who went into the pool before him or didn't help him into the pool. This man wanted Jesus to help him into the pool, not to help him get well. The man was so focused on his circumstances that he almost missed an opportunity to be healed by Jesus.
Jesus is offering each of us a chance to get well. However, just like this man, we have gotten used to our brokenness and keep blaming our circumstances for our condition. One of the lyrics that I really like in the song "Do You Wanna Be Well" is in verse two. "Have you gotten used to the chains; are you so attached to the pain that you're afraid to part and ask the Man for a brand new heart?" Jesus wants to heal us of our brokenness but we keep holding on so tightly to it. We only want our circumstances to change, not our condition. However, Jesus didn't die on the cross only to change our circumstances; He came to change us. Are you willing to admit your brokenness and accept Jesus' healing? Are you willing to stop looking at your circumstances and start looking at your heart? Do you want to get well?
-Smart
Work in Paradise?
"God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'"
-Genesis 1:28
Nearly everyone who is an adult works for a living. Work is just a part of life. There are many different occupations, but there is a common perception of work: it sucks. No matter what occupation people have, everyone seems to dislike work. Work is seen as only a way to earn money, status, or power. Since work itself is not fulfilling, people tend to have a negative view of it. With this negative view of work, many people don't give their best at work. After all, why would anyone want to put effort into something they don't like?
I personally have had this view of work in the past. My first job was a salesperson at a technology store. The pay was low, so I didn't see any reason to put much effort into my job. I never did research on the products I was selling, and I often spoke badly about customers (not when they were there). I just put the minimum amount of effort that I needed to for my work. Work was not very enjoyable, but was exhausting.
I heard a podcast from Timothy Keller where he talked about work. He pointed out something that is very interesting. If you read Genesis chapter one, you will see that the first thing God gives to man is not food, but work (see verse above). In the Garden of Eden, the place of paradise, God gives man work.
Why is that so? I believe God gives Adam work to do because he needed work to feel completely fulfilled. Paradise wouldn't be complete without work. Why is work fulfilling? Work is fulfilling because it lead us to a purpose. Everyone has a need to fulfill a purpose, and they can only reach that by working towards it. God gives us work because it leads us closer and closer to our purpose.
Right now I am waiting to begin my new job. To be honest, I feel kind of empty without work to do. I've filled my time with shopping, sleeping, and video games. However, these things don't give me a sense of fulfillment. I cannot believe that I feel this way, but I am actually looking forward to starting my new work.
As Christians, we should see our work as a gift from God. We shouldn't do our work with resentment, but with joy. Our work in one way or another is a contribution to society, and even to God's kingdom. How can we have joy in our work? Listen to Paul's words in Corinthians 10:31, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Work is only tiresome and unfulfilling if we only do it for money, status or power. Work becomes joyful when we do it for God. So ask yourself, "what is my view of work, and if need be, how can I change it?"
-Smart
-Genesis 1:28
Nearly everyone who is an adult works for a living. Work is just a part of life. There are many different occupations, but there is a common perception of work: it sucks. No matter what occupation people have, everyone seems to dislike work. Work is seen as only a way to earn money, status, or power. Since work itself is not fulfilling, people tend to have a negative view of it. With this negative view of work, many people don't give their best at work. After all, why would anyone want to put effort into something they don't like?
I personally have had this view of work in the past. My first job was a salesperson at a technology store. The pay was low, so I didn't see any reason to put much effort into my job. I never did research on the products I was selling, and I often spoke badly about customers (not when they were there). I just put the minimum amount of effort that I needed to for my work. Work was not very enjoyable, but was exhausting.
I heard a podcast from Timothy Keller where he talked about work. He pointed out something that is very interesting. If you read Genesis chapter one, you will see that the first thing God gives to man is not food, but work (see verse above). In the Garden of Eden, the place of paradise, God gives man work.
Why is that so? I believe God gives Adam work to do because he needed work to feel completely fulfilled. Paradise wouldn't be complete without work. Why is work fulfilling? Work is fulfilling because it lead us to a purpose. Everyone has a need to fulfill a purpose, and they can only reach that by working towards it. God gives us work because it leads us closer and closer to our purpose.
Right now I am waiting to begin my new job. To be honest, I feel kind of empty without work to do. I've filled my time with shopping, sleeping, and video games. However, these things don't give me a sense of fulfillment. I cannot believe that I feel this way, but I am actually looking forward to starting my new work.
As Christians, we should see our work as a gift from God. We shouldn't do our work with resentment, but with joy. Our work in one way or another is a contribution to society, and even to God's kingdom. How can we have joy in our work? Listen to Paul's words in Corinthians 10:31, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Work is only tiresome and unfulfilling if we only do it for money, status or power. Work becomes joyful when we do it for God. So ask yourself, "what is my view of work, and if need be, how can I change it?"
-Smart
Fruits of Righteousness (Romans 5)
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God."
Romans 5:1-2
This post is long overdue but I wanted to share what I learned at my church's Romans Bible Academy. Over the summer we studied the first half of the book of Romans. I led the Bible study on chapter 5, which we titled "Fruits of Righteousness". I just wanted to write some key points that I learned from leading that Bible study.
If you have never read Romans before, or just need a refresher, the first chapters focus primarily on the doctrine of justification by grace through faith. Paul explains the idea that everyone is a sinner, whether Jew or Gentile. As a result of our sinfulness, we are all under God's righteous judgement. We all deserve death. Thankfully, Paul also writes that we are justified through faith in Jesus Christ. Those who have faith in Jesus are declared righteous in God's sight.
I went over the doctrine of justification fairly quickly, so I recommend that you read the first four chapters of Romans if you want to understand it more deeply. The focus of chapter five is a little different. Instead of dealing with the idea of justification directly, Paul talks about the result of our justification. This chapter is so powerful because it gives us practical results of our justification.
The first result, or fruit, of justification is peace. I shared the story of how one day my parents were working with a ladder in the backyard of our house. They had it set up in the backyard, and went off to do something else. They told me not to play on the ladder, knowing that I was eager to climb the ladder and play on it. Of course I didn't listen, and started playing with the ladder. I fell off the ladder, banging my head on one of the bars. When my parents rushed over to me, I felt a huge sense of guilt and shame. I clearly disobeyed my parents, and I paid the consequences of my disobedience.
The ladder story is a silly one, but it illustrates how guilt and shame can enter our lives because of sin. When we disobey God, we suffer the consequences of our sin and we feel guilt and shame. Even worse still, we can feel the wrath of God on our lives. However, when we know that we are justified by faith, we can experience peace with God. We no longer have to worry about the consequences of our sin, because Jesus took the punishment of our sin. We don't have to experience guilt and shame because Jesus took our guilt and shame on the cross.
The second fruit of justification is hope. Without justification, we are condemned to death. There is no hope for eternal life with God because our sin separates us from Him. Only one who is justified can have access to the glory of God. Since we are justified through faith, we can have hope that one day we will share the glory of God.
Peace and hope are two things that we each need desperately in our lives, whether we think so or not. Our hearts and constantly filled with guilt, shame and despair because of our sin. Justification allows us to have peace and hope. Justification by grace through faith is not just a theological term that has no practical meaning in our lives. It should change our lives everyday. Our lives are meant to be filled with peace and hope because of justification. So ask yourself- do I experience peace and hope in my everyday life?
-Smart
Romans 5:1-2
This post is long overdue but I wanted to share what I learned at my church's Romans Bible Academy. Over the summer we studied the first half of the book of Romans. I led the Bible study on chapter 5, which we titled "Fruits of Righteousness". I just wanted to write some key points that I learned from leading that Bible study.
If you have never read Romans before, or just need a refresher, the first chapters focus primarily on the doctrine of justification by grace through faith. Paul explains the idea that everyone is a sinner, whether Jew or Gentile. As a result of our sinfulness, we are all under God's righteous judgement. We all deserve death. Thankfully, Paul also writes that we are justified through faith in Jesus Christ. Those who have faith in Jesus are declared righteous in God's sight.
I went over the doctrine of justification fairly quickly, so I recommend that you read the first four chapters of Romans if you want to understand it more deeply. The focus of chapter five is a little different. Instead of dealing with the idea of justification directly, Paul talks about the result of our justification. This chapter is so powerful because it gives us practical results of our justification.
The first result, or fruit, of justification is peace. I shared the story of how one day my parents were working with a ladder in the backyard of our house. They had it set up in the backyard, and went off to do something else. They told me not to play on the ladder, knowing that I was eager to climb the ladder and play on it. Of course I didn't listen, and started playing with the ladder. I fell off the ladder, banging my head on one of the bars. When my parents rushed over to me, I felt a huge sense of guilt and shame. I clearly disobeyed my parents, and I paid the consequences of my disobedience.
The ladder story is a silly one, but it illustrates how guilt and shame can enter our lives because of sin. When we disobey God, we suffer the consequences of our sin and we feel guilt and shame. Even worse still, we can feel the wrath of God on our lives. However, when we know that we are justified by faith, we can experience peace with God. We no longer have to worry about the consequences of our sin, because Jesus took the punishment of our sin. We don't have to experience guilt and shame because Jesus took our guilt and shame on the cross.
The second fruit of justification is hope. Without justification, we are condemned to death. There is no hope for eternal life with God because our sin separates us from Him. Only one who is justified can have access to the glory of God. Since we are justified through faith, we can have hope that one day we will share the glory of God.
Peace and hope are two things that we each need desperately in our lives, whether we think so or not. Our hearts and constantly filled with guilt, shame and despair because of our sin. Justification allows us to have peace and hope. Justification by grace through faith is not just a theological term that has no practical meaning in our lives. It should change our lives everyday. Our lives are meant to be filled with peace and hope because of justification. So ask yourself- do I experience peace and hope in my everyday life?
-Smart
Good Gifts
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"
-Matthew 7:11
Matthew 7:7-12 talks about asking God for things. The passage has the famed verse "ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7)." I've heard this verse many times, but I never really put too much thought into it. What would be the point of prayer if God never answered them? That was always my mindset when I read this passage. However, recently I've had a new insight into God's character through this passage.
In my sophomore year of college I got my first car as a gift from my grandfather, who unfortunately was very sick and passed away not too long after that time. The car was a really old green Ford Focus, which had a lot of problems over the years. My brother and I shared the car, not daring to drive it on long trips for fear of being stranded. The car served us well, but it clearly was not going to last very long.
Two and a half years later, which was this spring, I graduated from college. I also received a job that I will start soon. One random day in the summer, my dad asked me if I wanted a car as a graduation gift. I said yes, but I didn't really think too much of it. I already had the Focus, so I didn't feel an urgent need to get a new car at the time. Despite me never really thinking about it, my dad would constantly ask me week after week when I wanted to get a new car. After a couple weeks, we finally went to CarMax and purchased a car.
I absolutely love my new car. It drives so much better than the Focus I used to own. I can play music from my phone using Bluetooth, which I could never do before. The car is extremely roomy and just has a great feel. The car accelerates much faster than I would even attempt on the Focus. I'm so grateful for my dad who helped me purchase my new car.
The point of this story is not that I got a new car. Getting a new car is great, but the message I want you to get from this story is that it wasn't me who was responsible for getting the car. It's not like I pestered my dad to buy a new car. In fact, it was my dad who pestered me. My dad was excited when he thought about getting a new car. The car wasn't even for him, but it brought him joy to buy a car. He delighted in giving me a good gift.
That's the principle that I learned from this experience. Often times when I read Matthew 7, I think that I have to somehow earn God's favor. I think that if I just ask hard enough, seek hard enough, or knock hard enough, maybe God will answer my prayer. That mindset completely goes against God's character. Look again at verse 11, posted above. If even my earthly dad delights in giving me good gifts, how much more does God delight in giving us good gifts? God wants to give you good gifts. He doesn't reluctantly give us what we ask for. He is excited at the thought of giving us good things. He's waiting for us to simply ask.
