What Is Sin?

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Overview

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Willingdon School of the Bible, in one of the classes, provided a section on what sin is. I thought it would be helpful to share what the classes illumine in light of what Scripture teaches. I changed the notes a bit because I think they were not clear enough. I am aware that there will be others who might add another point or two.

The question, when looking into the Doctrine of Salvation or Soteriology, that we have to ask ourselves is, "What are we saved from?" We are saved from our sins. What is sin?

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What is sin?

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Sin is:

1. Anti-Theocentric (Romans 1:18-32)
• It is against God
2. Relational (i.e., anti-relational) (1 Corinthians 11:17-19; Psalm 51:4) 
• It can be between human and God, and between human and human.
3. Illegal (Romans 3:19-26; 7:7-13)
• Law-breaker 
• Transgressor
• Guilty
4. Universal (Romans 3:23) 
• Everyone is a sinner and separated from God.
5. Enslaving & Corrupting (Romans 6-7)
• Slave to sin
• Corrupts every aspect of our lives
• Total depravity
6. Sin elicits God's wrath (Romans 2:8; 1 Thessalonian 1:10; 2 Thessalonian 1:6-9, 2:10-12)

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Gospel (Reversal)

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The Gospel deals with all of the points that are above.

1. The Gospel reconciles our relationship with God and enables us to love Him. 
2. The Gospel reconciles our relationship with others and enables us to love both our neighbors and our enemies. 
3. The Gospel justifies us. 
4. The Gospel invites everyone to be reconciled to God. 
5. The Gospel sets us free from being slaves to sin (or power of sin) and converts us to being slaves to Christ.
6. The Gospel saves us from God's wrath now, and the wrath that is to come in the future. 

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:3)

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Conclusion

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The Gospel is indeed Good News.  Because of the Gospel, God is calling us to holiness, to follow Him, to obey Him and to forsake worldliness (1 Peter 1:22-2:3).

Sin still dwells in the lives of believers - trying to wage war against the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17). Christians still need to make conscious decisions to obey and to follow Christ (John 14:15, 21)

However, Christ is continually sanctifying His Bride (Ephesians 5:25-27). We wait for the day when sin, Satan and the evil ones will be completely destroyed - when we are in the New Heaven and New Earth with Christ (Revelations 21:1-8).

Already / Not Yet

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Overview
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This is a response to a recent theological discussion about our identity in Christ. It is a needed response. It is a desperate response. It is a gospel response. We need to firmly grasp what it means for Christ to live in us. In brief, the response is towards the “two words” at the end of the statement: “Christ lives in us, AS US”, and how it has huge theological implications in understanding the nature of who God is and how we live our lives. My response is not for the purpose of confirming that I am right, but that the Word of God is authoritative and is always perfect and right.
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Gospel
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Before I begin, I want to affirm that the “[Gospel] is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16) I am deeply grateful for the message of salvation that is revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:2-3).  I am deeply loved by the love of God (Romans 5:8) because He gave His Son for us (John 3:16-17). I am profoundly changed (John 9:25). I am adopted into the family of God (1 John 3:1). 

The gospel message is this: God created all of us to enjoy and worship Him. But sin came into the world through Adam and Eve, therefore we inherited sin from them, and we are born separated from God and in rebellion against Him. God the Father sent Jesus into the world on a rescue mission to save sinners from their sins. He lived a perfect life, obeyed the Father, performed miracles and claimed to be God. He was betrayed by Judas, arrested and tried by the Pharisees and Roman Soldiers, scourged and beaten, shed a lot of blood, nailed on the wooden cross and died hanging on the cross. On the third day, He was resurrected, proving that He’s alive and that He is God. The purpose of Jesus’ life was to redeem those who are lost, to forgive sinners, to save sinners from their sins and to save them from the wrath of God. Those who believe in Him will experience redemption. The Gospel calls sinners to repent and believe in Jesus Christ and live a radical new life by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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AS US
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The discussion of Christ living in us is an important matter. Evangelicals believe that when we place our faith in Christ, Christ lives in us, according to the Apostle Paul (Galatians 2:20). The discussion of the matter was centered on that verse and Romans 6, I think, and what they mean. Like I said before, my response is simply towards the “two words”: AS US. Here, I am presenting the interpretation from the view of another person whom I am not going to name.

 “I have been crucified with Christ”/ “our old self was crucified with him”

The interpretation of this line meant that our old nature - sinful nature – was completely crucified with Christ. If we are crucified with Christ, and Christ lives in us as us, then we are completely new creatures. 

“Christ who lives in me”

Because Christ is sinless, and lives in us, we are therefore perfectly sinless without a sinful nature. If we are perfectly sinless, then we do not have to do anything to be perfect or holy because He lives in us, as us. To say that we still have a sinful nature is to deny what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross.
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No “AS US”
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To say that we deny Christ if we believe we have a sinful nature, may seem to honor Christ. But in reality, that is not the teaching of the Bible. The Bible never talks about “Christ living in us, AS US". There is no evidence. Those two words were added. I am deeply astonished that those two words can create theological distortions. I am also deeply astonished that people can come up with weird ideas that is not found in the Bible.

I have personally spoken to pastors, ministry workers and scholars about what they think regarding those added words in the statement. All of them found it bizarre. 
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ALREADY
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Now, I am going to provide an interpretation that is more in agreement with the Gospel, the teaching from the Word of God, and the results from my consultation with experts on the subject.  

