Sunday, April 24, 2011

Thank you for saving me.

"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: 
While we were still sinners, 
Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 
For if when we were God's enemies, 
we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Now only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." - (Romans 5:7-11)

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Once again cared for by the body of Christ.

Monday, April 11, 2011

The Briefing Library: The surprising face of Hillsong

The Briefing Library: The surprising face of Hillsong

Sacrificing what is not mine.

I didn't think I was that nice of a person. Then a friend told me he was envious of me for having the ability to be nice. He may have been joking a little, but initially, I had no idea what he was talking about because I know I can be harsh with people. I get so flustered when people bring up my "good qualities" because I know that they can only come from God and I want to share that with them, but don't know how. I have made certain sacrifices for people who are in need, so I assume that was what my friend was talking about. Though, I cannot take any of the credit. When I see a friend, anyone, who is hurting, it is easy for me to make sacrifices, only by the Spirit of God. Jesus taught me to love, taught me to be humble. The bible taught me that everything I am and have belong to God. I can make sacrifices in my life for others because I know that those aren't mine to being with. My Creator created me, my life, to worship Him. The time and money that I haveare not mine, but God's and I am merely the caretaker of those things. I wait for God to show me what to do with what is His. No, He's already instructed me - "take care of my sheep."

I can make sacrifices because what I give away was meant to be given away. When it does become difficult for me to give, I have lost sight on what is good and I have forgotten to whom I belong.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

But seek first the kingdom of God



“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." - (Matthew 6:25-34 ESV)

When we seek the kingdom of God and desire to do what is good and pleasing to Him, how can we be disappointed? God is good and unchanging. We can always depend on Him. When life does not go the way we want them to, we do not have to worry or be upset because we know that God is sovereign. God is good - all the time! 

Sunday, January 23, 2011

"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever." - John Piper

Friday, December 31, 2010

I love receiving updates from eMi2. Since I first applied to be an intern for them, I've never been so excited to see an email from them than from anybody else. Though my time with eMi was only for a few weeks, God blessed me so much during that time. I'm not just talking about the rare experience I had to work in a rural village of India and at the foothills of the Himalayan Mts, but He granted me an inward peace that I hadn't really experienced since I came back. 

The first few weeks of school, I was feeling very refreshed, ready to take on senior year and ready to see what opportunities my God would put in my path. During the school year, there were many ups and downs, but He never failed to lift me up out of my own mess. And though this is true, it took the latest update from my project leader in India to show me how far I pushed myself away from God. Just seeing the familiar email address reminded me of the closeness I felt from God while in India. It has only been a few months since then, but it feels like I've been away from God for far too long. I need to re-evaluate and I need work on self-discipline.  While I am here, I will be tempted with distractions that keep me from spending time with my God. I should have written this weeks ago, but I knew that by doing so, I'd be keeping myself accountable, and I didn't want to let go of my worldly possessions. I'm still learning. I'm still trying to understand. I know I will fall short. I know I will have doubts. But I believe my God is above all that and He will give me strength to overcome temptations so that I can experience the peace and joy of knowing Him.

Friday, December 24, 2010

God, remind me how great and powerful you are.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Al

Did you ever notice the man panhandling by the B,D station entrance on Grand Street? His name is Al. Please spend some time with him, feed him, be his friend.

Also, why are there so many guys on the streets named Al?

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Psalm 106

"Praise the LORD!
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
  Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD,
or declare all his praise?
  Blessed are they who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times!

Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people;
help me when you save them,
  that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory with your inheritance.

Both we and our fathers have sinned;
we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
  Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
  Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
that he might make known his mighty power.
  He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
  So he saved them from the hand of the foe
and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
  And the waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
  Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.

But they soon forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.
  But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
and put God to the test in the desert;
  he gave them what they asked,
but sent a wasting disease among them.

When men in the camp were jealous of Moses
and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,
  the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and covered the company of Abiram.
  Fire also broke out in their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.

They made a calf in Horeb
and worshiped a metal image.
  They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
  They forgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
  wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
  Therefore he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

Then they despised the pleasant land,
having no faith in his promise.
  They murmured in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the LORD.
  Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
  and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
scattering them among the lands.

Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
  they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
  Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was stayed.
  And that was counted to him as righteousness
from generation to generation forever.

They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account,
  for they made his spirit bitter,
and he spoke rashly with his lips.

They did not destroy the peoples,
as the LORD commanded them,
  but they mixed with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
  They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
  They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons;
  they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was polluted with blood.
  Thus they became unclean by their acts,
and played the whore in their deeds.

Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
and he abhorred his heritage;
  he gave them into the hand of the nations,
so that those who hated them ruled over them.
  Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were brought into subjection under their power.
  Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes
and were brought low through their iniquity.

Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he heard their cry.
  For their sake he remembered his covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
  He caused them to be pitied
by all those who held them captive.

Save us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the LORD!"
 (Psalm 106 ESV)

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Double Rainbow!!!

Why are we so attracted to mountains, streams, lakes, double rainbows? I raised this question a few months ago and hadn't thought much about it since then until today when my friend commented (roughly quoting), "Everybody's always working indoors now, making us appreciate the outdoors more."

I was not all that satisfied with that statement, partially because it made me a little sad thinking how much time we spend indoors now. But I definitely believed that there was a greater reason than just having more of an appreciation because it could be a rare experience. The elements of the earth are used often in the Bible for various reasons.  In Psalm 104, the psalmist finds many ways to understand and worship God by observing his surroundings. 

  1. (vv. 3-4) God's splendor and majesty
  2. (vv. 5-9) God's authority over all creation
  3. (vv. 10-18) God who provides- Jehovah Jireh
  4. (vv. 19-23) Work is God-given
  5. (vv. 24-26) marvels at the creations of God
  6. (vv. 27-30) we all depend on God
  7. (vv. 31-35) "Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the Lord"
Psalm 104
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!
   O LORD my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
 2covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    stretching out the heavens like a tent.
3He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;he makes the clouds his chariot;
   he rides on the wings of the wind;
4he makes his messengers winds,
   his ministers a flaming fire.


 5He set the earth on its foundations,
   so that it should never be moved.

6You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
   the waters stood above the mountains.

7At your rebuke they fled;
   at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.

8The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
   to the place that you appointed for them.

9You set a boundary that they may not pass,
   so that they might not again cover the earth.

 10You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
   they flow between the hills;

11they give drink to every beast of the field;
   the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
   they sing among the branches.

13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
   the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

 14You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
   and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
 15and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine
   and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

 16The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,
    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17In them the birds build their nests;
   the stork has her home in the fir trees.

18The high mountains are for the wild goats;
   the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

 19He made the moon to mark the seasons;
   the sun knows its time for setting.

20 You make darkness, and it is night,
   when all the beasts of the forest creep about.

21 The young lions roar for their prey,
   seeking their food from God.

22When the sun rises, they steal away
   and lie down in their dens.

23 Man goes out to his work
   and to his labor until the evening.

 24O LORD, how manifold are your works!
   In wisdom have you made them all;
   the earth is full of your creatures.

25Here is the sea, great and wide,
    which teems with creatures innumerable,
   living things both small and great.

26There go the ships,
   and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

 27These all look to you,
   to give them their food in due season.

28When you give it to them, they gather it up;
   when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

29When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
   when you take away their breath, they die
   and return to their dust.

30When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
   and you renew the face of the ground.

 31May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
   may the LORD rejoice in his works,

32who looks on the earth and it trembles,
   who touches the mountains and they smoke!

33I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
   I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34May my meditation be pleasing to him,
   for I rejoice in the LORD.

35Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
   and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

God is love.

I've been having a lot of conversations about the way we should treat people the past few days. There are people who are different from us and no matter what, we may never understand them. Some people annoy me and I don't know how to treat people who annoy me. I know I should love them, but loving people doesn't mean treating them nicely when in your heart, you don't feel that way. I need to be transformed from the inside. 
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." - 1 John 4:7-12
The one thing that stuck out in today's sermon was how spiritual maturity is not how much you know, but how much you love. I think a lot of people think the former. We worry about how to sound wise when we talk about faith or how to pray with eloquence. But that's not what it's about. God tells us the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves.  But in order to do so, we'd have to know God (1 John 4:8). Without knowing who God is, we cannot know what love is and when we don't know what love is, how can we love others?

I want to know God more so that I can better love others. I feel like I'm back on square one again. 

Thursday, September 23, 2010

"If I were to define Christian perfection, I should not say that it is a perfection of striving but specifically that it is the deep recognition of the imperfection of one's striving, and precisely because of this a deeper and deeper consciousness of the need for grace, not grace for this or that, but the infinite need infinitely for grace." - Søren Kierkegaard

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

WTFort?!


