Traffic Jam

In the book, The Present by Spencer Johnson, the main character of the story recollects the lessons he learned from a very wise man from his hometown. These lessons were given so the young man can find joy and happiness in life.

As the main character explores life and grows older, he experiences many failures in life. Every time he collides with life’s storms, he recollects what the wise man shared with him about the most precious gift in the world. He discovers that the greatest gift is...

1. If you want to live a happy and successful life, you must live in the present.
2. If you want a better future, you must learn from the past.
3. If you want to change your present, you must plan for a better future.

In other words, the greatest present in your life is your present... this moment. There is no greater gift then your present! Don’t dwell on your past. You can’t change it. Don’t dwell on your mistakes you just might miss the present! Learn from your past but live in the present!

In the Old Testament, there is a strong and gifted man named Samson. He was strong. No one could match his strength. He was given this strength by God. He did not pump iron. He did not spend hours in a gym. No, his strength was supernaturally infused into his body, supernaturally by God. And Samson was responsible to keep the secret behind the source of his strength. But because of his weak constitution towards lust, he eventually revealed the secret of his strength to a prostitute, Delilah. Philistines captured him. Treated him like an animal and gouged his eyes out [Judges 16:21]. He was blind to what was behind him. He was blind to what was ahead of him. He lost discernment. Each day, chained to a millstone, pulled the stone like an animal!

To me this is the picture of Christians who have lost sight of the Lord’s command, “to make disciples of all nations.” This is the picture of Christians who are neglecting the greatest responsibility given to us. Some how people have narrowed down Christianity to one hour on Sunday morning abdicating the great adventure and joy which God wants us to live today!

Friends, you were born with a special gift from God. It’s your life. It’s unique. It can’t be repeated. And when you have Jesus in your life, this special gift called life gets infused with a supernatural gift to build the church [1 Corinthians 12]. 

Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:21

Samson ultimately returns to God, the source of his strength, and find life again. Let us go to God today.

We dream of Disciple Church that has no walls. We dream of Disciple Church that will cause traffic jam because the presence of God is here. We dream of Disciple Church where people are loved and accepted for who they are! We dream of Disciple Church where I am not okay, you are not okay, but that is okay because God is our God! We dream of Disciple Church where laity is awaken through discipleship training to impact the world... starting from Milpitas!

Give Thanks...

People are forgetful. People look for keys all over their house just to realize that they’ve been carrying them in their back pocket. Have you done this? You dash into your room to get something and the moment you set your foot in the room, you forgot why you were in there. And you back step hoping it’ll remind you? We are forgetful people. 

God once told Israelites not to forget Him once they settle in the “land flowing with milk and honey!” But as you know, it will not take them long before they needed a reminder, and I am afraid that we need it as well.

In the Psalms, God often tells the whole earth to make a joyful noise to the Lord. The message of thanksgiving is so wide and deep, it applies to every human being in every era in the every life stage! When we give thanks together to God, it breaks down barriers between people and brings about unity.

But there is also a real danger in this season of how we determine our thanksgiving, on the basis of how much we have.

“Do I have enough turkey? Do I have enough money? Am I healthy? Is my car okay? How much bonus did I get this year? Am I getting a raise?” And we let these things determine whether we are or aren’t thankful. 

But we are reminded in the word of God that these things are fleeting. They come and go. As Job once said, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes...” The only thing that we have for sure is our relationship with the Lord and the relationship we have with the brothers and sisters in Christ.

Alex Haley, the author of Roots, had an unusual picture hanging on his office wall. It was a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. When asked, “Why is that there?” Alex Haley answered, “Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words and think that they are wonderful, and begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post and remember that he didn’t get there on his own. He had help.”

That is the basis of thankfulness to remember that we got here with the help of God, and that he provided every blessings we have.

This year as we close this month of thanksgiving, let us remember the Lord who provided all things for us. Let us remember people who enriched our life and give meaning in the daily grinds of life. Count your blessings and give thanks to God and to each other.

Psalms 50:14 | “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay your vows unto the most High.”.

Longing for Connection | Pt. 2

One of the great truths in the Bible declares that God, the all powerful-creator of the universe, loves you.

King David once asked, “Who is a man that you are mindful of him?” He could hardly believe that the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God of the universe would love and care for someone as insignificant as him. How can this awesome God, King of kings, Lord of lords love me? The answer is worth repeating... LOVE! God is love and He loves you!

Tell yourself, “God loves me. Jesus loves me.” Repeat that phrase and soak in the implication of this great truth! God loves you; and it is not based on your performance but it is unilaterally given! God loves you as you are, with all the nicks and warts and all! So learn to embrace your imperfections. Be kind to yourself and then to others. Imperfections make you human. As long as you hide from who you really are, you cannot become who you were meant to be!

People see vulnerability as something that is uncomfortable, excruciating, and painful; yet without vulnerability, we will not initiate love, take a risk on worthwhile things, nor try new things in fear of failure. Vulnerability allows people to invest in relationships that may or may not work out. Vulnerability is fundamental to deep and intimate human relationships.

Most people try to numb out unpleasant feelings and emotions, but it is humanly impossible to selectively numb out negative emotions such as hurt, shame, grief, fear and disappointments without numbing out other emotions such as love, joy, happiness, and gratitude.

When Adam first saw Eve, he said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.” There was longing for him to have a deep human relationship, that he exclaims "at last!"  I think in today's language, he may have said: “Eve, you are so beautiful. You were taken from my body but you are the part of me I love the most! I can’t believe God would do this for me!"

Can a man say anything more beautiful to a girl? But once sin fundamentally changed Adam from the inside out, he pointed his finger at Eve and referred to her as “that woman”. What a tragic change from his first loving words!  There is distance, a chasm, in that statement. He says, “You are not a part of me. You are you and I am me. Get away from me because it’s your fault that we are in this mess .” Adam blamed Eve! Instead of confessing to God and being vulnerable, he blamed Eve! Instead of embracing his imperfections, he chose to cover up the mess by blaming Eve.

Friends, you are not perfect, so learn to embrace your imperfections. Accept Jesus, who has done for you what you could not do for yourself. He lived a perfect life, so take His perfection upon yourself by believing in Him. Live in His perfection. Soak in His love and live in it! His love is not based upon your behavior or performance; but His love is based solely upon His own love for you. Do you think the nails kept Jesus on the cross? No way! It was love! 

 Abandon yourself to His love, and share your life with others knowing that you are loved regardless of how people react to you. Through sharing our lives, by risking being known, we release the numbness that exists in our heart. Openly share, be vulnerable, open your heart's door to greater love and intimacy with yourself and others.

Stop pretending you have it all together. The more you pretend, the more you will feel miserable and lonely! The more you feel miserable and lonely, the more you pretend. It’s a never ending cycle. And in the midst of pretending, the evil one points his accusatory finger towards you and hisses, “You are not what you pretend to be. You are a fake. What if people found out about you. They will know that you are a mistake. You are no good. You are a _______."

Be grateful for vulnerability, because it means you are still alive. Believe that Jesus is enough and you don’t have to pretend like you have to be perfect. You’ll start listening instead of screaming. You’ll be kinder and gentler to the people around you, and especially to yourself. 

I believe a relationship in Jesus is one in which you deliberately accept each other where you are -- imperfect, unfinished and mortal! As Leonard Cohen, a singer-songwriter, once said, “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” Share your imperfections and let the light of Jesus shine through! Amen!

Longing for Connection | Part 1

Are you like me? Someone happens to share 50 great things about you and one bad thing, yet all you can think about is that one negative comment.

Maybe this is why when we ask people about love, the first thing they tell you is  their heartbreak experience. And when you talk about belonging, people share their most excruciating experience of being left out. And when you ask about connections, they tell you stories about disconnections.

When God created Adam and Eve, the ‘imageness’ of God, was the ability to connect and relate with Him, with each other and with the surrounding world. This is the reason why we have such a fierce desire to be connected! That’s the ‘imageness’ of God in us. Connections are the reason why we are here. Connections gives us purpose and meaning in our lives. We are wired for connections. God wants us to be connected with Him and with others, for He is the true source of joy and happiness. And he desires that we live in joy and happiness [1 Thess. 5:16].

But when sin entered the world, along with disobedience, came shame! Shame can be defined as fear of disconnection - is there something in me, that when revealed, will cause others to distance themselves from me?

It’s universal, we all have it! The only people who don’t experience shame are people who are dead or have lost the capacity to feel human empathy. We all have it but no one wants to talk about it. And the less you talk about it, the reality is that you have more of it! The undergirding thought behind ‘shame’ is ‘I’m not good enough,” “I am not smart enough," "I am not beautiful enough," etc

What is the solution to this? How can we embrace our imperfection so that we can connect as God desires for us to connect?

The Bible reveals that the solution is found in vulnerability. When God asked Adam ‘where are you,’ it was not an issue of God not knowing Adam’s position factually. He wanted Adam to come out and be vulnerable. He wanted Adam to move from shame to vulnerability so that in authenticity, he can once again restore the ‘imageness’ of God!

The problem is that we hate vulnerability. Vulnerability says I am not perfect!  Vulnerability says, “I have to deal with the shame and junk that are deeply rooted in my life.  How can someone love me with all this junk in me?"  As a result, we shrink and hide instead of being authentic and open in our relationships. The word "courage" comes from Latin word COR, which means heart. The original definition of courage was "to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart."  Friends, we must have the courage to tell the story of who we are with our whole hearts. Connections take place as a result of authenticity. You must be willing to let go of who you think you should be in order to be who you are, a necessity for genuine connections!

So let’s stop pretending we are perfect, we are not. We live in a society where people take fat from their butts and inject it in their faces in order to look perfect. We are not perfect. Instead of pretending, let us embrace our imperfection. As I end, let me share with you something I learned in art school.

Have you heard of ‘wabi sabi’? It’s a Japanese philosophy that celebrates beauty in what’s natural - flaws and all. If you’ve been to a Japanese restaurant and sipped hot green tea out of a lopsided, cracked, asymmetrical tea cup, you know wabi sabi. The tea cups are handmade and irregularly shaped, with uneven an glaze, cracks and, yet, are absolutely beautiful in their deliberate imperfection! Learn to prize the drips and cracks in your messy lives! 

As we launch, may Disciple Church embrace the imperfections we see in each other. Instead of judging and criticizing, let us love and trust one another, as Jesus has done for us. This is why our growth groups are so important!  Let us come together, be vulnerable with one another, love one another and connect with one another!  Love the cracks and drips, until Jesus “who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus!” 

Make a Decision!

I took my daughter, Esther, to Fry’s Electronics on Tuesday night. If you love electronics, this is your earthly electronic heaven. Aisles after aisles are filled with electronic parts, computers, coolers, graphic cards, candies, and other merchandise. You name it, it’s there! Yet, with so many products comes a dilemma.  Have you ever found yourself standing before a wall of options and choices and all you can do is scratch your head because you couldn’t get yourself to make a decision? That’s exactly what happened to me this week.

Our world is a world of choices! So many choices flood our life that we are often paralyzed by the myriad of options. And as one wrong decision often leads to another, we are trapped in fear of making a bad decision. So we often make no choice at all.

I want to share with you today, don’t worry about making the wrong decision, worry about not making any decision at all!

Make a decision! William James, a psychologist and philosopher, once said, “When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that in itself is a choice.”

Decide! A wrong decision is better than indecision! If it turns out you’ve made a wrong choice, learn from the experience, say ‘sorry’ to anyone you’ve hurt, and make a new choice and move forward! In fact, there is no such thing as a wrong decision! Wrong decisions help you identify better decisions, which will lead you closer to your desired outcome!

Mark 5 tells a story of a woman who encounters Jesus. The incident takes place on a narrow twisted street packed with a crowd of excited people. The crowd is there to get a glimpse of Jesus. People in the crowd speak of him with deep affection. The beggars and prostitutes whisper his name softly. He is known to heal diseases. He is known to spend time with the sick and the downtrodden. His name is Jesus.

He is on His way to heal Jairus’ dying daughter. And the crowd is following Him to see a miracle. People are fascinated by him. But perhaps some were doubting him. Maybe some were saying, “He can do this.” Possibly others were countering with a doubtful head shake. 

But Jesus’ walk is interrupted by a very sick woman. Her face is marred with lines of agony. Her body is racked with pain. Who is she? For twelve long years she had suffered from bleeding. She wanted relief. She wanted restoration. She wanted  health and life. She decided to try Jesus!

Now you must know that this woman had searched for a healer for the last twelve years.

Mark 5:26 | She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

I am sure some of these doctors took advantage of this woman’s situation and used every option they could conceive to take her money. Often she must have felt used and abused. But she did not allow her previous decisions to deter her from making a new decision. For twelve years, she made decision after decision, often leading her to people who cared more about her money than her. 

Mark goes on... 
27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

All of her previous decisions led her to Jesus. All her choices lead her to healing. What if she had stopped after the seventh year saying “Oh, there is no cure for this. I give up!” She would have missed the physical healing but more importantly she would have missed the spiritual healing! She would have missed Jesus. Her persistent decisions led her closer to her solution - Jesus!

Friends, as we look forward to the launch of Disciple Church, what decisions are you hesitating on making?  Perhaps inviting a friend or a family member?  Perhaps coming and praying for the launch during our Upper Room prayer meetings?  Perhaps merely showing love to that coworker who is hard to bear?  As we live, let us not live with a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, love and self-control (2 Timothy 1.7)!  Let us live, not with regrets of not moving, but with actions and boldness!  Yes, we may stumble, but our God is faithful to pick us up again.  Let us move and decide for the Kingdom of God!