"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
As I mentioned in my previous post, one of my favorite activities is playing basketball. What I didn't mention is that I actually cannot play much basketball these days because of an injury that I have. A couple months ago, I developed a case of metatarsalgia in my left foot. Metatarsalgia is a term that describes inflammation and/or pain in the ball of the foot. The condition is caused by the overuse of the metatarsals in the foot. In my case, the repeated stress on my foot caused by playing basketball triggered this condition.
Talking from experience, having metatarsal pain is quite frustrating as it limits my ability to perform many daily activities. When the injury was more severe, I even felt pain in my left foot just by walking. After dealing with this pain for a few weeks, I finally decided it was time to go to the doctor to discuss my condition. When I described the pain I was experiencing, the podiatrist (foot doctor) informed me that I had metatarsalgia. He also told me that the cause of my pain was likely a combination of pressure on my foot caused by basketball and having slightly abnormally sized metatarsal bones (I can't remember if they are too long or too short). The result of these two things was inflammation and pain in my left foot.
I bet that as you were reading about my condition, one of the first questions you had was what caused my condition. Whenever someone has pain, we know that it was caused by something. Pain never occurs unless something triggers that pain. I didn't start feeling pain in the ball of my foot randomly- I starting feeling pain because I damaged my metatarsals. Pain is only ever an indicator of an underlying problem in our bodies.
In the same way, could it be possible that the reason we experience pain and suffering is because there is an underlying problem in the world? One of the biggest objections to the Christian faith is that a good god would never allow pain and suffering. Only a cruel, evil god would allow us to experience pain. However, before we start blaming God for the pain in the world, we should stop and ask why we experience pain in the first place.
I once heard of a young girl that had a rare condition that stopped her body from experiencing physical pain. There was something in either her brain or nervous system that didn't process pain as most of us do. At first, this may sound like it is a blessing. She never would have to experience pain from a cut, bruise, or other bodily harm. However, this was a serious issue for her and her parents. Since she had no response whatsoever to pain, she could damage her body without even realizing it. Her parents had to keep a watchful eye on her to make sure she didn't hurt herself by touching a hot stove, cutting herself on a sharp surface or any other similar scenario.
While no one enjoys feeling pain, without the ability to feel pain, we would not be able to identify bodily harm. We wouldn't be able to detect a cut and treat it before it got infected. We wouldn't be able to recognize that our hand was being burned on a stove top and remove our hand to prevent serious burns. Quite honestly, we would not last very long without the ability to feel pain.
So I ask again, why do we experience pain? Perhaps we experience pain in the world (beyond just the physical) because our souls are trying to indicate that there is a problem. Perhaps God gave us the ability to feel pain to indicate to us that our world is not as it is meant to be. If everything were right in the world, we wouldn't have to experience pain. However, because of sin and the power of Satan, everything is not right in this world. Maybe the pain that is experienced in the world is simply an indicator of the reality of sin and Satan.
After diagnosing the source of pain, the next step is to treat the pain. For my metatarsalgia, the treatment is an orthopedic insert that I have to put into my shoes. These inserts spread the force on my foot to remove pressure from the metatarsal area which allows my foot to heal. What is the proper treatment for sin? The Bible claims that no one is sinless. Each one of us has sinned and will continue to sin. However, that doesn't mean we should leave sin untreated. Just because I continue to experience pain in my foot doesn't mean that I don't do anything about it. The proper treatment for sin is repentance and belief in God.
Pain is a reality in this world because sin is a reality in this world. Unfortunately, none of us have the power to do anything about sin in this world. Thankfully, there is one who does have the power to do something, Jesus. Jesus came and died on the cross to take on the sin of world on Himself so that we wouldn't have to experience the pain that sin brings. However, we have to repent and believe before we can experience the healing that He brings. One day, if we repent and believe in Jesus, we experience the day where "there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain".
-Smart
Why Do We Desire to Love?
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
-Mark 12:30-31
Now that the year is just about half over, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the year so far. My key verse for 2018 is Mark 12:30-31. These are familiar verses, which can tend to make me overlook the significance of these verses. I chose these verses because I wanted to refocus my mind and heart on loving God and loving others.