If God delights so much in giving us good gifts, why don't I receive good gifts from Him? You may be thinking, "I ask God for things all the time, why don't I get anything from Him?" Let me ask you this, "what if the good gifts you need are already given to you?" What if what you think you need isn't what you actually need? Or what if what you think you want isn't what you really want? I think we forget to be thankful for what God has already given to us. How can we expect God to give us good things if we can't even appreciate what we already have?
One song that I really like these days is "Good Good Father". One of the lines in that song says "You know just what we need before we say a word". God knows what you need. He knows what I need. He even knows what we want. He wants to give us good gifts. He delights in giving us good things because He delights in us.
-Smart
-Matthew 7:11
Matthew 7:7-12 talks about asking God for things. The passage has the famed verse "ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7)." I've heard this verse many times, but I never really put too much thought into it. What would be the point of prayer if God never answered them? That was always my mindset when I read this passage. However, recently I've had a new insight into God's character through this passage.
In my sophomore year of college I got my first car as a gift from my grandfather, who unfortunately was very sick and passed away not too long after that time. The car was a really old green Ford Focus, which had a lot of problems over the years. My brother and I shared the car, not daring to drive it on long trips for fear of being stranded. The car served us well, but it clearly was not going to last very long.
Two and a half years later, which was this spring, I graduated from college. I also received a job that I will start soon. One random day in the summer, my dad asked me if I wanted a car as a graduation gift. I said yes, but I didn't really think too much of it. I already had the Focus, so I didn't feel an urgent need to get a new car at the time. Despite me never really thinking about it, my dad would constantly ask me week after week when I wanted to get a new car. After a couple weeks, we finally went to CarMax and purchased a car.
I absolutely love my new car. It drives so much better than the Focus I used to own. I can play music from my phone using Bluetooth, which I could never do before. The car is extremely roomy and just has a great feel. The car accelerates much faster than I would even attempt on the Focus. I'm so grateful for my dad who helped me purchase my new car.
The point of this story is not that I got a new car. Getting a new car is great, but the message I want you to get from this story is that it wasn't me who was responsible for getting the car. It's not like I pestered my dad to buy a new car. In fact, it was my dad who pestered me. My dad was excited when he thought about getting a new car. The car wasn't even for him, but it brought him joy to buy a car. He delighted in giving me a good gift.
That's the principle that I learned from this experience. Often times when I read Matthew 7, I think that I have to somehow earn God's favor. I think that if I just ask hard enough, seek hard enough, or knock hard enough, maybe God will answer my prayer. That mindset completely goes against God's character. Look again at verse 11, posted above. If even my earthly dad delights in giving me good gifts, how much more does God delight in giving us good gifts? God wants to give you good gifts. He doesn't reluctantly give us what we ask for. He is excited at the thought of giving us good things. He's waiting for us to simply ask.
If God delights so much in giving us good gifts, why don't I receive good gifts from Him? You may be thinking, "I ask God for things all the time, why don't I get anything from Him?" Let me ask you this, "what if the good gifts you need are already given to you?" What if what you think you need isn't what you actually need? Or what if what you think you want isn't what you really want? I think we forget to be thankful for what God has already given to us. How can we expect God to give us good things if we can't even appreciate what we already have?
One song that I really like these days is "Good Good Father". One of the lines in that song says "You know just what we need before we say a word". God knows what you need. He knows what I need. He even knows what we want. He wants to give us good gifts. He delights in giving us good things because He delights in us.
-Smart
Staff Conference 2016 Testimony
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,”
-Ephesians 2:14 NIV
I attended my church's staff conference as an observer recently. I wanted to share what I learned through a testimony that I wrote at the conference. Enjoy.
-Ephesians 2:14 NIV
I attended my church's staff conference as an observer recently. I wanted to share what I learned through a testimony that I wrote at the conference. Enjoy.
The first thing I thought about after reading Ephesians 2 is who I have hostility against. The whole point of the passage is that we should not have hostility against anyone, but peace with everyone. When I think about my relationships with others, I don’t think I would describe any of them as hostile. I like to think that I am a pretty likable person, who tends to get along with most people. What application does this passage have for me?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don’t have peace with everyone. Sure, I am not hostile against anyone, but I wouldn’t say that I am at peace with everyone. There are people that I know bother me; whether it be their personality, their interests, or even their dullness. I don’t actively act hostile against these people, but I often try to avoid these people. I also sometimes express my dissatisfaction with the way someone performs their duty in church. Rather than build them up, I drag them down by my unkind words.
I am somewhat of a perfectionist, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. It is good because I try my best to serve the church in music and other ways. It is bad because I place my high expectations on others. While this doesn’t always cause division and hostility in church, I know it isn’t healthy. I talk behind people’s backs about how they could have done something better, rather than approach them directly. I think that by avoiding the issue, I am making peace. However, I learned in Bible study that this is not true.
While I realized that I am not truly at peace with others, I also realized that I am not really at peace with myself. In the near future, a big transition is coming in my life. I will be moving to Dallas, Texas for work. This is extremely unsettling for me because I have so many questions and doubts. Am I able to spiritually sustain myself outside of the Washington, DC ministry? Is this really God’s will for my life? How will I feed myself? I am not only transitioning from one place to another, but from a student to a worker, a big ministry to a small ministry, and the care of my parents to living on my own.
With so much doubt and anxiety in my heart, I cannot be at peace. I believe that the source of these doubts is my lack of faith. Ephesians 2 claims that Jesus Himself is our peace. This means that Jesus Himself is my peace. If I do not experience peace in my life, do I really experience Jesus in my life? This passage seems to suggest that if I accept Jesus in my heart, I should experience peace. However, I don’t experience peace in the way described in the passage. I am not at peace with myself, and I am not at peace with others.
So how can I find peace with myself and with others? Dr. Alan Wolff said something that spoke to my heart in Bible study. He said that our problem is not really hostility with others. Our problem is hostility with God. My problem is not hostility with others or myself, but hostility against God. The Bible claims that we were God’s enemies because of our sin. Sin created hostility between me and God. If God left me as I was or waited for me to turn from my sin, I would surely be doomed. Thank God that He didn’t leave me as I was. He sent Jesus to die on the cross and to be raised to life. Through Christ I am no longer an enemy of God, but I am adopted into sonship.
When I read verse 14 for the first time, I took it in the context of Jews and Gentiles. “For He Himself is our peace, who has made the Jews and Gentiles one…”. When I meditated more on this verse, I read it in a different context. “For He Himself is our peace, who has made sinners and Christ one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.” He has brought me, who was once far from God, near to God. When Jesus died on the cross, He tore the veil that separated man from the most Holy Place, where God dwelt. Jesus’ death gave us access to the Father by removing the hostility between man and God created by sin. By destroying the barrier of hostility between man and God, Jesus gave us an opportunity to experience Him as our peace.
So I ask again, how can I find peace with myself and with others? I can find peace with myself and with others by finding peace with God. Where do I find this peace? At the cross of Jesus Christ, where there is no longer any separation between sinners and the Holy God. When I truly accept the gospel in my heart, I can experience peace with God that will overflow to peace with others and myself. I pray that I can accept the cross of Christ more deeply in my life and experience the peace that it brings in my life.
One Word: I can find peace with myself, with others, and with God because Jesus Himself is my peace.
The Parable of the Lost Sons
"'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"
I recently attended a conference hosted by my church. The theme of the conference was "Our Father's Love". Naturally, the messages all dealt with God's love for sinners. One of the messages was on the parable of the lost son. This parable is very well known, and I have even written about it multiple times in this very blog. Despite me hearing the parable many times, I am always convicted by the passage. Today I want to share a couple thoughts I had on the passage after hearing the message at the conference.
One part of the parable that always confused me a little bit is why the father gave the younger son his inheritance. The son asks for his share of the estate, and the father divides the property with him. I've always wondered why the father would ever agree to the son's ridiculous demand. The son's request is actually an insult to his father. However, the father grants the younger son's request.
The more I thought about the father's heart, the more I came to realize why the father would agree to give his son the share of the estate. The biggest clue came to me in Romans 1:24, which reads "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts...". People are depraved and never stop chasing after their sin. Instead of fighting against people's desire to sin, God gave them over to their sinful desires. The same is true in the parable. The father knew that the son would keep seeking a sinful life, even if he denied the son's request for the inheritance.
So why did the father let his son fall into a sinful life? I believe the reason is that the father wanted the son to realize the emptiness and darkness of a sinful life. If the father never allowed the son to have the inheritance, the son would always have the illusion that a sinful life is better than a life with his father. This mindset would keep the son from fully recognizing the love of his father. By allowing the son to get the share of estate, the father was reluctantly allowing his son to recognize the consequences of sin. If the son could recognize the emptiness of his sin, maybe he could return to his father and understand the provision and love of the father.
Another part of the parable that stuck out to me was the father's love for the older son. You may have noticed that the title of this blog post is "The Parable of the Lost Sons", not "The Parable of the Lost Son." We often only think about one of the sons as being lost. However, both sons were lost in their sins. The younger son was lost because he chased his desires for a wild and sinful life. The older was lost because he chased after good works.
When the father receives the younger son and throws a party for him, the older son is working in the fields. The older son has such a legalistic and work-focused mindset that he doesn't even leave his work to check on what the party is about. He sends a servant to report on what is happening in the house so that he can continue working in the field. When he hears the servant's report, he burns with anger against his father. How can the father accept this son who squandered his inheritance? The older son refuses to go in to the house because of his anger against his father.
So what does the father do next? Does he forget about the older son and let him sulk in his misery out in the field? No! The father goes out to his older son. Just as he went out to meet the younger son, he goes out to meet the older son. The older son insults his father by assuming that he deserves something in return for his good works, and that the father should not have received the younger son. So does the father rebuke the older son? No! He graciously pleads with the son to join the celebration for the younger son. He shares the same love to the older son that he did with the younger son.
Interestingly, Jesus ends the parable right there. Isn't that kind of weird? Why didn't Jesus reveal what happens to the older son? Can you imagine listening to this parable with that ending? I would want to know what happened to the older son. Did he accept the father's love? Or did he reject the father's invitation? We don't know. Have you ever thought about why Jesus ends the parable there? To answer this, we have to think about who Jesus is telling the parable to. If we read Luke 15:1-2, we can see that Jesus was telling this parable to the sinners, tax collectors, and also the Pharisees.
Although the audience was fairly diverse, I believe that this parable was meant for the Pharisees. Jesus was trying to explain His love for the lost people of the world; those who were like the younger son. However, He was also trying to express His love even for the Pharisees. I think we often get the misconception that Jesus never reached out to Pharisees. This parable is evidence that Jesus did reach out to them. He didn't tell this parable because He wanted to show the Pharisees that they were wrong, but He wanted them to accept His love for them. The reason the parable stops where it does is because the ending of the parable is determinant on whether the Pharisees accept Jesus' love. Jesus was saying that the older son's response is actually the Pharisees' response. By ending the parable where He did, He was offering the Pharisees an invitation to choose His love.
Perhaps the part of the parable that matters the most is not the lost sons. When telling this parable, I’m sure the Jewish audience could have conceived the possibility of a son running away from his father. Sure, it’s a stretch, but surely they could imagine a son wanting to get away from a father he thought was a tyrant. And I’m sure the audience could understand how the older son would burn with anger at the celebration for the younger son. However, there’s one aspect of the story that I don’t think anyone in the audience could even begin to understand- the love of the father.
