Vanity

Ecclesiastes 2:15-26

It is true what the author said in the passage. Everything we do under the sun is vanity. All the hard works we have put out and toils we have experienced leave us nothing in the end. If we are to think only the end results, we would find that all our works in this world is vanity, because we will eventually depart from this world and leave behind everything that we have earned. Moreover, the author reflected to himself that he would eventually leave all the good works he had done in toils to his successor, who might be incapable of handling them. If we only consider that end itself, it is true that in the end we have not done anything because nothing lasts forever. However, I realize that there are at least two reasons why we should still live and give our best in life, although we know that all will perish in the end.

First, do not see the end products as the motivation of our work. See God as the motivation of our life! When we do everything for Him, all things seem to make sense. God does not ask the end products, He asks for faithfulness, perseverance, diligence, patience, and thanksgiving. God knows that the material results will perish. Moreover, He is the Creator and the Owner of the whole universe, so why would He need our works when He can do better than we do? But, what He wants is characters, values, attitudes, and faith. If we start each day with this kind of mindset, we can do anything without being bored, distressed, or hopeless, because we know that our works are not to yield the results at the first place, but to praise God in Heaven.

Second, related to our work for God, we work not merely to pill up wealth, gather skills, receive benefits, become famous, seek honor and respect, collect rewards and praises, or other things that the author of Ecclesiastes had described as vanity at the end of the day. Indeed, if we work for these worldly things we will realize about the vanity of our life soon or later. But, we should work in order to build our characters, to give other people opportunities to feel love and experience comfort, to make this world a better place to live until God comes again, and to make ourself useful to others, to the world, and to God. If we have these ambitions behind every work that we do, we will not see our works as vanity. Our body may decay, but our spirit with our characters and faith remain. The gifts we give to others might not last, but the experience of being loved and cared for last forever. It may even lead people to God. So, it is wisest to pursue these higher purposes.

Let's do our 'homework', not worrying what we can get from doing it, but what we can contribute through it. Learn to give rather than receive, and be thankful!

Live your words

Luke 6:46-49

“Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord', and you do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)

It is ironic for many people who call themselves Christians but who do not live according to the way of Christ. It is like calling oneself a nationalist, but forget the lyric of one's national anthem. All these superficial descriptions will just be mere labels, with no underlying loyalty and passion for the belief.

However, that's not what Jesus expected from His followers. He questioned those who followed Him and claimed to be His disciples, and yet did not live according to His directions. When we call ourselves Christians, we should be Christ-like. The name given to us should reflect who we truly are. In that way, people might glorify the Lord when they see how His people live. But if a claim of Christianity is not followed by Christian lifestyle, we only disgrace the name of the Lord and we are not fit to be called His children.

So, stop all the pretensions behind the name of Christ. Do not claim Christ as your Savior and God, if you still want to follow the world. One can't follow the world and the Lord at the same time. A decision must be made. Be a real Christian or completely abstain from it. Don't be a so-so Christian.

12th August 2009 - Emptiness

Psalm 42:1-6
My soul is thirst for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with God? (Ps.42:2)

There is always a longing in human heart for a love and an understanding. This particular space in our heart is not satiable by human affection or by loving things in this world. This desire to know the unknown is never quenched by search of wisdom in the world. This emptiness is never filled no matter how hard we are looking around. This unique longing is the mark that the Creator left in His creations. Only the Creator Himself to fill the emptiness and satisfy our thirst. This thirst is actually the thirst for His love and for the understanding of His ways. This hunger is the hunger for God.

But many people do not realize this. They keep looking at the wrong things to satisfy their divine needs. Some fall to drug addiction and some to alcohols. Still others derive their fulfillment through dangerous stunts or sexual pleasures. The more decent group of people delve deep into the books and scholarly studies. But none of them find what they are looking for. Everything they find is always short of the satisfaction needed to quench their thirst because it is all not God.

Some people are privileged to hear about God. They are told that He is the way to fulfill their empty space. But they reject the option. They still think they can be happy and satisfied outside the spiritual realm. They have plenty of reasons and experiences to decline the offer to enter a relationship with God.

