Yearly Archives: 2008

Committing Unconditionally

“So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver… And I said to her, ‘You shall stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.’” Hosea 3:2

In the Old Testament God commanded Hosea to love his adulteress wife (representing idolatrous Israel). The order of events in Hosea 3:2 is significant; “So I bought her for myself…And I said to her…so, too will I be toward you.” Hosea committed to purchasing his wife before she made any commitment to be faithful to him. Our purchases, however, are extremely conditional and this logic unfortunately prevails in our relationship with God and with others.

Are we willing to commit our lives to God prior to or despite the absence of blessing? When we’re dealing with misfortune, it’s hard to give our all in preparing for the next Bible study or RE lesson. It’s hard to give thanks to God wholeheartedly in prayer without bitterness. Only when things are smooth do we conscientiously serve the Lord. Job’s devotion to God, however, was unconditional. We say, “God, deliver me from this trial and I will praise you.” Job said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

Are we willing to commit ourselves towards loving others, to show kindness equally to all? If we saw our friend sitting alone, we wouldn’t think twice about joining him. But if we saw the mean or unpopular kid sitting alone, we wouldn’t think twice about not joining him. Our preaching is also conditional; we preach to those who we think might listen and not to those who “we know” won’t listen. Jesus, however, says, “As I have loved you…love one another” (John 13:34). He set the example by healing the leper in Matthew 8; no one thought twice about touching him, Jesus thought once about healing him.

Just as Hosea committed to his unfaithful wife, God committed himself to Israel even before they turned back to Him. Likewise, God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). It’s hard to love unconditionally – God knows that more than us. Yet, He was and is still willing. Are we?

Is Your Mind Stayed on God?

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This morning I read a sharing about trials and tribulations. The article mentioned a verse which encouraged me greatly and touched me deeply because these words of God came at the right time:

“You will keep in perfect peace him, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)

There are times in my life when I am extremly busy and tired which makes me lose the feeling of peace and joy in Jesus Christ. I guess most of us will experience this kind of situation somewhere along our journey of faith. When we are busy with worldly matters, i.e. our studies, careers, family, etc., our minds are not “stayed on God”. We are easily distracted from our initial focus on God. For this reason we are easily washed away by the waters of this world. We become prone to adopting the world’s mindset, values, words, behavior and lifestyle. As a result we forget to trust in God with all our heart and suddenly our inner peace and joy is gone.

So we need to refocus. Fix our minds steadfastly on the Lord. Trust in Him, the source of all things, the almighty, omniscient and omnipresent God, and we will find what we lost on the way–peace and joy.

What Kills

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There is a saying that goes, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Another similar one goes, “Earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings kill people.” These two sayings, along with a recent sermon I heard, spurred this thought: “Physical pain doesn’t kill people, anxieties of the heart kill people.”

In the sermon, two interesting stories about animals came up as examples for us to learn from; it was also a reminder that sometimes God can use His creation to teach us certain lessons. The two stories are told in my own words as follows.

The first story is about a certain place where bats bite the backs of horses for blood. As a result, some of the horses frolic about angrily and eventually die, yet some do not. After scientific testing, it turns out that the horses that die actually die of frustration, not because of the loss of blood. In fact, the horse’s loss of blood is not life threatening, just as mosquitoes have never caused humans to die from losing too much blood.

The second story is about two monkeys in a cage –one free, and one tied down. At certain intervals of time, a red button would light up, followed by a light electric shock in the cage. The free monkey eventually figures out that by pressing the red button, the door of the cage would open and it would be able to escape. Each time this happened, the free monkey would frantically escape the shock and experimenters would put him back in the cage, whereas the tied down monkey would remain inside, enduring every shock.

After a period of time, one of the monkeys died; it was not the tied down monkey. It was the free one. Just like the first story, the light electric shock was not actually life threatening. Upon dissection, the experimenters discovered that the free monkey’s internal organs had been in a terrible state, full of ulcers due to extreme anxiety, whereas the tied down monkey was perfectly healthy in every way.

What is the moral of these two stories? Physical threats to life don’t kill, anxieties of the heart is what kills. Actually, this is not an original thought but one that falls in line with the teachings of the Bible, as we might recall: “A heart at peace gives life to the body…” (Prov 14:30 NIV).

Often times, small issues in life bother us much more than they ought to, and we end up being frustrated or anxious to the detriment of our own health and spirituality. At times like this, it might even seem as if we have forgotten about how great our God is!

So seriously, don’t overlook this verse: “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Pet 5:7). It’s a matter of life and death, whether physical or spiritual.