There are no words for how extravagant God’s love is. One of my favorite lyrics in a song is in the third verse of the hymn “The Love of God”. It goes: “Could we with ink, the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made. Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade; To write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll, contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.” In short, we cannot describe the love of God. It is measureless and strong. I pray that I can accept God’s love for me by turning to Him in repentance, and share the father’s great love with those around me.
I recently attended a conference hosted by my church. The theme of the conference was "Our Father's Love". Naturally, the messages all dealt with God's love for sinners. One of the messages was on the parable of the lost son. This parable is very well known, and I have even written about it multiple times in this very blog. Despite me hearing the parable many times, I am always convicted by the passage. Today I want to share a couple thoughts I had on the passage after hearing the message at the conference.
One part of the parable that always confused me a little bit is why the father gave the younger son his inheritance. The son asks for his share of the estate, and the father divides the property with him. I've always wondered why the father would ever agree to the son's ridiculous demand. The son's request is actually an insult to his father. However, the father grants the younger son's request.
The more I thought about the father's heart, the more I came to realize why the father would agree to give his son the share of the estate. The biggest clue came to me in Romans 1:24, which reads "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts...". People are depraved and never stop chasing after their sin. Instead of fighting against people's desire to sin, God gave them over to their sinful desires. The same is true in the parable. The father knew that the son would keep seeking a sinful life, even if he denied the son's request for the inheritance.
So why did the father let his son fall into a sinful life? I believe the reason is that the father wanted the son to realize the emptiness and darkness of a sinful life. If the father never allowed the son to have the inheritance, the son would always have the illusion that a sinful life is better than a life with his father. This mindset would keep the son from fully recognizing the love of his father. By allowing the son to get the share of estate, the father was reluctantly allowing his son to recognize the consequences of sin. If the son could recognize the emptiness of his sin, maybe he could return to his father and understand the provision and love of the father.
Another part of the parable that stuck out to me was the father's love for the older son. You may have noticed that the title of this blog post is "The Parable of the Lost Sons", not "The Parable of the Lost Son." We often only think about one of the sons as being lost. However, both sons were lost in their sins. The younger son was lost because he chased his desires for a wild and sinful life. The older was lost because he chased after good works.
When the father receives the younger son and throws a party for him, the older son is working in the fields. The older son has such a legalistic and work-focused mindset that he doesn't even leave his work to check on what the party is about. He sends a servant to report on what is happening in the house so that he can continue working in the field. When he hears the servant's report, he burns with anger against his father. How can the father accept this son who squandered his inheritance? The older son refuses to go in to the house because of his anger against his father.
So what does the father do next? Does he forget about the older son and let him sulk in his misery out in the field? No! The father goes out to his older son. Just as he went out to meet the younger son, he goes out to meet the older son. The older son insults his father by assuming that he deserves something in return for his good works, and that the father should not have received the younger son. So does the father rebuke the older son? No! He graciously pleads with the son to join the celebration for the younger son. He shares the same love to the older son that he did with the younger son.
Interestingly, Jesus ends the parable right there. Isn't that kind of weird? Why didn't Jesus reveal what happens to the older son? Can you imagine listening to this parable with that ending? I would want to know what happened to the older son. Did he accept the father's love? Or did he reject the father's invitation? We don't know. Have you ever thought about why Jesus ends the parable there? To answer this, we have to think about who Jesus is telling the parable to. If we read Luke 15:1-2, we can see that Jesus was telling this parable to the sinners, tax collectors, and also the Pharisees.
Although the audience was fairly diverse, I believe that this parable was meant for the Pharisees. Jesus was trying to explain His love for the lost people of the world; those who were like the younger son. However, He was also trying to express His love even for the Pharisees. I think we often get the misconception that Jesus never reached out to Pharisees. This parable is evidence that Jesus did reach out to them. He didn't tell this parable because He wanted to show the Pharisees that they were wrong, but He wanted them to accept His love for them. The reason the parable stops where it does is because the ending of the parable is determinant on whether the Pharisees accept Jesus' love. Jesus was saying that the older son's response is actually the Pharisees' response. By ending the parable where He did, He was offering the Pharisees an invitation to choose His love.
Perhaps the part of the parable that matters the most is not the lost sons. When telling this parable, I’m sure the Jewish audience could have conceived the possibility of a son running away from his father. Sure, it’s a stretch, but surely they could imagine a son wanting to get away from a father he thought was a tyrant. And I’m sure the audience could understand how the older son would burn with anger at the celebration for the younger son. However, there’s one aspect of the story that I don’t think anyone in the audience could even begin to understand- the love of the father.
There are no words for how extravagant God’s love is. One of my favorite lyrics in a song is in the third verse of the hymn “The Love of God”. It goes: “Could we with ink, the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made. Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade; To write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll, contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.” In short, we cannot describe the love of God. It is measureless and strong. I pray that I can accept God’s love for me by turning to Him in repentance, and share the father’s great love with those around me.
-Smart
Identity and Destiny
"Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground."
-1 Samuel 17:49
At Grace Retreat this year, one of the speakers, Lana, talked about the topic identity and destiny. Lana is part Mexican and part White, meaning she has dark skin. She shared that when she was young, she attended a school in a White neighborhood. She would be made fun of because of her dark skin, as most of the other students were White. Lana would complain to God that she was part Mexican, because it caused her misery in her life. She wished that she could be like the people at her school, who had white skin, blond hair, and blue eyes.
Many years later, Lana went abroad on a missions trip to share the gospel (I'm a bit fuzzy on the exact details of this story). I forget the exact location, but it was on the eastern part of the world. She preached to some people in a town, and then left to a house in a nearby town to rest. As she was in the nearby town, the place where she had just preached was attacked. People were being hurt and killed, especially those who were Americans. Despite these attacks, Lana wanted to get some souvenirs for her family. According to Lana, it's not acceptable to go somewhere and not bring souvenirs back to her family. The people staying with her argued with her, but eventually agreed to go back to get souvenirs with her. The only condition was that she had to dress herself as the native people in the area, and to remain silent to prevent people from realizing she was American.
As they drove into the town, Lana witnessed Americans being attacked. The White people in the area were especially singled out by the attackers. As she witnessed these things, she heard God saying: "do you wish you were like your classmates now?" Lana then told us that what we may think is a deficiency in our identity can actually be used as an advantage for our destiny. God has given each of us a unique identity that is perfectly suited for our destiny.
The story of David and Goliath is very famous, so I won't go into the details of the story. If you want all the details, I suggest reading 1 Samuel 17. A boy named David is the youngest of his brothers, and is a shepherd for his father's flocks. Three of his brothers are fighting in a war against the Philistines. His father sends him into the battlefield camp to give some refreshments to his brothers. David notices that a Philistine named Goliath is taunting the Israel army, daring someone to come and fight him. David volunteers to fight Goliath, and wins the fight using a sling and a stone.
What you may have never thought about in this story is that David is already anointed to be King. Yet even though he is anointed by Samuel, he remains a shepherd. David could have thought that since he was destined to become king, he should no longer keep his identity as a shepherd. He could have denounced his identity as a shepherd for his father's flocks. However, what David could have seen as a deficiency was actually exactly what he needed to defeat Goliath. If you read 1 Samuel 17:49 (listed above), you'll notice that David uses a slingshot to defeat Goliath. He used what he had learned as a shepherd to defeat Goliath.
In both Lana and David's stories, their identity is what propelled them into their destiny. Lana is now the head of Life Impact International, a foundation that helps children in Thailand. David became the king of Israel. They could have given up their destiny if they denied their identity. However, the very things that they might have seen as a disadvantage is what God used for His purposes.
I can't really explain why this idea of identity and destiny playing hand in hand spoke to me at the Grace Retreat. I wouldn't say identity is something I really struggle with. Something in Lana's message spoke to my heart though. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what God is teaching me about identity and destiny. I don't want to let my identity be something that I use as an excuse to escape my destiny. Maybe something that I am denying in my identity is something that God wants to use for my destiny.
-Smart
-1 Samuel 17:49
At Grace Retreat this year, one of the speakers, Lana, talked about the topic identity and destiny. Lana is part Mexican and part White, meaning she has dark skin. She shared that when she was young, she attended a school in a White neighborhood. She would be made fun of because of her dark skin, as most of the other students were White. Lana would complain to God that she was part Mexican, because it caused her misery in her life. She wished that she could be like the people at her school, who had white skin, blond hair, and blue eyes.
Many years later, Lana went abroad on a missions trip to share the gospel (I'm a bit fuzzy on the exact details of this story). I forget the exact location, but it was on the eastern part of the world. She preached to some people in a town, and then left to a house in a nearby town to rest. As she was in the nearby town, the place where she had just preached was attacked. People were being hurt and killed, especially those who were Americans. Despite these attacks, Lana wanted to get some souvenirs for her family. According to Lana, it's not acceptable to go somewhere and not bring souvenirs back to her family. The people staying with her argued with her, but eventually agreed to go back to get souvenirs with her. The only condition was that she had to dress herself as the native people in the area, and to remain silent to prevent people from realizing she was American.
As they drove into the town, Lana witnessed Americans being attacked. The White people in the area were especially singled out by the attackers. As she witnessed these things, she heard God saying: "do you wish you were like your classmates now?" Lana then told us that what we may think is a deficiency in our identity can actually be used as an advantage for our destiny. God has given each of us a unique identity that is perfectly suited for our destiny.
The story of David and Goliath is very famous, so I won't go into the details of the story. If you want all the details, I suggest reading 1 Samuel 17. A boy named David is the youngest of his brothers, and is a shepherd for his father's flocks. Three of his brothers are fighting in a war against the Philistines. His father sends him into the battlefield camp to give some refreshments to his brothers. David notices that a Philistine named Goliath is taunting the Israel army, daring someone to come and fight him. David volunteers to fight Goliath, and wins the fight using a sling and a stone.
What you may have never thought about in this story is that David is already anointed to be King. Yet even though he is anointed by Samuel, he remains a shepherd. David could have thought that since he was destined to become king, he should no longer keep his identity as a shepherd. He could have denounced his identity as a shepherd for his father's flocks. However, what David could have seen as a deficiency was actually exactly what he needed to defeat Goliath. If you read 1 Samuel 17:49 (listed above), you'll notice that David uses a slingshot to defeat Goliath. He used what he had learned as a shepherd to defeat Goliath.
In both Lana and David's stories, their identity is what propelled them into their destiny. Lana is now the head of Life Impact International, a foundation that helps children in Thailand. David became the king of Israel. They could have given up their destiny if they denied their identity. However, the very things that they might have seen as a disadvantage is what God used for His purposes.
I can't really explain why this idea of identity and destiny playing hand in hand spoke to me at the Grace Retreat. I wouldn't say identity is something I really struggle with. Something in Lana's message spoke to my heart though. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what God is teaching me about identity and destiny. I don't want to let my identity be something that I use as an excuse to escape my destiny. Maybe something that I am denying in my identity is something that God wants to use for my destiny.
-Smart
Grace Retreat 2016 - Come Alive
"made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."
-Ephesians 2:5
Last week I went to Grace Retreat along with the youth group of my church. The Grace Retreat is a gathering of youth groups around the DMV area focused on bringing revival to the youth. If you regularly follow my blog, you may remember me writing about my experience in 2014. The theme of the Grace Retreat this year was "Come Alive". I was really blessed through this retreat, and I wanted to share my testimony with you. Here's some fair warning: the testimony seems disjointed at first, but it connects later. Just hang in there.
In 2014 I attended Grace Retreat as a small group leader. As I mention in the blog post in that year, I felt like a really inadequate leader. Even after that retreat, I felt that I didn't make any impact on my small group. Those thoughts of inadequacy were still lingering on my mind even two years later. I struggled to believe in myself as a leader because of the experience I had in 2014. However, I chose to trust God even with my weaknesses.