We learn from Romans 6 and 7 that when we trusted in Christ as our Savior and Lord, we were united to Christ (Romans 6:5; 7:4). In this union with Christ we died (Romans 6:8; Colossians 2:20; 3:3) and rose again (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; Ephesians 2:6). A decisive and irrevocable new creation, therefore, came into being (2 Corinthians 5:17), and a decisive and irrevocable liberation happened (Romans 6:14, 18). We passed from death to eternal life. God's decisive judgment is behind us - at Golgotha (John 5:24). We have moved from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of God's Son (Colossians 1:13). We are alive together with Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:5-6).
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NOT YET
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However, we also learn that our liberation from sin is not yet final and perfect. Let’s spell it out in three P-words: Penalty, Power and Present. When we place our trust in Christ, the penalty of sin has been paid for (Colossians 2:13-15). Basically, we have been justified by God (I will not go into details on Justification). The power of sin has been broken in the present time so sin cannot enslave a person who is confident and hopeful in God (Romans 6:6-8). The presence of sin, however, still dwells within us. We know that because of Romans 7:17, 20. This is the Apostle Paul speaking. If we are perfectly sinless because Christ lives in us, then what does that make of Paul and the rest of the teachings of the Bible? Evil is present in us (Romans 7:21). The "flesh" is a daily "troubler" of our souls (Romans 7:25). Paul recognizes that he is still not perfect, and still has a long way to go in order to obtain the crown and prize (Philippians 3:12). When we are justified by God, God is sanctifying us to conform more to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29). We still need our minds to be renewed and to abhor worldliness (Romans 12:2). Hear the warning of the Apostle John to every professing Christians: we are liars if we say we have no sin (1 John 1:8, 10). 
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Conclusion
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The Bible teaches that the followers of Christ need to be humble and recognize that we do have a sinful nature or flesh. Although Christ had reconciled us to Himself, we have not attained perfection yet. 

Our identity is in Christ and we do not need to feel guilty about our sins. We do have a relationship with God. But if we are truly in Christ, the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin (John 16). As Christians, we can grieve the Holy Spirit when we sin (Ephesians 4:30). We do need to confess our sins and ask God to cleanse us from all unrighteousness to restore our fellowship with Him (1 John 1:9). 

In the 1st half of Romans, the 1st half of Ephesians, and the 1st half of Colossians, Paul teaches that the reality and indicative of the gospel. Because of the indicative, the 2nd half of his letters talk about the imperative - urging the Christians to live in holiness, to repent of sin, to worship and love God, and to love others.  

The Bible teaches that the followers of Christ do have the responsibility to repent from sin and work out our salvation (not work for our salvation) (Philippians 2:12-13).

The Bible teaches that we do have a new nature, walking in the Spirit, but it is still in constant battle against the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17; Romans 7:22-23).

The Bible teaches that we are sinners, and to deny that is exposing ourselves to the danger of falling away from true faith. We can easily deceive ourselves into thinking we are no longer sinners (1 John 1:8, 10).

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Reference
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- ESV Study Bible
- "Already: Decisively and Irrevocably Free, Not Yet: Finally and Perfectly Free" by John Piper

Good Friday (The Darkest Day In History)

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What Happened?
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2000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth went through the most extreme pain and suffering. He suffered a sleepless night while praying to the Father and sweating blood. He suffered into the hands of the Roman Soldiers, plus the betrayal of Judas. He got arrested and his friends turned their backs on Him. He suffered insults, mockeries, false accusations, spits and punches from the Pharisees, Priest and Roman Soldiers during his unjust trial. Peter denied Him three times. He suffered scourging and flogging that ripped His flesh open to the point of seeing his ribs. Pontius Pilate, governor of Rome, found no guilt in Jesus, but the crowd still screamed out, "Crucify Him!" He was taken up to the Place of Skull called Golgotha. He was executed through cruxification, along with two criminals on his side, but Jesus was not a criminal. Hours have passed by as Jesus was hung up on the cross. Darkness covered the sky. Jesus took the sins of the world, and the Father poured out His judgement upon the Son. For all of eternity, Jesus suffered a separation from the Father on this day. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 describes this event. 
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Jesus' Last Words
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Before He died, He spoke 7 last words:

• "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34)

• "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

• Speaking to one of the criminals: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)

• "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Luke 23:46)

• Speaking to John: "Behold, your mother!" (John 19:27)

• "I thirst." (John 19:28)

• "It is finished." (John 19:30) 

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Songs To Reflect On
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Reflect this day honorably, respectfully and in a worshipful manner.

• The Power Of The Cross by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty
• Once Again by Matt Redman
• Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) by Chris TomlinJohn Newton
• When I Survey The Wondrous Cross by Isaac Watts
• Suffering Servant by Dustin Kensrue
• The Old Rugged Cross by 

Reflection Questions For The Easter Weekend

As we are approaching the Easter weekend, I highly encourage us to reflect on questions regarding the person and work of Jesus (death and resurrection) whether if you are doing a personal devotion or in a small group or seeking. I separated the questions into two categories: Theological, and Personal Application. 

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Theological
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1. What is the Gospel - the Good News?
2. Regarding salvation, was it necessary for Jesus to die in order for people's sin to be forgiven? 
3. Explain what redemption is. How does redemption connect to Expiation, Propiation, Reconciliation, Ransom, Justification and Atonement? 
4. How was Jesus the perfect sacrifice?
5. What is "Penal Substitutionary Atonement", and how was that accomplish through Jesus?
6. There is a profound question, I think, by Anselm: Why did God become man? Check out this website for more questions.
7. What does Jesus' resurrection mean? Why is this so significant?
8. How does the resurrection speak to our eternal life in Christ?