I started the year by choosing a Bible reading plan that would take me through the entire Bible by the end of the year. I had a lot of energy and passion for this Bible reading plan because I had just come back from a retreat and felt encouraged to pursue God more seriously. As far as I can remember, I don’t believe I’ve ever been very consistent in following a Bible reading plan. I’ve always fallen in and out of the habit of reading God’s Word. I always knew the importance of reading the Bible, but struggled to maintain a consistent daily reading of the Word.
After almost half the year, I’m happy to say that I’ve been diligent in my Bible reading plan. I’ve followed the plan almost every day, and the days that I did miss, I was quick to catch up on the reading. I’ve read books of the Bible that I’ve never read before previously, which has been a great learning experience. I’ve also read books of the Bible that I’ve read many times before, but I’ve still been encouraged by it.
Unfortunately, although my reading habits have been quite good, I still struggled with spending quality time with God in prayer. As I prepared to write this reflection, I realized that a big reason that I struggle with prayer is that I don’t find myself enjoying it. It’s almost crazy when I think about the fact that I somehow don’t enjoy spending time with the creator God, who loves me unconditionally. He even gave up Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for my sins. How can I not enjoy spending time in prayer with a God like this?
There are many things that I enjoy doing, but there is one thing I enjoy doing more than almost anything else- playing basketball. I can’t really explain why I like playing basketball so much- all I can say is that I really enjoy it. I look forward to the days where I can play, and when I do play, I never want to stop. Some of the most dangerous words you can say to me while playing basketball are “one more game?”
Despite my love for basketball, basketball will never love me back. I can devote my life to playing basketball, but basketball will never love me. This sounds like a weird statement, but it illustrates a truth I’ve been learning recently. People do not only desire to be loved, they desire to love. I believe this is why people have pets. Of course they enjoy being loved by their dog or cat, but I think they enjoy showing love even more so. I believe that all people enjoy the act of loving something or someone.
I believe this desire to love has been placed in us by our God. A question that I’ve had for a long time is why it’s so important in Christian doctrine that our God is a triune God. Why does God have to be three in one? Why not just one? Ravi Zacharias, an apologist that I listen to on occasion, mentioned that one reason it is important that there is a Trinity is because it explains where love began. Love always requires an object to be loved. It is like a phone call- you cannot call nothing, you must have someone to call.
This brings the question of who God loved before the world was created. If God is love, surely He must have loved for all eternity. Before God created man and woman, love existed between the members of the Trinity. The Father loved the Son, the Son loved the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit loved the Father. There was perfect love between the members of the Trinity.
When God created man, He not only created something that He could love, but something that could love Him back. However, man chose to love something other than God. He chose to love the knowledge of good and evil. When Adam sinned against God, it broke the love between man and God. The love was now one-sided, as now God loved Adam fully but Adam didn’t love God fully.
One-sided love is incomplete love. Love wasn’t meant to be this way. The Trinity had perfect love because each part loved the others. God created man to be loved and to love. Only when love is complete can man experience the fullness of joy. I believe this is why Jesus says in Mark 12:30 that the greatest commandment is to love God. God isn’t demanding that we love Him because He needs our love, His love is already perfect within the parts of the Trinity. He is commanding us to love because He wants us to experience the fullness of joy. He is a loving God, not a needy God.
As I’ve been reflecting on these thoughts, I realize that maybe I don’t enjoy God because I don’t fully love Him. When I moved to Dallas, I moved away from a large church that I participated heavily in. I was in the praise team, I led the college ministry, I sang in special songs, and did a lot of other things. These are all great things to participate in, but I’m starting to realize that these things may have replaced a personal relationship with God. Once I no longer could do those things by being in Dallas, I realized how shallow my prayer life was.
I heard a message at HPUMC that really convicted my heart. The pastor was speaking about using this summer as an opportunity to really spend time in God’s word and in prayer. Of course, his message had more content to it, but for the sake of brevity I won’t go into much detail. I remember thinking that I wanted to accept this challenge and really focus on my quiet time with God. I pray that through this I can learn to love God more fully.
This all sounds great, but it is still very challenging. I keep asking myself how I can really start loving God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind and all my strength. I want to experience the fullness of joy that comes from loving God, but it’s still hard to do. Despite the difficulty, I thank God that He has shown me how to love through His son. When I was completely unlovable, He laid down His life for me. He showed us the greatest act of love on the cross. And now, according to 1 John 4:19, “we love because He first loved us.”