One thing you may not know about me if you don't know me too well is that I'm not a very expressive person during worship. My church is pretty conservative when it comes to expressiveness during praise, so that kind of rubbed off on me. However, I decided that at this retreat I would worship God fully. I chose to give Him glory, even despite my lack of faith. In the past, I would almost never raise my hands in worship, but at this retreat, I rose my hands frequently. I'm not suggesting that raising your hands in worship makes you more spiritual or that you cannot worship without raising your hands, but I find that it helps me connect with God. Raising my hands is a way for me to connect a physical act with the spiritual act of worship.
In my first small group meeting, I asked my group why they came to the Grace Retreat. I shared my reason which was that I just graduated college and I wanted to encounter God before I start my new job. Most of the students shared simple answers, such as they wanted to encounter God. This discouraged me a little bit, because it reminded me of the experience I had in 2014. However, one student shared that he was struggling with some things in his life, and he wanted God to breakthrough in his life. He didn't share what he was struggling with, but I was encouraged that he chose to share with the group.
Later in the retreat, one of the speakers, Bob, was sharing prophetic words during the main worship session. He called out for a Chris, which happened to be one of my small group members. He stood up, but then he noticed that another Chris was standing up. As it turns out, the other Chris was one of the speakers at the Grace Retreat. The Chris in my small group awkwardly sat back down, because he didn't think that the prophecy was for him. The speaker said that Chris would reach out to a person named Steve and would impact him.
The next message was given by a speaker named Lana. She spoke about identity and destiny (which I will expand on in another post). After hearing her message, I just felt so much hope. I had hope for the youth and I felt God would use them mightily. I'm not a youth leader, so I've never really given too much thought to the youth. However, I had so much hope for the youth at the retreat, and in my small group. I felt that Bob's prophetic word was for the Chris in my group. I believed that God would use Chris in a way Chris never experienced before.
At the small group after Lana's message, I asked Chris if he knew someone named Steve. He told me that he did, and that Steve was not a believer. I told Chris that God would use him to reach out to Steve, reiterating Bob's prophetic word. I then asked my small group to pray over Chris to release the prophecy in his life. We also prayed for the other member who shared that he struggling with things in his life. I was blessed even just by watching my group pray over each other. All of those doubts I had in myself as a small group leader were fading away.
Throughout the retreat, I wouldn't say I felt God's presence heavily during worship or ministry time. This was a bit discouraging, because I was hoping to encounter God in a big way at the retreat. However, I was reminded of how God has been teaching me about seeds and fruit. Faith is something that grows over time, and I shouldn't try to rush to see results. I need to trust in God's leading in my life. To be honest, it's hard for me to trust in God's timing, but I believe God has something big in store for my life.
At the final evening worship at the Grace Retreat, the speaker, Chris, led a time of ministry. Basically what that means is that students can come up to the front and have leaders pray over them. Even though I'm not a student, I went up to the front for prayer. In my mind, I was thinking about whether I should pray for the students, since I am a leader. I decided that if someone prays over me, I will take it as a sign to pray for the youth. Sure enough, a leader prayed over me. I was hesitant, but I finally decided to pray for my small group. I went to one of the members that I saw first. I laid my hand on his shoulder, and was praying for him to experience the Holy Spirit. After only a short time, I felt a weight on my hand. I didn't really know what it was at first, but then I realized that my small group member was falling down (this is one way of encountering the Spirit). I guess he was a pretty light guy, because I didn't realize he was actually falling at first. I made sure he went down safely.
I was amazed at what just happened. I never had someone be slain by the Spirit while I prayed over them. I believe this was God's subtle way of telling me that I don't have to feel Him to be used by Him. In fact, if I were busy just receiving the Holy Spirit, I could have missed the opportunity to pray over my small group.
Chris' message was about bringing our experience with God into our everyday lives. It's not enough for us to rely on retreats or conferences to meet God. We should be meeting God everyday. The final message, given by Pastor Carlos, was about reading the Bible. This is the most practical way for us to encounter God in our everyday lives. I hope that I can be faithful to God's word, and experience Him more and more everyday.
-Smart
-Ephesians 2:5
Last week I went to Grace Retreat along with the youth group of my church. The Grace Retreat is a gathering of youth groups around the DMV area focused on bringing revival to the youth. If you regularly follow my blog, you may remember me writing about my experience in 2014. The theme of the Grace Retreat this year was "Come Alive". I was really blessed through this retreat, and I wanted to share my testimony with you. Here's some fair warning: the testimony seems disjointed at first, but it connects later. Just hang in there.
In 2014 I attended Grace Retreat as a small group leader. As I mention in the blog post in that year, I felt like a really inadequate leader. Even after that retreat, I felt that I didn't make any impact on my small group. Those thoughts of inadequacy were still lingering on my mind even two years later. I struggled to believe in myself as a leader because of the experience I had in 2014. However, I chose to trust God even with my weaknesses.
One thing you may not know about me if you don't know me too well is that I'm not a very expressive person during worship. My church is pretty conservative when it comes to expressiveness during praise, so that kind of rubbed off on me. However, I decided that at this retreat I would worship God fully. I chose to give Him glory, even despite my lack of faith. In the past, I would almost never raise my hands in worship, but at this retreat, I rose my hands frequently. I'm not suggesting that raising your hands in worship makes you more spiritual or that you cannot worship without raising your hands, but I find that it helps me connect with God. Raising my hands is a way for me to connect a physical act with the spiritual act of worship.
In my first small group meeting, I asked my group why they came to the Grace Retreat. I shared my reason which was that I just graduated college and I wanted to encounter God before I start my new job. Most of the students shared simple answers, such as they wanted to encounter God. This discouraged me a little bit, because it reminded me of the experience I had in 2014. However, one student shared that he was struggling with some things in his life, and he wanted God to breakthrough in his life. He didn't share what he was struggling with, but I was encouraged that he chose to share with the group.
Later in the retreat, one of the speakers, Bob, was sharing prophetic words during the main worship session. He called out for a Chris, which happened to be one of my small group members. He stood up, but then he noticed that another Chris was standing up. As it turns out, the other Chris was one of the speakers at the Grace Retreat. The Chris in my small group awkwardly sat back down, because he didn't think that the prophecy was for him. The speaker said that Chris would reach out to a person named Steve and would impact him.
The next message was given by a speaker named Lana. She spoke about identity and destiny (which I will expand on in another post). After hearing her message, I just felt so much hope. I had hope for the youth and I felt God would use them mightily. I'm not a youth leader, so I've never really given too much thought to the youth. However, I had so much hope for the youth at the retreat, and in my small group. I felt that Bob's prophetic word was for the Chris in my group. I believed that God would use Chris in a way Chris never experienced before.
At the small group after Lana's message, I asked Chris if he knew someone named Steve. He told me that he did, and that Steve was not a believer. I told Chris that God would use him to reach out to Steve, reiterating Bob's prophetic word. I then asked my small group to pray over Chris to release the prophecy in his life. We also prayed for the other member who shared that he struggling with things in his life. I was blessed even just by watching my group pray over each other. All of those doubts I had in myself as a small group leader were fading away.
Throughout the retreat, I wouldn't say I felt God's presence heavily during worship or ministry time. This was a bit discouraging, because I was hoping to encounter God in a big way at the retreat. However, I was reminded of how God has been teaching me about seeds and fruit. Faith is something that grows over time, and I shouldn't try to rush to see results. I need to trust in God's leading in my life. To be honest, it's hard for me to trust in God's timing, but I believe God has something big in store for my life.
At the final evening worship at the Grace Retreat, the speaker, Chris, led a time of ministry. Basically what that means is that students can come up to the front and have leaders pray over them. Even though I'm not a student, I went up to the front for prayer. In my mind, I was thinking about whether I should pray for the students, since I am a leader. I decided that if someone prays over me, I will take it as a sign to pray for the youth. Sure enough, a leader prayed over me. I was hesitant, but I finally decided to pray for my small group. I went to one of the members that I saw first. I laid my hand on his shoulder, and was praying for him to experience the Holy Spirit. After only a short time, I felt a weight on my hand. I didn't really know what it was at first, but then I realized that my small group member was falling down (this is one way of encountering the Spirit). I guess he was a pretty light guy, because I didn't realize he was actually falling at first. I made sure he went down safely.
I was amazed at what just happened. I never had someone be slain by the Spirit while I prayed over them. I believe this was God's subtle way of telling me that I don't have to feel Him to be used by Him. In fact, if I were busy just receiving the Holy Spirit, I could have missed the opportunity to pray over my small group.
Chris' message was about bringing our experience with God into our everyday lives. It's not enough for us to rely on retreats or conferences to meet God. We should be meeting God everyday. The final message, given by Pastor Carlos, was about reading the Bible. This is the most practical way for us to encounter God in our everyday lives. I hope that I can be faithful to God's word, and experience Him more and more everyday.
-Smart
Korea vs America
As I mentioned before, I was in Korea for my church's world mission report. I thought it would be fun to write down some differences between Korea and the US. I've sorted the list in the viewpoint of Korea, with good, neutral, and bad differences as categories.
Good
Good
- Ice cream is cheaper.
- Ice cream is generally better.
- More traffic signs are lit. For example, chevron signs light up at night.
- From what I observed, there are better soccer fields and basketball courts.
- English is used a lot. I was surprised at how often signs had English and Korean.
Neutral
- There are no shower curtains. I put this as neutral because shower curtains are both good and bad. They are good because they prevent the whole bathroom from getting wet from the shower. They are bad because they get moldy.
- Most car windows are heavily tinted.
- Rice fields are everywhere.
- Coffee cafes are everywhere. I had some awesome coffee in Korea.
- People almost always park backwards.
Bad
- Koreans use washcloths as towels i.e. the towels are small.
- People pull over randomly and block traffic often.
- Pollution in Seoul is pretty bad, but there are places in America I'm sure are just as bad.
- The light switch to the bathroom is always outside of the bathroom. There were no exceptions. I assume this is because the shower has no curtain, so water could short the light switch. In any case, I put this in the bad category because people can turn the light off when you are in the bathroom.
- Many roads are too narrow.
So that's all I could think of at this time. Keep in mind that I haven't been to a lot of places in either the US or Korea, so my list might not be 100% correct. I hope you enjoyed reading.
-Smart
2016 World Mission Report Testimony
“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
-Deuteronomy 8:3
I attended my church's world mission report in Korea and wrote a testimony based on what I learned. I hope you are blessed by reading it.
At this conference, one theme that seems to keep coming back to me is the importance of the Word of God. The first message by Ron Ward talked about the command to read the Word all the days of your life. His message spoke to me because I often don’t read the Word in the way I should be reading it. I often read the Word hurriedly, without taking much time to meditate on what I have just read. Ron Ward told us to read the Word deliberately and patiently. Only through careful meditation can the Word of God penetrate my heart.
The first Deuteronomy lecture by James Kang stressed the importance of obeying the commands of God. It wasn’t enough for the Israelites to know God’s commands, they had to follow them. Only then could they truly live. When they disobeyed God’s commands, they suffered terrible defeats from their enemies. When they obeyed God, they became conquerors. In the same way, I must learn to obey the Word of God by applying it to my life. The Bible is called the Sword of the Spirit. A sword is only useful if it is held. Similarly, the Bible is only useful if I hold it in my heart and apply it.
Finally, today’s message by Joseph Kim focused on the value of the Word. One quote that stuck out to me was this (paraphrased)- “Physical bread cannot give you life. Only the Word of God has life.” The Word of God is life itself. I almost never think about the Bible in this way. I often downplay the importance of the Word. Everyday I eat food without exception. I know that food is necessary for life. Yet, I don’t treat the Word of God with the same importance. Today I learned that I cannot live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
At the conference I’ve learned to read the Word, obey the Word, and value the Word. How can I put these lessons into practice? Right now I use a Bible reading plan, but I haven’t been the most faithful to it. I want to follow this plan more faithfully. Furthermore, I want to approach the Word through prayer. Prayer opens my heart the Word, and invites the Holy Spirit to work. I want to read the Word patiently instead of trying to just check off the Bible reading plan. I think the best way to do this is to set apart a good amount of time just for Bible reading and prayer. I want to start with 30 minutes, and adjust the time if necessary. Please pray for me to read, obey, and value the Word of God.