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Personal Application
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1. We are saved and made right with God only because of Jesus, not our good deeds. Do you believe that Jesus' death and resurrection were enough to pay for your sins? 
2. Was it fair for Jesus to pay for your sins?
3. What is grace? Do you struggle to understand God's love for you? How should it affect our daily lives?
4. People attempted to explain away the resurrection. Why is that? What is the most compelling evidence of the resurrection?
5. In what ways does the resurrection give you hope and change the way you live?

Salvation: Six Basic Truths

We all need gentle reminders. The Gospel is what saved and continues to save us. What happens when we receive and believe in the message of the gospel? What happens when we place our faith in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? I'll be listing six basic truths (and benefits) to our salvation although there are more than five.

1.) God forgave your sin

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, (Ephesians 1:7)

2.) God made you His child

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)

3.) Christ lives in you

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

4.) Christ made you new

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

5.) Christ gave you eternal life

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13)

6.) We are transformed to make every effort to live a Godly Life

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. (2 Peter 1:3-9)

The First Importance

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared......" . (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)

The Gospel is the "first importance". Nowhere else in Scripture does it use that phrase. Although Scripture is important in its entirety because it is God-breathed, Paul would emphasize the Gospel to be the most important. I wrestled asked myself, "Why is it the first importance?" Although the answer to that question is found in the same chapter of 1 Corinthians, I want to try and take another angle in answering that question.

I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 3 where Paul talks about laying a foundation of one's faith.

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:10-11)

Paul laid down the foundation by preaching Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the foundation of our faith. The Gospel is what saved and continues to save us. Without the Gospel being the foundation and center of our faith, other things in which we try to build the foundation of our faith (e.g. memorizing the Bible, God is love, leading worship, teaching Sunday school, mission trip), although important, will fall.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

Therefore, I think that`s one of the reasons why the gospel is the "first importance". Whether Christian or non-Christian, the Gospel continues to transform and hold people. The gospel should and ought to affect every area of our lives. Whether if you`re struggling in different areas of your personal life or even your faith, may you find the answer in the Gospel.

 

 

Doxology

This was a short essay that I wrote for WSB 304: Romans. My professor, Marty Culy, said it was an edifying devotion. Therefore, I hope this would also edify the readers out there.
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            The passage that I have chosen to share with you is Romans 11:33-36. From this passage, I will explain to you what it means and how it applies to us currently by performing careful exegesis. Paul is about to conclude his entire argument, from Romans 1 – 11, on the history of salvation for the Jews and Gentiles. The way he concludes that section is doxology – praise and worship. Let’s take one step at a time and see why he would utter a doxology, and consider the overall context of the passage, specifically Romans 9 - 11.

            In Romans 9 – 11, this part of the section in the book of Romans speaks about God’s promise of salvation for the Gentiles and Israel. Paul explains God’s sovereign choice of election in Romans 9. Paul had “great sorrow and unceasing anguish in [his] heart” (Romans 9:2) for his unbelieving Jewish brothers because they failed to believe in the message of salvation - Gospel - and failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. No doubt, the Jews were very passionate and zealous for God because Paul understood what it meant to be an unsaved Jew who relied on the law in order to gain a righteous standing before God. However, they failed to place their faith in Jesus because they were “being ignorant of the righteousness of God” and “they did not submit to God’s righteousness” (Romans 10:3). Moreover, Paul continues to explain that the message of salvation is for “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord” (Romans 10:13). Yet, as Paul quotes Psalm 19:4, the Israelite have heard the message of salvation because “their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world” (Romans 10:18). At the same time, because they failed to understand the gospel, God used the Gentile nation to stir up jealous in the Jews. The Gentiles, who did not have special revelation to God’s Word, experienced salvation by placing their faith in Jesus. God is still, however, reaching out to Jews (Romans 10:21). Furthermore, Romans 11 speaks about God’s graciousness toward the Jews in how there’s a remnant of Israel and how Gentiles were grafted into the branch in which the Jews got cut off from. Paul warns the Gentiles, however, that they do “not become proud, but fear” the Lord (Romans 11:20) because of His righteousness and judgement that’s shown in Romans 1 – 3. 

            Just before the given passage, God shows His grace and mercy to the disobedient Jews and Gentiles. Knowing all these, Paul explicitly worships God for how deep He is. “The riches and wisdom and knowledge of God” goes beyond everything that could ever be comprehended in this life and the life after because they are “unsearchable” and “inscrutable”. As Christians, when we see the holiness of God through the reading of Scripture, may our response be worship. How often, after Bible study, do we leave the church without expressing our gratitude and worship to the God that’s due His name? Even Paul himself, after explaining the gospel, explaining the hope for the believers in believing the gospel, and explaining God’s promise of salvation to Jews and Gentiles, would humbly express himself in worship.  No matter how many times we read the Scripture, we will always learn something about God because there’s no limit to understanding His greatness. Paul then quotes from two Old Testament verses that teach about human beings can’t measure up to God’s standard. In Isaiah 40:13, apart from special revelation from the Holy Scripture, nobody has known the mind of the Lord to even be His counselor. Or yet in Job 41:11, nobody has ultimately given anything to God because everything on earth belongs to God. All things belong to God, and He deserves all the glory. His work of salvation, and the explanation of the gospel in Romans, ultimately is to bring Him glory and praise forever ever. Therefore, every time after God speaks to us through Scripture, may we continue to worship Him by offering our bodies as living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).