As for those who embrace the offer, they are startled with the transforming power of God. They are surprised with the satisfaction they have when they receive Christ into their hearts. They cannot believe their belief. They become so much blessed such that they passionately tell others about this secret to happiness and eternity.

How about you? Has your heart been filled or do you still feel the emptiness?

July, 27th 2009 - I demand you to...!

Nehemiah 5:14-19

In spite of all this, I never demanded the food alloted to the governor because the demands were heavy on these people. (Neh.5:18b)

Everybody thinks they deserve to be treated according to the status they acquire or they possess. People expect special treatment with respect to the position they are in. Husband, wife, best friend, parents, children, boyfriend, girlfriend, supervisor, chairman, boss; each requires special treatment because of the status. People are easy to demand. It is even worse when people demand blindly without first observing the others' conditions.

We often demand others to suit our feelings. We require others to make us happy. We expect others to fulfill our ideal type of husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend, employee, etc. But many times, we put these 'heavy' demands before our responsibilities. The golden rule says 'Don't expect others to do more that you would do for them'. It is an exploitation to expect others to do more for us. It is best if we can observe others' conditions before we demand them anything. Don't judge people easily. Judgment belongs to God. Don't say 'you are a lousy husband', 'you are an uncaring wife', 'you are an unloving boyfriend', 'you are an unfaithful girlfriend', 'you are a disrespectful child', etc. Don't readily attribute peoples' shortcomings to their natures. Just because he is late, it does not mean that he is a lazy person. There are thousands of possibilities that we should inquire on why he is late. Again, don't be easy to judge. Always try to understand other peoples' positions before we expect them to do anything.

Nehemiah did the opposite to what many people would do. He was appointed as a governor. He was in that post for at least 12 years, but never at single occasion did he ever claim his special rights. He did not claim the extra food he could have according to his status. He knew it would burden the people and he did not want that to happen. He rather rejected the special offers than burdening the people. That's the ideal leader, the ideal companion. If every leader, president, supervisor, husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend, etc, would be caring enough like Nehemiah, there would be no unhealthy conflicts and separations. If everyone reflects on themselves and think about others before they demand something, this world will be full of love and will be peaceful. Be a good buddy to other people before expecting them to be your buddy. I think that's what the Father in heaven wants from His children.

28 June 2009 - The Little Ones

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, that he will certainly not lose his reward. (Matt.10:42)

We often forget the needy people around us. When we are too 'captivated' with celebration of God's goodness within the church, we forget to get out of the church facade and share the love. We often secure our own comfort inside a limited circle of friends and colleagues. We limit our love to those we know, to those who are kind to us, to those who are 'like' us, and to those whom we are comfortable with. But...

How about those poor children on the streets,

those starving beggars walking from home to home for alms,

those hardworking maids who try to earn just enough for their families,

those sick people with no money to treat their diseases,

those illiterate kids who dream of going to school and learning to read,

those young people that must sacrifice their dreams and help their parents collecting garbages?

Where is Christian's love in this sad reality? If all those who do not know Christ do not care about these 'little' ones, what difference do we make, as Christians, if we also close our eyes? What difference do churches make, if they are keeping God's grace within those facades?

The passage from Matt.10:40-42 really prompts us to act, not just being an observer. It is not enough to sympathize these people. Pitying them will not change their lives. Be empathetic! Feel what they feel, stop merely observing, and act! Jesus promised great rewards for those who are willing to share with the needy. Beyond the rewards, Jesus commands us to 'love one another as we love ourselves.' We have been saved although we are unworthy. Even there is no reward for the good things we are doing, we are still obliged to do it, because God has loved us first. So do not seek the reward, but seek the opportunity to do good, to be more and more like Jesus. There is always enough needy people around us. The world will never lack of them. So, there are plenty of opportunities to share our love with them. Use it wisely!

