Friday, July 29, 2011
Monday, April 12, 2010
Warning to people who think they're saved but are not:
Wise Wise words of a 19th cent pastor: "They say they are saved, and they stick to it they are, and think it wicked to doubt it; but yet they have no reason to warran their confidence. There are those who are ready to be fully assured; there are others to whom it will be death to talk about it. There is a GREAT DIFFERENCE between presumption and full assurance. Full assurance is reasonable: it is based on solid ground. Presumption takes for granted, and with brazen face pronounces that to be its own which it has no right to whatsoever. Beware I pray thee, of presuming thou art saved; but if thou merely sayest, I trust in Jesus," it doth no save thee. If thy heart be renewed, if thou shalt hate the things that thou didst once love, and love the things that thou didn't once hate; if thou hast REALLY repented; if there be a thorough change of mind in thee; if thou be reborn again, then hast thou reason to rejoice: but if there by no vital change, no inward godliness; if there be no love to God, no prayer, no work of the Holy spirit, then thy saying, "I'm saved," is but thine OWN assertion, and it may delude, but it will deliver thee. Our prayer ought to be, "Oh that thou wouldst bless me indeed, with real raith, with real salvation, with the trust in Jesus that is the essential of faith; not with the conceit that begets credulity. God preserve us from imaginary blessings!" - Spurgeon
Friday, March 26, 2010
When it is valid for us to be pissed at others.
I always considered myself to be a fair, level-headed guy.
I usually try not to get mad at someone if they wrong me as long as I can understand where they're coming from:
i.e.
1) if someone is grouchy to me b/c they've had a hard day.
2) if someone steals something from me b/c they don't have much at home.
3) if someone flakes on me b/c they they had to take care of something.
These kinds of things, suck, but for the most part, I've grown up to understand that things come up, people are different. If i were in their shoes, i could see myself acting like them.
But the one thing i couldn't stand was someone who wronged me with the intention to do so:
i.e.
1) Someone who wants make fun of you for the sole purpose of giving himself a laugh.
2) Someone who steals from you b/c he just wants what you have, and he doesn't want to pay for it, and he wants you to suffer.
3) Someone who flakes b/c he doesn't care about your schedule, and he wants you to waste time.
These kinds of things would really get me mad.
And i feel justified in being mad about these things. b/c they did it purposely!
That was the little standard I set for myself, and i passed it off as godly.
It sounds godly right?
Then i read about Joseph.
The guy who was maliciously thrown away in a watering hole by his brothers and then sold to some traders for some money. His brothers intent was evil, to harm.
Joseph eventually becomes the second hand man to Pharaoh in Egypt and he sees his brothers again. (Gen. 45)
What's going through Joseph's mind?
If i was him, i'd think, "ok what was their intent? They were jealous b/c i was the favorite son of dad. They hated me, and they wanted to kill me, but instead they realized that they could make some money by selling me instead of killing me.
Their motivation was bad. Now that i have the chance to exact my anger... I shall"
But what does Joseph say?
"Don't be afriad, i'm not mad at you. You didn't send me here, God did to make sure that our people would get food during the famine." He tells them, don't be angry or distressed b/c it was all part of God's plan!
What this taught me:
In my humanness- i would look to other people's intentions to see if i should be angry or not. I thought that was the right thing to do.
BUT Joseph teaches me- I should look to God's intentions to see his greater purpose even when i am being wronged. God can use and redeem all your experiences (the good ones and ESPECIALLY the bad ones) for his purpose. Pray and find out how.
Tangent:
Bad experiences are the best places to build up testimonies (like Joseph):
- who cares if someone who is a millionaire, has everything he wants, says God is good, he's worthy to be trusted.
- but if someone who has lost family, friends, has nothing but sickness and heartache can say, i trust in God (ala Job), that is one of the greatest testimonies.
- maybe God is building a great testimony in you.
I usually try not to get mad at someone if they wrong me as long as I can understand where they're coming from:
i.e.
1) if someone is grouchy to me b/c they've had a hard day.
2) if someone steals something from me b/c they don't have much at home.
3) if someone flakes on me b/c they they had to take care of something.
These kinds of things, suck, but for the most part, I've grown up to understand that things come up, people are different. If i were in their shoes, i could see myself acting like them.
But the one thing i couldn't stand was someone who wronged me with the intention to do so:
i.e.
