When seeing God is not enough

One of my friends was reading Exodus 24:9-11: "Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank." And she just realized that human being can see God Himself. (She thought that no one can see God, or they will be struck dead). I pointed out the significant of the preceding verse 8 of the important of redemption/forgiveness before approaching God: "Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.'". (Jesus also stated, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" - unfortunately there are no one could be perfect enough on their own to see God by their own perfection, that's why we depend on the blood of Jesus to cover all our sin...)

Then interesting enough, the lectionary calendar for this week points me to the next part of Exodus 24. Verse 12 said that, "The LORD said to Moses, 'Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.'"

What I am seeing here is the link between the redemption/forgiveness in verse 8, the fellowship with God and with each other in verse 9-11, and the Instruction of God given here in verse 12.

First, note the order of redemption/forgiveness --> fellowship with God and others, and --> following God's instruction in life. Without believing, there will be no belonging; and without belonging, there will be no becoming.

And many times we stop short too prematurely in our growth in God. Some thought that if our sin are forgiven, that was enough, salvation is just a "get out of hell card". Others thought that if we find ourselves in fellowship with other believers and with God, that was enough, blessing is just "spiritual happiness". But here, God bid Moses to move on to receive "the law and the commandment, which [God] have written for [our] instruction!" The important matter is to continue follow God in this present life, in the present world. Jesus emphasized plainly that if a person love Him, that person must obey what He commanded (John 14:15,21,23,24). And so, we need to move on to actually follow God's instruction in life, and not just stoping short prematurely.

Being grounded in the Word are crucial for us to know what to do in life.

In the recent weeks, I was studying from Daniel in our small group. In the last study, this scenario played out: A death squad of the Nazis descended upon a Jewish ghetto to carry out their destructive order. And they met the first guy on the block: You. What would you do?

Daniel was in that scenario, and this is what recorded of him, "When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact" [Dan.2:14]. That word "tact" is an intersting word, the PCS has the following insight on it:

"[that word] is variously rendered in the Old Testament. It is related to the Hebrew verb meaning 'to taste' (taam). Here it conveys those spiritual instincts of judgment, discernment, and what we might call a sense of the realities of the situation. Daniel's wisdom was a well-developed sense of spiritual 'taste.'

We speak about people having a highly developed taste in many spheres. What we mean is that they are able to tell the difference between foods or drinks or even clothes that seem to the rest of us virtually indistinguishable. Taste is a mysterious sense and one which experience can develop to a very high degree. There are people who can tell the year of a certain wine or the origin of the leaves for a cup of tea. In some ways, spiritual wisdom is just like that. It is a highly developed sense of God's ways, learned through obedience to God's Word. It is a sensitive awareness of the kind of behavior that is appropriate to the child of God in different circumstances. It does not necessarily come with age but with understanding of the Lord's Word and ways..."

So, in the midst of our everyday life, God invited us to take on His instruction and His word so that we would be able to live effectively in our everyday life, admist all the problems and crises we will encounter.

Lord God, help me to not only just be forgiven, but also can overcome sins; help me not only just have the fellowship, but also have the followship; and help me not only just know Your Word, but also obey them as well.

The road of the masters

Last Saturday there was an anonynous email came to the district, accusing one of my mentor of adultery. The implication? Twenty years from now, I might be in the receiving end of things like that too. Didn't JC say, "If they do this to me, they will do this to you also." So, what will I do to prepare for that day when it comes?

How could anyone mock the Tsunami victims?

I got this from Nancy...

Friends,

I got an email today from a friend, notifying me of a "Tsunami Song" played on a popular hip hop station, Hot 97, and the notorious conversation amongst 2 hosts on the show towards an Asian woman who voiced her complaints about this song. This just happened on 1/21/05. I didn't think much of it until I actually went on the website & read up on it & listened to it myself. It broke my heart with anger & sadness as I listened on. Anyways, I'm not much for petitioning against things but this was something that I feel strongly speaking out against. If interested, check it out yourselves: http://www.petitiononline.com/endhate/petition.html http://www.hiphopmusic.com/archives/000760.html (Click on one of the MP3 links to hear the radio conversation & song) Reminds me of a fallen world in which we've lost love & even respect for those who are different, especially ethnically & racially. One of things that I've learned in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship during my college years, was that Race Matters, and the need to deal with it as we are a part of multi-ethnic communities, else we will tear one another apart. We haven't gone too far aways from Racism. May the power of Jesus on the Cross break down walls of racial hostility & bring about reconciliation & healing. Education may cure Ignorance. But the message of the Cross restores & rebuilds People's relationships with their Creator...and with each other. Praying for the power of the Cross in each of our lives...