18 July 2009 - Unity in love is destiny

Ephesians 5:22-33
Man must not separate, then, what God has joined together. (Mark 10:9)

Love is a gift from God. God unites couple. God knits their life together into a beautiful love story. God intertwines the strands of their life into one golden cord. Every relationship is beautifully designed by God, the Master of love. God, the love Himself, has shown His greatest love to mankind by giving us His only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus becomes the groom and we, His church, become His wife. Our love with God is eternal. It is blessed to its fullest. So does the love between a man and a woman, whom God has designed even before they meet.

When a boy and a girl meet and feel attraction between them, it is not just an accident. There is no such thing as accidentally in love. All love, beautiful and successful love stories, are planned and designed by God. It does not happen just like that. When two persons grow stronger in affection and care for each other, it is not by their own effort. We cannot nurture true love without God's help. It is God that keeps supplying us with constant fuel of romance, intimacy, respect, understanding, self-sacrificing, and pure love. Without God's gift of love, no relationship shall sustain the storms.

We must thank God for all the love we have in our life, especially love from the special ones. They are precious gifts in our life. Let's learn to feel their love everyday and return their love abundantly. Let's not find faults and weaknesses from our loved ones. Let's see them in a more positive way. They are there not by accident, but by God's intervention. When God wants us together, nothing can separate us. When God brings two people in unity, He will nurture and grow the love more abundantly.

10 June 2009 - "="

Jesus stretched his hand to touch the man. “I do want to”, he answered, “Be clean!” (Luke 5:13)

Jesus' miracles are not merely a proof of His godliness. It is also a proof of His love. He did not perform miracles for only certain people. He worked wonders in people from all walks of life. He healed the sick, He drove demons away, He cured the lepers, He saved a prostitute, He opened eyes of the blinds. He never chose Whom He will cure. He cared for those whom the society rejected.

We human tend to value others based on our judgment. When we look at the economic status, we look at the rich and the poor. When we look at the health condition, we look at the healthy and the sick. When we look at the physique, we look at the beauty and the ugly. When we look at the education level, we look at the literati and the illiterate. So many judgmental views that our society is grouped by those shallow categories.

But, God never sees human as we see them. In God's eyes everyone is equal. When God sees the sin, He looks at the lost; none of us is pure. When God sees the attitude, God sees the rebel; none of us is forever faithful. When God sees us, He sees sinners who need help. So He came to help, regarding all those barriers we human had set. He broke all those barriers and brought us into unity. Now, God only sees us as the believer, the saved, and the forgiven, OR, the unbeliever, the rebel, and the doomed. Which one are you?

We have no right of discriminating others. If God the Creator loves everyone, what right do we have to differentiate anyone? What God has set to be equal cannot be varied. What God loves, we as His followers must also love. “For those things that you have done for the least among you, you have done it to me”, Jesus said.

The Girl Nobody Wanted

Someone gave me this link. It's quite a long reading, but believe me it's well worth it! It's for all of you who feel disappointed with his/her life (in fact, everbody has some disappointments over their lives). Have fun reading and reflecting!

http://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/sermons/girlnobodywanted.html

23 May 2009 - Love hurts

Hosea 3:1-5
The Lord said to me, “Go again and show your love to a woman who is committing adultery with a lover. You must love her just like I still love the people of Israel, even though they turn to other gods and like to take offerings of raisins to idols.” (Hosea 3:1)

“Loving you is easy cause you are so beautiful.” The song lyric really depicts the reality. It is easy to love someone who are kind to you, who are caring towards you, who are obedient to you, and who love you back. But isn't it hard to love one who is very ignorant to you, who is unkind and uncaring, who is disobedient, and who never love you back? But that's the very love God showed to the people of Israel. That's the very love God expected from Hosea to Gomer. That's the very love God shows to us sinners.

When we were still living in sins, He had died for us. When we were still mocking God, He had given Himself to be slaughtered. He gave His life to people who insulted Him, spat on His face, tortured Him, betrayed Him, and nailed Him. He loves the people who deserve punishment instead of forgiveness.

Now that we are saved, what would we do for Jesus? Love Him back! Don't sin anymore!

