The little boy walked up the big wooden stairs. The steps had to be large, and the footing had to be careful, otherwise he would have fallen over backwards, and landing on his little bum. Finally he managed to climb up those mountains, and he looked up, scratching his little head with his little hand. He fidgeted, apparently dissatisfied with the scratching, probably because his scalp was covered by a colourful jester hat for warmth. The bells on the hat jingled every time he moved. The rest of his outfit was just as heartwarming. His parka was blue, and it made the boy looked bigger than he was. He wore loose jeans, and black boots.
Slowly he walked up to the counter, approaching the Starbucks counter. There he waited in line behind some people, many times bigger than he was. The boy looked down, avoiding their eye contact, in fear of confronting them. Eventually the big big people passed, and the boy moved to the front of the line. He realized the counter was too tall, and he could not see anything in front of him. So he stepped back to see behind the counter a pretty girl with a green Starbucks apron. She smiled at him warmly, but he didn't know what to do, frozen in the tracks. "What would you like?" she asked. The boy gulped, and noticed that his knees were shaking. He looked up to the Starbucks girl, and managed to say, "A peanut butter cookie, please." The girl proceeded to get the cookie.
It was odd. The boy, all by himself. My heart beated hard against my chest, as I saw it all happen. The image was clear. I continued to watch as the girl handed the little boy the cookie, and the boy reciprocated by pulling out change from his little pockets, reaching up to the counter. "I can do it!" he told her. The girl let him reach higher, but to no avail, so he jumped and slapped the coins on the counter. Then he walked away. In amazement I stared, listening to the clumping of his footsteps, hand holding a cookie, and now a Spiderman comic.
(what is so special about this little boy? what's so special about what he's doing? find out next time!)
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Saturday, March 05, 2005
worship idea
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- This is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transofrmed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:1-2
A very familiar passage to most people, this passage struck me in the most interesting way. Today, I had the privilege to go up to Fair Glen to visit my former high school fellowship at SCBC, Gideon Fellowship, for their annual Winter Retreat. The speaker for the saturday was interestingly the Pastor Fred Tham, who recently left SCAC, and is in search of a new home church. The interesting part of it is that our former youth pastor was his twin brother Pastor Ted Tham, of which i have a very good relationship with. But in bringing up this passage, Fred mentioned a point that i thought was very intriguing:
worship <==> sacrifice
in living a life of worship, it is important that we should be making sacrifices. essentially, being a christian is about making sacrifices. many times we are tempted to do something that is the desire of our lustful hearts, but not of our Father's heart. we must sacrifice these desires and grow to love our Lord's desires (easier said than done, not too possible with human power). in that, as we develop as a christian, i think that God shows us what parts of our lives we need to change, and we should stretch ourselves and make those sacrifices and lifestyle changes. in making such sacrifices, living sacrifices, then it is holy and pleasing to God, and that is a spiritual act of worship, as it says in the text.
God parallels the importance of sacrifice in his son Jesus. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice of dying on the cross for humankind. Evidently, it was something that he didn't want to do ("My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as as I will, but as you will." Matthew 26:39b), but he was willing to make the sacrifice for the sake of God's will. Jesus' second prayer on Gethsemane: "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless i drink it, may your will be done." Mt 26:42b. Knowing that this was the only way, and it was God's will that this should happen, Jesus took the sacrifice upon himself.
so next time u think about what worship really is.. remember that worship is not just singing a bunch of nice songs with a bunch of nice people. no way it's so much more than that. He asks so much more of us than that. worship is sacrifice, according to his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2
A very familiar passage to most people, this passage struck me in the most interesting way. Today, I had the privilege to go up to Fair Glen to visit my former high school fellowship at SCBC, Gideon Fellowship, for their annual Winter Retreat. The speaker for the saturday was interestingly the Pastor Fred Tham, who recently left SCAC, and is in search of a new home church. The interesting part of it is that our former youth pastor was his twin brother Pastor Ted Tham, of which i have a very good relationship with. But in bringing up this passage, Fred mentioned a point that i thought was very intriguing:
worship <==> sacrifice
in living a life of worship, it is important that we should be making sacrifices. essentially, being a christian is about making sacrifices. many times we are tempted to do something that is the desire of our lustful hearts, but not of our Father's heart. we must sacrifice these desires and grow to love our Lord's desires (easier said than done, not too possible with human power). in that, as we develop as a christian, i think that God shows us what parts of our lives we need to change, and we should stretch ourselves and make those sacrifices and lifestyle changes. in making such sacrifices, living sacrifices, then it is holy and pleasing to God, and that is a spiritual act of worship, as it says in the text.
