Final Note On Isaiah

Shocking as Isaiah ends the book with judgement. The last chapter of Isaiah speaks about the humble and contrite in contrast to those who rebel and offer vain sacrifices.

God looks upon those who are humble and contrite. To the broken in spirit God looks upon. Throughout the Bible, I see that God does not look at our outward looks or appearances or deeds, but He looks at our heart.

• Isaiah 66:2
• James 4:6
• Isaiah 29:13
• Luke 18:9-14 
• Isaiah 57:15 
• Psalm 51:17 
• Micah 6:8 

The ESV Study Bible's final comment on the last verse of Isaiah speaks a lot of truth and helps illuminate the message of Gospel: 

The gospel is good news to the contrite but bad news to the rebellious.

Isaiah The Prophet - The Beautiful and Terrifying Truth

For the past few weeks, I've been reading through the prophet of Isaiah. Throughout my time in reading the Old Testament again, God has been humbling me to the point of seeking to know Him more through Scripture. As Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16, Scripture is profitable for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness. At this point, I sense that God is training me to obey His Word and to really take His Word more and more seriously. This just my own personal reflection as I read Isaiah.

Isaiah was called into ministry during the time of King Uzziah, Ahaz and Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1), but his ministry started after the death of King Uzziah (Isaiah 6:1). Date is possibly around 740BC - 680BC.

The Terrifying passages in Isaiah are usually the judgement upon nations after nations. Usually you read those kind of passages from chapters 1 - 34. The more I read about the prophecy, the Spirit is prompting to me to take those words seriously. During those time, nations, especially Israel and Judah, were in rebellion against God due to their arrogance and stubbornness to reject Yahweh as their one and only true God, and worshiped idols. King Sennacherib of Assyria mocked King Hezekiah for trusting in Yahweh instead of Baal. However, Sennacherib failed to invade Judah. Let us not forget about the passages in Isaiah 56-58. Check your heart and see if you're really God's people.

The Beautiful passages in Isaiah are usually from chapters 40 - 66, but passages earlier on are beautiful too. There's so much hope for people who were exiled from their land. There's so much hope for sinners. There's so much hope for God's people in the future. God is inviting us to trust Him. God is inviting to believe in His promise. Isaiah prophecy the "New Heavens and a New Earth" (Isaiah 65:17-25), which resembles to John's revelation in Revelation 21. Additionally, passages such as Isaiah 53 speaks about the suffering servant, which is a messianic prophecy about Jesus Christ.

Just wanted to quickly summarize the book of Isaiah although there's so much more to talk about. However, just want to say Happy New Year, and God Bless.

Prayer For 2013

Sitting and meditating as I pray to God, a lot of petitions, requests and needs that I want to lay down before the Lord. As I'm praying, why not share with others about what I'm praying about? This sudden urge would hopefully help you guys to think about what to pray for 2013. You do not have to follow this list, but if there is something in this list that you want to pray to God about or haven't gotten a chance to talk to God about it, then find time and speak to God (Matthew 6:6; 7:7-11). There ain't any top or lowest priority in this list.

• Urgent need for laborers in the harvest. May God send more laborers (Matthew 8:37-38).
• Sanctification in my walk with God (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
• Grow in repentance of sin through the power of the Spirit (Romans 6:12).
• Learning to give generously (2 Corinthians 9:6-8).
• God would sanctify His people at Oakridge Baptist Church (the church I attend) and other churches around the globe (Ephesians 5:25-27)
• God would sanctify His people through the Word (John 17:17)
• May Christians not be ashamed  of the Gospel (Romans 1:16-17).
• Increasing need to be reminded what is the "first importance", which is the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-11).
• May the Spirit lead me as I am finishing University this year (Psalm 119:105; Romans 8:14)
• May the Lord humble me as I seek for a position after university (Matthew 6:25-34; Ephesians 4:28)
• Meditating and memorizing Scripture (Psalm 1:1-12; 119:9-11).
• Love God (Matthew 22:37).
• Love my neighbor (Matthew 22:39).
• Grow in humility (Philippians 2:3-5).
• Grow in knowledge and grace (2 Peter 3:18).
• Gospel penetrate the hearts of unbelievers and place everything to Jesus (Acts 15:7-9).
• Give me opportunity to proclaim the gospel (Ephesians 6:18-20).
• Surrender my life to God (Acts 20:24; Philippians 3:7-11).
• If my death approaches in 2013, then I want to echo what Paul said (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
• If I die in 2013, then I hope to hear Jesus say this to me (Matthew 25:23).

