Superyeoman

I had a dream...

I had superpowers. There was a gigantic piece of rectangular metal, 10 times bigger than a billboard, floating high up in the air right near the enemy's air base headquarters. I was in the heart of the city filled with high rises and packed with people in the streets. They were all staring at the shiny object in the sky, entranced. Then I looked up, gave a cool piercing stare at the billboard, and marched forward as I began to raise my hands up as if to control it. And control it I did. I swiveled my hands like I was molding chakra clay and the huge piece of metal moved accordingly in the air. I was like Yoda, but less eco-friendly. I tried to bring it down slowly, but suddenly I lost control and the billboard thingy was now free-falling straight toward the street. I waved my hands, flexed my fingers, and did whatever I could to keep it in control, but after a few failed attempts I knew it was over.

KAAAABOOOOOOOOM!

The piece of metal fell through one of the tallest buildings, splitting it in half, and exploded in the middle of the street. Car alarms. Screaming. Crying. Sirens. Smoke. Debris. The whole 9.9 yards. The building was catching fire and spreading quickly. I ran towards the building's entrance, breathed in as deep as I could, and then exhaled super cold air through the whole building. wooooosh* The fire was no more. Victory.

Then I went over to a house one block down and listened to someone play Amazing Grace on the piano.

And the rest is mystery.

Mission Monday V

08/06/2009

"... persecuted, but not abandoned..."

Speaker: Chinese Missionary D**** X**** (via translator)

Background: the younger sister of P**** X**** who was the mentor to Brother Yun (Heavenly Man). Saved at the age of 17, she has endured persecution in the house churches in China.

Testimony: (as before, this is a cleaned up transfer of my notes)

• In the 40's and 50's the C government tried to destroy Christianity
• People were persecuted and put in prison
• The government controlled churches and checked sermons to see that they were in line with the political movement
• So then people began home churches
• In 1958, all churches were closed, but they still met together
• As a child she was sad because pastors were taken to prison
• She wanted to be a bird - "fly to heaven and praise God"

• 1966-1976 - there was a cultural revolution in C
• -> "there is no God", "church is now a museum"
• Pastors were mocked and had to wear signs on their head and clothes
• The church was cold.
• There were many tears - "The house of my God is facing tragedy." like 1st generation of Israelites
• She asked, "What can I do?" and decided,

"I will devote myself and my life for God's church."

• yet she didn't know what to do.
• Others warned her saying that a promise is important, but no one could persuade her

• Her brother was a top criminal (Christian) according to C government.
• She longed for the Living Word
• They were listening to Christian radio on Christmas
• The police caught them and tied them
• A brother told her, "If the police finds you don't say a word even if they break your leg."
• They escaped and ran away to another believer's house
• However, the police came and she and her sister were caught again and put in jail
• The jailer said, "Let's see how long you survive here."
• She realized that her father was already there. (She was still a teenager)
• She prayed, "Lord what's wrong?"

• The next morning the jailer came, took her hand and slammed it against the door, but she didn't say anything
• He got angry and beat her up until she was covered in blood
• To this day, her tooth is sensitive
• He said, "Who told you to preach this Gospel?"
• At the time, she was worrying about her family, but realized she must focus her mind on God
• Then suddenly peace came upon her ("like a baby") and she said, "I'm willing to stay here forever."

• Eventually, the police took them out of jail to another place
• Her father said, "When you hear the bang sound, we will go to heaven."
• She thought, "Then I can't preach the Gospel anymore."
• She remembered her father used to tell her to never shut out the work of the HS - if He tells you something, OBEY!
• So with that in mind, she bravely marched forward (by God's grace) even when the police chased her down.
• She didn't care.
• She was praying and singing, "HALLELUJAH!" and kept at it for a long time as her voice grew louder and louder
• Her father tried to close her mouth and stop her, but the HS rebuked him through other members.