A Higher Standard

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Amos 1:1-2:3 NKJV

(1) The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
(2) And he said: “The LORD roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers.”
(3) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron.
(4) But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, Which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
(5) I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven, And the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,” Says the LORD.
(6) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they took captive the whole captivity To deliver them up to Edom.
(7) But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, Which shall devour its palaces.
(8) I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn My hand against Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,” Says the Lord GOD.
(9) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
(10) But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, Which shall devour its palaces.”
(11) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because he pursued his brother with the sword, And cast off all pity; His anger tore perpetually, And he kept his wrath forever.
(12) But I will send a fire upon Teman, Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”
(13) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, That they might enlarge their territory.
(14) But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, And it shall devour its palaces, Amid shouting in the day of battle, And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
(15) Their king shall go into captivity, He and his princes together,” Says the LORD.
(1) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
(2) But I will send a fire upon Moab, And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; Moab shall die with tumult, With shouting and trumpet sound.
(3) And I will cut off the judge from its midst, And slay all its princes with him,” Says the LORD.

Amos lists the sins and punishments of various Gentile nations. If we read through them, we see that many of the things they did are quite brutal, cruel, or just plain wicked. Massacres, oppression, betrayal, relentless destruction, etc. All of these crimes that God is accusing these nations of are related to how each treated people of other nations. Because they persisted in harming and destroying each other, God punished each and every one, sending His fire to devour their palaces–images and structures of glory and might. We could easily say, “Amen” to God’s justice. After all, these nations had little to no regard for life and they surely deserved to be punished. Surely their transgressions angered and provoked the Lord.

But then we read on – Amos 2:4-16

(4) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have despised the law of the LORD, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed.
(5) But I will send a fire upon Judah, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
(6) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals.
(7) They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My holy name.
(8) They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

Judah and Israel, the chosen people of God, are also listed here among the Gentile nations. God said He would send fire to devour the palaces of Jerusalem, His own holy city. What were the people of God guilty of? What heinous acts did they commit? Why did God want to punish them?

Because they have despised the law of the LORD, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed…Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals. They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My holy name. They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

Did the people go out enslaving other weaker nations? Did they recklessly kill foreign armies? No, they didn’t. In fact, compared to all the acts of the other nations listed, the evil of Judah and Israel doesn’t look that bad. Yet God said he would punish them just the same as the nations that murdered and destroyed. Why? Because God has a higher standard for His people. These were the ones with whom God made a covenant in the wilderness. He commanded them to obey his laws and decrees, and in turn he promised them abundant blessing, prosperity, and victory. These were the chosen descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob–the sole line that was to maintain and preserve the holy image of God. These were supposed to be God’s children.

Though His people did not outwardly sin against other nations, they did sin against each other internally (in the case of Israel), and they sinned against God. From our point of view, the sins of Judah and Israel are generally less severe than those of other nations, but God was not only angered and provoked–He was deeply weighed down with grief, because these were the people who He personally lead with His hand:

(9) “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath.
(10) Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite.
(11) I raised up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?” Says the LORD.
(12) “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’
(13) “Behold, I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down.
(14) Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, Nor shall the mighty deliver himself;
(15) He shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
(16) The most courageous men of might Shall flee naked in that day,” Says the LORD.

Those of us who are Christian today should consider. Maybe we don’t go around killing, stealing, oppressing, or hurting others. Maybe we don’t go around partying, smoking, cursing, or cheating. Does that make us “better” than everyone else? Does that make us more “righteous” than those around us? Does that mean we should be satisfied with how “good” we are relative to the rest of the world?

Do we truly obey the commandments of the Lord in their pure form or do we despise the law of the Lord by deciding ourselves what is right and wrong? Do we pursue holiness or do we find pleasure in the depravity of the media? Do we seek the glorification of God’s name or do we defile it? Every little thing in our lifestyle matters, because we have a higher standard–we were bought at a higher price.

Only Believe, All Things Are Possible

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In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I testify about how God has guided me throughout my life, and how I received the Holy Spirit.

I was born into the True Jesus Church. My parents, my older sister, as well as my mother’s side of the family were all believers. I was baptized when I was very young. However, unlike many believers who grew up in TJC, I had a very different childhood. My parents moved to North Carolina in hopes of finding a nice place to live. There were many good schools here, good jobs, and good living standards. So although I was born in TJC, I grew up in a remote area with no church or prayer house. We used to have Saturday family services with my family and my mom’s side of the family. I don’t remember the details because I was so young, but there were one or two other families that came to service, too. Eventually, those families left church, and my mother’s family moved to California. When I was in 4^th grade, we moved to a new house just two minutes away. At the time, my parents worked very hard to provide for my sister and me. Eventually, my mom began working longer shifts, including Saturdays. My sister is 11 years older than me, so at that time she also started college. On Saturdays, it would just be my dad and me. I didn’t grow up with Religious Education, so my dad taught me everything I knew. We would study the Bible and sing hymns together. After lunch, he would always ask me to recite Psalm 23 or the Lord’s Prayer for him. Continue reading →