Snippets from the website:

On January 21st, 2005, an offensive song/skit containing openly derogatory and racist overtones reached millions of listeners in New York City when it was broadcast on Hot 97's "Miss Jones in the Morning" radio show. While the radio show has a history of recording and playing such spoofs on a regular basis, the infamous "Tsunami Song" mocks not only the victims of the unfortunate recent natural disaster in Southeast Asia, but also all members of the Asian race in general with the racial slurs "chink" and "Chinamen." Choice lyrics included: - "All at once you could hear the screaming ch*nks and no one was safe from the wave there were africans drowning, little chinamen swept away you could hear god laughing, 'swim you b*tches swim'" - "So now you're screwed, it's the Tsunami, you better run or kiss your ass away, go find your mommy, I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head, and now the children will be sold to child slavery..." On this tape you hear them introducing the "Tsunami Song," then Miss Jones and co-host Todd Lynn launching into an abusive tirade against Miss Info when she voices her objection to it. Miss Jones finally tells Info she's only complaining because "you feel superior, probably because you're Asian."Then, after Miss Info has said the song is offensive to Asians, co-host Todd Lynn informs her: "I'm gonna start shooting Asians." Yes, he really says that."

One of my friend at google put in some research time and came up with some additional information:

• Here's a link to the song. Be warned, its pretty offensive, and i'm a person who can usually take things in stride but this was just pure mockery of a tragic event. Its not satirical or even remotely funny. [Note: As of today, the site was down. Basically, any site who put up the MP3 file will be under the traffic flood of the entire Internet to get the actual fact, therefore it might be hard to get a piece of this. But if you want it hard enough, my friend at google can get it for you...]
• http://www.hot97.com has the official statement slash "apology". Its a pretty crappy, lame, and generic apology if you ask me.
• http://www.hiphopmusic.com/archives/000759.html for a discussion about it from a very reputeable hip hop site.
• "We demand that the FCC take some kind of action. If they can impose hundreds of thousands of dollars, or millions of dollars, in penalties for a wardrobe malfunction, thjey can certainly take some kind of action with regard to this," said Queens Councilman John Liu.

For the latest news on this, click this Google's News Update! But as of 1/26/05: Hot 97 Announces Suspension, Details Unclear So Far

Spectrums of the Spiritual Journey

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mat.5:3-10)

Oh God, you are full of mercy. Remember me, a sinner.

This is so familiar to many of us, me included that sometimes we can no longer hear what it meant. Especially when you seems to have your Christian life "together". But when you are broken by sins, in the struggle and failures of everyday living, when you feel like you cannot get anywhere in this spiritual journey, these words become so comforting: "blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..." Those words cleanses my soul deep down this morning. O Lord have mercy on me, a sinner. But then there's sometimes we seems to be in other end of the spectrum of the Christian life; when we are making progress, when we live out the faith, when we have a taste of victory over sins, etc. Then these words continue to encourage us, "blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and who are persecuted for righteousness' sake." I see these words as gears in a cyclical engine of faith. We started out somewhere with being needy, being desperate, and through repentance and faith in Jesus, we move toward maturity in righteousness, living out the faith toward other people, to the point that we could be persecuted for doing the right things. But don't take me wrong, I don't think these gears are static (once you got through a certain level, you are ready for the next one); I see these as very small, and continuous cycles in our lives as we living out the faith. (Some thing I wrote about about in the cyclical pattern of faith). It's also interesting that the words "bless" here can be translated as "happy" as well. If so, this is the secret to "a happy life", but not the kind of happiness which the Time magazine special issues "The Science of Happiness" discussed about. This is the kind of biblical happiness which Mark Robert discussed about in his theology of happiness. For me this morning, I am starting from the broken end and trusting that God will take me to the wholistic end of the Beattitude soon.