• Later, her sister carried her and took her home
• She prayed, "God I want to preach the Gospel. I promised. But why is it so difficult every time?"
• Then suddenly, she felt a cold feeling in her heart and in her feet and knew that if this continued then she would die.
• Then she realized that if she died now, then she would have done nothing for the Gospel so she prayed,

"If it is because I am afraid of difficulties then please let me stay."

• and the feeling disappeared.

• She hid her criminal brother underground from the government
• The neighbors helped her out
• In the fields that she labored in the children were waiting for her to share the Gospel
• And she thought, "Lord it's so easy when you work."
• She went to other villages to share the Good News
• When a man rebuked her and told her to stop preaching, his mouth moved to the side of his face and he couldn't talk...
• (- _____-) <- [like this maybe? or maybe like] -> (- - __)
• Then the elders rebuked him and told him to repent, and only then they will pray for him and he will be healed.
• He was healed.

• She was persecuted more than 40 times by comm. leader. Later, he died.
• Throughout all this she realized,

"God's grace is sufficient.

Jesus' resurrected life overcame sin and death and defeated Satan.

We must realize this by completely denying ourselves to live in Christ.

Then you will become powerful soldiers for Christ."

• She is now 63 years old and pressing on.

-------

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Be my everything.

Jiffy Jam

All day.

thanks jam.cha for the song

Baker

I met this guy in class. He was very encouraging. On our way to the library he asked, "How's your personal time with God been like since starting seminary." I told him how excited I was and how what I'm learning is helping understand more of Scripture and its history and inspiration. In other words, I didn't quite answer his question. Then he stopped in his track and said he wanted to tell me two things.

First, he said, "Don't be a starving baker." I nodded slowly in confusion. He went on to explain that bakers, who bake all day, can sometimes have the sensation of feeling full even when they haven't eaten anything because they're constantly around food. Likewise, many seminary students have a high tendency to feel like they've gotten more than enough of Daily Bread because they are constantly having to study the Word and read about the Word. They hear it in class, they read it for homework, and they fill their heads with biblical knowledge, but in actuality, they're starving inside. The relationship with God is on hold and the Bible becomes an academic text book. He was speaking from many years of personal experience (transferred from another seminary). The words that stood out to me from his testimony were "dry" and "empty."

That was pretty dead on, right near the center of my heart. It didn't only apply to me in and for seminary, but in my daily walk, if I may, with God. Going to church, listening to sermons, praising 'up there', serving in various ministries, being in a small group, being a pastor's kid - all "Christian-y" areas had been infected (one way or another, minutely and unnoticeably) by the yeast of superficial merit derived from a whitewashed spiritual attendance chart. The relationship is there, but just covered in foolish self-righteous muck.

I liken this to a biology student studying his text book by using it as a pillow and calling it "learning by osmosis." Then he goes to class the next day for his final and shows the professor the red lined book mark (no pun intended but I tried) on his face and boasts with all the seriousness of an offended Harry Potter fan, "As you can see, by the marks on my forehead, I know my material. Therefore I don't need to take a test to prove my mastery of this subject." Unfortunately, physical proximity is not everything.

I'm learning. I'm learning a lot. The more I learn, the less I know. The less I know, the more I want to learn. It's a funny cycle.

By the way, I forgot the second thing he said as I was passionately recalling the first thing he said. Hopefully I'll remember later. I love the people. I love my classes. School is cool again. Praise God!

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:1-2

Eat it. Just eat it.

Mmmmm

Psalm 19:7-10

The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul.

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever.

The ordinances of the LORD are sure

and altogether righteous.

They are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the comb.

Mission Monday IV

(for this session, I will simply transfer my notes.)