One Word- Read the Word, obey the Word, and value the Word.
-Deuteronomy 8:3
I attended my church's world mission report in Korea and wrote a testimony based on what I learned. I hope you are blessed by reading it.
At this conference, one theme that seems to keep coming back to me is the importance of the Word of God. The first message by Ron Ward talked about the command to read the Word all the days of your life. His message spoke to me because I often don’t read the Word in the way I should be reading it. I often read the Word hurriedly, without taking much time to meditate on what I have just read. Ron Ward told us to read the Word deliberately and patiently. Only through careful meditation can the Word of God penetrate my heart.
The first Deuteronomy lecture by James Kang stressed the importance of obeying the commands of God. It wasn’t enough for the Israelites to know God’s commands, they had to follow them. Only then could they truly live. When they disobeyed God’s commands, they suffered terrible defeats from their enemies. When they obeyed God, they became conquerors. In the same way, I must learn to obey the Word of God by applying it to my life. The Bible is called the Sword of the Spirit. A sword is only useful if it is held. Similarly, the Bible is only useful if I hold it in my heart and apply it.
Finally, today’s message by Joseph Kim focused on the value of the Word. One quote that stuck out to me was this (paraphrased)- “Physical bread cannot give you life. Only the Word of God has life.” The Word of God is life itself. I almost never think about the Bible in this way. I often downplay the importance of the Word. Everyday I eat food without exception. I know that food is necessary for life. Yet, I don’t treat the Word of God with the same importance. Today I learned that I cannot live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
At the conference I’ve learned to read the Word, obey the Word, and value the Word. How can I put these lessons into practice? Right now I use a Bible reading plan, but I haven’t been the most faithful to it. I want to follow this plan more faithfully. Furthermore, I want to approach the Word through prayer. Prayer opens my heart the Word, and invites the Holy Spirit to work. I want to read the Word patiently instead of trying to just check off the Bible reading plan. I think the best way to do this is to set apart a good amount of time just for Bible reading and prayer. I want to start with 30 minutes, and adjust the time if necessary. Please pray for me to read, obey, and value the Word of God.
One Word- Read the Word, obey the Word, and value the Word.
Pixar's Inside Out
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
-Revelation 21:4
I finally got the chance to watch the movie "Inside Out" by Pixar while on a plane to Korea. I was very impressed with how good the movie was. The plot was fairly simple, but still carried a lot of depth by presenting the story in a unique way. I would absolutely recommend that you watch it. Here's the point in the blog where I have to give fair warning: if you haven't seen "Inside Out", I'd recommend seeing it first before reading this post. There are no major spoilers here, but I am going to talk about parts of the movie that some could see as a spoiler.
If you're reading this part, I assume you have seen the movie already, or have no interest in seeing it anyway. For those in the second category, I will give a brief description of the movie. The movie follows a young girl named Riley whose emotions are controlled by five characters- Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. Naturally, each of these characters can only induce the emotion that they are named after, i.e. Joy cannot induce sadness. Joy is the leader of the emotions, because each of the other emotions agree that they want Riley to be happy. They also push aside sadness often, because they feel that Sadness ruins Riley's emotional state.
Later in the movie, Joy realizes that in order for Riley to truly cope with her situation (I won't spoil this part), she must experience sadness. The "core memories" that Riley has were only possible because she experienced something sad. The other emotions also realize that Riley must experience a balance of emotions, or she will experience catastrophe.
After watching this movie, I thought about our emotions. In some sense, we all want joy to be the dominant presence in our lives. However, as the movie suggests, we cannot truly be happy all of the time. Thinking from a Christian point of view, shouldn't we always be joyful? Yes and no. We experience sadness because the world is corrupted by sin and death. It is completely fine for a Christian to express sadness in times of grief and sorrow. There's no need for us to suppress sadness. Even Jesus wept because the world is hurting.
However, there will be a day where we can and will experience joy forever and ever. Revelation 21:4, written above, states that Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes. We will no longer mourn because Jesus will make all things new. No longer will we weep because of the death of a loved one. "There will be no more death". Christians should look forward to this day. This hope should be enough reason for us to be joyful in the here and now. Even when something sad happens now, we can experience joy knowing that Jesus will one day make everything right.
-Smart
-Revelation 21:4
I finally got the chance to watch the movie "Inside Out" by Pixar while on a plane to Korea. I was very impressed with how good the movie was. The plot was fairly simple, but still carried a lot of depth by presenting the story in a unique way. I would absolutely recommend that you watch it. Here's the point in the blog where I have to give fair warning: if you haven't seen "Inside Out", I'd recommend seeing it first before reading this post. There are no major spoilers here, but I am going to talk about parts of the movie that some could see as a spoiler.
If you're reading this part, I assume you have seen the movie already, or have no interest in seeing it anyway. For those in the second category, I will give a brief description of the movie. The movie follows a young girl named Riley whose emotions are controlled by five characters- Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. Naturally, each of these characters can only induce the emotion that they are named after, i.e. Joy cannot induce sadness. Joy is the leader of the emotions, because each of the other emotions agree that they want Riley to be happy. They also push aside sadness often, because they feel that Sadness ruins Riley's emotional state.
Later in the movie, Joy realizes that in order for Riley to truly cope with her situation (I won't spoil this part), she must experience sadness. The "core memories" that Riley has were only possible because she experienced something sad. The other emotions also realize that Riley must experience a balance of emotions, or she will experience catastrophe.
After watching this movie, I thought about our emotions. In some sense, we all want joy to be the dominant presence in our lives. However, as the movie suggests, we cannot truly be happy all of the time. Thinking from a Christian point of view, shouldn't we always be joyful? Yes and no. We experience sadness because the world is corrupted by sin and death. It is completely fine for a Christian to express sadness in times of grief and sorrow. There's no need for us to suppress sadness. Even Jesus wept because the world is hurting.
However, there will be a day where we can and will experience joy forever and ever. Revelation 21:4, written above, states that Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes. We will no longer mourn because Jesus will make all things new. No longer will we weep because of the death of a loved one. "There will be no more death". Christians should look forward to this day. This hope should be enough reason for us to be joyful in the here and now. Even when something sad happens now, we can experience joy knowing that Jesus will one day make everything right.
-Smart
Quietness
"He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'"
-Psalm 46:10
One night I came home fairly late in the night. I forget what exactly I was doing, but I had arrived home when it was really dark and quiet. I stepped out of the car, and before I went into my house, I just stopped. I stood outside my house, and enjoyed the peace and quiet. The only sounds I could hear were some passing cars and the night animals. After a couple minutes, I finally went inside.
As I lied in my bed getting ready to fall asleep, I thought about those few minutes of quietness. It's so rare for me to have moments like that. In this day and age, there are so many distractions available to me. I can watch TV, surf the internet, play a video game, text a friend, listen to music, etc. My life is full of things that rob me of the moments of quietness.
I believe that one of the reasons Jesus prayed early in the morning is that there are no distractions. Whenever I go to prayer meetings at 5:30am, it is so quiet. Most people are still sleeping, the sun is just starting to rise, and stores are closed. When I pray early in the morning, I am much less distracted. I don't have to worry about the rest of the day because there is nothing for me to do so early in the morning.
Psalm 46:10 says "be still, and know that I am God". This verse is so much more applicable to us now than ever before. With so many distractions around us, it seems harder and harder to find quiet time before God. However, the quietness is the best time to meet with God. In fact, because it's so much harder to find quietness, it's so much sweeter when you do. Those few minutes outside of my house were so precious because they are so rare. Find time where you can be still and quiet before God. That's not only a challenge for you, but for me. I'm guilty of having so many things distracting me from God. I want to intentially create times of quietness before my God.
-Smart
-Psalm 46:10
One night I came home fairly late in the night. I forget what exactly I was doing, but I had arrived home when it was really dark and quiet. I stepped out of the car, and before I went into my house, I just stopped. I stood outside my house, and enjoyed the peace and quiet. The only sounds I could hear were some passing cars and the night animals. After a couple minutes, I finally went inside.
As I lied in my bed getting ready to fall asleep, I thought about those few minutes of quietness. It's so rare for me to have moments like that. In this day and age, there are so many distractions available to me. I can watch TV, surf the internet, play a video game, text a friend, listen to music, etc. My life is full of things that rob me of the moments of quietness.
I believe that one of the reasons Jesus prayed early in the morning is that there are no distractions. Whenever I go to prayer meetings at 5:30am, it is so quiet. Most people are still sleeping, the sun is just starting to rise, and stores are closed. When I pray early in the morning, I am much less distracted. I don't have to worry about the rest of the day because there is nothing for me to do so early in the morning.
Psalm 46:10 says "be still, and know that I am God". This verse is so much more applicable to us now than ever before. With so many distractions around us, it seems harder and harder to find quiet time before God. However, the quietness is the best time to meet with God. In fact, because it's so much harder to find quietness, it's so much sweeter when you do. Those few minutes outside of my house were so precious because they are so rare. Find time where you can be still and quiet before God. That's not only a challenge for you, but for me. I'm guilty of having so many things distracting me from God. I want to intentially create times of quietness before my God.
-Smart
Mercy, Justice, Beauty
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie to cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"
-Isaiah 58:6-7
I recently listened to a sermon by Tim Keller, who is a pastor and author. He spoke about doing justice and mercy. The first half of his sermon was about what that means, and the second half was about why we do justice and mercy. If you want to hear to sermon, you can find it here. Today I wanted to share what stuck out to me in this sermon.
Often times when people do kind deeds, or in the terminology of the sermon, show mercy and justice, it is because they feel guilt or because they want to seem like a good person. However, it is rare to find a person who shows justice and mercy for the sake of others. If there is no benefit or consequence to showing mercy and justice, people tend to shy away from those opportunities. People don't have any good reason to serve justice.
So how should a Christian approach justice and mercy? What compels us to help others? I have said and will continue to say this for as long as live- the cross is the most important part of Christianity. Without the cross, there is no Christianity. Tim Keller said something that spoke to me during his sermon. He said that "the beauty of the cross leads to social justice". The cross is what compels us to show justice and mercy.
Jesus' suffering and death on the cross is the most beautiful picture of mercy and justice. He showed mercy by not giving us what we deserved for our sins. He served justice by bearing the punishment that we deserved for our sin. However, Jesus suffered with no mercy and cruel injustice. The soldiers beat Jesus and mocked Him mercilessly. Pilate unjustly sentenced an innocent Jesus to death on the cross. At the place of the most cruelty and injustice, Jesus showed us mercy and justice.
The cross is so beautiful, and should compel us to mercy and justice. If we deeply accept that Jesus died for us, we should be willing to do the same for others. Jesus showed us the greatest mercy, so we in turn should show mercy to others. Jesus served the greatest justice, so we should serve justice to others. We shouldn't approach justice and mercy as a way to benefit ourselves, but as a way to share the beauty of the cross.
-Smart
-Isaiah 58:6-7
I recently listened to a sermon by Tim Keller, who is a pastor and author. He spoke about doing justice and mercy. The first half of his sermon was about what that means, and the second half was about why we do justice and mercy. If you want to hear to sermon, you can find it here. Today I wanted to share what stuck out to me in this sermon.