Fort #1 - WTFort?!
September 18, 2010

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Lately, I think God has been revealing to me what my next very, tiny steps  should be (sporatic moments) and He’s been at work in very small events in my life that seem to have magnified in my head. And I praise Him for these moments.

"1 Praise the LORD!Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
2Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!

3Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!" - Psalm 150

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Me: For my birthday, could you start a compost pile/bucket for me?
Madre: Hell no. It'll be freezing then. but daddy says he'll take a dump in a pail and save it 4 u in the back yard.
My parents are quite the role models, no?

Friday, August 13, 2010

I cannot be the perfect witness

I cannot be the perfect witness to my family or friends. It's not about what I do. Our salvation comes from the grace of God. In the same way, the salvation of my family and friends can only come from the grace of God. It would be an even greater example of the power of God, as well as a humbling experience for myself, when I mess up and somehow people around me are still able to know Jesus. 

If I judge my fellow brothers and sisters for being poor examples of Christians, I am only downplaying who God is and I'd be limiting Him to the ability of man. But God is above all men and far more powerful. My judging does not only stem from the the inability to see the plank in my own eye, but also from my misunderstanding, of God. 


"But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just." - Romans 3:5-8

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Your Opinion?

I can't sleep. So going along with getting ready for this upcoming semester and the rest of my life, I has a questions for yinz. 

Do you think it is necessary to physically attend church every week? Why or why not? I am not looking for comments on the technicalities of the question. I just want your honest opinion on whatever you think I mean by this question. *I will not be making any decisions, such as whether or not I should attend church at all, based on your responses. That would be silly.

My thoughts...

In Pittsburgh - I tried attending Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community every week because I believed that God wanted me to invest time in certain people's lives over there. Community at Hot Metal is also strongly emphasized and I really liked that and wanted to be a part of it. And I also got free breakfast and lunch. 
In New York - I try to attend Grace Faith Church every week because, as a result of some immature decisions in high school, the friends I have at GFC are almost the only community I have in New York. 

I seem to be attending church because of the community I find in both HMBFC and GFC. I am still struggling with the amount of time I should be investing within a fellowship or a community at a local church. This struggle is more difficult in college, where my circle of friends is no longer limited to the people at the church I attend. 

I'm going to go make chai now.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Not ready to go back

There has been so much going on this summer and if it's one thing I've done in past summers that I haven't done this summer is think about the upcoming year. I always looked forward to returning back to Pittsburgh. This summer, I feel so indifferent. I haven't thought or prayed about my involvement with campus ministries since I had to back in May. I have to think hard about what I had decided (if I had decided) on, as far as my involvement in anything on campus goes. I do not like to plan for things that are at least a month into the future. I try my best to keep my Google Calendar in the "Week" - "2 Weeks" tab. I got a fortune today from a cookie that read, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." Silly fortunes. Seriously though, senior year (what?!??!?!?!) is right in front of me and I still cannot see it.

God, I could use some discernment.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

RainbowwwWWwWwWW

I love learning about different cultures and I love being amongst people who are different from one another and can still get along. When I find myself in these places, I experience so much joy and I think, this is how it should be. To be completely honest, it's difficult for me to look forward to Jesus returning. However, I do look forward to what is described in Revelation 7:9-17.

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice,"Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." - Revelation 7:9-12

I enjoy riding the subway in NYC and taking mental notes on who is riding the train with me. Being in a group of people so diverse reminds me how much closer we are to racial reconciliation. Even though I may not know the people in my subway car or the people in my class, I get excited when I see that faces around me that are clearly of a different race. On the other hand, I get very unexcited, bored, or upset even, when I find myself in a group of people of the same ethnic background.

Since first impressions are mostly limited to appearances, when I see an ethnically diverse group, I immediately see different people. In a not so ethnically diverse group, I only see the same person multiple times. Excuse me for sounding racist. When in an ethnically monotonous group, it takes a longer time for me to be comfortable and to appreciate who I am with, until that is, I get to know the individuals as different people. Until I spend more time with individuals, I will only know them by first impressions, or their appearances.

For the past three years, I found it so difficult to attend ACF (Asian Christian Fellowship) events. Once in a while, I would attempt, but my energy drained quickly and I would lose interest. This is one of the reasons why I think I am still a part of InterVarsity. When I walked into an event or meeting, I immediately see the differences between the people in the room and I see the beauty in it and I'm drawn to it. This past year, God gave me opportunities to spend time with, and even serve with, individuals from ACF. Through these opportunities, I learned to appreciate them as individuals.

I like these abrupt endings.