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Sorrow and Unceasing Anguish For Unregenerate Family and Friends

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

(Romans 9:1-3)

I've been meditating on this passage for the whole day. As I think about those who don't have a relationship with God, it is not only my friends who need salvation in Jesus Christ, but my whole family also needs know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

I pondered and wondered what Paul was experiencing when he said he has "sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart". I imagined tears. I also pondered why he would wish to be separated from God for the sake of his brothers. The answer is very simple: love. Paul would wish, if it were possible, that he would be accursed and to suffer the eternal punishment from God in exchange for his fellow Jews being saved. However, even if Paul wished that, it wouldn't do any good. As Christians, we must recognize that we do not have the supernatural power to save anybody.  God can use us and empower us to share the gospel with them, but the ultimate result is up to God. There's not much we could do to save our lost friends and families, but Paul still had hope in God through prayer:

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 

(Romans 10:1-4)

To summarize, Paul is saying that though the Israelite believed in God and were zealous for God in obeying His laws, they ignorantly misunderstood that the law revealed their unrighteousness, and they tried to earn their righteousness of God through the law. If a person wants to obey God's law, law, they must live by them (Leviticus 18:5; Galatians 3:10). However, all have sinned. Therefore, God's righteousness is, however, found through faith in Christ. Christ ended the law. Christ redeemed His people from law through the cross. And till this day, everyone around the world is trying to earn their righteousness or salvation through good deeds, religious laws, being a nice guy and girl and so on, and thus puff themselves up when they meet Jesus face to face where Jesus will say, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness" (Matthew 7:23) because all their righteous deeds are "polluted garments" or "filthy rags". (Isaiah 64:6)

My friends, in a family of seven, it is certainly a struggle to be the only Christian in the family. There are times I pray for their salvation, and there are times where I lose hope and give up on them. However, this passage convicted me a lot for the lack of love for my family. I recognize that I've been trying to so hard and try to convince them that Jesus is Lord. I trusted my own strength to save them more than I trusted in the Spirit to do His work in them. 

Paul was (and still is) a great example of his love for his family. And I want to imitate Paul, as he is in Christ.

Everyday, as I am blogging, is a grace from God. Every breath that I take is mercy from God. Everyday, as a sinner, God rescued me from the pit of despair and being dead in my sin. I'm here because of God's grace and mercy through Jesus Christ's life, death burial and resurrection. God has been gracious, and He's inviting us to ask Him and to talk to Him.

For those who are living in a non-Christian family (and this could also be applied to every person who is lost and don't know Christ), you are not alone. Sometimes, we may feel alone. But let us join hands together, and like Paul, may our "heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved." 

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.

VOLUME

As I was heading home from school, I picked up my iPod and started reading the Scripture through the ESV Bible App. I picked the book of Colossians a few days ago, and I'm slowly reading through it. Have you ever find that as you continue to read the Bible, the text of Scripture that you read sounds so familiar to you because you read through it many times? Not only that, does it sometimes seem like it's just God's Word, and I'm reading through it as if nothing big stands out anymore? Today, as I was reading on the bus, God spoke VOLUME to me as I read this part of the passage in Colossians:

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
(Colossians 3:12-13 ESV)

As I'm reading through Colossians, Paul was arguing and exhorting the Colossians in chapter 1 verse 3 ti verse 14 and about the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in chapter 2 verse 9 to verse 15. And there were a lot of syncretism coming in to the church of Colossae. Paul was reassuring born-again Christians that the opponents (false teachers) of the cross cannot separate nor disqualify them from being alive with Christ simply because they didn't mix into their "self-made religion" and false teachings. I think this disqualification simply meant the false teachers were passing judgement on them. Because of the power of the Gospel, this passage (Colossians 2:13-15) applies to Christians. Therefore, because of the gospel, we who are raised in Christ Jesus would desire to seek the things that are eternal, things that are above.

This week and today has been a difficult moments when I have to wrestle hard with my emotions and my mind. Nonetheless, there are sins in my life that I need to repent of daily. When I read v.12, God the Holy Spirit convicted me as I look at the characteristics of God's chosen ones. Have I been showing compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience around me? I forgive those who have/had sinned against me, yet I cannot bear the pain that I have suffered from people. When I am reminded of the Gospel, how much more was Jesus willing to suffer the pain that I deserve and die on the cross to forgive me of my sin? "As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." For the non-Christians who read this, just because I sinned doesn't disqualify me from being God's chosen ones because nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. I know I am a screw up every week and I acknowledge that I am sinner who is in need of God's grace everyday. That's why, I'm grateful for Jesus for taking away my sin and shame, and that "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). Therefore, I don't have to try so hard to forgive because I have to. I forgive...simply because God has forgiven me. Holy Spirit will sanctify me and continue to transform me daily as I walk with Him.

