Chief of Sinners

Matthew 14

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 08:18:56 GMT

I find it interesting that we have the feeding of the 5,000 juxtaposed with Jesus walking on the water. Jesus performs a miracle during the day, and that night the disciples don't even recognise Him, but are overtaken by fear. Even Peter, who's pretty gutsy, freaked out even while walking on water.
How often do we do this in our lives? We see God perform a great miracle for us or someone else, but then not too long after, the winds and storms of the world overtake us, and our doubt threatens to sink us beneath the waves. But Jesus doesn't reproach us. He doesn't disapprove of us. He simply reminds us of His presence, that He's not going to let us sink. And He gives us the strength to carry on, to keep going, even when it feels like our world's going to end. Because He's with us, and the storm isn't going to last forever. The break in the clouds is on the horizon.

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

Then those who were in the boat came andworshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

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Letters 3 and 4

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 18:21:27 GMT

You knew I was going to fall for him when You introduced him to me, didn't You? Of course You did... You knew I'd pay attention to what he has to say and so You chose him as Your mouthpiece. Dangit. You're worse and Dumbledore. Okay, maybe not. At least You have my best interests at heart. But still. That doesn't make my pride smart any less. And I know You don't want me to take his word as gospel either. Because that would be just plain foolish. He is human and fallible and doesn't have everything 100% right either. But honestly, this is getting ridiculous. I want to be able to go to church again without constantly being distracted. It's getting really dang old. And honestly, half the time I just want to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. He just makes me so exasperated. And then I lose my temper and run off my mouth and get myself in trouble. At least I haven't yet. But I just know it's coming. One of us is going to piss the other off and oy vey...
I need You to tame this spitfire spirit of mine. Help me to direct that fire where it will help and nourish rather than damage. Lengthen the fuse on my temper, and remind me of Your presence so I remember to draw on You for strength rather than trying to do it all on my own. You know how I have a tendency to do that.

Gosh. I'm always apologising to You, aren't I? Ugh. But I keep doing crap that requires an apology. And what did I do, but cut off my letter short, and then didn't get back to it until two days later... And it's not like there was a lot of verbal communication in the meantime either. *sigh*
I feel like I'm not even making any progress at all. That I'm stuck in the same phase still. Any changes that have occurred are so minute that it doesn't even feel like they've made a difference. It's just all the same crap on repeat.
I want to be wildly in love with You, not marginally enthused every once in awhile. I want You to infuse every aspect of my days and even nights. My life is so empty without You. All these things that I keep poking my nose back into... they're so worthless. Please help me to see that. To understand it with every part of my mind and my soul. That my heart knowledge would catch up to my head knowledge. Because my heart is so woefully behind. It has hardened so much that only the double-edged Word can pierce it. And even that has been hit and miss. It's frustrating. It just needs to be cracked apart so badly. As much as I know it would hurt, ANYTHING's better than this thrice damned apathy... I don't want to be stuck with this blasé attitude for the rest of my life. Break my heart for what breaks Yours. And don't just break it. Set it on fire. That I wouldn't just be momentarily moved by these things, but that I would be consumed by them and spurred into action.

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Letter 2

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 17:57:36 GMT

Hey it's me again...
Without my meds in my system and with him here, I can't really concentrate unless I write down my thoughts. My mind just wanders.
I just wanted to thank You for the things that You showed me last night. Even though it was late and I definitely was feelinge it in the morning, I learned so much from that short time. I'm sorry I let my short attention span get in the way of real quality face time. Thank You for teaching me despite all of that.

Please help me focus only on You right now. Not my tiredness. Not my worries about life right now. Not on him and what he's doing or whether he's looking over here or not. That's just plain stupid.

Thank You for all of Your blessings today. Thank You so much for all the time I had to organise my thoughts and to figure out what I need to get ready for Monday. I really feel out of my depth without any curriculum to work from. I keep remembering more things that I need to do before then and it's seriously damaging my calm. Please help me to remain focussed and to get everything done that I need to get done. Help my brain not to freeze up like it usually does when I get overwhelmed.

And help me not to worry about staying in Korea. I want so desperately to stay. Of course, You know that. But really, I've come to love it here, problems notwithstanding. I've become part of a community here. And You've taught me so much through being here. I feel like there's so much I can still learn, and not just about Korea. I feel like there's still so much for me to learn about You too. I can't believe I've learned so much in only nine months, but there it is.