08/06/2009

Speaker: Paul Park

• There is a missions strategy to target major cities.
• The idea is that you change the city, you change the nation.
• Jerusalem is key.
• The general path of the Gospel: Jerusalem -> Europe -> America -> Korea -> China -> ...
• For a long time it has been stagnant within China.
• All the world's biggest religion's are concentrated there.
• There is a deep rooted history in the Middle East.
• Islam was a local religion, but now it is all over the world.
• Evangelism has a direction. It's not random. The Gospel is piercing through strongholds of the enemy. It's on its way back to Jerusalem (around the world). Once it does, history will end.
• It's not about doing well or going out on your own. God works in community. Teamwork.
• "Do something about it."
• "Change history."

-------

And the world turns right side up.

Pop

The Chinese missionary said,

"A vision without mission is just a dream."

And then my mouth dropped.

Word

Show me a Bible that is falling apart, and I'll show you a man who isn't.

- D. L. Moody (something like that)

I am sitting in a comfortable lean-back chair. The table is just the right distance and has just the right amount of space for all my books to spread their wings. Travis Cottrell is playing in my ears through the netbook on which I am typing. I am contemplating whether I should finish chapter 4 of Introduction to Biblical Interpretation or call it a day and head home before my eyes shut down. I say biblical canon and translation is rather interesting, but not as interesting as my bed right now. We'll see how long I can keep up.

I was introduced today as "the excited freshman" and that pretty sums up what I am right now as well as where I am right now. To get straight to the point, there is only one reason why I'm so excited, and that's because I'm studying the WORD. As I begin to study more and more (it's only been a week and a half or 3 days of classes) I'm reminded of one thing clearer than before. READ THE BIBLE. The past few weeks, every sermon, every passage, every meeting, every small talk, and everything in between seemed to be screaming, "SHUT UP AND READ YOUR BIBLE FOO!" PT was telling me to read. PJ in his sermons all week long was telling me to read. Multiple sermons on the radio were telling me to read. The cef bible camp theme was finalized to be B2B, Back to Bible or Back to Basics. All my classes were telling me to read, read, and read again (unfortunately not just the Bible). And all that is in me was clawing at the whitewashed walls to escape the dry and thirsty well within me. Let it reign. I am convicted to my core at how little of the Scriptures I know, not as one whose profession depends on knowing the word, but as one who puts his faith in the Word that became flesh and the Word that gives me life eternal.

It takes only 3 chapters a day to read the whole bible in one year. If I say I'm a Christian, a child of God, a follower of Jesus Christ, and I can't even count how many times I've read His Word.... just think about it. I could go as far as saying, "I'm not willing to give God even 20 minutes (at most for 3 chapters) of my day by reading his Word."

To know the Bible is not an option for those who want to know true inwardness. No one stays at the table long who does not study Scripture. Mystics without study are only spiritual romantics who want relationship without effort.
- Calvin Miller

As PT put it, "If you're not addicted to the Word, then you're most definitely addicted to something else." True that. "The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible," is what D.L. Moody would say. And finally, in the words of the psalmist, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word."

So here's to a Josiah moment. Here's to a wake up call. Here's to discovering and rediscovering the sweetness of Jesus Christ revealed. Here's to a rekindled passion for knowing and obeying God's Word. Here's to a life full of Life.

Reporting live from the Biola library.

P-ride to P-2

It's like when the game asks me what level (speed) I want to start on. It's also like when I'm building up the tetris blocks all high and mighty and waiting for that one stick to clear it all. When it never comes, I'm left with a crumbling high rise with no elevator as I desperately try to climb down the stairs with "T"s and "L's." A sentence with no period. A clock with no hands. A table with no feet. A heart with no blood. A love with no sacrifice. "Putting your eggs in one basket" as they say. "Putting my worth in myself" as I say.

An incredible man once asked a boy on a tricycle, "Well, what are you waiting for?" Then the boy answered unnervingly, "I don't know. Something amazing, I guess."

Me too, kid. Me too. I'm waiting for amazing grace to sink deep and catch me once again. In the meantime, I'll have my daily bread.

Back to level 0.

This is a good place to start again.

Philippians 2:1-11