Old Testament Clues To Christ

I think two years ago, I did a project on how we could find Jesus in the Old Testament. It was a very edifying and mind-stretching experience to be studying the Word of God. I want to share it with you so you could see Christ in the Old Testament. We could see the Old Testament pointing to the Gospel, the person and work of Jesus Christ. Give thanks to God because we worship a God who defeated Satan, sin, and death through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Passage	Description or Outline
Genesis 3:15	There will be hostile between Satan and the woman, and his offspring and her offspring. Offspring, seed, does not come from her seed, but God prophecy that He will miraculously put a seed in the woman, Mary, to give a virgin birth to a Son, who is Jesus. Jesus shall bruise Satan’s head, and Satan shall bruise his heel. Ultimately, Jesus will have the overall victory.
Genesis 12:3	Through offspring of Abraham, all families of the earth SHALL be blessed. This offspring is the coming the Messiah who will come to take away the sins of the world and bringing people back in fellowship with Him.
Genesis 49:10	Scepter symbolizes royal authority. Thus, the One who holds the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff (lawgiver) from between his feet. This tribute (Shiloh – Messianic title), “until he comes to whom it belongs” according to the footnote, means that the One that has all royal authority comes because He is the lawgiver. And to Him (Jesus) shall be the obedience of the peoples. The gospel is not only that Jesus died for our sins, but He also obeyed every commandment in our place while we broke every commandment out of disobedience to Him.
Deuteronomy 18:15	Moses is FORTH-telling that God will raise up a prophet. Jesus is the greater prophet that is yet to come. In reference to Hebrews 3:1-6, Jesus is greater than Moses because “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses” (v.3).
Joshua 5:13-15	Jesus is the commander of the army of the Lord. A similar event happened with Moses at the burning bush. God told Moses to take off his sandal for he is standing on the holy place. Likewise, the commander, Jesus, told Joshua to do the same thing.
2 Samuel 7:16	God was making an unconditional covenant with David spoken through the prophet Nathan. As a Great King, Jesus’ house, kingdom and throne will be established forever. Jesus is making the new heavens and the new earth, and He all authority of the heavens and earth belongs to Him. He will rule as the Great King and Saviour.
Psalm 22	This 1st part of the chapter reminds me of Jesus when He was on the cross, being crucified. While Jesus was on the cross, He echoes verse 1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” In verse 6-8, it describes the humiliation and sorrow that David went through, which also describes Jesus’ mockery and insult from the crowd and soldiers. When Jesus was the cross, soldier mocked Him that if He was God, then He could save Himself. On the cross, Jesus’ hands and feet were pierced (v.16). However, the 2nd part of the chapter reminds me of the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. He didn’t hide his face from anybody. He did not despise the people, but invites them to turn to the Lord and praise Him in reverence (v.27-28).
Isaiah 7:14	“Therefore, the Lord (Jesus) Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin SHALL conceive and bear a son (Jesus), and shall call His name Immanuel” (God is with us).
Isaiah 9:6-7	Isaiah prophecies, “For to us a child (Jesus) is born, to us a son (Jesus) is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace...”I see that Jesus will on David’s throne and rule over His kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
Isaiah 11:1-2	Isaiah gives us a picture of the branch to describe the descendent. Jesse, David’s father, will have a branch coming forth from him. This branch (Jesus) from his (Jesse) roots shall bear fruit. Holy Spirit will rest upon Him (Jesus). Holy Spirit will give Him wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, and knowledge and fear of the Lord.
Isaiah 53:1-12	Isaiah describes the very detail of the suffering of Christ. Jesus was despised and rejected by men. Jesus was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Jesus has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Jesus was wounded for our transgressions. Jesus was crushed for our iniquities. It was God’s, the Father, will to lay His wrath on Jesus the iniquity of us all. Jesus was oppressed, and Jesus was afflicted, yet he didn’t open his mouth. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was led to the slaughter. The will of the Lord shall prosper in Jesus’ hand. Jesus, out of the anguish if His soul, shall see and be satisfied. Jesus poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors, yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Jeremiah 23:1-8	Jesus being the righteous Branch whom God will raise up for David. Jesus shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In Jesus’ days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. Jesus will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”
Ezekiel 21:24-27	During this time, God said that Jerusalem will be overthrown. “Ruin” is said three times to describe the intensive nature of the destruction that will come. Prince of Israel, probably Zedekiah, will come to an end as the Babylonian overtakes Jerusalem. Jesus shall come who is the one to whom judgement belongs, and God will give it to Him. Other commentator says that “The priestly and kingly offices would not return until the coming of Him whose right it is – the Messiah.”
Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45	The stone described in the passage is Jesus. He shall break in pieces of all these kingdoms (the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold) and bring them to an end. The stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth, and this stone shall stand forever.
Daniel 7:13-14	Daniel sees a vision of the One that looked like a son of man. Jesus Himself used the name, “Son of Man”, to emphasize His humanity as the incarnate Son of God. Jesus was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. All peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. Jesus’ dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away. His kingdom shall not be destroyed.
Micah 5:2	Bethlehem shall come forth the One, Jesus, who is to be ruler in Israel. He is coming forth from of old, Ancient of Days.
Habakkuk 2:14	Like the waters will cover ocean, so will the knowledge of the glory of the Lord cover the earth. Jesus will come as the glory of the Lord in full manifestation of His divine being on earth.
Zechariah 9:9-10	Jesus is the coming King of Zion. Jesus is righteous and has salvation. As foretold, Jesus will be humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Jesus shall speak peace to the nations. And He will reign from sea to sea like the River flowing to the end of the earth.

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word

Youtube had voted this video to be the most viewed for the past 48 hours. Jefferson Bethke wrote a poem that differentiates false religion and Jesus. As Bethke posted the video, as the title says, thousands upon thousands of viewers gather into this video. Now, it has reached at least 3 millions views.

This video was design and made to exalt the name of Jesus Christ over every humankind and false religions in the world. It has amazed, disturbed, confused, and inspired a lot of viewers around the world whether if they are religious, non-religious, or Christians. For Atheists and non-Christians (including not born-again Christians), the language that Bethke speaks may be foreign to you. It sounds cool, but without understand what the message he's delivering, then you miss the depth of the meaning. It sounds confusing because you don't have the mind of Christ. It sounds pathetic or ridiculous because it is foolish to you.

Finally, it may sound disturbing because Jesus was than just a moral or good teacher. He indeed did come to abolish religion and rebuke those who were self-righteous. He came and lived a perfect and holy life by fulfilling the laws. He came on a rescue mission to save sinners (tax collectors, prostitute, unclean, poor, religious and etc.) by dying on the cross for our sins so that His righteousness and His perfection could be inputted to us when we believe and receive what He has done. Additionally, He was resurrected 3 days later to demonstrate that He is God, and that He has conquered Satan, sin, and death. In his resurrection, He walked in the newness of life. Through His resurrection, when we place our faith in Jesus Christ in what He has done, we too could walk in the newness of life and one day experience resurrection--we could also conquer Satan, sin, and death--after this life and live in the New Heaven and New Jerusalem for eternity with Jesus.