-Smart
-Mark 12:30-31
Now that the year is just about half over, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the year so far. My key verse for 2018 is Mark 12:30-31. These are familiar verses, which can tend to make me overlook the significance of these verses. I chose these verses because I wanted to refocus my mind and heart on loving God and loving others.
I started the year by choosing a Bible reading plan that would take me through the entire Bible by the end of the year. I had a lot of energy and passion for this Bible reading plan because I had just come back from a retreat and felt encouraged to pursue God more seriously. As far as I can remember, I don’t believe I’ve ever been very consistent in following a Bible reading plan. I’ve always fallen in and out of the habit of reading God’s Word. I always knew the importance of reading the Bible, but struggled to maintain a consistent daily reading of the Word.
After almost half the year, I’m happy to say that I’ve been diligent in my Bible reading plan. I’ve followed the plan almost every day, and the days that I did miss, I was quick to catch up on the reading. I’ve read books of the Bible that I’ve never read before previously, which has been a great learning experience. I’ve also read books of the Bible that I’ve read many times before, but I’ve still been encouraged by it.
Unfortunately, although my reading habits have been quite good, I still struggled with spending quality time with God in prayer. As I prepared to write this reflection, I realized that a big reason that I struggle with prayer is that I don’t find myself enjoying it. It’s almost crazy when I think about the fact that I somehow don’t enjoy spending time with the creator God, who loves me unconditionally. He even gave up Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for my sins. How can I not enjoy spending time in prayer with a God like this?
There are many things that I enjoy doing, but there is one thing I enjoy doing more than almost anything else- playing basketball. I can’t really explain why I like playing basketball so much- all I can say is that I really enjoy it. I look forward to the days where I can play, and when I do play, I never want to stop. Some of the most dangerous words you can say to me while playing basketball are “one more game?”
Despite my love for basketball, basketball will never love me back. I can devote my life to playing basketball, but basketball will never love me. This sounds like a weird statement, but it illustrates a truth I’ve been learning recently. People do not only desire to be loved, they desire to love. I believe this is why people have pets. Of course they enjoy being loved by their dog or cat, but I think they enjoy showing love even more so. I believe that all people enjoy the act of loving something or someone.
I believe this desire to love has been placed in us by our God. A question that I’ve had for a long time is why it’s so important in Christian doctrine that our God is a triune God. Why does God have to be three in one? Why not just one? Ravi Zacharias, an apologist that I listen to on occasion, mentioned that one reason it is important that there is a Trinity is because it explains where love began. Love always requires an object to be loved. It is like a phone call- you cannot call nothing, you must have someone to call.
This brings the question of who God loved before the world was created. If God is love, surely He must have loved for all eternity. Before God created man and woman, love existed between the members of the Trinity. The Father loved the Son, the Son loved the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit loved the Father. There was perfect love between the members of the Trinity.
When God created man, He not only created something that He could love, but something that could love Him back. However, man chose to love something other than God. He chose to love the knowledge of good and evil. When Adam sinned against God, it broke the love between man and God. The love was now one-sided, as now God loved Adam fully but Adam didn’t love God fully.
One-sided love is incomplete love. Love wasn’t meant to be this way. The Trinity had perfect love because each part loved the others. God created man to be loved and to love. Only when love is complete can man experience the fullness of joy. I believe this is why Jesus says in Mark 12:30 that the greatest commandment is to love God. God isn’t demanding that we love Him because He needs our love, His love is already perfect within the parts of the Trinity. He is commanding us to love because He wants us to experience the fullness of joy. He is a loving God, not a needy God.
As I’ve been reflecting on these thoughts, I realize that maybe I don’t enjoy God because I don’t fully love Him. When I moved to Dallas, I moved away from a large church that I participated heavily in. I was in the praise team, I led the college ministry, I sang in special songs, and did a lot of other things. These are all great things to participate in, but I’m starting to realize that these things may have replaced a personal relationship with God. Once I no longer could do those things by being in Dallas, I realized how shallow my prayer life was.