15 May 2009 - Not Forgotten

Genesis 8:1-18

God had not forgotten Noah and all the animals with him in the boat; He caused the wind to blow and the water started going down (Gen. 8:1)

Despite all the evil people are doing in the world, God never forgets His faithful followers. Even though the whole world sins greatly and rejects His Son, God still remembers those few who embrace His amazing love. Just like God remember one man and his family and some animals in his boat, He will remember those who live righteously. God's eyes can see the heart and He knows who truly lives before Him. In His perfect time, God will deliver those who belong to Him, those who have been redeemed by His Son's blood, and those who are taking up the cross throughout their lives. Although they are suffering now, they will be delivered. Even though many people scorn them and despise them, they will be glorified when the Lord comes.

So, for us who live in this fallen world, there is no reason for conforming to the world. We cannot say, “Everyone does it.” What everyone does may not be the good way of life. We must only do what God thinks is right, not what we think is right because we have tendency to sin. We must be sure that our good deeds will yield good fruits later on. Although we cannot see it now, God will grant it in time.

Those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ shall not live like the carnal. Redeemed people are expected to live holy life, just like the Father is holy. God can see the little good in the sea of evilness. So, don't be afraid to be different from the world if by being different you serve your God. Woe to us if we are afraid to the world and leave our God behind. Man cannot save us, but God can. So, we know Whom we should follow...

Many are..., but one is...

A friend sent a nice quote to me. It reads like this: Time is like a river. You will never touch the same water twice because the flow that has passed will never pass again. So, enjoy every moment of your life.

There are many people in my life. They come and go. They leave some memories. Sometimes it is good. Sometimes it is bad. Most of the time it is good, though. But I cannot remember them all. They are like surreal feeling. I know I have experienced it, but the details fade with time. They are like the rapid water. They pass so fast that I can barely feel it. However, some people linger around my life. They are like calm slow-passing water. They leave more lasting memories. Every moment with them is precious. I can still see the vivid image of our moments together. They are family and some friends.

Friends... Not many of them really stay long with me. So far no one has gone deep enough into my life, except one. Many stay on the skin, but one has penetrated in the heart. Many talk about schools, movies and people, but one talks about feeling, characteristics, and hopes. Many are forgotten if we are far from each other, but one is closer even though there is a long distance between us.

If God bonds people together, nobody can separate them. If God has decided to intertwine our lives, no one can disparate the two. I have been thinking about this, and I don't mind about it. I am happily willing if God is willing. I will be waiting for His plans to unfold. Happily waiting...

23 April 2009 - Come! All those of you who are weary...

There are 2 points that the psalmist wants us to grasp from his psalm (Psalm 107:4-32), i.e. calling to God and thanking God. In the psalm, he talked about 3 difficult situations. All of us can face any of them. Any of the situations could happen in our real life.

The first one depicts people who were lost in their journey. They could not find their direction. Everyone can experience this situation in any stage of their lives. We could lose our trust in others and become confused on whom to believe in. We could lose our sense of direction or our purpose of life, and become frustrated on why we should continue on living.

The second description tells us about people who were against the Lord and were imprisoned by their own sins. They lived gloomy lives and suffered the consequences of their own mistakes. We all have these dark moments in our lives. When we had not received Jesus, we often committed sins and felt the bitterness of them. Even when we believe in Jesus, we are still prone to sins. Often, we follow our own desires, but reap disasters from our decisions. We suffer for that.

The third situation describes skillful and capable people who were struck with problems that made them paralyzed and powerless. Human tend to be self-dependent. They think they can do everything by themselves. Those who have mastered some skills think that they are the best and no one can beat them. But life is not that straightforward. Disasters happen and unexpected situations turn up. We often become unprepared to face them and feel that all our skills cannot help us. Then, we lose our courage.

Although those 3 situations are different and each has its own level of difficulties, none is too hard to be solved if God is with us. In all 3 situations, the psalmist wrote that “Then in their trouble they called to the Lord, and He saved them from their distress” (Psalm 107:6,13,19,28). God can save all of us, no matter how hard our problems are. His power is limitless.