Often times when people do kind deeds, or in the terminology of the sermon, show mercy and justice, it is because they feel guilt or because they want to seem like a good person. However, it is rare to find a person who shows justice and mercy for the sake of others. If there is no benefit or consequence to showing mercy and justice, people tend to shy away from those opportunities. People don't have any good reason to serve justice.
So how should a Christian approach justice and mercy? What compels us to help others? I have said and will continue to say this for as long as live- the cross is the most important part of Christianity. Without the cross, there is no Christianity. Tim Keller said something that spoke to me during his sermon. He said that "the beauty of the cross leads to social justice". The cross is what compels us to show justice and mercy.
Jesus' suffering and death on the cross is the most beautiful picture of mercy and justice. He showed mercy by not giving us what we deserved for our sins. He served justice by bearing the punishment that we deserved for our sin. However, Jesus suffered with no mercy and cruel injustice. The soldiers beat Jesus and mocked Him mercilessly. Pilate unjustly sentenced an innocent Jesus to death on the cross. At the place of the most cruelty and injustice, Jesus showed us mercy and justice.
The cross is so beautiful, and should compel us to mercy and justice. If we deeply accept that Jesus died for us, we should be willing to do the same for others. Jesus showed us the greatest mercy, so we in turn should show mercy to others. Jesus served the greatest justice, so we should serve justice to others. We shouldn't approach justice and mercy as a way to benefit ourselves, but as a way to share the beauty of the cross.
-Smart
Faith in the Process
"He told them another parable: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.'"
-Matthew 13:31-32
I've recently been listening to sermons from Elevation Church about faith. One thing that I've been learning is that Christian life is a process. Jesus often talked about how the Kingdom of God is like a seed that God plants in our hearts. What we often fail to realize is that this means that the Kingdom of God takes time to grow. We lose faith in ourselves and in the growth of the Kingdom of God in our lives.
This semester I've been working on my senior design project. Coming into the class, I didn't expect it to be too much work. Of course, I expected that I would have to put in some work, but didn't realize that this project would be a lot of work. I've never pulled an all-nighter in my entire undergraduate career until this semester. I've had to stay up to finish an English paper and to finish a piece of my senior design project.
Throughout the semester, the professor gives us assignments related to the progress of our project. This helps us stay on track with the project so we finish it on time. However, I'm the kind of person who likes to get everything done at one time. I normally procrastinate on assignments until the night before, where I complete the assignment all at once. I don't enjoy working at something for a long period of time. The night that I stayed up to work on my project, I was stuck on a part of the design. I felt so helpless as I kept trying to fix the design for hours, only to get nowhere.
I realized that this feeling of helplessness often shows up in my life of faith. I want to grow in my faith quickly, not having to work at it day in and day out. However, the nature of a seed is that it has to cultivated until it grows. A farmer doesn't sow a seed and then expect it to grow in a single night. He tills the soil and pulls the weeds until the seed grows into what it's meant to be.
I think my issue is that I sometimes see the seed rather than what the seed is meant to become. A farmer doesn't choose a seed based on what the seed is, but based on what the seed will become. A seed is amazingly unimpressive and useless. However, once the seed grows, it bears fruit that a farmer can eat and sell. When the farmer looks at a seed, he doesn't see a seed; he sees a tree. He has faith that the seed will grow in its time.
What if we had the same attitude about our lives? What if we stopped looking at the unimpressive seed and starting looking at the tree? A person who has faith in something impressive doesn't really have great faith. True faith is when someone can look at a seed, but see a tree. True faith is when someone has faith in the process. There will be times when our lives seems unimpressive and maybe even useless. However, the Bible assures us that the seed is always growing, whether we know it or not. "Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how (Mark 4:27)."
Experiencing the Kingdom of God is a process. There are times where we will have to take care of the seed when nothing seems to be happening. However, God is always working. Trust that God will work in your life, even when it seems to be a long and slow process. Keeping cultivating faith in your life. Have faith in the process.
-Smart
-Matthew 13:31-32
I've recently been listening to sermons from Elevation Church about faith. One thing that I've been learning is that Christian life is a process. Jesus often talked about how the Kingdom of God is like a seed that God plants in our hearts. What we often fail to realize is that this means that the Kingdom of God takes time to grow. We lose faith in ourselves and in the growth of the Kingdom of God in our lives.
This semester I've been working on my senior design project. Coming into the class, I didn't expect it to be too much work. Of course, I expected that I would have to put in some work, but didn't realize that this project would be a lot of work. I've never pulled an all-nighter in my entire undergraduate career until this semester. I've had to stay up to finish an English paper and to finish a piece of my senior design project.
Throughout the semester, the professor gives us assignments related to the progress of our project. This helps us stay on track with the project so we finish it on time. However, I'm the kind of person who likes to get everything done at one time. I normally procrastinate on assignments until the night before, where I complete the assignment all at once. I don't enjoy working at something for a long period of time. The night that I stayed up to work on my project, I was stuck on a part of the design. I felt so helpless as I kept trying to fix the design for hours, only to get nowhere.
I realized that this feeling of helplessness often shows up in my life of faith. I want to grow in my faith quickly, not having to work at it day in and day out. However, the nature of a seed is that it has to cultivated until it grows. A farmer doesn't sow a seed and then expect it to grow in a single night. He tills the soil and pulls the weeds until the seed grows into what it's meant to be.
I think my issue is that I sometimes see the seed rather than what the seed is meant to become. A farmer doesn't choose a seed based on what the seed is, but based on what the seed will become. A seed is amazingly unimpressive and useless. However, once the seed grows, it bears fruit that a farmer can eat and sell. When the farmer looks at a seed, he doesn't see a seed; he sees a tree. He has faith that the seed will grow in its time.
What if we had the same attitude about our lives? What if we stopped looking at the unimpressive seed and starting looking at the tree? A person who has faith in something impressive doesn't really have great faith. True faith is when someone can look at a seed, but see a tree. True faith is when someone has faith in the process. There will be times when our lives seems unimpressive and maybe even useless. However, the Bible assures us that the seed is always growing, whether we know it or not. "Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how (Mark 4:27)."
Experiencing the Kingdom of God is a process. There are times where we will have to take care of the seed when nothing seems to be happening. However, God is always working. Trust that God will work in your life, even when it seems to be a long and slow process. Keeping cultivating faith in your life. Have faith in the process.
-Smart
Perfection
"Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect."
-Matthew 5:48
I've recently been thinking about the idea of perfection. People often say things like "this burger is perfect", or "this weather is perfect". Can anything really be perfect though? Isn't it interesting that we all have an idea of perfection, but nothing we know is perfect? For example, I have a notion of what a perfect person is. I strive to be that perfect person, but I know that I'll never be perfect. I also know that no one is that perfect person. If no one is perfect, then how can I know what a perfect person is? Where does my idea of perfection come from?
I argue a lot that everyone has innate desires and knowledge. For example, everyone has a desire for pleasure and fulfillment. People naturally have knowledge of what is right and wrong. Of course, we all are affected by sin, so our ability to judge right and wrong is skewed. However, we all have some notion of right and wrong. All of these desires and knowledge come from our Creator, God. Our desire for pleasure and fulfillment arise from our longing to be with our Father. Our knowledge of right and wrong arise because we are created in the image of God.
I believe that our idea of perfection also comes from God. I said earlier that no one is perfect, but I left out one significant person- Jesus Christ. Jesus was a perfect gift from the Father, and He lived a perfect life as a perfect man. What if when we think about what perfection looks like in a person, we are thinking about Jesus? What if all our thoughts on perfection are thoughts about God? It makes sense, doesn't it? We are created in God's image, so we desire to be with the Father and to be like Him. Our ideas of perfection are actually reflections of our idea of God. When you look for perfection, maybe you are really looking for God.
-Smart
-Matthew 5:48
I've recently been thinking about the idea of perfection. People often say things like "this burger is perfect", or "this weather is perfect". Can anything really be perfect though? Isn't it interesting that we all have an idea of perfection, but nothing we know is perfect? For example, I have a notion of what a perfect person is. I strive to be that perfect person, but I know that I'll never be perfect. I also know that no one is that perfect person. If no one is perfect, then how can I know what a perfect person is? Where does my idea of perfection come from?
I argue a lot that everyone has innate desires and knowledge. For example, everyone has a desire for pleasure and fulfillment. People naturally have knowledge of what is right and wrong. Of course, we all are affected by sin, so our ability to judge right and wrong is skewed. However, we all have some notion of right and wrong. All of these desires and knowledge come from our Creator, God. Our desire for pleasure and fulfillment arise from our longing to be with our Father. Our knowledge of right and wrong arise because we are created in the image of God.
I believe that our idea of perfection also comes from God. I said earlier that no one is perfect, but I left out one significant person- Jesus Christ. Jesus was a perfect gift from the Father, and He lived a perfect life as a perfect man. What if when we think about what perfection looks like in a person, we are thinking about Jesus? What if all our thoughts on perfection are thoughts about God? It makes sense, doesn't it? We are created in God's image, so we desire to be with the Father and to be like Him. Our ideas of perfection are actually reflections of our idea of God. When you look for perfection, maybe you are really looking for God.
-Smart
People Praising
"Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth."
-Psalm 96:1
Today I wanted to write about a less serious topic than I normally do on this blog. I've titled this post "People Praising" and I just want to share what I have observed as a praise team member. Specifically, I am going to talk about how I see people worship God in different ways. To be clear, I am not trying to pick on anyone, nor do I think that there is a specific way we need to praise God. I can't see people's hearts, only God can.
On a normal Sunday, about 70-80% of the congregation does the same thing during praise. They have their heads tilted back a bit as they read the words off of the PowerPoint. It's funny because I can sometimes see people trying really hard to read the words, as if they are having trouble reading the slides. Hands are by their sides, maybe they sway a bit to the music, and they try their best to sing along with the praise team.
A small percentage of the congregation does the same as the last group, but they don't sing. They just stand there staring at the PowerPoint, or at the ground. I don't know the reason behind this, but I assume it is because they don't want to sing. Perhaps they don't think they sing very well, or they don't know the song, or they just don't feel like singing. While I don't want to jump to conclusions and say that these people aren't worshiping God, I can say that as a worship leader it is quite discouraging to see people who seem disengaged like this.
Another small percentage, normally the younger people, get really into praise. These people know a lot of the songs, so their eyes are closed, they are swaying (much more than the first group), and they are singing their hearts out. Again, I can't say if they are really worshiping God or not, but I can definitely say that these are the people that encourage me.
Our church is quite conservative when it comes to outward displays of worship, which is why you may have noticed that I never mentioned hand raising, people shouting amen, or anything of that nature. In fact, when I see someone who raises a hand (or hands), I'm almost shocked. It does happen from time to time, and surprisingly it's not restricted to the younger congregation. It's interesting how much people's praise is influenced by the people around them. I've been to other churches where people are very active during praise. Almost everyone raises their hands, sings loudly, and sometimes even dance. I can almost say with certainty that if any of those people came to my church, they would feel out of place.
So this is all interesting, but you may be wondering, how do I praise? I've been in the praise team for many years, and I also lead praise for a lot of the smaller events at our church. This means that I almost never am part of the congregation during praise. When I play drums, I actually don't look out into the congregation very often. I am focused either on playing the drums or reading the words of the song. When a song has a really good feel to it, I often sway a bit because it helps me keep time and it feels natural.
When I play the guitar, I move around a bit more than when I play drums (for the obvious reason that I can't really move when drumming). I am thinking about a lot of different things, like the tempo, where I want to go next, how people are engaging, dynamics, and other aspects of praise. I've been trying to memorize songs so that I don't have to keep looking down at a music stand, which I have found can detract from praise. It may not affect how the congregation praises, but looking at a music stand definitely hinders my personal ability to focus on the words of the song.