1) Someone who wants make fun of you for the sole purpose of giving himself a laugh.
2) Someone who steals from you b/c he just wants what you have, and he doesn't want to pay for it, and he wants you to suffer.
3) Someone who flakes b/c he doesn't care about your schedule, and he wants you to waste time.
These kinds of things would really get me mad.
And i feel justified in being mad about these things. b/c they did it purposely!
That was the little standard I set for myself, and i passed it off as godly.
It sounds godly right?
Then i read about Joseph.
The guy who was maliciously thrown away in a watering hole by his brothers and then sold to some traders for some money. His brothers intent was evil, to harm.
Joseph eventually becomes the second hand man to Pharaoh in Egypt and he sees his brothers again. (Gen. 45)
What's going through Joseph's mind?
If i was him, i'd think, "ok what was their intent? They were jealous b/c i was the favorite son of dad. They hated me, and they wanted to kill me, but instead they realized that they could make some money by selling me instead of killing me.
Their motivation was bad. Now that i have the chance to exact my anger... I shall"
But what does Joseph say?
"Don't be afriad, i'm not mad at you. You didn't send me here, God did to make sure that our people would get food during the famine." He tells them, don't be angry or distressed b/c it was all part of God's plan!
What this taught me:
In my humanness- i would look to other people's intentions to see if i should be angry or not. I thought that was the right thing to do.
BUT Joseph teaches me- I should look to God's intentions to see his greater purpose even when i am being wronged. God can use and redeem all your experiences (the good ones and ESPECIALLY the bad ones) for his purpose. Pray and find out how.
Tangent:
Bad experiences are the best places to build up testimonies (like Joseph):
- who cares if someone who is a millionaire, has everything he wants, says God is good, he's worthy to be trusted.
- but if someone who has lost family, friends, has nothing but sickness and heartache can say, i trust in God (ala Job), that is one of the greatest testimonies.
- maybe God is building a great testimony in you.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Importance of Community
I love the show Community....so Funny!
This post is not about that show.
I was just thinking about how important it was for a Christian to be in community. Not necessarily from a biblical perspective, but just from a "Paul In Lee's" perspective that might have some biblical hints.
Here's the main point: Community promotes spiritual growth; isolation promotes spiritual death. God wants community, Satan wants isolation
Think about it:
High School/Junior High Retreats- Weren't these some of the moments you felt closest to God? Often retreats are called "Spiritual highs" b/c of how people cry and pray on the last day. It gets criticized (i believe wrongly) as just an emotional high that doesn't last when they get back to "reality" But think about it... when you're with Christian brothers and sisters, you wake up early in the morning to do QTs, pray, have three services a day, have small groups and are surrounded by godliness, does it shock you that you feel close to God when you're doing Godly things 24/3? Not me. In fact the thing that people call "spiritual high" seems more like reality to me. And when we get back down the mountain, that seems more "unreal" to me...that's when the distractions of the world creep back in and you're back to living the spiritual low. But in heaven, we'll be with God 24/7/eternity. In Community Forever.
Community in College- for those of you who were really involved in church or Christian clubs in college, think about it, weren't those years times of great spiritual growth? Did a lot of it have to do with the fact that we were surrounded by Christians doing Christian things? Small groups, accountability, prayer meetings, weekday gatherings, fellowship. You had old mentors and younger dongsengs to take care of... that's how the body is supposed to function! not in isolation.
Young Adult life- often this is the hardest stage of a Christian's life... when most people fall away...why? could it be lack of community? lack of accountability? Christian isolation wasn't meant to be.
On top of that, think about the world/Satan's recent attempts at isolating Christians in America:
Internet- in the world of Facebook, Google chat, blogs, the world has gotten smaller, but at the same time, every gets their own cubicle...and its impolite to get in someone's personal space. Internet itself is not bad, but not if it is used as the primary means of building community.
Work/School- Often times we place work and school at such a high priority that other important community things get shafted (small groups, church, fellowship groups)... we say...all they do is share...i'd rather work...i'd rather study, all they're going to do is eat dinner.... but man.. its in that dinner, in that sharing where real life community happens.
Exhortation: for those who are not involved in a church (not just attending)...I encourage you guys, get back into it... your spiritual growth depends on it...
Proverbs 27:17 talks about ironing sharpening iron...if you don't have another iron buddy, you can't get sharpened.