This is an exhaustive list, but it could be even more exhaustive. I need God every single moment of my life, today, tomorrow, and 2013, and forevermore. I lay down my request to King Jesus who is sovereign and ruler of every living being in this world. 

Transitioning Into This New Blog

As 2013 is approaching, I will start blogging here. Looking forward to blessing many people who will read the posts. A reminder for me, always, is that I want to keep making much of God and making His name known, not me.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Gift exchange is part of celebrating Christmas. with family and friends.

Let us also remember the Great Exchange.
"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
(2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

Absolutely Beautiful

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/55307071]

Reminder For Us As Christians That We Are Adopted Into God's Family:

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:14-17)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1)

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

Reminder For Us That Jesus Was Adopted By Joseph:

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:4-7)

And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents [Mary and Joseph] brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law... (Luke 2:27)

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. (Luke 2:41)

Apocalypse - Reasons Why 2012 Won't Happen

DISCLAIMER: This post has a bias view on the perspective of apocalypse.

Today is December 20th, 2012. According to the Mayan Calendar, December 21st 2012 is technically the day when the Calendar stops continuing. It prophecies that this Friday is possibly the end of the world. Some argue that it won't happen because the person got tired of continuing with the calendar. As the day is approaching, a lot of people on the internet are discussing and worried about Friday. As a Christian, I want to stand firm with what the Bible says about apocalypse and the end of the age. And I want to suggest several biblical-eschatological reasons why the event for this Friday will not happen.

1.) Regarding "that day", the disciples were asking Jesus what will the sign be for the end of the age in Matthew 24:3. Nobody knows when it will happen. Only God knows. Therefore, the Mayan Calendar is not a divine prophecy that was utter by God, so it won't happen.

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." (Matthew 24:36 ESV)

2.) The end of the age is when Christ returns for the 2nd time. One of the things we know that Christ is coming back very soon is when the message of the gospel is proclaimed in all the nations. The Mayan Calendar does not know when Jesus will come back.

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14 ESV)

3.) The rebellion comes first. The rebellion is when the anti-Christ or the man of lawlessness reveals himself, and the Lord Jesus will come and destroy him.

"Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 ESV)

4.) Jesus will return for the 2nd time like a thief. For unbelievers, they don't know when a thief comes to rob their home, and it will surprise them. For Christians, we shouldn't be surprise because we are ready for that day to come (whenever it is). We are ready because we are children of light. We are children of light because we belong to God when we receive Jesus.

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 ESV)

5.) The book of Revelation offers apocalyptic perspective on how the end will come, which is very different from the Mayan Calendar. My church recently worked through the book of Revelation. Anti-Christ will come. False Prophet will come. Satan will come. The "unholy Trinity", the way my pastor called it, will come and attack and kill a lot of Christians during the Great Tribulation. The Seven Judgement (Trumpets, Plagues, Bowls of God's Wrath) will come. Jesus will come and defeat the "unholy Trinity" once and for all with the breath of His mouth. You can read and study it for more detail. I just want to say in general that the events are slowly happening and we should anticipate the Jesus' coming.

There are many passages in the Bible that I could point out, but I hope 5 reasons are good enough to convince Christians not to stress out over this Friday. As Christians, we can be more confident to not know when Jesus will return than to know His return. However, we are expecting for His return and we are ready for His return. Are you ready for His return?

This Christmas Season

Joy To The World, The Lord Has Come.

What a beautiful day as I see the snow is finally coming to existence in the city of Vancouver. There weren't a lot of snow for the past years, but some. I remember 4-5 years ago, when I was still living around Oakridge, snow piled up to my thigh. I'll never forget the amount of the snow that I had to go through. However, we should be grateful that it finally snowed. Some of us expressed interest in the snowfall, and when it does start snowing, we complain. How ungrateful are we.

My Christmas Break has already started ever since I finished my last final exam on Friday. Most of us will be enjoying this Christmas seasons as we get together with family and friends. At the same time, there are some people who will be grieving and possibly not enjoy this Christmas seasons because of the shooting at Connecticut. I heard that news 3 hours prior to my final exam, and I was grieving over the pain and the lost of 20 children and couple of teachers and adults. When these kinds of events do come up, we begin to ask, "Why would such a thing happen?"

I remember after the riot of the Stanley Cup, my friend, Kevin Thomas, walked up to a staff, who worked/works at the store that got rioted, and ask him what he thought about the EVIL that was committed by people. The staff replied (I'll paraphrase what I remember), "It's not necessarily evil, but it was just stupid people doing stupid stuff." In the culture we are living in, we reject words such as evil and sin because they're religious and don't help make sense with the society. When events like 911, the shooting of Virginia Tech, the shooting in Aurora during the release of the Dark Knight Rises, and finally, the shooting at Connecticut, how are we to try to make sense of these or how do you explain these events to people? People aren't just stupid or aren't just mentally insane, but are inherently evil.