God parallels the importance of sacrifice in his son Jesus. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice of dying on the cross for humankind. Evidently, it was something that he didn't want to do ("My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as as I will, but as you will." Matthew 26:39b), but he was willing to make the sacrifice for the sake of God's will. Jesus' second prayer on Gethsemane: "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless i drink it, may your will be done." Mt 26:42b. Knowing that this was the only way, and it was God's will that this should happen, Jesus took the sacrifice upon himself.
so next time u think about what worship really is.. remember that worship is not just singing a bunch of nice songs with a bunch of nice people. no way it's so much more than that. He asks so much more of us than that. worship is sacrifice, according to his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
the selfishness of man
it all started tens of thousands of years ago, when a man name adam, and his wonderful wife eve, were offered a harmless fruit.
harmless in essence, but truly harmful in magnitude the size of history.
they accepted the fruit. and before the teeth even sank into this fruit, the concept of selfishness sprung to life.
from then on, the human race have been plagued with what some see as a curse, but the majority seeing as normality. everyday activity exhibit this behavior, sometimes blatantly apparent, other times as hidden as a shadow in the dark.
today, i look at the people around me, and i see some cursed, but many others apathetically not. this message today is for those that are cursed. there is a way out. you know what is most important, and you have the power to act upon it. it is not easy, but you have been given the power. mysterious, invisible, but undeniably capable.
only you know what you are truly struggling with. you have been given the power. adam and eve truly regret their mistake. with your Father in mind, and His helping hand... you can do it.
harmless in essence, but truly harmful in magnitude the size of history.
they accepted the fruit. and before the teeth even sank into this fruit, the concept of selfishness sprung to life.
from then on, the human race have been plagued with what some see as a curse, but the majority seeing as normality. everyday activity exhibit this behavior, sometimes blatantly apparent, other times as hidden as a shadow in the dark.
today, i look at the people around me, and i see some cursed, but many others apathetically not. this message today is for those that are cursed. there is a way out. you know what is most important, and you have the power to act upon it. it is not easy, but you have been given the power. mysterious, invisible, but undeniably capable.
only you know what you are truly struggling with. you have been given the power. adam and eve truly regret their mistake. with your Father in mind, and His helping hand... you can do it.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
the simplicity of leadership (and bonus theology lesson)
i am sure many of you have heard of the theological paradox question about the rock, and i am also sure that many of you have stumbled in replying this question to nonchristians.
"can God make a rock so big that he cannot lift?"
most people would say, "this question is a paradox, therefore you cannot answer this question!". i would say NO. in examining questions as such, the rule of critical thinking is that you have to delve into the core of the problem. we know that we can easily replace the term "rock" into something such as "cake", and "lift" would then become "eat".
"can God make a cake so big that he cannot eat?" or you could say
"can God make a chair so strong that he cannot break?"
the premise of the question then can be easily seen as.. "can God create something physical that constrains him?" now the answer to that question is simple.. and the answer is YES! in fact, God did that twice! the first time was in the beginning of creation, when He created man. in creation of man, He also gave them something called "free will", where man are allowed to make their own decision. this means that God cannot alter their decisions in any way. God's will can still be done in this way, but it would not be as he wished, since suffering will come upon his children, meaning that God was constrained in what he wanted!
the second time that he made this "rock" was when he sent his only son Jesus Christ into the earth as a human. very simply, Jesus, who being in very nature God, came down as a human. he was then immediately constrained in the limits of time and space, not to mention ability. therefore, Jesus, who is God, was constrained in time, space, ability, and all sorts of God knows what, making this the second "rock". the most interesting thing is that this second "rock" was created to fix the first "rock"! hahaha.. oh God.