I heard a message at HPUMC that really convicted my heart. The pastor was speaking about using this summer as an opportunity to really spend time in God’s word and in prayer. Of course, his message had more content to it, but for the sake of brevity I won’t go into much detail. I remember thinking that I wanted to accept this challenge and really focus on my quiet time with God. I pray that through this I can learn to love God more fully.
This all sounds great, but it is still very challenging. I keep asking myself how I can really start loving God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind and all my strength. I want to experience the fullness of joy that comes from loving God, but it’s still hard to do. Despite the difficulty, I thank God that He has shown me how to love through His son. When I was completely unlovable, He laid down His life for me. He showed us the greatest act of love on the cross. And now, according to 1 John 4:19, “we love because He first loved us.”
-Smart
The Image of God
"So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them."
-Genesis 1:27
I actually meant to write this post about the image of God in 2015, but somehow three years have passed without me writing on this topic. When the 2018 New Year started, I started a Bible reading plan that starts in the book in Genesis. As I read Genesis 1, I found myself thinking about what the "image of God" is once again. Now that I've had some time to gather my thoughts, I figured I would finally write this blog post.
In Genesis 1, God creates the world in six days. He creates light, the earth, the sky, land and sea, vegetation, night and day, animals of water and sky, animals of the land, and finally man. Out of everything that He created, only man is created in God's image. What significance does this bear? What does it mean to be created "in the image" of God?
When I think of what an "image" is, I immediately think of a picture (i.e. Google images). What would you find if you searched for an image of the President? You would probably find pictures of the President. The image of the President bears many resemblances to him, such as his facial features. In other words, the image captures the likeness of the President. In the same way, when God created us in His image, we have the likeness of God. What are some of these likenesses? We have a spirit, we have emotions and we have an intellect. All of these things are a result of being created in the image of God.
If you think again about the picture of the President, you quickly realize that although the image can capture the likeness of the President, it is not of the same nature as the President. The picture may bear a resemblance to the President, but it does not breathe, think, or feel. There are aspects of the President that are not shared by the image. Similarly, there are aspects of God that we do not share, such as His omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence.
What implications does the image of God have on our lives? The purpose of an image is to capture the likeness of the subject of the image. Our purpose is to capture the likeness of God. However, an image can be distorted by imperfections such as dirt or tears. Since we do not share in the omnipotence, omniscience and omnipotence of God, we cannot always understand Him. When He is trying to perfect His image onto our lives, we can't always see what He is doing. Thus, we doubt Him and turn to our own desires and plans. This creates dirt and tears (sin) in our image, which separates us from the image that God is trying to create in us.
No one is immune from sin. Everyone falls short of being a perfect reflection of God's image. We always fall short because although we share in the likeness of God, we do not share completely in His nature. Anything that is created will never fully share in the nature of the creator. Only something that is begotten is of the same nature as the one who begot it. This is why the Bible says that Jesus is the only begotten one of God. Jesus was the only to have walked on this earth that completely shared in the nature of God. Furthermore, Jesus was the only one who could rescue us from our sin and imperfections because only He could live a perfect life.
Knowing we can never be a perfect reflection of the image of God, what are we supposed to do? In the gospel, there is a story of the Pharisees and Herodians trying to trick Jesus into upsetting the people. They ask Jesus whether it is okay to pay the tax to Caesar or not. They knew that no matter how Jesus answered this question, He would inevitably upset either the Roman government or the taxpayers.
Instead of answering the question straightaway, He asks His questioners a question. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it. Whose image is this? And whose inscription? (Mark 12:15-16)" They respond correctly by saying that it is Caesar's image on the denarius. Jesus then says "give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." What is Jesus implying here? He is saying that because the denarius bears the image of Caesar on it, it belongs to Caesar. As such, it is the duty of those who own the denarius to give it back to Caesar. The natural follow up question we should ask is "what belongs to God?" Instead of answering the question, let me ask this- whose image in on you?
-Smart
-Genesis 1:27
I actually meant to write this post about the image of God in 2015, but somehow three years have passed without me writing on this topic. When the 2018 New Year started, I started a Bible reading plan that starts in the book in Genesis. As I read Genesis 1, I found myself thinking about what the "image of God" is once again. Now that I've had some time to gather my thoughts, I figured I would finally write this blog post.