Let's not just pick on murders, but on ourselves - liars, adulterers, idolaters, thief, the proud, and etc. We too are inherently evil, deep down inside. Once you have broken one of God's law, you have already committed this act called sin. Sin is not just disobeying God, but outward and inward rebellion against God in thought, speech, deed/motive, and action.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
(Psalm 14:1-3)

When we choose to walk away from God, we become corrupt, meaning we become evil and distorted. We are evil, and we sin by nature and choice. Because of this, we are separated from God and we will deserve justice based upon our sinful deeds - hell. "For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23)

And we desperately need a solution for our problem. How can we be good? No, that's not the question. The question is, "WHO has the solution?" It's not just a simple solution, but it's a divine solution for mankind. Jesus Christ is the divine solution for man's sinfulness and evil. During this Christmas season (or whatever time He was born), Jesus stepped down into human history to be born by a virgin teenager (Mary). He was born not in the hospital or in a King's palace or inside a comfortable building, but in the lowliest place (at a manger) in Bethlehem. What a great humiliation that was for King Jesus! He lived the perfect and sinless life that we should've lived. He obeyed all the commandments of His Father that we should've obeyed.

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
(John 1:29)

Jesus is the perfect spotless lamb that went to the cross to be slaughtered, executed, and murdered by men. It was horrendous and it was evil. He's the one who takes away the sin of the world. He's the one who forgives sin. He's the one who rose in the 3rd day to conquer Satan, sin and death. This is good news!

You might ask, "So how is that a solution for evil?"

First of all, you need to recognize yourself as a sinner. The bad news is that you're lost and hopeless without God. You need to recognize that you're heading towards hell. You need to recognize that you don't have absolute control of when you'll face death. Just like the events I have listed above, it can happen anytime all of a sudden without warning or notice. When you die apart from receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will surely be separated from God for all of eternity. Are you ready to face death right now? And this is not a threat from me, but it a warning from Jesus Christ Himself.

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
(Luke 13:1-5)

Second of all, you need to have a personal relationship with God. You need to repent from sin and turn to Jesus and respond to Him - the good news! He gave His life for you. He is the only hope for man's sin. He is the only way to the Father. Respond and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. When you genuinely surrender your life to Christ, God changes your heart and give you a new desire. You'll grow to love Him and His people. It doesn't happen at an instant, but God will continue to work in you and change you daily. Once you experience Him, you'll know that Jesus Christ is the hope of this nation, and that's why we celebrate Christmas.

I went off on a tangent as I was blogging. Anyhow, what am I doing this Christmas Season?

• Read the Bible


• Read Systematic Theology


• Hangout with friends and family.

Why Expostional Preaching

Mankind of Unclean Lips

[UPDATED] What runs through our minds when we speak a word that comes out of our tongue? With every breath that we breathe, what kind of speech or word or phrase will come out? Do we think clearly and thoroughly before we speak?

I certainly struggle with using correct words and terminologies when I speak. Most of the time I don't think before I speak. The words that I utter could be for meaningless entertainment and humor. It is certainly very easy to sin with our mouths. Words are not simply just words, but they could stick in a person's heart for a lifetime (Maybe I have posted a similar theme in the past, but I do not remember when I posted it). Words hurt people.

There are a lot of passages that are related to words, lips or tongues, and I'll give you some to meditate and consider:

• James 3:1-12 - blessing and cursing. 
• The Book of Proverbs has tons of verses on our tongue, but I especially want to note Proverbs 18:21. 
• Isaiah 6 - Isaiah confesses that he has an unclean lip. 
• Exodus 4:11 - remember who made our mouth. 
• Exodus 20:7 - Use the name of God in honor and reverence with our lips, not in vain. 
• Luke 6:45 - What you say defines you.

Everyday, we speak and use words, for those who can speak. From the time we were born, we cry and make noises to communicate with our parents about our needs. As we grow up, we whine and complain about things. We start to pick up bad languages and cuss at others. We use our lips to gossip behind people's back. As we grow older, we complain about life and be less thankful. Worse of all, we use our lips to curse God when His Son died on the cross for our sins. Nails were hammered on his hands and feet. Scoff, insult, "CRUCIFY", belittle and mockery all flew into the ears of the Son of God. Jesus could have spoken a word and destroy everything and everyone before Him. Jesus could have spoken a word that could have unbind Himself from the cross. But Jesus, instead of responding in resentment and vengeance, echoes a most loving phrase to the Father that we should profoundly think about, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)