Thank You for Arnold. And thank You for my BSF. And for Pastors Dave, Drew, Tae, Dan, Sangmin and all of the others who have come and spoken. I can see such a clear narrative that You've chosen to weave these past nine months, and even further back than that, really. And thank You for Your reproof and gentle correction through these people. I feel like I would still be in the same rut as always if You hadn't sent Arnold as a catalyst. You do such amazing works through Your people. I'm still in awe that You would go through such effort. I almost don't feel like I'm worth it. Thank You for thinking that I'm worth all of it. You are so amazing, beyond anything I've ever known.

And please help me with this whole schpiel with him. I feel like I take about five steps forward and then about ten backwards. And it's slowly driving me nuts. I just want my own mind and my won heart back. I want to be the master of my own heart again. And I don't want to base my relationship with You on my feelings for him. once again, that's just stupid. Please help me to come into control of myself once again. Just help me take my thoughts captive constantly, especially when it interferes with my relationship with You.

Okay, I'm going to wrap it up now. But I ask that You just continue to renew my mind. That I would always be mindful of You and Your awesomeness, even when I'm not here. And help me to glorify You in everything, even in working this weekend.

I love You.
Megan

P.S. Haha, very funny...

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Letter 1

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 17:30:37 GMT

I miss the days when I used to do this.
I think back then I had a journal to write these in as well.
What I need to do is get a book just for Your letters instead of sticking them in amongst all this hodge podge.
But then, you know how easily I get distracted. All the random notes would sneak in regardless.

I've missed You. More than even my family, I think. That kind of missing is just a vaguely dull ache that occasionally flares into something more visceral from time to time. Missing You though... It's an ache, too. But it's deeper. Down in my bones. There's that lonely feeling even when I'm surrounded by people. And then, when I have the chance to spend time with You but do other things instead, that ache underlies everything. And then it's suddenly so late and I've lost my chance for some face time, and it's that sinking feeling like I've just thrown away another four or more hours of my life.

I need You so much. My life feels so empty without You there. And I need You to help me not make so many stupid decisions. I know You must cringe at some of the crap I pull. I know I do... I've tuned out that still small voice for so long that now that I want to listen, I have to strain to hear it. I've lost the ability to consider the consequences of my actions before I jump in pell-mell. Like with the Great Christmas Glitter Debacle of 2012. That was stupid. No doubt about it. I could have saved a whole lot of time and energy if I'd just thought it out beforehand instead of just winging it.

And then there's this whole thing with him. I feel like I'm cheating on You, which I know is not the case at all. You want me to find someone. Or rather, You want me to meet the right one. But I want to get to know You better first. Because I feel like even after 11 years of 'knowing' You, I don't really know You. But my mind keeps gravitating back to him, even though I don't want it to. I like him a lot, though. Like a lot a lot. Heart, skipping beats, saying stuff that probably cements my idiocy in his mind, the whole schpiel. And I'd rather that wasn't the case.

I think I probably like him because he reminds me of You. Which is progress, I guess. I used to fall for absolute jerks who treated me horribly. So the fact that I've fallen for someone who is at least semi-concerned for my emotional and spiritual well-being is actually kind of a big thing. But I'm trying my darndest NOT to form emotional attachments to guys I should be viewing in a more brotherly fashion. And that's not working out so well for the most part. If I think about it, I've been doing this since kindergarten. Which is kind of alarming, really. This kind of behaviour is not something that should perpetuate for such a long time. It's unhealthy, and it's just stupid. I want to have normal relationships with the opposite sex. I'm so grateful for Cody and Rizz at least. Sort of the big brothers I never had. But the rest. It's destroying my sanity one bit at a time.

I need Your help. Big time. Help me to actually focus on something worthwhile for once. Keep drawing my mind away from him. Especially when it's infringing on face time with You. And help me to become more like You. I can only do so much here on my end. And it doesn't always go so well either. Basically, I suck when I'm trying to be self sufficient, and I'm too proud to ask for help. So here's me, asking for help. I desperately need it. I love You so much. Thanks for listening to me unload on You. I'll talk to You later.

Love,
Megan

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My Love

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:01:31 GMT

My One True Love is called Faithful and True.
He loves me with an Everlasting Love, one so great that He would do anything to save me. Even die.
And He did. He died a horrific death, after hours of torture and ridicule. And even though I am a harlot, flirting with disaster and falling into the same traps over and over again, He still cherishes me.