In Genesis 1, God creates the world in six days. He creates light, the earth, the sky, land and sea, vegetation, night and day, animals of water and sky, animals of the land, and finally man. Out of everything that He created, only man is created in God's image. What significance does this bear? What does it mean to be created "in the image" of God?
When I think of what an "image" is, I immediately think of a picture (i.e. Google images). What would you find if you searched for an image of the President? You would probably find pictures of the President. The image of the President bears many resemblances to him, such as his facial features. In other words, the image captures the likeness of the President. In the same way, when God created us in His image, we have the likeness of God. What are some of these likenesses? We have a spirit, we have emotions and we have an intellect. All of these things are a result of being created in the image of God.
If you think again about the picture of the President, you quickly realize that although the image can capture the likeness of the President, it is not of the same nature as the President. The picture may bear a resemblance to the President, but it does not breathe, think, or feel. There are aspects of the President that are not shared by the image. Similarly, there are aspects of God that we do not share, such as His omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence.
What implications does the image of God have on our lives? The purpose of an image is to capture the likeness of the subject of the image. Our purpose is to capture the likeness of God. However, an image can be distorted by imperfections such as dirt or tears. Since we do not share in the omnipotence, omniscience and omnipotence of God, we cannot always understand Him. When He is trying to perfect His image onto our lives, we can't always see what He is doing. Thus, we doubt Him and turn to our own desires and plans. This creates dirt and tears (sin) in our image, which separates us from the image that God is trying to create in us.
No one is immune from sin. Everyone falls short of being a perfect reflection of God's image. We always fall short because although we share in the likeness of God, we do not share completely in His nature. Anything that is created will never fully share in the nature of the creator. Only something that is begotten is of the same nature as the one who begot it. This is why the Bible says that Jesus is the only begotten one of God. Jesus was the only to have walked on this earth that completely shared in the nature of God. Furthermore, Jesus was the only one who could rescue us from our sin and imperfections because only He could live a perfect life.
Knowing we can never be a perfect reflection of the image of God, what are we supposed to do? In the gospel, there is a story of the Pharisees and Herodians trying to trick Jesus into upsetting the people. They ask Jesus whether it is okay to pay the tax to Caesar or not. They knew that no matter how Jesus answered this question, He would inevitably upset either the Roman government or the taxpayers.
Instead of answering the question straightaway, He asks His questioners a question. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it. Whose image is this? And whose inscription? (Mark 12:15-16)" They respond correctly by saying that it is Caesar's image on the denarius. Jesus then says "give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." What is Jesus implying here? He is saying that because the denarius bears the image of Caesar on it, it belongs to Caesar. As such, it is the duty of those who own the denarius to give it back to Caesar. The natural follow up question we should ask is "what belongs to God?" Instead of answering the question, let me ask this- whose image in on you?
-Smart
Key Verse 2018
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”
-Mark 12:30-31
2017 was one of the most unique years I have ever experienced. I lived in Dallas, cooked for myself, and worked full time. Never in my life had I done any of these things for the span of a whole year. I learned how to take care of myself without the help of my family, which was difficult yet rewarding. Living on my own for a year made me realize how much my parents did for me, which I am extremely grateful for today.
As in every year, there were both challenges and successes in 2017. The biggest challenge for me was adjusting to full time work while at the same time taking care of myself. There were times in the spring and summer of 2018 were my workload got very intense, which forced me to work extra hours often. This definitely put a toll on me, as I struggled to find time and energy to do things like exercise, cook, go to the doctor, and most importantly, spend time with God. Rather than do these things, I chose to play videogames, watch TV, or sleep. My mind and body felt so tired, and rather than turn to God I turned to worldly things.
On the flip side, one of the biggest successes was starting Dallas UBF with Jonathan, Karen, Brian, and Scott. None of us had lived in Dallas until roughly two years ago, so I could see God’s hand in placing us all here at this time. I truly believe God has something planned here through us because He has placed each of us here. I cannot lie and say that starting a small house church ministry was easy. In fact, it was often disappointing. Coming from a fairly large church in Maryland, Dallas UBF felt so small despite being in a big city.