This post is not about that show.
I was just thinking about how important it was for a Christian to be in community. Not necessarily from a biblical perspective, but just from a "Paul In Lee's" perspective that might have some biblical hints.
Here's the main point: Community promotes spiritual growth; isolation promotes spiritual death. God wants community, Satan wants isolation
Think about it:
High School/Junior High Retreats- Weren't these some of the moments you felt closest to God? Often retreats are called "Spiritual highs" b/c of how people cry and pray on the last day. It gets criticized (i believe wrongly) as just an emotional high that doesn't last when they get back to "reality" But think about it... when you're with Christian brothers and sisters, you wake up early in the morning to do QTs, pray, have three services a day, have small groups and are surrounded by godliness, does it shock you that you feel close to God when you're doing Godly things 24/3? Not me. In fact the thing that people call "spiritual high" seems more like reality to me. And when we get back down the mountain, that seems more "unreal" to me...that's when the distractions of the world creep back in and you're back to living the spiritual low. But in heaven, we'll be with God 24/7/eternity. In Community Forever.
Community in College- for those of you who were really involved in church or Christian clubs in college, think about it, weren't those years times of great spiritual growth? Did a lot of it have to do with the fact that we were surrounded by Christians doing Christian things? Small groups, accountability, prayer meetings, weekday gatherings, fellowship. You had old mentors and younger dongsengs to take care of... that's how the body is supposed to function! not in isolation.
Young Adult life- often this is the hardest stage of a Christian's life... when most people fall away...why? could it be lack of community? lack of accountability? Christian isolation wasn't meant to be.
On top of that, think about the world/Satan's recent attempts at isolating Christians in America:
Internet- in the world of Facebook, Google chat, blogs, the world has gotten smaller, but at the same time, every gets their own cubicle...and its impolite to get in someone's personal space. Internet itself is not bad, but not if it is used as the primary means of building community.
Work/School- Often times we place work and school at such a high priority that other important community things get shafted (small groups, church, fellowship groups)... we say...all they do is share...i'd rather work...i'd rather study, all they're going to do is eat dinner.... but man.. its in that dinner, in that sharing where real life community happens.
Exhortation: for those who are not involved in a church (not just attending)...I encourage you guys, get back into it... your spiritual growth depends on it...
Proverbs 27:17 talks about ironing sharpening iron...if you don't have another iron buddy, you can't get sharpened.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Happy Ending!
We have a hope that is unfading.
Although we groan now b/c of the effects of sin in our lives today, we hold on to the promise of a better and greater life in Christ on that last day when He returns in his glory. Of course that last day will be our first day in glory with the Lord.
Inspired from C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia:
"And as (Aslan) spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that i cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."
Although we groan now b/c of the effects of sin in our lives today, we hold on to the promise of a better and greater life in Christ on that last day when He returns in his glory. Of course that last day will be our first day in glory with the Lord.
Inspired from C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia:
"And as (Aslan) spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that i cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Father's Love by John Q
An old movie by Denzel Washington...
He's about to sacrifice his own heart to give to his own son so that the son can live.
And before he kills himself, this is what he says:
"I just need to tell you a few things. You always listen to your mother. You understand? Do what she tells you to do. She’s your best friend. You tell her you love her every day.
You’re too young for girls right now, but… there’s going to come a time. When it does, you treat them like princesses. ‘Cause that’s what they are.
When you say you’re going to do something… When you say you’re going to do something, you do it. Because your word is your bond, son. It’s all you have.
And money. You make money if you get a chance, even if you got to sell out once in a while. Make as much money as you can. Don’t be stupid like your father. Everything is so much easier with money, son.
Don’t smoke.
Be kind to people. When somebody chooses you… We talked about this. You stand up. You be a man.
You stay away from the bad things, son, please. Don’t get caught up in the bad things. There’s so many great things out there for you.
I’ll never leave you. I’m always with you. Right there. I love you, son."
I think about the Father's love, the love that runs so deep to sacrifice his own life so that his son could live.
Can you imagine how heartbroken the Father would be if he knew that the son was just living life completely disobedient to the Father?
He's about to sacrifice his own heart to give to his own son so that the son can live.
And before he kills himself, this is what he says:
"I just need to tell you a few things. You always listen to your mother. You understand? Do what she tells you to do. She’s your best friend. You tell her you love her every day.
