Emptied and Filled

In the heart of the Hawaiian islands is the island of Molokai. According to the locals, Molokai is blessed with stunningly beautiful nature, and is cursed with human ignorance.

About 130 years ago, Molokai, despite its beauty, was considered cursed because it once housed a colony of lepers in an area called Kalaupapa. People with leprosy were thrown away in this area like garbage in a dumpster. Lepers would arrive by ship and were commanded to jump overboard and swim for their lives to the shore. Sometimes, a strong rope was run from the anchored ship to the shore, and the lepers pulled themselves painfully through the high, salty waves.  

No one cried for them. No one buried them. This was an island, even with all its beauty, which had no hope and carried only despair. No buildings, shelters nor portable water wer available on the island. Lepers dwelled in rock enclosures, caves and in the most rudimentary shacks, built of sticks and dried leaves. The dead lepers and fallen body parts were food for the dogs and pigs. It was hell on earth!

In 1873, Father Damien deVeuster, aged 33, arrived at Kalaupapa. No one forced him to the island!  Rather, he went to the leper colony on his own. Father Damien desired to share the love of Jesus and the value of life in Jesus. He wanted to share about the new life through Jesus! But no one would listen to him! All the talk of the kingdom of God where there are no tears, pain or sickness, fell on deaf ears!

Leper victims sneered at Father Damien, “Do you know what it’s like to be a leper? Do you know the pain of losing your finger, your nose and your arm? You talk of this grandeur place of hope but we have no hope! Do you know what it’s like to live without hope?”

Father Damien thought to himself, "Unless I get closer to them, I will never reach them with the gospel of Jesus." So he started to rub shoulders with them. He moved into their colony. He started to eat with them. He even built a small chapel in the middle of the colony that they may worship together. And he continued to share about the life in Jesus and the hope of the future.

Eleven years after Father Damien arrived in Molokai, he spilled a pot of boiling water over his legs. Immediately, his skin started to boil up with blisters under the boiling water; but he did not feel anything. Father Damien had unfortunately, become like one of the lepers.

The next day, during chapel, he started his message with... “We are leprosy victims...” Those who realized what had happened to Father Damien started to well up and cry! And the ‘cursed’ island of Molokai started to transform into an island of love and joy. People began caring for each other. Those who were once left to die in agony were cared for so they could die with dignity. And the temperament of the whole colony started to change. It became a foretaste of heaven as people started to act and behave like the beauty that surrounded them.Eventually, Father Damien's face became unrecognizable as the disease took its toll. However, until his death in 1889, he cared for the lepers and was buried among the lepers!

Father Damien reminds me of Jesus. Why did Jesus come to this world knowing that it was full of pain and suffering? Why did Jesus house himself in the frailty of a human body to enter a world that back stabs with a kiss? People long to become a god, but why did Jesus, who is God, gave his divinity a hold? Instead of coming with the pomp and circumstance of angels and the crown of Israel upon his head, Jesus came quietly through a poor couple who could only afford a stable. Why?  Jesus who was without sin became sin on the cross. Why?  While Jesus had all, he gave it all up. Why?  For you and me! He emptied himself so that you and I might be filled with Him! He became like us so he could restore us to God!

Today, as we look forward to the launch of Disciple Church, God is calling us to do the same for the friends who surround us! He wants us to be like Father Damien! He wants us to enter our world to share the good news of Jesus! Like Jesus, he wants us to empty ourselves to invite our friends into an intimate relationship with Jesus. Let us respond to that call! I guarantee you, you will have an adventure far more exhilarating than anything else! As we give ourselves in service to the world, you’ll discover the joy that was in Jesus as he carried his cross.

Smile, Jesus Loves You!

Who can resist the sound of laughter? It’s more contagious than any sneeze or cough. When laughter is shared, it brings people together and increases happiness and intimacy. It’s fun to laugh. It’s free to laugh. And it’s easy to use! No 500 page instruction booklet needed! Laughter helps you to put things in perspective. If you learn to play and laugh more, you’ll not only feel better but everyone else around you will feel more at ease as well.

Did you know studies show that humor and laughter help people live longer, happier; be more creative and productive? Laughter reduces stress, fear, embarrassment, and anger! Laughter even has healing power! When a person laughs, blood pressure decreases, the heart rate increases, the blood releases endorphins and depression declines. In fact a good laugh has a lasting effect, even until the next day! 