Not Sadness vs. Joy, but Sadness & Joy

Sometimes, I wrote stuff and buried them deep somewhere. And then other sometimes I ran into similar situations which old writing were describing exactly how I feel, and I dig old stuff up to soak in my old thinking and to figure out some new light. One of the recurring problem I often encountered is spiritual casualty. It's what happened when people back slide or die spiritually. More than a year ago, I wrote this in private...

Oct. 28, 2003

Last Saturday I found my high school pastor[1] playing the piano in the corner of an empty room in the dark. She was crying. I sat down with her and found out what was wrong. One of her top student leader was just finish talking to her, stating the intention of back slide out of church. All a long, the student was doing great, leading small group, facilitating bible studies, participating regularly in the leadership discipleship group... And now this, making a consciencious decision to drop out of church, stop following Christ. We still wonder why... But my pastor was heart-broken. She invested so much time into this particular student (and she was the girl's mentor). She regreted "If only I saw the signs early on...", and sobbed. I tried to comfort her. I reminded her about the Ultimate Shepherd, who were ultimately supposed to look after the sheep. We remembered another tragic casualty of another leader who left our leadership team just to date a non-Christian bachelor. We talked about the time Jesus allowing Lazarus to die before He making him live again... But words seem to be so inadequated in situation like this...

Now, the same feeling is flooding through again. Like a doctor witnessing a patient died, I think anyone who serve in ministry sooner or later will encountered spiritual casualty sooner or later.

In those times, part of you wanna cry, "It would be great that I wouldn't care so that I won't feel hurt so much." But that's part of the package. Love is Inherently Tragic![2] When we chose to love, we chose the possibility to be rejected. When we chose to marry, or to have kids, we chose the possibility that we could bury them someday, as part of the package. In the same way, when we chose to minister to people, we will also chose the pain that go with it as well.

Once we understand this, then we also understand the question of, "Why would God created humankind, while He knows fully that they are capable of betraying Him?" Once we understand this, then we could understand how is it that Jesus could be "the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world." [Rev.13:8]

But we, the people of God are not called to be depressing people! One of my recent personal reading was from Isaiah 9:1-4, where Isaiah toldforth...

But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

And so, when Jesus was found walking the sea of Galilee [in Mat.4:12-17], the author of the Gospel, realized this is the beginning of the great joy of God, poured out to humankind (the gentile).

I have the tendency to be too serious, sober and depressed. And the lesson I need to learn is to cross over from sadness to joy. Recently, I have been studied (yep, study) about hapiness. Mark Robert, a friend of my professor had this long (11-parts) post about the theology of happiness, which I finally finished reading. And somehow I think that sadness and suffering is also an inherent part of joy as well. Does it make any sense?

Lord Jesus, help us to understand the life you had in mind for us, so that we can live like what you want us to live.

The day after the storm

I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living...

I am drawn to Psalm 27 this week in the lectionary. It's probably because of God spoke into my being through this passage.

Last night, we got into an argument. She slammed the door on me, and I took off into the night in anger. Thank God for the prayer support I must have received at that precise time. I took a short trip, then turned around and went home. Around 1am we were actually talking again as sane people. Eventhough there were nothing concrete came out yet, but atleast I know where to work on now.

Ps.27:9: Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!

Does God really ever hide His face from us, or turn us away in anger? Hardly, but it could seem that way to us. And during those times, I will need to stand firm in what I believe about God:

Ps.27:10: If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me up.

Ps.27:11 encourages me to do the right thing: "Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies."

Last night, there were many wrong places I could ended up as the result of my anger. And it was not easy to come home right away (it's more dramatic to stay out longer to stress her out; and it's losing face to crawl home and admit, 'I was out of line, I am sorry') But didn't I commit to do the right thing and follow God's way? So I came home, and made peace with God and myself first, then to my wife later.

As we talked later that night, one comment from my wife concerned me a lot: 'It seems like the more ministry you are doing, the worse you are at home!' I was surprised, for I thought that I was a much better husband now than who I was supposed to be. After all, if I am closer to God now than before, how could I be worse as a husband. If she thinks I am getting worse, and I think I am getting better, who would be right? How can we accurately assess this situation?