Similarly, in all 3 situations, the psalmist mentioned that “They must thank the Lord for His constant love, for wonderful things He did for them” (Psalm 107:8,15,21,31). He deserves our praises because He is a wonderful God who does a lot of wonderful things. We must not forget that when we are saved, it is all by God's grace, not by our own power or efforts. So, all the glory and praises shall be lifted up to Him.

21 April 2009 - Women in Our Lives

He formed a woman out of the rib and brought her to him. (Genesis 2:22)

Who is our influencer?

A famous movie star?

A talented singer?

A successful professional?

A charismatic leader?

A wealthy businessman?

A powerful orator?

A brilliant writer?

Often, the most influential person in our lives is not far from home. A mother. A woman. A unique creature that God created in equality to man. Being created from him does not make her less superior. In fact, she is often expected to be stronger to support him. She is delicate, soft, and tender on the outside, but inside she is strong like a steel. She has strong determination and strong resistance to difficulties, but shows up fragile, welcoming, and loving gestures.

Man is the steering wheel of a ship, the family. He directs where the ship will go. But woman is the body of the ship, the structure that keeps it together. With the love and sacrifices for her family, woman is often the most important figure that glues the family together, so they all move together in one direction. Without her, no matter how powerful the man in leading is, the whole family members often cannot move in synchrony. This underlines the role of women in our lives. Be it our mothers, our friends, our girlfriends, our spouses, our mother-in-laws, our grandmas, our aunties, our maids, our relatives, and other women around us, they all have reasons to exist in the world, just as everyone does.

If the whole world is a canvas where God paints His masterpiece, the presence of women will add more colors. If life is a banquet, women will add more tastes, more spices, and more varieties to it. If a man is a flashlight, a woman will be his battery. She will charge him with happiness, love, laughter, tenderness, and care. She gives listening ears to our problems. She shows truthful understanding to our situations.

Sometimes, when the whole world may seem to turn its back on us, when life feels so difficult, when the air is so tight that we cannot breathe, when we need someone to run to, she opens her arms to embrace us, she comforts us, she gives us fresh air to breathe, and she gives us her shoulder to rest and to cry on. God has reasons for making women in this world. They are here to act on God's behalf, to spread His love to everyone.

Selamat hari Ibu Kartini!

16 April 2009 - Body Care

What I mean, brothers, is that what is made of flesh and blood cannot share in God's Kingdom, and what is mortal cannot possess immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:50)

Caring for the body is not wrong. Physical body is God's gift that has to be appreciated, thanked for, and taken care. But focusing our whole life around caring this physical body is not God's intention of giving us this body. When our lives are centralized on adorning physical beauty and attending to the physical needs, we can easily be diverted from our higher purpose, our spiritual means.

We are created with body and soul. But people tend to care for the body mostly. They feed the body with healthy supplements, they train the body to gain strengths and endurance, they shape the body into beautiful and balanced composition, they treat the defects and aim for perfection, and they maintain the fitness level of this physical body. It seems that what the physical body needs are all fulfilled, especially with advancement in science and technology. But what about our other component of life? The soul...

Ironically, whereas people live longer, healthier, and stronger, their spirits are not better than those living in old times, or even worse sometimes. Where are the love, gentleness, wisdom, solidarity, care, patience, self-control, and other inner beauties? Yes, human outer beauties are much better these days due to a lot care being given on them. But the inner beauty deteriorates as the time goes by. People are becoming more and more individualistic, selfish, uncaring, impatient, uncontrolled, exploitative, cold, and unloving. The clearest example is deterioration of spiritual life. Nobody cares whether God exists these days. Nobody cares much if their actions are unethical. Nobody attempts to realize whether their lifestyle harms other people and the environments.

These days many people leave the church, and revert their faith, especially in the western countries. These countries were once the center of mission efforts to reach out unbelievers. Now, they are some of those who need to hear about the Gospel.