Proverbs 17:22 | A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Dr. Paul. E McGhee writes, “Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.” All these great and wonderful effects at the fraction of the cost of popping a pill in your mouth. In fact, it’s free! It’s God’s gift to humanity!

Did you know, on average, kids laugh 400 times a day, while grown ups only laugh about 15 times? What’s wrong with this picture? Adults have forgotten something along the way. I think we take ourselves too seriously! G.K. Chesterston once said, “angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.”

As we grow older, we get far too serious. Watch kids play! They don’t need expensive toys to entertain themselves. Adults mess it up by providing the expensive toys! Everything is fun. Everything is funny! Kids are spontaneous. Only when we get old do we get bored! Maybe when Jesus said, “Unless you become like a child you can’t enter the kingdom of God”, He meant being able to enjoy and laugh in the will of God. If you can’t laugh and enjoy God here and now, you will be bored out of your mind when you go to heaven!

God has a great sense of humor! God was in joy with a big smile on His face when He made Adam and Eve! Otherwise why would He declare, “It is VERY good!” He was so happy, He rested the next day, enjoying the creative processes and products of the six days work! Did you know ‘Eden’ means "rejoice," "happy," "delightful," and "pleasure?" You get the sense He really enjoyed creating Eden!

God made an old couple who could not bear a child laugh out of their minds. Genesis 21:6 | Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” Okay, maybe not out of their minds, but it was contagious enough for Sarah to say, “Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” Infectious!

At a middle Eastern wedding party, laughter was gasping for air because the wine jars were empty. Along came Jesus and the joy and the laughter was restored by Jesus turning water into wine. Imagine the facial expression of Jesus after the water was turned to wine. Is He frowning? Is He full of anxiety and worry? Is He stern and serious? Or do you see Him smile and rejoice along with the wedding party? Jesus turns mourning to laughter.

Victor Frankl wrote, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

What will you put in ‘that space’? Worries, anxieties, stress and depression or laughter, humor, smile and joy? 

Apostle Paul wrote, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”[1 Thessalonians 5:16-18] What is God’s will? For his children to find happiness and joy in all circumstances!

Friends, fix your funny bone and teach yourself to see humor in all of God’s creation.  Are you a follower of Jesus? Are you a disciple of Jesus? Smile, Jesus loves you!

Fresh Start

Everyone would love to have a fresh start! People make mistakes in their life. They experience many setbacks and failures throughout their lives. Sometimes they allow these mistakes, these setbacks and failures to enslave them; so they never enjoy the full Christian life that God has given them to enjoy.

John 10:10 is one of my favorite verses. It says, “...I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

But the devil comes to “only to steal and kill and destroy.”

The Devil will remind us of our past in order to keep us from enjoying the life that God gave us. The Devil does not want you to have a fresh start in life.

But God says, “I want you to have a fresh start in life. I want you to have a new beginning. I want to do something new in your life.” God wants to do something new in your life. 

Isaiah 43:18 says, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing...”

God wants to do something new in your life! That's a great news! And as we start Disciple Church together, God wants to do something great in our church. I am excited for this fresh start. It is a fresh start for me as well as for you. No matter how great our past is, the future will be greater. No matter how bad our past is, the future is brighter! 

I am glad we get to start fresh today. May we carve our future through Jesus Christ. My prayer is that God will use us to train devoted disciples of Jesus Christ who will impact the world... starting from Milpitas, California!

Someone said, “No one can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” 

Today is the beginning of a new and glorious future...

“No eyes has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has for those who love Him...” 1 Corinthians 2:9

[one of the earlier articles written for Disciple Church bulletin]

Love Your Wife

A kindergarten teacher asked his students, “What is the strongest and fiercest animal?”
All the students shouted in unison, “Lion!”
“Then what do lions fear the most,” their teacher asked.
As the kids contemplated on the answer, one of the students shouted, “The lioness!”
“Why the lioness?” asked the teacher.
The student replied, “Well, the king of my house is my dad, but the one he fears the most is mom!”

What I noticed over the years in marriage is that people plan for their wedding day months ahead. For some women, they think and ponder about their wedding day all their life. They dream of their “happily ever after”. But rarely, have I encountered couples who think to plan for the day after their wedding. There's lots of strategy laid out for the wedding day but none for the day after.