I want to be worth that kind of Love.
I don't want to be a harlot any longer.

Lord Jesus, cleanse my heart and mind. I want to be as head over heels for You as You are for me.

Light a fire in my heart.

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Nine utterly wasted years...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:51:33 GMT

Nothing of eternal value whatsoever.

Oh my Love.
I'm so sorry...

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Fighting!!!

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:23:01 GMT

Message: Fighting!!!
Speaker: Pastor Dave Hwang
Scripture: Esther 3:1-6
"After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes."

Agagite- descendant of King Agag of the Amalekites
Mordecai- descendant of King Saul Holy crap... poetic justice much?

I Samuel 15
Amalekites- fierce opponents to the ways of God
Saul's command was to kill all of the Amalekites

He fails to follow through
Spares King Agag ----> Agagites

There will always be a threat: Someone standing in fierce opposition tot he ways of God
The building of God's people always takes place in a hostile environment.

Just because the opposition isn't visible doesn't mean it isn't hostile.

Matthew 16:23
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Wherever the people of God are, there will be forces working in opposition.

Genesis 3:15
"And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman
    and between your offspring and hers
he will crush your head
    and you will strike his heel."

Enmity between humanity and the enemy.
Hostility is the given
The reality of spiritual war

Ephesians 6:10-12
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

II Corinthians 10:3-6
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete."

This reality not to be trivialised or secularised.
Forces us to reassess our priorities.

Helps us to make our decisions accordingly

It wasn't until Haman surfaced that Esther became the woman we know and respect.
She realised the very real threat.
Rose up in her God-given role

I Peter 5:8
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

When we see there is a clear and present danger, it should change everything.
The undergirding is that we are aliens and wanderers.
Battle of coming into the Promised Land in a New Testament context.

Satan's greatest deception: Indifference to or ignorance of his existence.

Mighty warriors - valiant in Jesus' name
Valley of dry bones in Ezekiel- God raising up a mighty army

How do we fight?
Not against people- no need to hate people
Go to the source- fight against those powers
Not with physical weapons- not the way the world fights

1) Truth- sound doctrine
Need to know the Word

Sword of Truth
All the power we need
We don't know the Truth of the Word of God: No wonder we're getting beat down

We need to know the schemes of our enemy

He deceives the people of God to live with sin un-dealt with: Contaminates everything

Rebellion
We need to take sin seriously
Shun what is wicked
Satan wants sin in our lives- yeast

He deceives us to have split allegiance

A house divided can't stand
A servant cannot have two masters: You will love one and hate the other
Idols of good- things that aren't inherently bad that become more important than God
Divides our hearts

He blinds us to our true identity

Become desensitised to our true identity
Royal rulers - might warriors - leaders of the peoples
We think too little of ourselves
We are trading the eternal for the temporal
Trading in the Glory of God for the Glory of Man

2) Pray- the only way to fight things in spiritual realms
Angels go to war on our behalf

Ephesians 6: All about prayer
Pray on all occasions

Matter of intimacy and function
Prayer is the act of keeping us alert and awake in the spiritual realm
The one thing Satan will attack is our prayer life

Intimacy in God and power in God
We need to guard the precious things of God
Our prayer life needs to be fought for.

The foundation for prayer is God's Word.

Engage in spiritual warfare.

All sermons I post from Jubillee Church in Seoul can be found HERE.

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If I Perish, I Perish

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:59:10 GMT

Message: If I Perish, I Perish
Speaker: Pastor Dave Hwang
Scripture: Esther 8:15-17
"When Mordecai left the king's presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of susa held a joyous celebration. For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them."

The place of Community in our Faith

Esther: The farthest geographically and chronologically.

God is the Preserver and Protector of His people.

Purim= Life together is celebrated

Identity as the community of God
Esther highlights the fact that Israel is God's people

Reminded of the calling to live in community and for community.

Became ethnocentrism- national pride

God's community building: Every nation, tribe, people and language

Pentecost Sunday= A modern day Purim

God Himself is a community, in the Trinity
Three beings in perfect unity with one another.

Our primary goal and identity is to build community.

Matthew 6:33
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Build His community

Matthew 16:18
"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."
This rock= the truth of Jesus' Lordship, the foundation of the community of faith

There is an instinctive knowledge of the need for community.