so if anyone ever asks you that question.. you can tell them about these two rocks. and since God has already made something that has constrained Himself, twice, then what will stop Him from making another? just because He hasn't made it, doesn't mean He can't. with that said.. this leads me to my main topic,
the simplicity of leadership. do you believe that? i believe that God made every single one of us leaders. one of the most precious gifts of all humankind is a little thing called free will. with it, we can choose to defy the most high God's commands, or we can obey Him. the options are endless. many of us do not see the vastness of this free will, because we often enclose ourselves in a bubble or a box, whichever shape fits your liking. our options become limited, only what we see in front of us. many tend to end up seeing only themselves and their own life, and what they can do with their own life. only if you get out of this box can you see how much more you can actually do. in addition, putting God in a box is a big mistake as well. God's power is endless, and you can do all things through Him, if He empowers you.
when i was searching for an opportunity to serve at SCBC during this work term, i had the opportunity to meet with my friend Chico. we talked for a bit, and suddenly my eyes were opened as to what i could do as a christian in my church. the youth ministry was currently quite lacking, due to the resignation of our previous youth Pastor Ted, and as well due to the lack of youth "leaders" in the church. we always hear the deacons and pastors say "these youth are the future of the church!" i'd say "NO!" we ARE the leaders! throughout high school, we've gone through so many events, and learned so many things from others. it's time that we take what we've learned and put it to use. being in university, we all have tasted a bit of independence. i say that we should also be independent in serving, and take some initiative. there are unlimited options that you can take. once you expand your horizons, you begin to see what needs are actually around in the church, and in its people. cater to them. as christians, we are designed to love, and there are so many at church that need the loving so much.
so you ask what you can do to serve? there are plenty of opportunities! who around you hasn't been to church lately? who around you doesn't have a fellowship, or a spiritual group of people to confide in? and who around you seem to be under the weather, struggling with something in their life? go be a christian, and reach out to them, embrace them back into the family of Christ.
my goodness all that writing was intense.. i better be hearing from some PEOPLE now.
"can God make a rock so big that he cannot lift?"
most people would say, "this question is a paradox, therefore you cannot answer this question!". i would say NO. in examining questions as such, the rule of critical thinking is that you have to delve into the core of the problem. we know that we can easily replace the term "rock" into something such as "cake", and "lift" would then become "eat".
"can God make a cake so big that he cannot eat?" or you could say
"can God make a chair so strong that he cannot break?"
the premise of the question then can be easily seen as.. "can God create something physical that constrains him?" now the answer to that question is simple.. and the answer is YES! in fact, God did that twice! the first time was in the beginning of creation, when He created man. in creation of man, He also gave them something called "free will", where man are allowed to make their own decision. this means that God cannot alter their decisions in any way. God's will can still be done in this way, but it would not be as he wished, since suffering will come upon his children, meaning that God was constrained in what he wanted!
the second time that he made this "rock" was when he sent his only son Jesus Christ into the earth as a human. very simply, Jesus, who being in very nature God, came down as a human. he was then immediately constrained in the limits of time and space, not to mention ability. therefore, Jesus, who is God, was constrained in time, space, ability, and all sorts of God knows what, making this the second "rock". the most interesting thing is that this second "rock" was created to fix the first "rock"! hahaha.. oh God.
so if anyone ever asks you that question.. you can tell them about these two rocks. and since God has already made something that has constrained Himself, twice, then what will stop Him from making another? just because He hasn't made it, doesn't mean He can't. with that said.. this leads me to my main topic,
the simplicity of leadership. do you believe that? i believe that God made every single one of us leaders. one of the most precious gifts of all humankind is a little thing called free will. with it, we can choose to defy the most high God's commands, or we can obey Him. the options are endless. many of us do not see the vastness of this free will, because we often enclose ourselves in a bubble or a box, whichever shape fits your liking. our options become limited, only what we see in front of us. many tend to end up seeing only themselves and their own life, and what they can do with their own life. only if you get out of this box can you see how much more you can actually do. in addition, putting God in a box is a big mistake as well. God's power is endless, and you can do all things through Him, if He empowers you.
