Brain dump

http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=TYG_Boston http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=JOHNAZN16 - from Philly. Emerging Hope by Jimmy Long 1. Overview: From Modern to Emerging Culture 2. Leadership: From Individual to Community 3. Witness: Belonging Before Believing 4. Communication: Word and Image 5. Context: From Tribalism to God's Kingdom Story 6. Implications: Transitioning to an Emerging Ministry

"Only if I know what God's will for my life is..."

More than once I heard that line. As if it will solve all your problems. High School grads wondered if God's will for them are in a certain majors, schools, or profession ("I wondered if God's will is for me to finish Med school...") Lonely singles wondered if God's will for them involved a certain persons as their future mates ("I wondered if God's will that we would be married...")

Jesus knew God's will explicitly from His birth ("you shall call Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins"). Jeremiah knew his prophetic destination from his childhood; David was annointed King even a few decades before his actual coronation...

Wouldn't it be great if God let us know the blue print of our lives so that we wouldn't be so restless about our future?

Wouldn't it?

Sorry - I couldn't disclose the biblical answers at this point. Come to my church this Sunday. Paul and I will discuss that issue in our 10am morning worship gathering... (read the transcript here)

It's Worth It to Love to Death

I just came back from the 30th Aniversary Annual Conference of the Vietnamese District of the CM&A (“Hoi Dong Giao Hat Bac My, Dac Biet Ky Niem 30 Nam”). This year we reached another important milestone for English Speaking Ministry for our churches (read it here). For the rest of the time, even though I went there since Saturday morning through Tuesday night, I was hanging out with the English Speaking groups most of the time and not the Vietnamese programs. Except for a few hours Monday night; but it was worth it.

Monday night was the missionary night. This year, they tracked down and invited over 30 ex-missionary from the CMA to Vietnam and honored them for bring the Gospel to Vietnam. The most powerful moment came from listening to their testimonies about their work in Vietnam.

One of the old woman retold the story of her capture by the North Vietnamese during Tet Mau Than. She was walked by her captors all the way from Ban Me Thuoc to Ha Noi (about 1000 miles), lost 50 pounds, and retold about her many attempts to witness to Mr. Khoi, her captor. Her husband was also captured on the same day, but they took him on a different route, and she has never seen him since.

I listened to Dr. Thomas Stebbins interviewed Mrs. Zimmerman, who witnessed her husband was shot by machine gun during Tet Mau Than as he surrendered with his hands above his head. A nurse named Ruth rushed to his side to only to be gunned down by machine gun. Another one rushed into a shelter and the shelter was blown up by grenades. Inside the shelter were the brother and sister-in-law of Mr. Thomas Stebbins. Both of them died during the Tet Mau Than.

Dr. Thomas Stebbins stayed on as missionary for fifteen-years in Vietnam and left Saigon on April 29, 1975. He recalled persuading Muc Su Doan Van Mieng to leave with him but the old man shook his head, “I need to stay with the flock”.

One of the old missionaries now is still working with the Vietnamese in Cambodia, and he was pleading with us to do something to stop the sex-trafficking of kindergarten-aged children in the region he works with. Other missionaries retold many stories of love and compassion from God for the Vietnamese people.

And I never forget the tearful conclusion of the speaker for the night, after describing all the hardship they have been through, that “it was all worth it!”

O God, such a sacrifice from your Son brought such a sacrifice from your children. Help me to live a life that worth the price they have paid to make You known!

Why is it that God always cutting it too close?

Here's another thing that i12know: Why is it that God always cutting it too close to the last minute. The volunteer youth director at my church, my close friend, is also a technical businessman. He is a design engineer by trade and owned his own company before he came to Christ a few years ago. After committing his life to Christ, issues in business practice began to flare up between him and his long time partner (they were best friends). So after much praying and soul-searching, he decided to sell his share of the company to his partner, and step out in faith with a new venture. For the last two three years it had been particularly hard on him. After getting married for a few months, his daughter passed away as 8-months still born (and that was my first funeral). His new business was bleeding non-stop, money keep coming out without any end in sight. His new family surfered under the pressure. Yet he's still hanging in there and serving faithfully in the youth ministry even though more than once I suggested him to let go of it. The last few months he was approaching the last few pennies of his fund and start dipping into life saving as well as contemplating selling the house. Finally the product was finished with much turmoil and hardship. He was aiming for a trade show coming up this weekend. He told me that this product launch will make or break his company, because frankly he had only one bullet left in his asernal. The problem is, they have no booth at the trade show. Due to some problems outside of his control, everything was booked and his company was number 3 on the waiting list. My stomach tied up in knotts as I observed my friend being cornered into his last breath. We prayed and prayed and prayed for a couple of months now, and things have not been improving. Last week, in the last ditch due-or-die effort, he decided to ship four 500 pounds crates of equipment to the show despite the fact that he has no booth there. He also bought the ticket to fly out there anyway this Friday for the show. Last night in our small group, we prayed again for him. But I myself is an eternal skeptic, so I start wondering about what to do for damage control when everything fall apart. This morning, he sent out an Email letting us know that there was a spot open up, and his booth will be right at the entrance of the show! Praise God (and shame on me for having little faith). God, in His typical fashion, somehow like to keep it down so close to the wire, answering our prayer just 2 days before the show open. And that was just typical of God. He didn't rescue Daniel's friends until they had already been thrown in the fire. Jesus didn't come to Mary and Martha's aide until Lazarus had already been buried. He was just always too close for comfort... Why is that? I am such a chicken and I hate having heartburns over the way God works and His style; but somehow I think it will help strengthen our hearts over time... Please keep my friend and his work in prayer for the next few days. May we witness a great example of God's reward to people who faithful to him...