Philippians 2:1-4
"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

vv. 5-11
"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father."

Jesus did this for the sake of community.

Ephesians 4:1-6
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Our lot in life (Our Purim): To build His community in all nations

All sermons I post from Jubillee Church in Seoul can be found HERE.

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Song of the Day- Like Incense by Hillsong

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:09:29 GMT

May my prayer, like incense, rise before You
The lifting of my hands a sacrifice
Oh, Lord Jesus, turn Your eyes upon me
For I know there is mercy in Your sight

Your statutes are my heritage forever
My heart is set on keeping Your decrees
Please still my anxious urge towards rebellion
And let Love keep my will upon its knees

Oh, God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh, God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You

To all creation I can see a limit
But Your commands are boundless and have none
So, Your Word is my joy and meditation
From the rising to the setting of the sun

All Your ways are loving and are faithful
Your road is narrow, but Your burden light
Because You gladly lean to lead the humble
I shall gladly kneel to leave my pride

Oh, God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh, God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You

I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You’ll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

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Naked I Come, Naked I Go

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 16:38:36 GMT

Message: Naked I Come, Naked I Go
Speaker: Pastor Dave Hwang
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
"I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
    I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
    nothing was gained under the sun."

The Vanity of Pleasures and Possessions

Ba'alism- the subjective experience

Fulfillment of basic human need immediately
Ecstasy of feelings
Sensuality

Changed the worship of God
Became more about what God can do for them
To get stuff from God.
"Blessed by God"

I'm rich
I've got more stuff
I feel good

No longer a cry for God's presence, but a cry for God to give them things.
Only pleasant experiences.

Exodus 33
Idol worship with golden calf
Exodus 33:15
Moses gets to see God's back
Awed by His Presence

Ba'alism is alive and well in the world today.
The worship of experience

Sensory participation
Being entertained
"Entertain me. Stimulate my senses."
Sex is everywhere- sex sells everything

Everything boils down to the acquisition of stuff: Lust, gluttony, and indulgence.
Carnal desire- to be satisfied immediately and at all costs

The influence on the people of God has not gone away.
Spiritual struggles of Israel shed light on our own struggles today.

Consumerism
Core of our motives: All about us

Did I get something out of it?
DId it make me feel good?

His will for us isn't to acquire more stuff

You actually don't gain anything. You lose everything.
Matthew 16:26
"What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?"

The worship of God is NOT about us.
Sensory pleasures not the goal of our worship of God.

How much we've let Ba'alism into our Christian lives.

Costco of Church ouch.
"Going shopping"
To get the best according to our own standards
We need to be entertained
Ministry as a menu.

When the need to be satisfied is our primary goal before seeking God, then it's a problem

How do we combat it?

Ecclesiastes 12:13
"Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind."

It's not about us.

The natural outcome of living for yourself is war.
World filled with consumers- selfish ambition and vain conceit
Why the world is the way it is

When we live for ourselves, we really wind up living a foolish life.
Everything we fight so hard for we can't even take with us when we die.

Ecclesiastes 5:13

You can't take it with you.

Telling the truth to people who don't deserve it.
The centre of life is God.
He saves us from ourselves.
Came to show us what true living is all about.

Philippians 2:5-11
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

True blessing: Forgiveness of sins, eternal life after death, communion with God

What are our motives?
To fear God and keep His commandments?
To fear us and keep our commandments?

God made us to worship Him in freedom
Freed us to live like Him
To serve and not be served
To live the way God designed us, in His own image

Old Testament
The Holy of Holies- place where God dwelt on Earth: Centre of Life
Altar for sacrifice- to give and not take

New Testament
On Calvary- where the fullness of His glory was revealed
God incarnate giving Himself as sacrifice for us.

All sermons I post from Jubillee Church in Seoul can be found HERE.

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Gospel Reset Button

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 14:25:56 GMT

Message: Gospel Reset Button
Speaker: Pastor Dave Hwang
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:12-18
"I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

What is crooked cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.

I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.”Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief."

The Vanity of Wisdom or Knowledge

Priestly [The Law], Prophetic [The Prophets], Wisdom [The Wise Men]
Everyday living, and how God's Word applied

Healthy understanding of who God is when these channels were unified.

Isaiah 29:13-14
People who have "wisdom" apart from intimacy with God

Wise men's words were for bettering their lives rather than a relationship with God.
Reducing faith in God to a formula of health and wealth.