Couples need strategy. Husbands need strategy to make their wives holy and beautiful before Jesus. Wives need strategy to help their husbands live out their passion with courage.

“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

Make up your mind to be happy together. Have a strategy that will get you there!

Strategies for Wives:

1. Serve Your Husband Like a King
   You might be thinking, “What? No way!” But think about it. If you serve your husband like a king, you become a queen. But if you treat your husband like a pauper, you are a pauper’s wife.
   
   The Bible says that Sarah called her husband Abraham “Lord”. Now this does not mean you become his slave. No, you become his helper for that is the original intention of God towards women; to help men become all they can be! Treat him like a VIP!
2. Fan the Flame in Your Husband’s Heart
   Men give up their life for vision and purpose. If they see something worth dying for, they will jump right in. Men will give up their lives for their families. Ladies, if you pour into their heart reasons and motives to live with passion, they will go all out for you and for your children. Take care of your husband like a child from head to toe! Otherwise their hearts will grow stale and indifferent.
3. Praise Your Husband
   I once read a woman said this to her peers, “Turn in your pink slip if you are not praising your husband.” Her point was that a wife who does not praise her husband is not worthy to have the husband whom God has appointed to her.
   
   Make a habit of praising your husband. Form a habit and later that habit will form you. Life is a continuation of habits. What we say is often out of habit. Praise is also a habit. Form a good habit to say good things to your husband and your children. Husbands will live in strength and passion when they eat your praise each day! Try it and see if I am wrong!
   

Strategies for Husbands:

1. Show Love
   Men are ambitious creatures. Women are loving creatures. Women do not overcome loneliness as men overcome loneliness. Women “wither” inside when love is not received. So Paul writes in Ephesians 5, “Love your wife!” Your love must be shown! Love must show up in your words, in your hearts, and in your actions.
   
   If your wife gives you a death stare, kiss her eyes. If she gives you pouted lips, kiss her lips. If she turns her back to you, hug her back! Become a strong yet soft, steady yet flexible husband.
   
   Here is the full verse to the husbands from Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” In other words, just as Christ died for the church so husbands are called to die for their wives! And the only way to die for her is to die to yourself! 
2. Become Her Friend
   Over the years I realized that what moves people is not how much you know! People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you love and care for them. Speak to her as an equal. Speak to her with tenderness. Speak to her with love. Lead her gently. Lead her to peace. You are the head of the family. You are called to lead your family; not as a dictator but as a God-fearing, God-loving person. So this calls for you to walk intimately with Jesus so that His love can pour out through you.
   
   When you stand before God some day, God will not ask your wife concerning the state of your family. The responsibility of a good family is directly given to the husbands. You are responsible for the spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical temperature of your family. 
   
   Become a warm, understanding, fun person... like her friend.
   
   Happiness is not elusive. God desires for each one of us to be happy. And happiness is only possible in Him! So plunge into the vastness of God for in His presence are pleasures forever!

Let me end with the following quote:
 “People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.  If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.  For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” ~ Mother Teresa

** Singles may think, this article does not concern them but I beg to differ. Often singles look for people who are better than them. They are looking for someone who will “complete” them. But the key to finding a right person is to become the kind of person you want to attract! Opposites attract people say! That may be true but similarities keep people together! Instead of spending all your energy trying to find someone, spend the energy in becoming a man/woman of God! Blessings! 

Christ has set you free!

Job 3:25 | What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.

I want to share my quiet time from last week out of the Living Life, which is the book I use for my time with the Lord. 

If you were to read Job 3:25 and sit on it, meditate on it, and reflect on it, you get the sense that Job lived in constant fear and tension. There was no freedom in him. He was a man who was doing everything he can to please God so nothing would happen to his family! His own words tell us that he lived in fear, in anxiety and in dread! God honored his intensions but I believe God wanted to move Job from life of anxiety and tension to a life of freedom in Him!

Tension and anxiety filled life goes against what Jesus gives us [John 10:10]. 

For those of us who are taking my discipleship... find freedom as we study the word together. The goal of discipleship is not for you to live in tension and anxiety but to set you free to live intimately with Jesus, our beautiful Savior! The homework, reading, Q.T., and other things I share with you will build a framework which will help you to do this but do not let it trap you and enslave you!