Lastly, when I am in the congregation, as rare as that is, I am usually like the first group I described. I sing a bit louder than most people, because I have a naturally loud voice, and I know many of the songs that are sung. I sometimes fall into the third group, where I get really into a song, close my eyes and sway back and forth. I sometimes feel like raising my hands, but to be honest, 99% of the time I am too self-conscious to do it.
Regardless of how you are during praise, the most important thing is that you really are praising God. The longer I have been on the praise team, the more I realize how important it is to worship God from your heart. Music is nice, but music in itself is not enough. We will eventually get bored of a song if we only sing it because we like it. The reason I can sing the same songs over and over again is because I believe the words I am singing. The songs are my worship to God, not just something I play for my own enjoyment.
The things I described today are just some examples of people's expressions of worship. None of these is right or wrong, they are only expressions. What really matters is what is going on in the heart. If we choose to be still, is it because we don't want to be there, or is it so that we can focus on God? If we choose the be active, is it because we are enjoying the song, or is it because we are responding to the Holy Spirit? You may think that you are not a musical person, so it's hard for you to praise God through music. I understand that, because I thought that way in the past too. I encourage you to find another way to worship God during the praise and worship times. Think about the words that are being sung. Pray to God using the songs as a guide. Listen for God's voice during praise. Just do something to worship God. He deserves it, and you need it.
-Smart
(P.S. I don't really know where I was going with this entry, but I hope you enjoyed reading it.)
-Psalm 96:1
Today I wanted to write about a less serious topic than I normally do on this blog. I've titled this post "People Praising" and I just want to share what I have observed as a praise team member. Specifically, I am going to talk about how I see people worship God in different ways. To be clear, I am not trying to pick on anyone, nor do I think that there is a specific way we need to praise God. I can't see people's hearts, only God can.
On a normal Sunday, about 70-80% of the congregation does the same thing during praise. They have their heads tilted back a bit as they read the words off of the PowerPoint. It's funny because I can sometimes see people trying really hard to read the words, as if they are having trouble reading the slides. Hands are by their sides, maybe they sway a bit to the music, and they try their best to sing along with the praise team.
A small percentage of the congregation does the same as the last group, but they don't sing. They just stand there staring at the PowerPoint, or at the ground. I don't know the reason behind this, but I assume it is because they don't want to sing. Perhaps they don't think they sing very well, or they don't know the song, or they just don't feel like singing. While I don't want to jump to conclusions and say that these people aren't worshiping God, I can say that as a worship leader it is quite discouraging to see people who seem disengaged like this.
Another small percentage, normally the younger people, get really into praise. These people know a lot of the songs, so their eyes are closed, they are swaying (much more than the first group), and they are singing their hearts out. Again, I can't say if they are really worshiping God or not, but I can definitely say that these are the people that encourage me.
Our church is quite conservative when it comes to outward displays of worship, which is why you may have noticed that I never mentioned hand raising, people shouting amen, or anything of that nature. In fact, when I see someone who raises a hand (or hands), I'm almost shocked. It does happen from time to time, and surprisingly it's not restricted to the younger congregation. It's interesting how much people's praise is influenced by the people around them. I've been to other churches where people are very active during praise. Almost everyone raises their hands, sings loudly, and sometimes even dance. I can almost say with certainty that if any of those people came to my church, they would feel out of place.
So this is all interesting, but you may be wondering, how do I praise? I've been in the praise team for many years, and I also lead praise for a lot of the smaller events at our church. This means that I almost never am part of the congregation during praise. When I play drums, I actually don't look out into the congregation very often. I am focused either on playing the drums or reading the words of the song. When a song has a really good feel to it, I often sway a bit because it helps me keep time and it feels natural.
When I play the guitar, I move around a bit more than when I play drums (for the obvious reason that I can't really move when drumming). I am thinking about a lot of different things, like the tempo, where I want to go next, how people are engaging, dynamics, and other aspects of praise. I've been trying to memorize songs so that I don't have to keep looking down at a music stand, which I have found can detract from praise. It may not affect how the congregation praises, but looking at a music stand definitely hinders my personal ability to focus on the words of the song.
Lastly, when I am in the congregation, as rare as that is, I am usually like the first group I described. I sing a bit louder than most people, because I have a naturally loud voice, and I know many of the songs that are sung. I sometimes fall into the third group, where I get really into a song, close my eyes and sway back and forth. I sometimes feel like raising my hands, but to be honest, 99% of the time I am too self-conscious to do it.
Regardless of how you are during praise, the most important thing is that you really are praising God. The longer I have been on the praise team, the more I realize how important it is to worship God from your heart. Music is nice, but music in itself is not enough. We will eventually get bored of a song if we only sing it because we like it. The reason I can sing the same songs over and over again is because I believe the words I am singing. The songs are my worship to God, not just something I play for my own enjoyment.
The things I described today are just some examples of people's expressions of worship. None of these is right or wrong, they are only expressions. What really matters is what is going on in the heart. If we choose to be still, is it because we don't want to be there, or is it so that we can focus on God? If we choose the be active, is it because we are enjoying the song, or is it because we are responding to the Holy Spirit? You may think that you are not a musical person, so it's hard for you to praise God through music. I understand that, because I thought that way in the past too. I encourage you to find another way to worship God during the praise and worship times. Think about the words that are being sung. Pray to God using the songs as a guide. Listen for God's voice during praise. Just do something to worship God. He deserves it, and you need it.
-Smart
(P.S. I don't really know where I was going with this entry, but I hope you enjoyed reading it.)
The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:1-44 Message)
Today I wanted to share a message that I gave at an early morning prayer meeting. It was in preparation of our church's spring Bible conference. I hope you learn from it.
I was assigned the longest passage, but today I am only going to talk about three points. It’s early, we’re all tired, and let’s face it: we’d rather be sleeping. I’ll admit it. I’d rather be sleeping right now. However, we are here because we want God to work at the Spring Bible Conference. We are here to pray. So I promise to keep the message short and to the point. Here are the three points: Jesus is the resurrection and the life for you, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for others, and Jesus is the resurrection and the life for His glory. Let’s read the key verses, verses 25-26. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”
A couple years ago YDJ went to a winter retreat in Delaware. The place we went to was awesome. There was a ropes course that Abe Lee had reserved for us to use on the second day of the retreat. We all split up into groups, and proceeded to the ropes courses. The first part was some boring low ropes stuff, to build up “teamwork”. The part I was waiting for was the high ropes, because that’s where all the danger is, and danger is fun.
After the boring low ropes course, the teams went to different high ropes obstacles. My group went to a pretty simple course that consisted of climbing a rope ladder. We all completed it pretty easily, with the exception of Adriana. We then proceeded to the next course, which is when I started talking to some of the other groups. They were talking about how one of the courses was really hard, and how no one could do it except Allan Guevara. Apparently it took Allan a really long time to finish it though. If you know me, you know that I am extremely competitive, so I went around telling people that I was going to finish that course. Person after person told me, “Look, no one finished the course except Allan, and even he took like 15 minutes. You can’t do it.” If you want to talk about adding fuel to the fire, that was it. The more that people told me I couldn’t do it, the more I was sure was going to do it. Maybe that sounds foolish to you, but that’s how I thought.
So finally my group gets to do this “impossible” ropes course. This course had two ropes stretching horizontally across two trees: one on the top and one on the bottom. Hanging from the top rope were some vertical ropes that you had to use to complete the course. Everyone in my group who went before me failed. Every single person. Now it’s my turn, and I’m not nervous at all. Watching all those people fail didn’t faze me at all. I finished that course, and it didn’t take me 15 minutes. It took me 3 minutes. After I came down, I went to all those doubters and told them what I had done.
What is the point of this story? At the ropes course, we were presented with a seemly insurmountable obstacle. People kept telling me that it was too hard for anyone to finish. They saw other people fail the course, and assumed I would fail to. They based their faith in me on what they saw, rather than on who I am. In today’s passage, we see the same thing. Mary and Martha are presented with the death of Lazarus. They kept telling Jesus that raising Lazarus from the dead is impossible, despite Jesus repeatedly telling them that Lazarus would rise again. One thing that we hear repeatedly in this passage is “Jesus, if you had been here, Lazarus would not have died.” First Martha says it, then Mary, and even the Jews who were there say it too. They thought that Jesus was limited to healing the sick, and was incapable of raising Lazarus from the dead. They based their faith on what they saw, rather than on who Jesus was.
Whenever I read and study a passage like this, I always try to think about who I can learn from. When I first read this passage, I originally thought that I was like Martha, Mary, or the disciples. Maybe I need to have more faith, and not doubt Jesus’ power to give resurrection and life. However, when I thought more about this passage, I realized that I am actually Lazarus. I often lie down in a cave, I don’t smell good, but most importantly, I am dead. Have you ever thought about that? C.S. Lewis has a great quote that says “Jesus did not come to make bad people good; He came to make dead people live.” Did you know that you were dead? We aren’t just bad people- we are dead people without Jesus. Sometimes we have the same mindset as Martha or Mary, and we want Jesus to just fix some small sin or problem in our life. However, Ephesians 2 says “as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” We need Jesus because He is the resurrection and life, and we are dead.
Can you imagine being there when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead? Imagine going to the tomb, and seeing Jesus tell the people to take away the stone. Then imagine being there when Jesus shouts “Lazarus, come out”. Seeing Lazarus walk out of that tomb. Watching the people take off his grave clothes. Wouldn’t that be crazy? But imagine if Jesus told Lazarus to come out, but then he didn’t come out because he didn’t want to get up. That would be weird, because Jesus just raised him from the dead. Why would he stay there? Or what if Lazarus came out, but left the grave clothes on? No! That would be stupid! But the funny thing is that we sometimes do exactly that: Jesus gave us life, but we are still marked by the grave clothes of our past. We still look like we are dead. It’s not enough to just believe, we have to obey. Only by believing and obeying Jesus can we get up from our sin and death, and live as His disciple. Let me ask how Jesus asked it: “Do you believe this?” Then that wraps up point one, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for you.
Let’s move to our second point, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for others. I remember one day I was watching a basketball game between the Rockets and the Spurs. If you don’t know what those teams are, it’s fine, just follow along. The Rockets have a center, the biggest guy on the team, who is a terrible free throw shooter. A free throw is a free shot awarded to a player that is fouled by the other team. While I was watching the game, I saw the Spurs do something very interesting. They kept on purposefully fouling the Rocket’s center, every play. Now, I don’t know how many of you watch basketball, but I can tell you that watching a person shoot free throws is boring. Really, really boring.
The Spurs kept fouling in order to use the weakness of the other team so they could win the game. While this is great for the Spurs, it is bad for the viewers. The Spurs were just trying to win the game, but they made the game extremely boring to watch. Now, let me ask you this, why do professional sports teams play? They play to entertain. Yes, every team wants to win games, but their primary purpose is to entertain the viewers. If they use a strategy like the Spurs did, they go against that purpose. They’re only thinking about themselves.
Jesus is not only the resurrection and the life for you. While yes, He does want you to experience the resurrection and the life, He also wants you to share it. How can I say this? Glad you asked. (Appoint someone) Please read verses 14 and 15. “So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’” (Appoint someone else) Can you read verse 42? “I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” Can we all read the key verses together, verses 25 and 26? “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” Lastly, let me read our conference key verse, 1 Corinthians 15:22. “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” Do you notice a pattern in these verses? They all suggest that Jesus didn’t just raise Lazarus for Lazarus’ sake. When Jesus spoke to Martha, He said “whoever lives by believing in me will never die”, not “if you believe in me, you will never die.” Our conference theme is “in Christ, all will be made alive”, not “in Christ, you will be made alive”.