Paul said that what is made of flesh and blood cannot share in the God's Kingdom. Our pretty much adorned physical body cannot enjoy eternal life. This temporary body will age and decay. When we die, it will perish. So, why do we put too much care on things that will perish? We should rather put more efforts to pursue things that will last forever, shouldn't we?

Let's live this life with a new purpose. Adorn your inner beauties, practice love, compassion, and patient, befriend with everybody and be sensitive to the needs of others, be faithful to God and maintain strong relationship with Him, and be friendly to the environments. Balance your physical and spiritual needs, and you shall live a fuller life, a more purposeful life.

15 April 2009 - Disappointment

Because Your anger and fury, ashes are my food, and my tears are mixed with my drink. You picked me up and threw me away. (Psalm 102:9,10)

Everybody experiences disappointment in their lives. Usually, it occurs because of unmet expectations. We have planned everything carefully, but far from working well, it turns up to be a disaster. We prepare everything meticulously, but there are still some noticeable flaws. There is a disappointment when what we expect does not turn into reality.

The same facts of life applies in our relationship with God. We have expectations and God has His own expectations. Often, our expectation and His expectation do not match. We ask for what we want, but God is more interested in giving what we need. When our desires differ from God's plan, we tend to be upset and blame God for neglecting our prayers. But wait a minute... Aren't we the one supposed to listen to Him? Isn't God the One Who knows us better? Many times people forget this...

When sufferings come, we must not judge the situations too quickly. Don't come straight to the conclusion that God has abandoned us or God has opposed us. God never abandons His people, just like a father never neglects his children. When we face disappointments, it is not God who has disappointed us by not giving us what we want. But it is our expectation that has misaligned from His. God still gives us what we need. His promise is as sure as sunrise.

So, blaming God is not the solution to our disappointment. God will not follow our will even if we cry aloud insisting on what we want, if He knows that it is not the best for us. We will realize one day that our desires are not all beneficial to us. Thanks to God, He does not fulfill them straightaway. Instead of blaming, God let us be hopeful, like what the psalmist sang in his psalm. “He heard the groans of prisoners and set free those who were condemned to die (Psalm 102:20).” The time will come when God restores those who are broken. But until that day comes, keep on hoping and praying. Reflect on your expectations. Don't let your wrong expectations cause your sufferings.

Martina McBride sang “Do It Anyway”. God is great, but sometimes life ain't good. And when I pray, it doesn't turn up like I think it should. But I do it anyway. I do it anyway...

14 April 2009 - Self-control

But you must keep control of yourself in all circumstances. (2 Timothy 4:5)

Self-control is a very decent value observed by everyone regardless of religions, cultures, and nations. But at the same time, it is the greatest challenge to every people. Ironically, the hardest thing to control is not a multinational company, not a world organization, and not even a country, but oneself. Many problems in the world are caused by inability of human to control themselves. Many miseries in this life, either those fall on ourselves or on other people, are caused by the lack of self-control. For example, why is it so hard to control the global warming? Are the green campaign and other preventive measures not enough? Not really... What is definitely not enough is self-control of each of the earth's inhabitants. If we could have just controlled ourselves from using too much water, from wasting too much gasoline, and from using too much electricity, the world will be better than today's.

Furthermore, self-control is one the fruits of the Spirit. Paul encouraged Timothy to keep control of himself. When we lose control, many bad things can happen. But if we keep the control and if we even let Jesus to take the control of our lives, we will surely have more positive lives. The simplest practice is to control our mouth. Gossiping and insulting others can cause great problems in our relationships, and these are the results of our inability to control our saying. Isn't it better to offer words of encouragement and truthful praises to others? We all know what is wrong, but we cannot resist from the temptation to keep on doing the wrong things. Yes, we are weak, but maybe we are not even attempting to resist. We must look at ourselves and reflect. Have we put the control of our lives to Jesus?