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)

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
(Romans 6:4 ESV)

Enjoy the Video :)

THIS IS VANCOUVER

For those who do not know me, I live in the city of Vancouver. I shared a video that was thought-provoking. Personally, I do see God working in Vancouver and saving people every day, but this video is to show the broken side of Vancouver because greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city! Hope you enjoy this video.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/stpetersfireside/thisisvancouver]

Word On The Street: Compassion

Take at least 2 minutes to read Luke 10:25-37 for this week’s passage of the “Word On The Street”.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is probably one of the famous stories in the Bible. Christians and non-Christians (secularism) know this story and have implemented into the culture. The concept of the “Good Samaritan” is found in the “Good Samaritan law”, helping others and cleaning up the mess in the riot, and I don’t know how many “Good Samaritan _____  “(fill in the blank) there are. Hopefully some of you know what the story is about, but we often miss the main point of the story.

It started out with a lawyer asking Jesus what it takes to go to heaven. Jesus asked, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” The lawyer answered the Great Commandment. Since the lawyer answered correctly, he must apply it. The lawyer wanted to justify himself. What did he mean “justify himself”? To be show what is just and to be made right. Why did he want to “justify himself”? He asked Jesus a question, “Who is my neighbour?” As deceitful and clever this lawyer was, he tried to escape the responsibility of not loving those who are “non-neighbour”, such as the poor, the sinners, the sick, the lame, and those who are in the lower social classes.

Jesus told a story to show an example of what a neighbour is like. A man from Jerusalem got mugged by robbers. There were three people who Jesus talked about: Priest, Levite, and Samaritan. Priest is a descendant of Aaron who had priestly responsibilities in the Jerusalem temple. He saw the man wounded but he passed by on the other side, which was to describe his unwillingness to love his neighbor. Levite is a member of the tribe of Levi but not a descendant of Aaron and therefore not a priest. The Levites were the ones who assisted the priests. He also passed by the man. Then came a Samaritan. Culturally, it would have been unthinkable for a Samaritan to help a Jew (the wounded man could have been a Jew because he is coming from Jerusalem) because Jews and Samaritans hated each other. Jesus, however, emphasized the point that to love your neighbor involved showing care and compassion even to those who would not have any normal relationship or to those who are undeserving to be loved and cared for. The Samaritan ministered and helped the injured man by setting “him on his own animal” because he’s probably too injured to walk, brought him to an inn and paid for the fees because he’s been mugged and has nothing left, and extending whatever more cost and care may be needed for this Jew. On the extended note, two denarii were equivalent of two days salary; therefore, it showed that the Samaritan was willing to sacrifice his money and energy for the well-being of the Jew. Jesus ended with this question, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” And we can all answer: “The Good Samaritan”.

I want to make a personal note that I don’t agree that there is a “Good Samaritan”. The headline of your Bible may say that “The Parable of the Good Samaritan”, but Jesus never said the Samaritan was good although he did demonstrate love and kindness. I think, perhaps, that the “Good Samaritan” was able to show love and compassion for his neighbor was because God showed compassion and love toward him in the first place, if he ever existed. Because of the grace of God, the Samaritan’s heart and mind was able to be changed and renewed by the Holy Spirit. No one is good besides God. No one is righteous besides God. Why did Jesus tell us this parable then? It is to show how the “wise and understanding” (the religious leaders who thinks they are good and self-righteous) do not understand even the simplest commands of Scripture. We too fall short like the lawyer. Like the lawyer, we try to justify ourselves by picking and choosing who our neighbours are. How about the man or woman living in E Hastings and doing drugs and sleeping street? Do they need compassion and need to be loved? How about a new person coming into the youth Sunday School or small group or Bible study and we ignore him or her because we like to be comfortable with the friends we know? Does he or she need compassion and need to be loved?

The gospel is a better news than just helping the poor and paying their hotel fees. It is about Jesus. I think that Jesus wanted to us to see ourselves in the story. Who did the injured man represent? I think it would be, in the context of the Bible, the sinners, the lame, the sick, and living in the lower social class (like you and I spiritually speaking). Who did the priest and Levite represent? The religious leaders. Throughout the story of the gospel, the Pharisees never cared about the sinner and didn’t even want to interact with them because they were afraid that it would defile them. They would condemn people like hypocrites for not seeing the plank in their own eyes. In John 8, Jesus was with the prostitute who was about to be stoned by the Pharisees. It shows that being religious doesn’t work.

Jesus not only taught about “loving your neighbor as yourself”, but He fulfills that command in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:5). It is about Jesus loving the world by demonstrating His love on the cross. Jesus loves those who hated Him. Jesus loves those who are affected by culture (John 4). Jesus loves those who persecuted Him. On the cross, He told the Father to forgive them because they don’t know what they were doing.

Apart from Jesus, if we think that by doing good works will label us as “good” and “righteous” people, then don’t be fooled by the religious culture we are living in. Apart from Jesus, all our good deeds are like garbage. I’m not saying don’t help people and stop doing good, but if Jesus has renewed your heart and mind, then all the good deeds you do are no longer for yourself, but for Jesus Christ. Instead of asking an improper question, “Who is my neighbor?” we should ask, “How can I be a loving neighbor?”

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you...Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.” (Luke 6:27; 30)

Word On The Street: Gratitude

Take at least 2 minutes to read Matthew 20:1-16 for this week’s passage of the “Word On The Street”.