Karen would sometimes ask me to go to campus with her to do outreach, and we would spend time praying and talking to students. Many of the students were friendly, but were already attending other churches in the Dallas area. One moment of success was when one student agreed to study the Bible with Karen after we spoke to her on the SMU campus. By God’s grace, Karen also got a job on SMU which allows her to be among the students we are hoping to reach. I pray that I can spend more time going to campus and asking students to study the Word of God.
My key verse for 2017 was Matthew 13:31-32 which reads, “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.’” My hope for 2017 was that through consistent Bible reading and prayer, God would grow the seed of His Kingdom in my life.
Unfortunately I cannot say that I was very consistent in my quiet time with God. However, despite my shortcomings, I believe God was helping me grow. Through the Mid-Atlantic Summer Bible Conference, I was convicted to being writing down my struggles in a journal. I have never been very good at journaling, so it was hard for me to keep doing it. As I started writing my thoughts, I realized how much I needed God’s grace. I prayed for Him to guide me and help me overcome my struggles with sin.
On the final days of 2017, I was given the privilege to help lead worship at Washington UBF’s youth group retreat. I was encouraged to see students from the east coast chapters come together to hear God’s Word. The speaker was Richard Lee, who I thought did a great job inspiring the students to love God’s Word. As the students understood more of God’s heart through His Word, I saw a noticeable change in their attitude during worship. They began to sing out rather than stand there silently. I also believe I saw their genuine hearts in prayer during the ministry times. I hope that they would continue to hunger after God in 2018.
One thought that stuck out to me at the retreat was that we are not slaves of God, but sons of God. A slave receives a wage for his work, but a son receives an inheritance regardless of his work. A person who tries to earn God’s favor as a slave will never experience the inheritance and joy of God. They will spend their entire lives trying to work for God’s love, never realizing that God’s love is not earned. On the other hand, a son of God already knows the Father loves him. Instead of working to earn God’s favor, they work as a response to God’s love. A lover will always outwork a worker.
My key verse for 2018 is Mark 12:30-31. Prior to these verses, Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is. He responds by saying: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” I want to hold onto these verses in obedience to God’s command. Jesus proclaims that these are the greatest commandments because “All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 22:40).” Everything that God commands us to do is based on our love for Him. If we try to earn God’s favor without love, our lives will be miserable. However, if we do everything out of love for God and other people, our lives will be filled with joy.
I used to wonder why Jesus doesn’t simply say that the greatest command is to “love God and love others.” Why does He say “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”? A year or two ago I came to an understanding of why God wrote the commandment in this way. If you consider the essence of a person, you must consider these four things- physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual nature. When Jesus tells us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, He is saying to love God with our entire being. We cannot leave out any part of ourselves when loving God.
The best way to love God in this way is through worship. Worship is the best way to engage the entire nature of our being as an act of love. Ravi Zacharias often says this quote about worship that I really love: “worship is the submission of all of our nature to God, quickening of conscience by His holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by His beauty, opening of the heart to His love, and submission of will to His purpose. All this gathered in adoration is the greatest expression of which we are capable.” My hope for 2018 is that I spend more time each day in worship to God as a response to His love for me. I want to love God and love others with all of my being.
-Smart
-Mark 12:30-31
2017 was one of the most unique years I have ever experienced. I lived in Dallas, cooked for myself, and worked full time. Never in my life had I done any of these things for the span of a whole year. I learned how to take care of myself without the help of my family, which was difficult yet rewarding. Living on my own for a year made me realize how much my parents did for me, which I am extremely grateful for today.
As in every year, there were both challenges and successes in 2017. The biggest challenge for me was adjusting to full time work while at the same time taking care of myself. There were times in the spring and summer of 2018 were my workload got very intense, which forced me to work extra hours often. This definitely put a toll on me, as I struggled to find time and energy to do things like exercise, cook, go to the doctor, and most importantly, spend time with God. Rather than do these things, I chose to play videogames, watch TV, or sleep. My mind and body felt so tired, and rather than turn to God I turned to worldly things.
On the flip side, one of the biggest successes was starting Dallas UBF with Jonathan, Karen, Brian, and Scott. None of us had lived in Dallas until roughly two years ago, so I could see God’s hand in placing us all here at this time. I truly believe God has something planned here through us because He has placed each of us here. I cannot lie and say that starting a small house church ministry was easy. In fact, it was often disappointing. Coming from a fairly large church in Maryland, Dallas UBF felt so small despite being in a big city.