There is a story of Jesus going to the Pool of Bethesda. Surrounding this pool are hundreds of diseased and sick people waiting to get healed. But Jesus steps over all of them and healed only one. Then he left! What? I personally think that most Christians will stay around that pool until the sunset and they'll call people to bring more lights around the pool so they can heal more people! Then they will go to bed exhausted, thinking they did God's work by meeting the needs of people. But when I read the Bible Jesus had no problem with just healing one that day. I believe, Jesus went to bed in peace that night. 

Here is the key: Do not move because of need but move because of call! 

Jesus said that he only does what the Father tells him to do; which is to say unless the Father prompts him, he will do nothing. Another way of putting this is if you were to do something Father did not prompt you, that would be done in flesh and that would be sin! I hope that makes sense. I’ve seen Christians do this. Does Father want me to do that? Heal him? Heal her? Constantly moving in tension! No, the Bible promises abundant life! Living in constant tension is not abundant life; it's a life lived in fear! 

This is the reason why living intimately with Jesus is most essential aspect of our life. We move because Jesus prompts us through the Holy Spirit! We walk and talk because of the prompting of His voice! Friends, have compassion for the lost, the sick and the down trodden but move in the call of God not on the base of need!

Galatians 5:1 | Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law [NLT].

Paul says you are free in Christ! In fact Christ came to set you free from the law! And Paul goes on to say, “Make sure that you stay free!” Why? Cause we have internal mechanism that is messed up; and this mechanism presses us to do things so God would love us more. So we end up doing everything 'we' think we ought to do, yet still find ourselves out of sync with Jesus. We have lots of activities without intimacy! 

Here is an illustration I heard recently that made lots of sense to me.

Imagine going to a upscale restaurant. You watch the waiter and waitresses working really diligently to get the orders. Everyone of them were in perfect sync with the customers as they served food. In your eyes, everyone is doing a great job! But let's say for our illustration sake, one of the waiters was told by his boss to take care of the restroom all night; making sure the restroom is clean and smell good. But because the waiter did not like to deal with the restroom, he wonderfully bussed tables all night! Did he do a good job? Of course not! In our eyes perhaps, but in the eyes of his boss, he was not doing his job at all! He was resisting his boss.

God wanted to move Job from this life of tension and fear to the life of freedom! Job’s fear comes from his misunderstanding of God! God wants to make sure Job knows that He is God of love who does not consume us; whose compassions never fail! Not only for a day but this love is renewed every morning! And this love is not dependent on you and I but it’s all on God! Oh how faithful is our God! So move in the Spirit and leave the rest to the Father!

I pray as we spend time reading, writing, learning and growing in the discipleship class; we will learn to move in greater freedom! Blessings. Share your thoughts...