After discussing some more about 'How could you see that I am worse' (with a sane and civilized discussion), she mentioned some profound insight: 'Perhaps we might have the same vision so we are driven in the same direction. But is there any love left?'

Wow. This is as Tommy Nelson said about 'A maid living with a butler', they could function well and serve one another - but is it love?

I suggested that perhaps we will need to put a "date night" schedule into practice. We heard a lot about it but we've never applied before. She didn't answer my suggestion (perhaps she was tired of all my promises as usual).

But well, at least I know which way to go now. And I appreciate your prayers:

Ps.27:13-14: I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

A husband trying to be a pastor.

Downer's Music

At Winter Conference, two guys wrote a song on the last night of praise and testimony.It was a melancholic song with the crying refrain, "Save me!Save me!"And I remember the author had to introduce the downer's song with an insight that Psalm 40 also was a kind of downer's Psalm, in which the Psalmist chose to praise God even in the midst of his pain and anguish.

Lady and Gentlemen, here’s the first 11 verses of Psalm 40:

I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. Happy are those who make the LORD their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods. You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted. Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. Do not, O LORD, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.

There you have it. Even people who steadfastly following God like King David didn't escape from the mundane troubles of life. It is a fallacy to follow God so that you can be successful in your career, have a happy marriage, or receive blessings and prosperity. No, you follow God because He will be with you through out all of the ups and downs of life.

In the bible, Hebrews 10:5-7 ascribed this passage to Jesus:

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am - it is written about me in the scroll - I have come to do your will, O God.’”

In that line of thought, I am wondering if that if we the people of God also need to embrace the similar attitude when we come to face the mundane troubles of life: If Jesus attitude was that the Bible prescribed the will of God for Him, could we follow that same attitude and search the Word to live our life according to God’s will too. This also means that we would also embrace the mundane trouble allotted for us with the faith that through our obedience and faith in the trouble times, God will be exalted, and that "Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD".

This may be a tough lesson for us all to learn, but after all anyone could trust in God when God blessed them and with the things they wanted in life. But the true worshipers of God are the one who could worship Him and give Him praise in any circumstances of life.

O God, help us to go beyond just seeing you as a tool to manipulate for our own prosperity and happiness; help us to truly follow the footstep of your Son Jesus, in trusting you and live accordingly to your will, even through the mundane troubles of life.

Politically Incorrect: God is not Helpless

This morning, my lectionary reading calendar lead me to Psalm 29. It was so "political incorrect"...

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name; worship the LORD in holy splendor. The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, "Glory!" The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!

If it were any other year, this lectionary Psalm would have been fine for reading and studying and preaching. But I doubt if anyone would have the gut to use this Psalm this week, in the aftermath of the tsunami tragedy. The Psalmist called us to ascribe to the Lord, to give Him glory, to worship Him, to acknowledge His strength, power, and masjesty. No doubt that the Psalmist was not in the same circumstance, not wrestling with a devastating tsunami. But would that make any difference? Why is that we can only acknowledge that God "sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever" when there were no images of the oceanic destruction on CNN? So many of us scrambled to defend that "Our God is not like that!", to the point that we are willing to reduce God into a helpless weakling, who could not bear to see tragedy hits His children? I am not saying that God is sadistic, who cause all this to happen. But I wouldn't say that God is so powerless to prevent this from happen either. What we have here is a paradox of the nature of God which displayed even when Jesus was here in John 11 (the resurrection of Lazarus). On the one hand, it seems like Jesus knew what was going on and didn't prevent tragedy from happening in delaying to come to Lazarus' help. On the other hand, He was moved to tears at the loss of his friend Lazarus when he passed away. How could both actions genuinely be happening in the same event? It's a paradox which I am will have to explore further in my study for next week. But at this moment, I am accepting the paradox of God. At this moment, I will also need to remind myself that while God is compasionate, He is not a weakling either. The last verse in the Psalm should be our prayers:

May the LORD give strength to his people (to trust in Him)! May the LORD bless his people with peace (while they may not understand Him)!