As Jesus taught in the parable, the landowner teaches the laborers to be thankful with wages they received. The landowner clearly promised the laborers that the deal was to give them a denarius (a typical day’s wage for a laborer) a day. The landowner, however, did not say denarius per hour. When the laborer came in the last hour before laborers need to get off work, he too got the denarius as the ones who worked from morning at 6am, 9am, 12pm...and so on.  The workers grumbled at the landowner for being unfair because he gave the same wage as to the one who worked only for an hour while they worked for 12 hours. The landowner reminded them, “‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? (v.13 ESV)” That’s the deal my friend! He continues saying, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what BELONGS to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” The reward (the wages) belongs to the landowner, and he explained the fairness of his actions. Begrudge (or envious NIV) literally means, “Is your eye evil?” Instead of being thankful for their wages, they have been blinded by their own self-interested lack of compassion for his fellow worker who needed a job (v.7).

I’ll be asking this question for this post and for the next four weeks: What does this have to do with the gospel?

Jesus is not just an idea originated from the western culture. That is the biggest mistake and assumption that people make regarding Jesus. Jesus was a God becoming a man and was born in Asia in a place called Bethlehem. Anybody can believe in Jesus whether if you’re an Asian, Caucasian, African and every race and tribe and tongue and nation. This parable displays God’s generosity to give salvation to anybody whom Jesus saves whether if they are young or old. Some of us became Christians when we’re young. There are some who would become Christians later on in our life. Some would become Christians a moment before they die. What? Jesus can save those an hour before they die? Yes! But that’s not fair! What about the things they did in the past? Stealing, murder, rebellion, sexual immorality, and etc. Take this parable as a warning from Jesus. Do NOT despise those who would come to faith later. We are no different from them because we are all sinners and we have once been on their shoes before. As Jesus teaches, “So the last will be first, and the first last.” As Christians, we should never measure our worth by comparing it with other’s accomplishments. For example, I helped around the church longer than this person did, so I think God should reward me more. Being a Christian is not about getting a bigger reward than others, but it is about where our heart is at when we serve God. Does our serving focus from a heart of gratitude and joy in RESPONSE to God’s grace to us? Basically, do we love God because Jesus saved us by dying on the cross for our sins, from the wrath of God, resurrecting from the grave to give us new life. Those who are Christians will get the same reward. If you’re a Christian, then you and I will get the same reward when we get to heaven. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)

This parable is an amazing story that Jesus taught, and it can relate to us in a personal level. If you’re not a Christian yet, by God’s mercy and grace, Jesus welcomes you. Let our attitudes be changed to gratitude by believing in what Jesus has done for you and I and accept His forgiveness, inviting the Holy Spirit to regenerate you, and to convict us of sin, and repent of sin.

"Religion will change your outer behaviors, but grace will change your heart."

"If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." (1 Corinthians 3:14-15 ESV)

Day 29 – Goals for the next 30 days.

Finally, this is the second last post for the "30 Days" challenge! Will I continue to blog after the challenge? Yes, I will because I won't be so limited to what I need to blog about.

There are tons of goals that I need to accomplish for the next 30 days.

For those who do not know, I will be going on Project with Campus For Christ this summer. Therefore, it will be an exciting journey that God has graciously called me into! You know, I never thought I would be used by God. I'm not worthy, and I do not deserve His love and forgiveness, but by God's grace, He still chose to love me and sent Jesus Christ to be my propitiation of God's wrath. Through His blood, my sins were washed away. "I'm just a nobody who wants to tell everybody about Somebody."

In order to go on this trip, I am challenged to raise financial and prayer support who will partner up with me as I embark on this great adventure that I am very excited about. Doing ministry and serving the Lord are my passion, and I probably will pursue ministry in the future. I will need to raise $4800 before the end of April. Before that, I actually need to raise $1500 by March 18th, which is approaching really fast; however, it doesn't mean I can't go if I don't meet the deadline. It is just to make sure I am on top of things with support raising. I am working hard, somewhat, in raising support and sending out support letters. In addition, I will need to do vaccination this Thursday because there might be some diseases that I need to be aware of when I am on project. I believe there are more technical stuff, but that will do for now. Hopefully by 30 days, I will be able to accomplish lots for the glory of God. Therefore, please pray for me in terms of support raising, allowing God to equip me and sharpen my sword, and open up the hearts for those who are ready to hear the gospel. If you want my support letter, then please let me know by messaging me by facebook personal message or comment below (but let me know who you are).

For the Youth Sunday school, I will be teaching on the book of Ruth. I taught chapter 1 last Sunday, and I believe it went really well. Pray for the youth that it is not just a nice story, but to demonstrate the work of Jesus Christ who is the greater kinsman redeemer or greater Boaz. I praise God that Jesus is my kinsman redeemer, and I have been brought back into fellowship with the Father with the COST of Jesus' blood on the cross. I greatly enjoy teaching the book of Ruth and I look forward to seeing what God will do in my heart, and in the hearts of the youth and leaders.

I have been a bit behind with schoolwork, and I need to stop procrastinating. Readings after readings; projects after projects; assignments after assignments. When will this end? Until I graduate...I hope. Therefore, I pray for strength and motivation to work hard and be a good student. By God's grace, He has given me education while a lot of people around the world don't have that kind of opportunity, so I want to cherish my University moments while it lasts.

That's all for this post. I look forward in reflecting on what happened for the past "30 Days"...which was actually more than 3 months ago which I started this challenge. God Bless

Winter Conference 10/11 – Your Love Never Fails (PT.2)

[caption id="attachment_604" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="I was sharing my evangelistic experience to more than 200 people during the day of evangelism"][/caption]

This is the 2nd part of my sharing for Winter Conference. Last blog, I talked about the highlights that I took out, Initiative Evangelism (during our free time and night time), and also my visions in how God wants me to impact the world. For this entry, I will basically finish up the rest of my experience at Winter Conference.