Karen would sometimes ask me to go to campus with her to do outreach, and we would spend time praying and talking to students. Many of the students were friendly, but were already attending other churches in the Dallas area. One moment of success was when one student agreed to study the Bible with Karen after we spoke to her on the SMU campus. By God’s grace, Karen also got a job on SMU which allows her to be among the students we are hoping to reach. I pray that I can spend more time going to campus and asking students to study the Word of God.
My key verse for 2017 was Matthew 13:31-32 which reads, “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.’” My hope for 2017 was that through consistent Bible reading and prayer, God would grow the seed of His Kingdom in my life.
Unfortunately I cannot say that I was very consistent in my quiet time with God. However, despite my shortcomings, I believe God was helping me grow. Through the Mid-Atlantic Summer Bible Conference, I was convicted to being writing down my struggles in a journal. I have never been very good at journaling, so it was hard for me to keep doing it. As I started writing my thoughts, I realized how much I needed God’s grace. I prayed for Him to guide me and help me overcome my struggles with sin.
On the final days of 2017, I was given the privilege to help lead worship at Washington UBF’s youth group retreat. I was encouraged to see students from the east coast chapters come together to hear God’s Word. The speaker was Richard Lee, who I thought did a great job inspiring the students to love God’s Word. As the students understood more of God’s heart through His Word, I saw a noticeable change in their attitude during worship. They began to sing out rather than stand there silently. I also believe I saw their genuine hearts in prayer during the ministry times. I hope that they would continue to hunger after God in 2018.
One thought that stuck out to me at the retreat was that we are not slaves of God, but sons of God. A slave receives a wage for his work, but a son receives an inheritance regardless of his work. A person who tries to earn God’s favor as a slave will never experience the inheritance and joy of God. They will spend their entire lives trying to work for God’s love, never realizing that God’s love is not earned. On the other hand, a son of God already knows the Father loves him. Instead of working to earn God’s favor, they work as a response to God’s love. A lover will always outwork a worker.
My key verse for 2018 is Mark 12:30-31. Prior to these verses, Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is. He responds by saying: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” I want to hold onto these verses in obedience to God’s command. Jesus proclaims that these are the greatest commandments because “All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 22:40).” Everything that God commands us to do is based on our love for Him. If we try to earn God’s favor without love, our lives will be miserable. However, if we do everything out of love for God and other people, our lives will be filled with joy.
I used to wonder why Jesus doesn’t simply say that the greatest command is to “love God and love others.” Why does He say “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”? A year or two ago I came to an understanding of why God wrote the commandment in this way. If you consider the essence of a person, you must consider these four things- physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual nature. When Jesus tells us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, He is saying to love God with our entire being. We cannot leave out any part of ourselves when loving God.
The best way to love God in this way is through worship. Worship is the best way to engage the entire nature of our being as an act of love. Ravi Zacharias often says this quote about worship that I really love: “worship is the submission of all of our nature to God, quickening of conscience by His holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by His beauty, opening of the heart to His love, and submission of will to His purpose. All this gathered in adoration is the greatest expression of which we are capable.” My hope for 2018 is that I spend more time each day in worship to God as a response to His love for me. I want to love God and love others with all of my being.
-Smart
Ordinary Miracles
"God saw all the He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning- the sixth day."
-Genesis 1:31
In recent times it seems there has been a movement away from religion, specifically Christianity. People maintain the idea that science disproves the possibly of there being a god. They believe that science is able to adequately explain all that we see and observe so there is no room for belief in a god. In this new worldview, science is the only rational explanation for the world and everything in it.
If you've read my blog at all, you'll know that I disagree with that worldview. I do agree that science is able to help us explain many things, but it cannot explain everything. For example, science can explain why humans need to breathe but it cannot explain how life was breathed into the first human. Of course there are many theories as to how people came to be, such as the big bang and evolution, but I don't believe these theories are adequate.
While I could write extensively about things that science can't explain, I actually want to talk about the things that science can explain. Before I get into that, I want to describe why I was thinking about this subject in the first place. In the Bible, there are accounts that talk about miracles that Jesus performed. These miracles were events that happened that can only be explained by supernatural forces, in this instance, the power of God through Jesus Christ. Many people who believe in the scientific worldview claim that these miracles either never happened or were exaggerated accounts of ordinary events. In other words, they believe that nothing can happen that cannot be explained by science.
Again, I don't want to discuss whether or not these miracles really happened or not, although I do believe they did happen. Instead, I want to explore the idea that a scientific explanation nullifies the existence of God. The word "miracle" implies something that isn't ordinary. For example, when Jesus walked on water, we consider it a miracle because ordinarily, people cannot walk on water, they sink. However, what if the very things we consider ordinary are actually miraculous in nature?
To help explain my point, let me pose a question. If I gave you a pair for dice and asked you to roll them a hundred times, would you expect to get the same number every time? If you did happen to roll the same number a hundred times in a row, would you consider that ordinary or not? Of course you wouldn't find that ordinary! You would probably assume that I had altered the dice in some way as to make them roll the same number every time.
If we consider it extraordinary that the dice behaved the same way each time, why do we consider it ordinary that things in nature behave the same way every time? Is it more likely that when an apple falls, it falls at the same speed every time or that it falls at different speeds? Is it really ordinary that water boils at a specific temperature (100°C) every time? Is it not miraculous that if I apply a certain voltage through a certain resistance, I get the same amount of current every time?
My point is that maybe the very fact that we can explain things with science is a miracle in itself. Going back to the dice example, the fact that you rolled the same number each time led you to believe that the dice were designed in a certain way. You would not infer that the dice were random in nature. Similarly, when we see things around us behaving according to the laws of science, we should believe that there is someone who designed it that way. Maybe instead of science removing the need to believe in God, it actually requires it.
-Smart
-Genesis 1:31
In recent times it seems there has been a movement away from religion, specifically Christianity. People maintain the idea that science disproves the possibly of there being a god. They believe that science is able to adequately explain all that we see and observe so there is no room for belief in a god. In this new worldview, science is the only rational explanation for the world and everything in it.
If you've read my blog at all, you'll know that I disagree with that worldview. I do agree that science is able to help us explain many things, but it cannot explain everything. For example, science can explain why humans need to breathe but it cannot explain how life was breathed into the first human. Of course there are many theories as to how people came to be, such as the big bang and evolution, but I don't believe these theories are adequate.
While I could write extensively about things that science can't explain, I actually want to talk about the things that science can explain. Before I get into that, I want to describe why I was thinking about this subject in the first place. In the Bible, there are accounts that talk about miracles that Jesus performed. These miracles were events that happened that can only be explained by supernatural forces, in this instance, the power of God through Jesus Christ. Many people who believe in the scientific worldview claim that these miracles either never happened or were exaggerated accounts of ordinary events. In other words, they believe that nothing can happen that cannot be explained by science.
Again, I don't want to discuss whether or not these miracles really happened or not, although I do believe they did happen. Instead, I want to explore the idea that a scientific explanation nullifies the existence of God. The word "miracle" implies something that isn't ordinary. For example, when Jesus walked on water, we consider it a miracle because ordinarily, people cannot walk on water, they sink. However, what if the very things we consider ordinary are actually miraculous in nature?
To help explain my point, let me pose a question. If I gave you a pair for dice and asked you to roll them a hundred times, would you expect to get the same number every time? If you did happen to roll the same number a hundred times in a row, would you consider that ordinary or not? Of course you wouldn't find that ordinary! You would probably assume that I had altered the dice in some way as to make them roll the same number every time.
If we consider it extraordinary that the dice behaved the same way each time, why do we consider it ordinary that things in nature behave the same way every time? Is it more likely that when an apple falls, it falls at the same speed every time or that it falls at different speeds? Is it really ordinary that water boils at a specific temperature (100°C) every time? Is it not miraculous that if I apply a certain voltage through a certain resistance, I get the same amount of current every time?
My point is that maybe the very fact that we can explain things with science is a miracle in itself. Going back to the dice example, the fact that you rolled the same number each time led you to believe that the dice were designed in a certain way. You would not infer that the dice were random in nature. Similarly, when we see things around us behaving according to the laws of science, we should believe that there is someone who designed it that way. Maybe instead of science removing the need to believe in God, it actually requires it.
-Smart
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