I remember a song by Carrie Underwood “Jesus Takes The Wheel”. When we try to hold the wheel and drive our lives wherever we think the best, we tend to lose our way, wander from the correct path, and lose control of our lives. It is all because we are sinners. The Bible says that our tendencies were all evil, until Jesus came into our lives. When He takes the wheel and drives our lives to where God wants us to be, we find our way again. When Jesus is on the driver's seat, we can get back the control of our lives. Instead of being constrained, we are being freed to do good when we surrender the wheel to Jesus. If we know someone's very good at driving, we would rather trust our car on his or her hands, wouldn't we? The same thing here. We believe that God knows what's best for us, then why don't we trust Him to lead our whole lives?

13 April 2009 - Sent

Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit...” (John 20:22)

When Jesus died on the cross, we said it is not the end because He was then rose from the death. He had victory over death. Then, was it finally the end? For Jesus, it was. He had accomplished His purpose on earth. He had done the will of His Father faithfully. He deserves all the glory for all that He has done for mankind. Indeed, He is exalted high in heaven and now He is seated in the heavenly kingdom with His Father. His death and resurrection are sufficient for redemption of all humankind.

But, is that the end for us also? God finishes the good work in Jesus. But God's works on earth still continue. Now He works through us, His followers and His children. Instead of becoming an end, it is the beginning for all of us. The moment we receive Jesus, our lives are renewed and that's where the new journey begins. Before He went up to heaven, Jesus gave His disciples the Great Commandments, which also apply to us. “Make disciples all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I will bless you until the end of time.”

God continues to work. He promises Holy Spirit to guide those whom He sends. Jesus promises blessings until the end of time. Given the command and the provisions, are we going to stay idle? After receiving the salvation, are we going to just sit around, do our stuffs, live our life feeling content enough with our faith? Are going to continue our daily routines, work, study, breathe, and live passively, waiting for Jesus to come for the second time and waiting for us to go to heaven? No! That's not what God plans.

Instead of living passively, we are to share the message of salvation to others who have not heard about it. In everything that we do, working, studying, relating with others, we should be able to let others see God who dwells in us (be salt and light). We should not limit our spirituality only in the church every Sunday, and live like people with no faith from Monday to Saturday. That's what Jesus called hypocrite. Instead, our spirituality should show up in everything that we do, every time, ever where, and in our relationships with everyone.

Remember the parable of talents. The servants who received 5 and 3 talents multiplied them to gain more. The master's absence did not make them passive and lazy. Instead, they felt responsible for what the master had trusted to them. However, the servant who received 1 talent thought the other way around. He hid the talent and did not make any effort to multiply it. When the master went back, the faithful servants were rewarded and the lazy servant was punished. Similarly, while waiting for our King to come for the second time, we should actively do what He commanded us to. So, when He comes back and evaluates our lives, He will say, “Good job, you good and faithful servant!”

10 April 2009 - His Life for Us

Through the Son, then God decided to bring the whole universe back to Himself. God made peace through the Son's death on the cross, and so brought to Himself back all things, both on earth and in heaven. (Colossians 1:20)

Good Friday. The English translation seems to underestimate the importance of this day. It is not just a good fine day. Everyday God places in our lifetime is good. But this particular Friday is especially important. We might call it Great Friday or Holy Friday to emphasize the importance. But the most essential thing is to understand what happened on that day.

Expectedly, all Christians should know what happened on this day about 2000 years ago. The Son of God died on the cross to bear human sins, so that all who came before Him and believe in God's promise through Him, and all who come after Him and believe in His name, shall be saved. Because of His death, we are now alive. That is why the day is a very glorious day. On this day, Jesus was sacrificed for the sake of our lives. Because of His obedience to the cross, we are now reconciled with God.

Many other people out there don't understand the importance of this day. They live as if nothing had happened. They do not realize that a man had died for them, so they could be saved. Not just any ordinary man in the history, but the Son of God Himself. All they need to do is to believe in Him. How would they know about Him, let alone believe in Him, if no one tells His story? As those who are privileged to have an understanding about the Gospel, we are responsible to tell others what happened on Good Friday, so everyone will have the same opportunity to receive God's grace.