You’re too young for girls right now, but… there’s going to come a time. When it does, you treat them like princesses. ‘Cause that’s what they are.
When you say you’re going to do something… When you say you’re going to do something, you do it. Because your word is your bond, son. It’s all you have.
And money. You make money if you get a chance, even if you got to sell out once in a while. Make as much money as you can. Don’t be stupid like your father. Everything is so much easier with money, son.
Don’t smoke.
Be kind to people. When somebody chooses you… We talked about this. You stand up. You be a man.
You stay away from the bad things, son, please. Don’t get caught up in the bad things. There’s so many great things out there for you.
I’ll never leave you. I’m always with you. Right there. I love you, son."
I think about the Father's love, the love that runs so deep to sacrifice his own life so that his son could live.
Can you imagine how heartbroken the Father would be if he knew that the son was just living life completely disobedient to the Father?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
How to identify what your struggles are
Its important to struggle. Anyone who doesn't struggle in the Christian life is living life in the clouds. The reality is that we all have sins, the problem is we don't like to struggle with them...
Identifying the things that Satan tempts you with is one of the first steps to knowing, confessing, repenting, and living a transformed life with God.
Well, how can we find out what our struggles are?
Last night i told myself, wake up early, pray to God for strength to live the day for Him. Before you do ANYTHING ELSE.
As soon as i woke up, there were so many things in my mind:
"Sleep in, you don't have to REALLY wake up until later...you don't have any appointments, classes or anything..." But i still get myself to get up
"Turn on the TV, see what's on ESPN. What if some crazy news happened since last night?" But i still manage to get to my desk to do QTs.
"Turn on the computer, just look through your Facebook, or Inside UCLA? or Email?" But i manage to keep the internet closed.
"You should work on your school work, get ahead...or at least ministry stuff, you shouldn't slack on that...this is God's work, are you going to put it aside? You're a pastor!"
(FYI, i don't REALLY have these voices in my head, but i REALLY do have these pulls in the morning)
The way i identified these temptations was that, after all that, i thought...why do i want to do anything BUT spend time with God? What's wrong with me? Shouldn't i love to spend time with God? I know that if i spend time with him, i'll be better for it for the rest of the day. I know for a fact that when i spend time with Him, i'll find joy and peace and comfort...why do i feel the pull to do anything else but?
And then i realized that its Satan's deception. He wants us to worship anything besides God. The way he does that is by making us want us to worship created things over the creator(Romans 1). TV, internet, work, school. None of these are bad things. But Satan tries to make you place it over God.
When the things that you do/have become more important than God himself, then you know there's a problem.... there's some idol worshiping going on somewhere. Search your heart...
What distractions are presented to you when you want to seek God?
Identifying the things that Satan tempts you with is one of the first steps to knowing, confessing, repenting, and living a transformed life with God.
Well, how can we find out what our struggles are?
Last night i told myself, wake up early, pray to God for strength to live the day for Him. Before you do ANYTHING ELSE.
As soon as i woke up, there were so many things in my mind:
"Sleep in, you don't have to REALLY wake up until later...you don't have any appointments, classes or anything..." But i still get myself to get up
"Turn on the TV, see what's on ESPN. What if some crazy news happened since last night?" But i still manage to get to my desk to do QTs.
"Turn on the computer, just look through your Facebook, or Inside UCLA? or Email?" But i manage to keep the internet closed.
"You should work on your school work, get ahead...or at least ministry stuff, you shouldn't slack on that...this is God's work, are you going to put it aside? You're a pastor!"
(FYI, i don't REALLY have these voices in my head, but i REALLY do have these pulls in the morning)
The way i identified these temptations was that, after all that, i thought...why do i want to do anything BUT spend time with God? What's wrong with me? Shouldn't i love to spend time with God? I know that if i spend time with him, i'll be better for it for the rest of the day. I know for a fact that when i spend time with Him, i'll find joy and peace and comfort...why do i feel the pull to do anything else but?
And then i realized that its Satan's deception. He wants us to worship anything besides God. The way he does that is by making us want us to worship created things over the creator(Romans 1). TV, internet, work, school. None of these are bad things. But Satan tries to make you place it over God.
When the things that you do/have become more important than God himself, then you know there's a problem.... there's some idol worshiping going on somewhere. Search your heart...
What distractions are presented to you when you want to seek God?
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