This is wonderful.

So many things in here to think about.

"Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear;

what can man do to me?”

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

(Hebrews 13:1-21 ESV)

"And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - (Romans 8:28)

When it comes to making decisions, maybe we focus too much on figuring out what God wants us to do. Maybe the question we should be asking is, "do we love God?" Because "for those who love God, all things work together for good."

It's almost time.

Praise God for jobs! Company1 will not be paying much (compared to what others make and what others expect me to make as an engineer), but the benefits are really good. The job is also more relevant to what I've been doing at school and a little closer to what I'm interested in. Company2 has not gotten back to me yet. Their pay would be a lot more than what Company1 offers, but their benefits will probably not be as good. Either way, I will be making money from my first full-time job. 

The job will not be as exciting as working in India, but I will have the opportunity and the privilege to bless friends in ministry with more support and that's really exciting to me. My decisions may also lead to conversations about money with my parents - a conversation I haven't had with them in a long time (God, please grant me strength and understanding). Even more so, I need to remind myself how God provides for my future and that I cannot be satisfied with worldly possessions that might come with making more money. 

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" - Matthew 16:26

 With Company1, I'm also hoping to gain more experience in a field that I am interested in and hopefully be able to move within the company to projects that really interest me. What scares me is that I know I will be "satisfied" with any job so long as I have opportunities to learn and grow as a professional. But I don't want to be just "satisfied." I want to be a part of something I know for sure it is what God wants me to do. 

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matthew 6:33

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

Killjoyyyyy

I don't want to judge people by the things they get excited for. I want to understand what causes the excitement. I don't want to just say "I don't get it," but I want to be able to say, "I understand why this makes you so happy," even if I don't get the same feelings from it. Nobody likes a killjoy.

Osama bin Laden will not Rest in Peace.

The thought of celebrating the death of a person is really unsettling to me, even if the person was the leader of al-Qaeda. We are all deserving of death. It is only by God's grace we are saved. As Christians, we are supposed to love our enemies and to "pray for those who persecute [us]." 

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:43-48

In IJM (International Justice Mission) meetings, we have been going through the book, The Good News About Injustice and at one point, we discussed our role in persecuting others even though we, ourselves, are not perfect. God is a just God and will ultimately exercise his wrath on the oppressors and may use other people to do so. But the death of a person who was oppressed by sin, himself, and did not know the gospel is still a loss in God's eyes. 

As Christ's body, we should be weeping with God for those who are still bound by sin and may never see the glory of God. Osama bin Laden will not rest in peace, the same way millions (our family and friends) will not rest in peace less they experience and believe the power of God's grace through Jesus Christ. And this is the reason for the Great Commission.

"Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live." - Ezekiel 33:11

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)

Once again cared for by the body of Christ.

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.

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! 

"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

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.

God, remind me how great and powerful you are.

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?

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)

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!

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. 

"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