Often times, I find myself acting like the Spurs. I only think about my own salvation, my own walk with Jesus, and my own resurrection and life. However, throughout this passage we see that Jesus’ intent was for all people to experience His resurrection power, not just Lazarus, and not just me and you. Jesus used Lazarus’ resurrection to help others believe in Him. He also wants to use our resurrection to help others believe in Him. The last thing Jesus told His disciples when He was on earth was “Therefore go (Matthew 28:19)”. He is telling us the same thing today. We aren’t meant to only live for ourselves, but to go. Jesus is the resurrection and the life for you, and Jesus is the resurrection and the life for others.
Let’s move on to the last point, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for His glory. How many of you either go to school or go to work? If you didn’t raise your hand, you are a liar, and if you aren’t lying, I envy you. Anyway, what is the point of going to school or work? Is it to get an education? Is it to make money? It is because that’s what you’re supposed to do or else you’re a lazy bum? Yes all these things are true, but ultimately we go to school or work for the sake of the school or employer. When we go to school, we are giving the school a ton of money, and when we do well in school, we make the school look better. When we go to work, we are making money for the employer. Think about it. They wouldn’t pay you if they weren’t making money off of you.
When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, it wasn’t only for Lazarus’ sake, or only for the people who were watching’s sake. It was also to give glory to God. Let’s read verse 4 together. “When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’” Let’s also read verse 40 together please. “Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’” Jesus was there to give life to Lazarus, faith to those watching, and glory to God.
There’s a famous expression that John Piper uses in his book “desiring God”. “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” What this means is that our ultimate purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him. When Jesus raises us from our sin and death, it is for His glory. It isn’t so that we can boast. Like Lazarus, we were completely dead in our sins and transgressions. It is only when Jesus comes to us and when we accept Him that we can live a resurrected life. Romans 3:27 says “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.” No, because of the law that requires faith. It is not of our effort that we can find life, but only through faith in Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life. 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” As we go through our life and to the spring conference, let’s remember to give glory to Jesus.
Let’s recap the three points we’ve talked about today. First, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for you. We were dead in our sins and transgressions, but Jesus came so that we can be made alive. Second, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for others. We aren’t meant to only live for ourselves, but to go and share Jesus with others. Last, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for His glory. Jesus gives us life so that we can glorify Him.
Did you know that these three points are related? Let me show you. How do we glorify God? By sharing Jesus with others. How do we share Jesus with others? By accepting Him and receiving resurrection and life through Him. When we get up from sin and death, go and share Jesus with others, we glorify Jesus. Jesus is the resurrection and the life for you, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for others, and Jesus is the resurrection and the life for His glory, so let us getup, go, and glorify. Getup, go, and glorify. When Lazarus was in the tomb, he had to get up, go out of the tomb, and by doing so he glorified Jesus. Are you willing to get up, go, and glorify Jesus? Do you believe that He is the resurrection and the life for you? For others? For His glorify? Let’s read the key verses one more time. Verses 25-26. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”
I was assigned the longest passage, but today I am only going to talk about three points. It’s early, we’re all tired, and let’s face it: we’d rather be sleeping. I’ll admit it. I’d rather be sleeping right now. However, we are here because we want God to work at the Spring Bible Conference. We are here to pray. So I promise to keep the message short and to the point. Here are the three points: Jesus is the resurrection and the life for you, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for others, and Jesus is the resurrection and the life for His glory. Let’s read the key verses, verses 25-26. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”
A couple years ago YDJ went to a winter retreat in Delaware. The place we went to was awesome. There was a ropes course that Abe Lee had reserved for us to use on the second day of the retreat. We all split up into groups, and proceeded to the ropes courses. The first part was some boring low ropes stuff, to build up “teamwork”. The part I was waiting for was the high ropes, because that’s where all the danger is, and danger is fun.
After the boring low ropes course, the teams went to different high ropes obstacles. My group went to a pretty simple course that consisted of climbing a rope ladder. We all completed it pretty easily, with the exception of Adriana. We then proceeded to the next course, which is when I started talking to some of the other groups. They were talking about how one of the courses was really hard, and how no one could do it except Allan Guevara. Apparently it took Allan a really long time to finish it though. If you know me, you know that I am extremely competitive, so I went around telling people that I was going to finish that course. Person after person told me, “Look, no one finished the course except Allan, and even he took like 15 minutes. You can’t do it.” If you want to talk about adding fuel to the fire, that was it. The more that people told me I couldn’t do it, the more I was sure was going to do it. Maybe that sounds foolish to you, but that’s how I thought.
So finally my group gets to do this “impossible” ropes course. This course had two ropes stretching horizontally across two trees: one on the top and one on the bottom. Hanging from the top rope were some vertical ropes that you had to use to complete the course. Everyone in my group who went before me failed. Every single person. Now it’s my turn, and I’m not nervous at all. Watching all those people fail didn’t faze me at all. I finished that course, and it didn’t take me 15 minutes. It took me 3 minutes. After I came down, I went to all those doubters and told them what I had done.
What is the point of this story? At the ropes course, we were presented with a seemly insurmountable obstacle. People kept telling me that it was too hard for anyone to finish. They saw other people fail the course, and assumed I would fail to. They based their faith in me on what they saw, rather than on who I am. In today’s passage, we see the same thing. Mary and Martha are presented with the death of Lazarus. They kept telling Jesus that raising Lazarus from the dead is impossible, despite Jesus repeatedly telling them that Lazarus would rise again. One thing that we hear repeatedly in this passage is “Jesus, if you had been here, Lazarus would not have died.” First Martha says it, then Mary, and even the Jews who were there say it too. They thought that Jesus was limited to healing the sick, and was incapable of raising Lazarus from the dead. They based their faith on what they saw, rather than on who Jesus was.
Whenever I read and study a passage like this, I always try to think about who I can learn from. When I first read this passage, I originally thought that I was like Martha, Mary, or the disciples. Maybe I need to have more faith, and not doubt Jesus’ power to give resurrection and life. However, when I thought more about this passage, I realized that I am actually Lazarus. I often lie down in a cave, I don’t smell good, but most importantly, I am dead. Have you ever thought about that? C.S. Lewis has a great quote that says “Jesus did not come to make bad people good; He came to make dead people live.” Did you know that you were dead? We aren’t just bad people- we are dead people without Jesus. Sometimes we have the same mindset as Martha or Mary, and we want Jesus to just fix some small sin or problem in our life. However, Ephesians 2 says “as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” We need Jesus because He is the resurrection and life, and we are dead.
Can you imagine being there when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead? Imagine going to the tomb, and seeing Jesus tell the people to take away the stone. Then imagine being there when Jesus shouts “Lazarus, come out”. Seeing Lazarus walk out of that tomb. Watching the people take off his grave clothes. Wouldn’t that be crazy? But imagine if Jesus told Lazarus to come out, but then he didn’t come out because he didn’t want to get up. That would be weird, because Jesus just raised him from the dead. Why would he stay there? Or what if Lazarus came out, but left the grave clothes on? No! That would be stupid! But the funny thing is that we sometimes do exactly that: Jesus gave us life, but we are still marked by the grave clothes of our past. We still look like we are dead. It’s not enough to just believe, we have to obey. Only by believing and obeying Jesus can we get up from our sin and death, and live as His disciple. Let me ask how Jesus asked it: “Do you believe this?” Then that wraps up point one, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for you.
Let’s move to our second point, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for others. I remember one day I was watching a basketball game between the Rockets and the Spurs. If you don’t know what those teams are, it’s fine, just follow along. The Rockets have a center, the biggest guy on the team, who is a terrible free throw shooter. A free throw is a free shot awarded to a player that is fouled by the other team. While I was watching the game, I saw the Spurs do something very interesting. They kept on purposefully fouling the Rocket’s center, every play. Now, I don’t know how many of you watch basketball, but I can tell you that watching a person shoot free throws is boring. Really, really boring.
The Spurs kept fouling in order to use the weakness of the other team so they could win the game. While this is great for the Spurs, it is bad for the viewers. The Spurs were just trying to win the game, but they made the game extremely boring to watch. Now, let me ask you this, why do professional sports teams play? They play to entertain. Yes, every team wants to win games, but their primary purpose is to entertain the viewers. If they use a strategy like the Spurs did, they go against that purpose. They’re only thinking about themselves.
Jesus is not only the resurrection and the life for you. While yes, He does want you to experience the resurrection and the life, He also wants you to share it. How can I say this? Glad you asked. (Appoint someone) Please read verses 14 and 15. “So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’” (Appoint someone else) Can you read verse 42? “I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” Can we all read the key verses together, verses 25 and 26? “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” Lastly, let me read our conference key verse, 1 Corinthians 15:22. “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” Do you notice a pattern in these verses? They all suggest that Jesus didn’t just raise Lazarus for Lazarus’ sake. When Jesus spoke to Martha, He said “whoever lives by believing in me will never die”, not “if you believe in me, you will never die.” Our conference theme is “in Christ, all will be made alive”, not “in Christ, you will be made alive”.
Often times, I find myself acting like the Spurs. I only think about my own salvation, my own walk with Jesus, and my own resurrection and life. However, throughout this passage we see that Jesus’ intent was for all people to experience His resurrection power, not just Lazarus, and not just me and you. Jesus used Lazarus’ resurrection to help others believe in Him. He also wants to use our resurrection to help others believe in Him. The last thing Jesus told His disciples when He was on earth was “Therefore go (Matthew 28:19)”. He is telling us the same thing today. We aren’t meant to only live for ourselves, but to go. Jesus is the resurrection and the life for you, and Jesus is the resurrection and the life for others.
Let’s move on to the last point, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for His glory. How many of you either go to school or go to work? If you didn’t raise your hand, you are a liar, and if you aren’t lying, I envy you. Anyway, what is the point of going to school or work? Is it to get an education? Is it to make money? It is because that’s what you’re supposed to do or else you’re a lazy bum? Yes all these things are true, but ultimately we go to school or work for the sake of the school or employer. When we go to school, we are giving the school a ton of money, and when we do well in school, we make the school look better. When we go to work, we are making money for the employer. Think about it. They wouldn’t pay you if they weren’t making money off of you.
When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, it wasn’t only for Lazarus’ sake, or only for the people who were watching’s sake. It was also to give glory to God. Let’s read verse 4 together. “When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’” Let’s also read verse 40 together please. “Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’” Jesus was there to give life to Lazarus, faith to those watching, and glory to God.
There’s a famous expression that John Piper uses in his book “desiring God”. “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” What this means is that our ultimate purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him. When Jesus raises us from our sin and death, it is for His glory. It isn’t so that we can boast. Like Lazarus, we were completely dead in our sins and transgressions. It is only when Jesus comes to us and when we accept Him that we can live a resurrected life. Romans 3:27 says “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.” No, because of the law that requires faith. It is not of our effort that we can find life, but only through faith in Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life. 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” As we go through our life and to the spring conference, let’s remember to give glory to Jesus.
Let’s recap the three points we’ve talked about today. First, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for you. We were dead in our sins and transgressions, but Jesus came so that we can be made alive. Second, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for others. We aren’t meant to only live for ourselves, but to go and share Jesus with others. Last, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for His glory. Jesus gives us life so that we can glorify Him.
Did you know that these three points are related? Let me show you. How do we glorify God? By sharing Jesus with others. How do we share Jesus with others? By accepting Him and receiving resurrection and life through Him. When we get up from sin and death, go and share Jesus with others, we glorify Jesus. Jesus is the resurrection and the life for you, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for others, and Jesus is the resurrection and the life for His glory, so let us getup, go, and glorify. Getup, go, and glorify. When Lazarus was in the tomb, he had to get up, go out of the tomb, and by doing so he glorified Jesus. Are you willing to get up, go, and glorify Jesus? Do you believe that He is the resurrection and the life for you? For others? For His glorify? Let’s read the key verses one more time. Verses 25-26. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”
-Smart
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