when i was searching for an opportunity to serve at SCBC during this work term, i had the opportunity to meet with my friend Chico. we talked for a bit, and suddenly my eyes were opened as to what i could do as a christian in my church. the youth ministry was currently quite lacking, due to the resignation of our previous youth Pastor Ted, and as well due to the lack of youth "leaders" in the church. we always hear the deacons and pastors say "these youth are the future of the church!" i'd say "NO!" we ARE the leaders! throughout high school, we've gone through so many events, and learned so many things from others. it's time that we take what we've learned and put it to use. being in university, we all have tasted a bit of independence. i say that we should also be independent in serving, and take some initiative. there are unlimited options that you can take. once you expand your horizons, you begin to see what needs are actually around in the church, and in its people. cater to them. as christians, we are designed to love, and there are so many at church that need the loving so much.
so you ask what you can do to serve? there are plenty of opportunities! who around you hasn't been to church lately? who around you doesn't have a fellowship, or a spiritual group of people to confide in? and who around you seem to be under the weather, struggling with something in their life? go be a christian, and reach out to them, embrace them back into the family of Christ.
my goodness all that writing was intense.. i better be hearing from some PEOPLE now.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
the Three
some time ago, there existed many jewels. these jewels were distinct in appearance and in essence. one time, 3 jewels united, and fellowshiped with each other. their power illuminated, glowed as their essence entwined with each other, forming a radiant flow of light. other jewels looked and saw that it was pleasing. from then they were called the First, the Second, and the Third.
one day, one of the 3 jewels, the First, united with another jewel, Tai. their union was also pleasing, but in an entirely new way. this new jewel was a curious discovery of two of the Three, but the Third was oblivious. the new jewel glowed with a different light, sparkling in shades of green and blue, yellow and gold. the Two suddenly changed, and their light started to glow differently in reaction. their essences became parallel, and their light shined in a corresponding theme. soon after, another new jewel came along, called Fal. and this too was a very curious jewel for the Two.
the Third noticed slight disunion with the Two jewels, and began to flicker, questioning its own power. its essence was tested, and it set forth all its power and glory, magnifying itself to double and triple its brightness. it confronted the Two, who then became oblivious to its glory, but they revealed to the Third of their discoveries. the Third then spread its power, and joined the two new jewels, Tai and Fal, and all was good.
time passed, and the Third's power still flourished. but soon enough, the Two started to weaken, and their light flashed like sirens. desperately, the Three seeked to restore their original power. The Third then spread its power into the Two, but also set forth onto a journey.
the Third shined its light out into the jewel field, and the field accepted it gladly. many responded by flickering back, but those who didn't, the Third took notice. soon enough, the Third found the two jewels, Tai and Fal, and realized that they were different. so much of their light had been depleted, that only a small ray inside their core still remained, like a candle in the wind. and in memory, the Third recognize where he saw their light; in the Two. their light was also spread out all over the jewel field, unable to be recovered, sacrificed for the power of others. the Third felt despair, that the balance of the two jewels have been disrupted, and so much of them have left them.
one day, one of the 3 jewels, the First, united with another jewel, Tai. their union was also pleasing, but in an entirely new way. this new jewel was a curious discovery of two of the Three, but the Third was oblivious. the new jewel glowed with a different light, sparkling in shades of green and blue, yellow and gold. the Two suddenly changed, and their light started to glow differently in reaction. their essences became parallel, and their light shined in a corresponding theme. soon after, another new jewel came along, called Fal. and this too was a very curious jewel for the Two.
the Third noticed slight disunion with the Two jewels, and began to flicker, questioning its own power. its essence was tested, and it set forth all its power and glory, magnifying itself to double and triple its brightness. it confronted the Two, who then became oblivious to its glory, but they revealed to the Third of their discoveries. the Third then spread its power, and joined the two new jewels, Tai and Fal, and all was good.
time passed, and the Third's power still flourished. but soon enough, the Two started to weaken, and their light flashed like sirens. desperately, the Three seeked to restore their original power. The Third then spread its power into the Two, but also set forth onto a journey.
the Third shined its light out into the jewel field, and the field accepted it gladly. many responded by flickering back, but those who didn't, the Third took notice. soon enough, the Third found the two jewels, Tai and Fal, and realized that they were different. so much of their light had been depleted, that only a small ray inside their core still remained, like a candle in the wind. and in memory, the Third recognize where he saw their light; in the Two. their light was also spread out all over the jewel field, unable to be recovered, sacrificed for the power of others. the Third felt despair, that the balance of the two jewels have been disrupted, and so much of them have left them.
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