Commitment

As I reflect to write this article, I am deeply moved by you.
Each Sunday at 8 am our Host Team huddles together to pray and cast vision. And then they survey and clean the church to make certain that the worship room is clean  and everything is set to receive everyone.  The coffee set up by our host team and the pastries baked by one of our own Jr. High girls are ready to welcome you by 8.30 am.   And as the praise team is getting ready for worship, the sound of music from the sanctuary envelops me in the presence of God before the “official” 9 am worship starts! I often find myself drowning in the worship songs as they practice. Thank God!
After worship, I walk through the halls to see how our growth groups are doing. I let out a short prayer here and there that everyone may share with honesty and transparency because only in genuine sharing can there is be genuine transformation. Last week I saw people tearing up while sharing that brought joy to my heart because I know that there is transparency, which gives God room to shape and mold the group.
Wednesday and Friday nights are joy to me because of our discipleship classes. Physical tiredness drowns in the joy of being with my brothers and sisters in the Lord! Last week, I heard their testimonies about Jesus. Oh my! Blessings galore! As each member shared his or her encounter with Jesus, my heart was jumping with joy... I thought I was going to explode!!! Thank you all for sharing! What joy!
How can we forget about the BBQ last month. Homemade hamburgers, soup, lettuce, tomatoes [Ben’s favorite],...etc. And David Kim, our new youth pastor, was there as well! What blessings.
Why do we do this? Why wake up so early to prepare on Sunday? Why come to Discipleship after a long work day? Commitment!  Committed to awaken the laity by training devoted disciples of Jesus to impact the world!
Nothing happens until a commitment is made. No one has ever become a success by giving half effort! 
I read a story a while ago about the Alps in Europe. Half way up the mountain is a nice "half way" house. Climbers are encouraged to stop and rest there before they continue to the top. It is meant to be a resting place before the climbers continue. But many people come to the halfway house and remain there. The enticement of the warmth of the fire place, a cup of hot coffee and the view is to die for! This midpoint is such a warm cozy and enticing place that many people come to the half way house and relinquish their original goal of reaching  the top... they are half way committed. 
I imagine, people are laughing and singing and sharing stories for the first hour in the half way house. But then the whole place is silenced as they look to the top and wonder what it would have been like to reach the top. Soon they may start to see the first group that made it to the top coming down with laughter and stories of what they saw and the whole half way house with warmth of the fire, hot coffee and the view become quiet, uneasy, and dissatisfied! Why? Because people who once had a vision for the top settled for the half way house!
Commitment is an indispensable character that keeps us keeping on when the going gets tough. Commitment keeps us studying while our friends play ball. Commitment wakes us up in the wee hours of the morning when others are sleeping. Commitment makes a junior higher bake cakes for the church. Commitment makes us set up to welcome the new comers to the church. Commitment keeps us up all night to prepare for the worship set! Commitment is a quality we cannot do without. Commitment helps us to find satisfaction and love in life when others are wondering what it would have been like!
Someone once said, “The way to success is built on a hill, no place is provided for a stop, it requires less effort to remain at the bottom but you will see so much more at the top!”
People say, “I am too busy for this or that.” I see lots of people busy doing nothing. Or if they are doing something, it’s not worth anything, which is basically nothing! 
Martin Luther King Jr. once stated "if a man has been called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the street even as Beethoven played music and Michelangelo painted, he should sweep the street until all the host of heaven and earth will stand and say 'here lived a street sweeper.'"
Are you committed to give your best for the glory of the One who is the best? Today we celebrate communion. Let us remember Jesus, who was committed to each one of you. 
“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

What was Jesus’ joy? To glorify the Father first and foremost and to see you and I enter the fullness of joy in Him! May our commitments in life bring the greatest glory to Him and blessings to those around us!

Power of Restraint

Have you heard of the Marshmallow Test conducted by Stanford University Researchers in the last 1960s? Researchers submitted hundreds of four-year-olds to a little test of willpower:  the kids were put in a small room with marshmallows, each had one marshmallow in front of them. They were told they could either eat the treat now, or, if they could wait for another 15 minutes until the researcher returned, they could have two.

Some kids waited while others failed to resist the whirlpool of temptation for even a minute. Many others struggled a little longer before eventually giving in. The most successful kids were the ones who figured out how to distract themselves from the marshmallow’s seduction - by facing in different direction, closing their eyes, or kicking something...etc. - and delayed gratification for the full 15 minutes.

What’s interesting is that these kids who waited for 15 minutes were significantly more successful in life than the kids who gave in. Even the SAT scores were an average of 210 points higher among those who waited 15 minutes. 

The strength to achieve a goal and accomplish a dream come from self-control! People who are on the path to destruction are people gives in to their impulse. But the path of success is found in those who are able to manage their impulse through self-control. Self-control is indispensable in order to live in peace and in harmony. It’s the power to live according to what we know to be true and right over impulsive living. 

Researchers have estimated that we make over 2,500 choices every day. Therefore having the self control to choose to live according to the principles in God’s Word is the most important decision you can make. A Christian who lacks self control is like driving a car down hill with a broken break system.

Bible says “Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him” in a open field. 

Genesis 4:6 | “The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?”

When self control is out of control, people kill. 

Proverbs 12:16(NLT) | A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.

Victor Frankl, the Jewish psychologist who spent time in a Nazi concentration camp in Germany wrote, "They stripped me naked. They took everything -- my wedding ring, watch. I stood there naked and all of a sudden realized at that moment that although they could take everything away from me -- my wife, my family, my possessions -- they could not take away my freedom to choose how I was going to respond.”

What is love? It is the power to be patient. It is the ability to bear all thing in all circumstances. There is a reason why the fruit of the Spirit found in the book of Galatians starts with love and ends with self-control. Love without self-control turns to unrestrained lust. Self-control without love is cold and brash. But with the balance of love and self-control, there is power and strength to make a difference! May you and I live our lives in such a way love and self-control enables us to impact this world as disciples of Jesus. Have a blessed week!