Book of Job- prime example
Rejects knowledge, and wisdom reduced to fortune cookie sayings.

Ecclesiastes
False wisdom in the context of prosperity.

In the church and our lives, the amazing wisdom of God has been dissected from the genuine and rich, and reassembled into something tacky.

Truth about God separated from the heart of God.

The vanity of wisdom: Knowledge about God, wisdom taken from God but eschewing God Himself.

Anchoring knowledge to an intimacy and love for God.

Our sole purpose in life: To love God and love others as Christ loved us.

Prosperity gives us false satisfaction so that we're too full to want to love and know God.

Our faith becomes a matter of tradition.

Professional Christianity
Christianity as a production without heart.

Ecclesiastes 3:11
God has put eternity in our hearts.
We will only be satisfied with God.

II Corinthians 8:1
Knowledge puffs up.

Knowledge away from God is a heavy burden.
Wisdom apart from God yields grief.

We have been created for God's Living Water and will only be satisfied with it.

Back to the place where faith was fresh
Go back to the place of the Gospel: A Reset Button to get us back on the right track.

Sober judgement about ourselves.

Romans 12:1-3
I Timothy
You have forsaken your First Love.

I want The Answer: JESUS

Knowing a lot is vastly different from knowing God.

Personal note:
I have a thirst for knowledge.
He loves that about me.
But he wants me to thirst for knowledge about Him.
For the love of Him.

All sermons I post from Jubillee Church in Seoul can be found HERE.

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Song of the Day- How He Loves by John Mark McMillan and David Crowder Band

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 13:17:19 GMT

And He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy

When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realise just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

And oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh, how He loves us, how He loves us all

And He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy

When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realise just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

Oh, how He loves
Yeah, He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves

And we are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking

And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

Oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh, how He loves us, how He loves us all
How He loves

Yeah, He loves us, oh how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us, oh how He loves
Oh I love

Yeah, He loves us, yeah, He loves us
How He loves us, oh, how He loves us all

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An e-mail to my mother, from one of her spiritual mentors.

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 08:52:03 GMT

We are now entering a time when our dependency on God is crucial.

The most important thing we can do is establish a closer relationship with the Lord. We are going to need the power the Lord gives us to resist the devil, who is revealing the power he has over the earth more openly than he has ever revealed his power before. Little things like whether or not coins have "In God We Trust" imprinted on them really is unimportant and are merely tools to keep us too busy to strengthen our connection with the Holy Spirit who resides in us. It is time we resist the devil's clever distraction so that he flees from us. We need to look unto Jesus, the Author and Completer of our faith. We need to claim the promises that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us because we will be facing many hardships in the near future that will try and fill us with fear, and fear is not of God but of Satan. Now, more than ever, we must pray for the Kingdom of God to be within us, and follow God's form of government rather than continue our dependency on doing things the way the world has conditioned us to do things. We must allow the Holy Spirit to cause rivers of living water to flow out of our innermost being so that we can reflect the love of God in all we do. We must watch closely what we speak remembering there is life and death in our words. We can no longer afford to be careless about our commitment to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, but must discipline ourselves to build our relationship with the Godhead so that we can hear the leading of God in critical times.

We must learn how to pray continually and be accustomed to calling upon God at a moment's notice, knowing full well He will answer our call immediately. We are living in a time now when God will be sifting the people who claim to hear His voice from those who are actually willing to listen to His voice and follow His will for their lives no matter how uncomfortable that might be, because they trust Him to be able to change evil into good.

I am not saying I have my life completely under control, but what I am saying is that I'm serious about getting my life under God's control. I do not want the enemy of our souls to be able to snare me in some unexpected trap, so I need God to put on the full armor of God so I can resist the snares of the enemy at all times.