Our speaker for this conference is Tom Cullen. He's a pastor at a Chinese church in Scarborough. I thoroughly enjoyed all the main session. He covered a lot of important depth of the Bible in the Old Testament and how we can play part of God's story. He encouraged us to always read the Bible in CONTEXT. He used few examples of how the verses or passages are taken out of context, such as 1 Corinthians 13.

Pastor Tom went through:

The survey of Genesis: The story of God in creation;
The survey of Deuteronomy: The story of God's grace;
The survey of Ruth: The story of God in redemption;
The survey of Jonah: The story of God in mission.

Pastor Tom knew his stuff and I thank God that He called him to speak at conference, blessing us with the word of God, encouraging us and challenging us. For those who went on conference, indeed you may be fed with good knowledge of the Old Testament, but I encourage you (and myself) to use it and go out and share this message with our friends because "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."

The workshop this year is pretty good this year. I went to three seminars: How to Love difficult people, Why is the Old Testament awesome, and Make the most of your time. I won't go into a lot details on the workshops because there would be lots to cover.

Personally, I do struggle with loving difficult people, especially my family. Sometimes I am selfish towards them and not care about them. Because they are non-believers, they talk about stuff that it's hard for me to participate. God is using me to love them and I want to show that love to them so that they would see Christ in me.
Old Testament is awesome! PERIOD. Interestingly enough, I am taking Willing School of the Bible, and the course is covering all of the Old Testament. So far, the course is awesome! God is good.
I need to find my notes for the last workshop (Make the most of your time). This is what I took out: find a purpose and manage your time to meet that purpose.

During the day of evangelism, C4C did an outreach in a totally new way. We used facebook, msn, phone, and other technical innovation to help advance the message of the gospel through the use of the media and the internet. Long story short from my experience (check the photo on the top), it started out with prayer and empowerment of the Holy Spirit to guide me to talk to whoever is online. Also, I specifically prayed for my friend to be online so I may have another spiritual conversation with him. And praise God! My prayer was answered. He and I had a long spiritual conversation about Grace vs. Religion. I explained everything he needed to know about the difference, and he understood the difference. Ultimately, I want to show love and I want to love him as much as possible to help him discover who Jesus is and what His goal was on earth. Therefore, I shared the gospel with him for my fourth time. However, in the end, he would say that he does not believe in the existence of God, and I didn't know what to respond to him. Although I thank God because he is very open to both arguments between theist and atheist because there is no concrete evidence...yet he leans on the other side more.

If you are reading this, and you do not believe God exist, then may I submit to you to consider the life you are living in. This world we are living in will all die and fade away. Actually, we will die some day. If I am DEAD WRONG that God exist (or if God does not exist), then no hard feelings for me because I do not have anything to lose (think logically =D ). However, if you are wrong, then you are making a BAD gamble for your eternal destiny. I do love you because I do not want you to make that gamble. For those who are in Christ, we have the full confidence that Jesus is alive and has all the authority of ruling over all the heavens and the earth, and that those who receive Him as Saviour and Lord shall inherit eternal life; therefore, we do not need to make that kind of gamble. If you are not a Christian, then what is your craving in life? Do those cravings fulfill all the satisfaction in your own life? What if Jesus is the one who can fulfill those cravings?

Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman who was getting water at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (Context of this passage is found in John 4)

If you want to know more about Jesus, then you have to know the basics of why I believe, which is ultimately the Gospel that is explained in this link.

I shall end my Winter Conference experience here. I want to end this post with a quote by my friend, Kevin Thomas, that truly applies to the desires that I have.

"So what do I want to do? I know what I don't want to happen. In my final moments before I take the road that exits this life, I don't want to look back and just see a diligent student who did well in school, got a high GPA and academic accomplishments to boot. I don't want my life to become about a great professional who always put the project first. I don't want to just see an hard-working engineer who wrote great code and built impressive systems; no one will remember either of them. I won't want to see my possessions, certificates or accolades that only accumulate ever thicker layers of dust; none of them will give me any comfort at that time. An impressive resume will become meaningless, for no one will ever use it to make a hiring decision ever again. Any money (or lack of it) that I accumulate will have an exchange rate of zero on the other side of this life.

I want to pour my life out to the very last drop for that which will bring life to people's hearts. I want to tell them about the Living One, the Christ without whom there is no Land of The Living. Loving people has become very important to me. I want to love those around me with all the risks that come with it, even if I get hurt in the process; the hurt won't matter anymore on the other side of this life. What good is it being a stingy miser with my words, affection and actions? Who am I saving all my capacity for love, anyway? Am I planning to hoard it carefully and spend it all on those whom I meet when I cross over into the Land of The Living? That's so stupid!

I have come to the conclusion that as great as it is that we are able to develop innovative technology, building better systems of any kind will not ultimately change the condition of the human heart, out of which all things flow. Neither will the approach of taking power out of the hands of the few and putting it into the hands of the people; it is pointless if the heart doesn't recognize the One who possesses and bestows all power, understand what true power is, and how to wield it. Without bringing people to the knowledge of the Living One, the Giver of Life, I have come to the belief that every other accomplishment in my life is ultimately meaningless.

I want to shine the light of the Living One in the Land of the Dying, so that those who are dead will see His light and come along with me on my journey with Him to the Land of the Living. If I die in the process, I'll get there all the faster. "

May God bless you as we journey this life together by His grace and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 "Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints."