Scum of the Earth

Gracepoint Davis Church, do you want to be the scum of the earth? Nobody wants to, but we may be called to, per today’s Daily Devotion text (1 Corinthians 4).

9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. 10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

What is going on here?  Is Apostle Paul out of his mind?  Who invites suffering and pain?  Or is it because Paul is so focused on knowing nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified? (1 Cor. 2:2)

We Christians are called to follow Christ.  And that’s what Paul is encouraging us to embrace, especially as it is clear what kind of life Jesus lived:

• was strong but became weak (“made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant” Philippians 2:7)
• was dishonored even by His own people (Matt. 13:57)
• was brutally treated (just recall one of the scenes in “The Passion of the Christ“)
• warned would-be followers, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matt. 8:20)
• “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats” (1 Peter 2:23; Matt. 27:14)
• “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34)

How much closer to becoming a scum of the earth can you get?  Jesus gives us a clear picture of laying down one’s life so that someone else might live.  And we are alive today because Jesus (and the previous generations of followers) embraced opportunities to be even the scum of the earth.

And so, I’d gladly be the scum of the earth if in laying down my life, one more person might enjoy eternity with Jesus in Heaven…

Song: Unredeemed by Selah

Someone from Gracepoint Berkeley shared with us a very moving song.  The Christian music group, Selah, sings “Unredeemed” in their latest album You Deliver Me and this song speaks of the faith in God we should have in our deepest times of need.

Selah’s lead singer, Todd Smith (and his wife), experienced a painful loss of their newborn daughter who only lived a mere 3 hours.  During such painful losses of life, how can we see through the eyes of faith?  How can God redeem such pain and sorrow?  How about all the shameful dark pasts, wasted years, and even things that seem impossible to restore — Can God redeem the unredeemed?

Listen to this song while reading the lyrics below for the answer:

Unredeemed

The cruelest words, the coldest heart
The deepest wounds, the endless dark
The lonely ache, the burning tears
The bitter nights, the wasted years

Life breaks and falls apart
But we know these are…

[Chorus]
Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
They may be unfulfilled, they may be unrestored
But when anything that’s shattered is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see it will not be
Unredeemed

For every choice that led to shame
And all the love that never came
For every vow that someone broke
And every life that gave up hope

We live in the shadow of the fall
But the cross says these are all …

[Chorus]

Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
They may be unfulfilled, they may be unrestored
But you never know the miracles the Father has in store
Just watch and see it will not be
Just watch and see it will not be…unredeemed.

Amen.  Lord, we want to watch and see how You will redeem even the most unredeemed…

From Gracepoint Davis Fall Retreat

A few weeks ago, we had our first Gracepoint Davis Church 1-day Fall Retreat where we studied Biblical view on Dating/Marriage, Entertainment/Culture, and Work/Fulfillment.

Some of you have asked for the links to the resources that I used, so here they are:

Joni & Friends (“The Prison that Set Me Free: Angola Prison”)
http://www.joniandfriendstv.org/video.php?id=2

Nick Vujicic (LifeWithoutLimbs.org)
http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/media.php

Biblical Dating & Marriage from www.boundless.org (by Focus on the Family) featuring dating & courtship issues that college students and young folks (and older ones) might find helpful; by and large, they have solid advice on these important matters:

• “What Does a Biblical Relationship Look Like?” by Scott Croft
• “Boyfriend is Not ‘Outwardly Christian’” Boundless Answers by Candice Watters
• They have other related articles such as:
  • Biblical Dating: An Introduction
  • To Kiss or Not to Kiss
  • Just Friends

Church Pastors Unplugged

Pastor Ed Kang (Gracepoint Berkeley Church) invited me to spend some time with him and other church pastors at the Sierra Retreat.  It’s always good to spend time with pastors from other churches, and it’s been a while since we last got together, so I join them yesterday.

Among other things, we compared notes on how we’re using PowerPoint to make our points, talked about the theology of spiritual battles until 1 AM, ate ramen noodles while our wives were not around, and even went on a little hike.

One fun moment was when pastor Chris Pak (Bridgeway Church of Silicon Valley) challenged pastor Loren Chong (New Covenant Church) to an arm wrestling match.  It was a close match, but at the right moment, pastor Loren used the physics of the moment arm to win:

I also captured this picture of Mr. Disgracepoint himself, Daniel Kim, losing this-grace-fully to someone much older.  Now, what would you put for a demotivator caption for this one?  (let’s hear your comments!)

Good Player, Great Coach

Taylor started up Fall baseball season last week and he’s lucky to have another good coach.  He had a great coach this past Spring and I’ll never forget the lesson on leadership I learned from coach Jim.

It was the end of the year party for Taylor’s baseball team, the time when the coach says an encouraging word or two for each player.  When it came to Taylor, coach Jim said, “He’s a good player, but not a great player.”  Some of the teammates said, “Coach, that hurts his feelings!”  But inside, I said, “Way to go, coach!  That’s telling the truth.”  That great coach immediately taught the team a lesson on truth over feelings:  “Well, it’s the truth.  He’s a good player, but not a great player.  He might become a great player down the road.”  Now that’s a great coach.

But the second comment that he made was something that I was most proud of:  “I picked Taylor for my team because he is very coachable.”  Coach Jim had Taylor a couple of years ago when he was playing AA ball when he wasn’t all that good, but he remembered that Taylor listened while other kids just did their own thing on the field.  Well, a few days later, the true test of listening to the coach came at the last game of the championships.

It was 2 outs with runners on second and third and Taylor was up to bat.  (That’s as stressful as preaching before 200 people! )  The count was three balls with no strikes on Taylor.  Taylor looked for coach Jim’s sign and he took the next pitch for a called strike.  3-1.  Then, as Taylor later informed me, the coach signaled to him to take another pitch which was another strike!  Taylor clearly was frustrated because it was a pitch that he felt he could have hit.  And with the count now at 3-2, the next pitch was a swing and a miss, strike three!  They ended losing the game and came in second place for the season.

There are times when I wonder if Taylor had swung at that 3-1 pitch, if he could have hit a home run and been on the road to MLB!  But I’m glad that he was able to listen to this great coach who not only knows the game, but also knows the value of truth over feelings.  If Taylor is lucky enough to have a great coach like Jim next season, maybe he’ll become a great player one day…as long as he remains coachable.

InterHigh Youth Ministry

This Saturday, Sept. 26 (6-9pm), our two kids will be part of the exciting start of a new movement:  InterHigh Christian Fellowship!  Their kickoff event is called, “RISE: Take a Stand for Jesus” and will be on the UC Berkeley campus (Pauley Ballroom) with guest speaker, Sean McDowell.  Susanna and I were impacted by Sean’s father’s writings, Josh McDowell, who trained up a generation of Christ-followers in the late 80’s.  It’s so neat to see his son, Sean, training up this next generation of our kids.  And it makes me wonder who from our children’s generation will be next to carry the baton 20 years from now…  Maybe one of the kids from InterHigh will rise to that occasion!

If you have any contact with any youth group in the Bay Area (or even Northern California–since I heard some groups even as far as Sacramento are attending), please pass along the link:  http://www.interhigh.org

BTW, some youth members are writing articles for their blog and Kristen wrote a piece for it recently.  It’s pretty good (of course I’m biased here ) so check it out!

UPDATE 9/28/09:

Here are some pictures from the event!  It wasn’t just “RISE: Take a stand for Jesus,” but rather, “JUMP with the rockin music for Jesus!”  My only regret was that I should have worn a dry-fit T-shirt!

NSWN @UC Davis 9/23/09 5pm

This is the BIG one!  There’s a lot of excitement in the air as we get ready for our annual New Student Welcome Night at UC Davis!  I will be speaking at this event hosted by KoinoniaDavis.org this Wednesday (9/23/09, 5pm, 123 Sciences Lecture Hall).

Questions:  Will this year’s new skit cast be the best ever (again)?  What’s this brand new video I hear rumors about?  What delectably delicious dinner will be served?  What will be the fabulous prizes and giveaways?  Will I win one?  Will I find what I’ve been searching for?

Come to find answers…and bring your friends (or even your whole dorm floor)!

Date: 9/23/09 Wed
Time: 5 pm
Where: 123 Sciences Lecture Hall

Broken by Things Unseen

Last week, our family enjoyed a wonderful meal at Ming & Linda’s newlywed apartment.  I found a bunch of Hillsong DVD’s there that caught my attention and they graciously let me borrow the set for my treadmill worship time.

I’m a feeler.  I’m no Eric Liddell, but when I run, I feel God’s pleasure.  But when I run with praise songs (or praise videos), I feel God’s presence!

The song, “Hosanna” by Hillsong has been one of my favorites for a while and I popped that DVD in this morning for my jog.  My favorite part of the song hit me again:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

Open my eyes to the things unseen.  Break my heart for what breaks Yours.  Easy to sing and worship God with.  But Hillsong’s Darlene Zschech brought in John 4 in her audio commentary:  “[...] we don’t just sing it, but that we live it.  The spirit side of worshipping is so easy, but spirit and in truth is what the command is.  And it’s where the rubber meets the road…” What are some truths of these lines that we need to apply today?

There must be so many unseen things that break God’s heart.  Things that God sees day in and day out.  The millions of lives ruined by drugs, alcohol, sensual promiscuity, experimenting with new-found freedom during the first week of college, and just plain old sin.  Some sins that are so ordinary today, they don’t feel sinful at all.  And in this upside-down world, a person actually feels guilty for not participating in those sins.

God, open my eyes to the unseen sins.  Let me begin with the sins within me.  And then let us as a church see the sins all around and be broken by Your broken heart.  Let everything I am be used for Your kingdom’s cause in selfless faith…

That is what I asked for as I prayed for the upcoming ministry year.

Burdened? Come to Jesus

Burdened? I am. Burdened by sin – mine, yours, and the world’s. Burdened by how in the world things can be made right. Burdened by how the Kingdom of Heaven can become a reality on this broken planet through broken people.  Burdened by fears, broken relationships, hard labor in the Lord that never gets easier, things that need to get done but are left undone…  Burdens that all too many have experienced and are loaded down by…

To whom can we turn when we have such burdens? Often, we just want to sleep it out. Just trying to find rest by closing our eyes to everything. But the burden remains when you wake and are awakened to even more.

To this, Jesus issues a refreshing (and radical) invitation in today’s DT passage in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…” When you think about it, it’s crazy. Up to that point, Jesus had been teaching and ministering with burden after burden. And yet, He invites even more people with burdens to come to Him! He’s asking for more burdens upon His overburdened heart.  Such is the radical, crazy love of the One Whom we seek to be like as Christians…

But we want the easy life.  But Jesus invites us to this radical way, indeed, the Heavenly way: To take on additional burdens…to take on His burdens and be yoked with Him. And what is He carrying? It’s the weight of the world. He’s carrying my sins. He’s carrying your sins. And that, so we don’t have to carry it for ourselves. That’s the secret:  When the burden of our sin is lifted, we can carry other burdens…others’ burdens.

There is a song that brings tears to my eyes each time I hear it (and yes, even now as I’m typing and listening, my eyes are filled with tears). It’s titled, “Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus)” by Chris Rice.  I found a youtube video so at least you can hear it for yourself while reading the lyrics below…and come to Jesus.

“Come To Jesus” by Chris Rice

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O raise your head for Love is passin’ by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live

Now your burden’s lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain
So sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live

Like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk sometimes we fall
So fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain
Then cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live

O and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can’t contain your joy inside
Then dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world good-bye
Then go in peace and laugh on glory’s side
And fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live

Seek Wise Counsel

Yesterday at church I preached on Matthew 8, noting Jesus’ authority and how we should listen to His commands (per Matthew 5-7).  As a supplement to that message, I want to share some excerpts from Dr. Bruce Waltke’s book, Finding the Will of God.  To be sure, it all starts with the Bible as the ultimate authority.  But Dr. Waltke also outlines the importance of seeking wise counsel and the role of spiritual leaders in authority.  I am excerpting here some passages that were helpful in my understanding/applying this to my life:

It is imperative that you look for a mature Christian whom you trust and admire, and that you are willing to listen to counsel even if you do not appreciate it.  [...]  And when we do seek counsel from another person, it should be a person in whom we have confidence of spiritual maturity.  The mature person knows Scripture.  Turning to an immature believer, or even a nonbeliever, is the height of folly.  How will God use that person to develop your character and give you spiritual direction? [pp.109-100]

You have a pastor and church leaders in authority over you, and you need to pay attention to their counsel.  A few years ago I had a student who was always changing churches — it seemed as though every other month he was telling me about the problems at his new church.  “Why don’t you just stay put?”  I asked him one day.  He proceeded to tell me about all the sin problems in each of the churches he had been at, and how he had no intention of “being part of an apostate church.”   Unfortunately, the real reason this young man wouldn’t stay in one church was that he did not want to be under anyone’s authority.  He saw himself as the Lone Ranger of the Christian church, riding off to shoot down the sinners plugging the pews of the house of God.  But our Lord doesn’t work that way.  Every Christian is under authority, and I warned this young man that he was headed for trouble if he had no one to keep him accountable.  [...] Look to the leadership of your local church body, and to the individuals you know who walk close to God.  [pp.113-114]

Christians like to toss around the phrase “I was called” whenever they make a decision about something important.  It is important that we understand the concept of God’s “call.”  I define it this way: A call is an inner desire given by the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, and confirmed by the community of Christ.  [...] If it is apparently confirmed through the Bible, then it must really be affirmed by the body of Christ, which is why it is so vitally important to surround oneself with godly people.  I ask every person who claims he wants to be in the ministry if mature Christians in his church have confirmed that assessment.  Without the affirmation of the body, one must question the legitimacy of the call [...]  [pp.118-119]

That’s some wise counsel indeed!  Even now I apply it to my life by having spiritual mentors over me.  Pastor Ed Kang has been my pastor for the past 21 years and there were many a times when he spoke painful truth that I needed to hear.  And with fear and trembling before God, I strive to be a spiritual leader whom God can use to bring wise counsel to those entrusted under my care…

“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” (Proverbs 12:15)

OT 1 (Genesis 1-15)

As we start our Daily Devotional readings in the Old Testament (where on Fridays-Sundays, we read a dozen or so chapters), I will be sharing some highlights and thoughts here (hopefully every Friday).  These are just “bloggish thoughts” that might lend itself to further insights, reflection, and devotion to God.  So, here it goes:

Genesis 1-15 (Sept. 4-6)

1:1 “In the beginning, God…”: God is the beginning.  God creates from nothing, brings form to the formless, and order from chaos.  If God is not present at the beginning of all my endeavors (my work, my words, my thoughts, my days), then what/who will govern my life?  I will be left to my own devices and vices…and my life will be chaotic, formless, and empty.  And besides, God ought to be at the beginning because He will surely be at the end (per Revelations & reminders like Heb. 4:13  “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account“).

1:22, 28; 8:17; 9:1, 7 “God blessed them…”: God wants to bless.  So many times, we wrongly think that God is out to punish, to harm, and to hurt us — especially since we experience pains/hurts/sufferings.  But sometimes, these pains are our own doing.  It is because we have thought and done things without God at the beginning of our endeavors.  Here we see from the very beginning that God’s desire is to bless us, to have us flourish, to be fruitful, and to be a blessing to others (Gen 12:3 “…all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”). Thank you, Lord, for your generous and loving heart that wants to bless a sinner like me!

3:1 “Did God really say…”: Satan’s crafty tactic is planting doubt and mistrust — doubting God’s goodness & love and mistrust of why God would set up boundaries, rules, and prohibitions.  But if we remember that God is out to bless us from the beginning, then it should lead to greater trust in Him.  Doubt and mistrust also break relationships with one another (in family, between friends, in church).  If God is at the beginning of all relationships, there is love, and there is trust.

12:1 “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”: Leaving and following.  Often times, following will require leaving.  God calls us to trust and follow Him as He leads.  What must I leave?  Leave my life of sin (John 8:11).  Leave my mistrust and doubt (Prov. 3:5).  Leave my childish ways behind me (1 Cor. 13:11).  We see from the very beginning, Christ-followers left their nets to follow Him (Matt. 4:20).  Yes, it’s scary.  Yes, it seems risky.  Yes, there may be doubts.  But that’s the life of faith as we place God at the beginning of our paths.

[Okay, I'll stop here for now.  There are so many other lessons that I want to share!  Maybe I'll incorporate them into future messages/sermons.  Feel free to comment on what you were blessed by from your readings!]

How God Answers Prayers

A missionary Gracepoint Davis (& Berkeley) are supporting sent us an email with an excerpt that I found to be helpful in understanding some unanswered prayers.  It turns out that the excerpt was from a book where a journalist (Peter Seewald) interviewed Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (who is now Pope Benedict XVI) about faith.  Here’s that section which may help you understand why sometimes it seems like God didn’t answer your prayer for help (God and the World, pp.40-41):

[Seewald:] Christ says, “Ask, and it will be given unto you.  Seek, and you shall find.  Knock, and the door will be opened to you.”  On the other hand, when my son for instance is about to do a piece of schoolwork, he asks God for help.  But, to be quite honest, it doesn’t always help.

[Ratzinger:] We ask, for instance, for good health; a mother does that for her child, a man for his wife; we ask that a people as a whole may not fall into great error – and we know that what we ask is by no means always granted us.  In the case of someone for whom it is a matter of life and , this can become a serious problem.  Why has he had no answer, or at least nothing like the answer he had asked for?  Why is God silent?  Why does He withdraw?  Why is it that just the opposite of what I wanted is happening?

This distance between what Jesus promised and what we experience in our own lives makes you think, every time – it has that effect in each generation, for each single person, and even for me.  Each one of us has to struggle to work out an answer for himself, so that in the end he comes to understand why God has spoken to him precisely like that.

[Seewald:] And what answer is there?

[Ratzinger:] Augustine and other great Christians say that God gives us what is best for us – even when we do not recognize this at first.  Often, we think that exactly the opposite of what he does would really be best for us.  We have to learn to accept this path, which, on the basis of our experience and our suffering, is difficult for us, and to see it as the way in which God is guiding us.  God’s way is often a path that enormously reshapes and remolds our life, a path in which we are truly changed and straightened out.

To that extent, we have to say that “Ask, and you will receive” certainly cannot mean that I can call God in as a handyman who will make my life easy every time I want something.  Or who will take away suffering and questioning.  On the contrary, it means that God definitely hears me and what he grants me is, in the way known only to him, what is right for me.

To come back to the particular case in question:  It may also be beneficial for your son to learn that God isn’t simply going to jump in when he has not learned his vocabulary properly, but that he has to do that for himself.  It may sometimes mean that he is not spared the little discipline that lies in failure.  For perhaps he really needs precisely this discipline in order to find the way he should go.

DT’s on gracepointdevotions.org

We are starting up our new daily devotional schedule today for our church! The format will be delving into one chapter of NT per day for Monday-Thursday and reading around 15 chapters of OT during Friday-Sunday.  We’ll be covering the entire Bible that way with a good mix of deeper reflection through the NT and a breadth of coverage in the OT.  I’m looking forward to it!

For the time being (before we get journals ordered), you can download all the files at: http://www.gracepointdevotions.org/download

The 1-year Calendar (which includes the OT Bible reading schedule):

http://www.gracepointdevotions.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/2009-2010_DT.pdf

For starters, Reflection Questions for the book of Matthew is available:

http://www.gracepointdevotions.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/MatthewDevotional.doc

And commentary excerpts on Matthew 1 is posted (with more being added daily):

http://www.gracepointdevotions.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/Matthew-1-commentary.doc

Also be sure to check out http://www.gracepointdevotions.org where you will also find daily DT sharings from various members of Gracepoint Berkeley, Davis, Austin, Hsinchu and have good fellowship over posts and comments.

Psalm 19:7-11

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

Gracepoint Berkeley -> Davis -> Austin

Today, I got an e-mail from Pastor Manny (Gracepoint Austin), thanking us for the Davis team who went out to Texas to help out with their New Student Welcome Night.  Everything turned out great and here’s a picture of the packed house last night:

Luckily, UC Davis quarter system starts a month later than semester system schools, so we were able to help out with Austin’s NSWN for the second year in a row.  We had many who wanted to go, but we limited the final team to 16 lucky brothers and sisters who will be arriving back with those famous burnt-orange Texas t-shirts! (BTW, Taylor received so many “Go Longhorns!” comments when he wore it during our sabbatical.)

What goes around comes around. We’re simply doing what we experienced 12 years ago when members of Gracepoint Berkeley traveled east to help out with our NSWN here at Davis.  One of the fondest memories that I have is driving up from Berkeley with a minivan full of A/V equipment, as I was the original chair of “Run EMC” (Equipment Maintenance Committee!).  As I headed eastbound on I-80, I prayed for the start of this new church plant and was moved to tears, envisioning UC Davis students who would one day meet Christ… and that they might one day experience the joy of serving Him.  And now, I’m blessed to see the answer to that prayer:  Our Austin mission team from Davis is comprised of many who found Christ while in college!

So naturally, as I stared at the picture I got from Manny, I couldn’t help but to imagine a day when some of those UT Austin students might one day head east (or north/south/west?) to help out with yet another church plant! That’s something I’m praying for right now, especially as Romans 13:8a reminds us, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…“  Praise God and let’s pass it on!

Bible Study Resources

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from our church members about which audio Bible is good, what that ESV Study Bible is all about, what’s a good commentary on a poor student’s budget, recommendation for a good Bible software, etc.

Well, I found out that I can make a list on Amazon so that you can see the prices and make purchasing simpler.

(You can also place an order on Sunday at our “Booktable” where they will order through Amazon without the shipping fee since we have a special account that provides free shipping without any minimum purchase.)

If you want to check out the list that I created, you can visit:

http://www.amazon.com/Gracepoint-Davis-Church-Resources/lm/R1CMQU3ZPMYZ6I

Let’s study the Bible diligently so that we might know the truth about God, ourselves, and what we must do.

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”