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Self-Reflection

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:16:05 GMT

I've become so self-centred that I've viewed salvation as a bare minimum to be maintained. How far can I go without crossing the line? Obedience should be my focus, not whether i'm going to "make it" or not.
I need to stop seeing my time with God as a time-clock to be punched. Oh, I've filled my quota for the day. I won't do any more of that until tomorrow. NO. My relationship with Him is important and needs to gain priority.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, because He gave nothing less than that for you. He deserves every ounce of your focus, just from being God Himself. What he's done for you is secondary in that you should not focus on what He can do for you, but the fact that He's ALMIGHTY GOD. It's what we've been made for, to worship Him. To acknowledge who He is. What could possibly be more important? NOTHING. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Our hearts should be so brim-full of gratitude and love. But what do we do? We focus on everything but Him. How that must hurt. I know how much it hurts to give my all to someone and have it be utterly rejected. How much greater His hurt must be... =(

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Self-Study in Ephesians 1-3

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:06:04 GMT

Ephesians 1
Paul reminds them of their spiritual heritage.
-This includes background of how it all started

v. 3 Through Christ, we receive all sorts of blessings for the benefit of our souls.

v.9 God is willing to reveal His will to us.

Timeline:
God predestiines- vv.4-5
We hear the Truth and trust in Him- v. 13
We are redeemed and forgiven- v.7
We obtain an inheritance- v.11
We are sealed with the Holy Spirit- v. 13
We are gathered to Him- v. 10

vv. 9-10 "He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans He took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in Him..." The Message

Christ is in charge of everything, authority given Him by God.
v. 23 "At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church." The Message

Ephesians 2
We were taken out of death and alienation to be part of God's family.

We now have life and a citizenship.

If God gave us the option to work for our salvation, we'd just wind up taking all the credit.

The Law has been fulfilled and is no longer applicable in its former form. It's been revamped.

He has united two separate groups of people; his chosen ones and the rest of the world.
-Jews and Gentiles
We are now equals, with the same rights and privileges.

No longer exiles. No longer wandering aimlessly. We have a place to go, and we have a purpose.

With Christ as the crux of everything, the one that holds it all together, we're being made into God's dwelling place. Each person has a part in it.

Ephesians 3
The mystery of God has now been revealed that people who were raised in faith, and the ones who are total newbies are on equal footing.

Paul considers himself the least out of everyone to be doing this.

Christ's strength isn't just a "powering through" kind of strength. It's a fortifying inner strength, that comes as Christ lives within us.

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Self-Study in I Corinthians 11

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:42:32 GMT

vv. 3-16 A lesson in submission

While woman must submit to man, man must also submit to God.
-So God is the ultimate authority
We shouldn't be so focussed on who follows who, but on following God and submitting to His commands.

A man who speaks to God without respect shames both himself and Christ.
A woman who speaks to God without respect shames both herself and her husband.
[If single, does it follow the same pattern as a man?] Yes. Woman submits to God, whether or not she has a husband.

vv. 20-34 Giving Christ the respect He deserves.

Greed and one-up-manship in the Corinthian church resulted in sickness and death. Paul was trying to realign them with the Truth and called them out on their gluttony and greed. He reminded them of what the Lord's Supper symbolised, and how what they were doing was showing Him the gravest disrespect.
He also wanted to get these things worked out in this life so that judgement wouldn't come later on.

Get your house in order.

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Over The Sun

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:25:58 GMT

Message: Over the Sun
Speaker: Pastor Dave Hwang
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
"The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
'Vanity of vanities,' says the Preacher;
'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.'

What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he toils under the sun?
One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
But the earth abides forever.
The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And hastens to the place where it arose.
The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.
All the rivers run into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.
All things are full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.

That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which it may be said,
'See, this is new'?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
There is no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after."

Solomon doesn't refer to himself by his given name, but by his title: The One who Addresses the Assembly

Assembler of the people into the presence of God

Pastor
Minister

A John the Baptist kind of book

Cleansing
Repentance
Purging

Solomon inherited a kingdom of peace and prosperity
Written in the context of abundance

Feast of Tabernacles
-Celebrating God's provision

Risk of forgetting God in times of plenty

If there is a separation between the Blesser and the blessing, we are in dire straits.

The false Gospel results
-The risk for this is high, especiall in times of plenty.

God becomes the means to getting what we want.

To know and value what's really valuable: A relationship with God

He has put eternity in our hearts.

If we separate any part of ourselves from God, we are left holding Death.

Religion taken out of context is Vanity.
We were made to intrinsically value the more valuable things.
-So we will seek after Him - He is the most valuable

Satan keeps filling our lives with things of 'value' outside of God.
We buy right into it.

Hunger for invaluable things because we think they're valuable.

Ecclesiastes cuts through the noise of Satan's deceptions.

A reminder of what's really valuable

Go to the Source
-Why accept counterfeit junk?
-We have access to the real deal

Why do we want goods when we can have God?

Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also.

All sermons I post from Jubillee Church in Seoul can be found HERE.

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Know Your Enemy

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:00:54 GMT

Message: Know Your Enemy
Speaker: Pastor Rob Ramirez
Church: Spirit of Life Church of God

Who is Satan?
What does the Bible say about him?

Changes tactics- changes characteristics

Matthew 4:1-10
The Temptation of Jesus
-Attacks when He's at His weakest
-Studies us and comes to know our weaknesses

Attacks Jesus' physical being
Messes with His head
Attacks his greed

John 8:44
"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
If we aren't serving God, we're serving the devil.

II Corinthians 4:4
"...whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."
The devil's blinded the eyes of unbelievers.

James 4:7
"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

Ephesians 4:26-27
"Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil."
If he gets us in one small area, he can get the rest of us.

What you are like in your personality reveals how you are tempted.
The temptation is tailor-made to the tempted.

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Song of the Day- The Desert Song by Hillsong

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:19:03 GMT

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is Here

This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is Here

All of my life, in every season
You are still God and I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
All of my life, in every season
You are still God and I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is Here

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favour and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seeds I've received I will sow

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Quotes from Walking With God by John Eldredge

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:04:06 GMT

...so God must, from time to time, and sometimes very insistently, disrupt our lives so that we release our grasping of life here and now. Usually through pain. God is asking us to let go of the things we love and have given our hearts to, so that we can give our hearts even more fully to him. He thwarts us in our attempts to make life work so that our efforts fail, and we must face the fact that we don't really look to God for life.

We see God as a means to an end, rather than the end itself. God as the assistant to our life versus God as our life.

It's not that God doesn't want us to be happy. He does. It's just that he knows that until we are holy, we cannot really be happy. Until God has become our all, and we are fully his, we will continue to make idols of the good things he gives us.

We are so committed to arranging for a happy little life that God has to thwart us to bring us back to himself.

But pain does come, and what will we do with it? What does it reveal? What might God be up to? How might he redeem our pain? Those are questions worth asking. Don't waste your pain.

I know I'm not alone in having a hard time believing in the love of God for me (we think he loves everyone else)...

We cannot base our convictions on whether or not we are feeling or experiencing the truth of what God says. It is an arrogant posture, to let our immediate state of being be the judge of whether the Scripture is true for us.

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Self-Study in Matthew

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 12:23:40 GMT

Matthew 1
Some of the 'great' people of the histories are in Jesus' lineage.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Boaz, David, Solomon, Josiah, Zerubbabel, Rahab, Ruth...

Jesus= God Saves
Immanuel= God With Us

Matthew 3
John the Baptist, Elizabeth's son

Preparing the way for Jesus.

v.8 "Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance..."

v.10 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

v.11 "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

Jesus is baptized by John.

Why? He is blameless and Holy. Why is he taking part in an act that we know of as an outward symbol of the death of the sin nature? Is he simply leading by example?

"Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." What the heck does that even mean?

The Message: "Do it. God's work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism." But WHY??? D:

John's miniature sermon to the Pharisees and Saducees:
Talking about right living being more important than going through the motions of religion.

Their lives are either: Green (bearing fruit) or Dead (firewood)

Talks about how Jesus is coming to make things right, to turn our lives upside down to make us Holy like Him. He will change our hearts, which will in turn change us into new beings. Changing us from the inside out. (The renewing of our mind, as in Romans 12:2?)

The true and genuine things find their place alongside God, and the false things go to the rubbish heap.

v. 17 "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Matthew 4
He's led into the desert by the Holy Spirit (?)
-Fasted for over a month

Had to have been physically and psychologically weary from not eating and being in prayer out by himself in the wilderness. This would have left anyone else extremely susceptible to Satan's temptation.

{The enemy always plays on our greatest weaknesses first. Jesus was no exception}

Counters the temptations with Scripture:

Deuteronomy 8:3 Reference to Israel's time in the desert [[Physical hunger isn't the only kind we suffer from]]
Deuteronomy 6:16 [[We are not to toe the line, to try and test God's limits]]
Deuteronomy 6:13 "Worship the Lord your God, and only Him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness" The Message [[God should be the only one that we worship, with our whole heart]]

Matthew 5
v. 8 "Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God." NKJV

"You're blessed when you get your inside world ̶ your mind and heart ̶ put right. Then you can see God in the outside world." The Message

vv.13-14 Salt of the earth metaphor
Light on a hill
-Being light for the world

v.v 27-28 Adultery in the Heart
"But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices ̶ they also corrupt." The Message

vv. 43-47 "I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst... If all you do is love the loveable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that." The Message

v. 48 "In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it." The Message
Oh snap...

Matthew 6
A warning against play-acting your faith in a melodramatic way just to get a pat on the back for being "so pious."

Go about your daily relationship with God like normal.
Pray in secret when you're having your quiet time. Don't announce the fact that OMG, YOU'RE TALKING TO GOD. LIKE, RIGHT NOW. YEP. TALKING TO HIM. RIGHT NAO... T__T
Don't make a big production out of your bouts of fasting, but go about your daily business, just like you normally do.

Don't pray according to some formula, like repeating a phrase that's been formulated to get God to respond if you repeat it a prescribed number of times.

It's kind of ironic that "Our Father..." has become a repetitious and formulaic prayer in the Catholic church, when it's part of the passage that talks about 'vain repetitions'...

vv. 22-23 What you look at winds up taking over who you are. And it's a very difficult process to reverse. Once damage has been done, it's very hard to repair.

v. 24 Sitting on the fence is spiritually impossible.

vv. 25-34 Worrying just gets you all worked up for nothing. There is no point to it. It just sucks away your joy.

Matthew 7
Deal with your own shortcomings before you try to deal with those of others. Your own issues blind you and make it difficult to be an impartial judge. And morally, you have no right to be pointing fingers anyway...

Pealrs before swine illustration- note to self: ask about that

God delights in giving good gifts to His children.

If you want others to treat you well, treat them well first.

Your actions and words reflect the place of your heart. If you delight in bad things and fill your mind with bad things, it will be evident in the way you live.

vv. 21-23 Doing the work of God apart from actual intimacy with Him. DON'T DO IT.

vv. 24-27 We can know the Scriptures backwards and forwards, but if we don't put them into action, we are ultimately foolish, and the lives we've built in such a way will come crashing down around us.

Jesus gives the absolute basics of living a moral life in the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 8
vv. 2-3 The leper who comes to Jesus
"Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
Jesus' reply:
"I am willing; be cleansed."
Wow... ;__;

The centurion's faith:
He believed that Jesus could heal his servant without any visual proof, and knew that His power was so great that He didn't even have to be in the same room as the servant for healing to take place. The centurion recognised Jesus' authority.
Since when have I believed in Him that way?

v. 11 "And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom."
Prophecy of the building of the community of believers. [Revelation 7:9-10]

vv. 19-22 Be willing to leave it all behind

The story of the Gadarene demoniacs
He freed two men who had been the terror of the countryside, and what do the townspeople do? They ask him to leave. What the heck?! T____T

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Addicted to God

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:22:32 GMT

Message: Addicted to God
Speaker: Pastor Drew Shih
Church: Jubilee Church
Scripture: Acts 13:2-3
"As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away."

Above all else, God wants us to know Him and depend on Him.

Fasting helps God's people to depend on Him more.
-Taking away something that mankind usually depends on for survival, in order to depend on God more.

Fasting for intimacy with God.

Psalm 46:1
"God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble."

God wants to be our refuge, our coping mechanism.
-The first place we go

What have you made your refuge?

Internet addiction

Robs us of focus
Robs us of deepening
Robs us of time building relationships with people
Robs us of the finer things of life

God is the only addiction that is worthwhile, that sets us free.

All sermons I post from Jubillee Church in Seoul can be found HERE.

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Self-Study in I Thessalonians 1 and 2

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:01:27 GMT

Note: When I study a passage, my notes usually consist of verses that stood out to me as well as any personal observations (if any) I might have.

Chapter 1
v.3 Jesus is the focus of all three: establishes standard for Christian service, in glorifying God.

v. 5 "For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance..." NKJV

v. 6 Leading by example.

v. 7-9 Being a witness through godly living: The people the Thessalonican church came in contact with gave testimony of their godly living; not just their neighbours, but also travellers passing through.

Chapter 2
v. 4 "...even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts." NKJV

v. 11-12 "...we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory." NKJV

v. 19-20 "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy." NKJV

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Bible Verses Master Post

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 16:18:43 GMT

( Old Testament )

( New Testament )

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