Promise

I was watching the anime Love Hina (not the greatest anime btw), and found an interesting realization. (You'll find that sources of many of my realizations come from the mundane hehe, as my brother reminded me it is important not to compartmentalize God in a few activities, but invite Him to take part of everything in our lives - I shall write a post about it some other time).

Anyways, this anime's plot centers on a promise made long ago when the main characters (boy and girl) were in their childhood, while now they are young adults. Basically, they came to realize that making a promise doesn't just bind them in a "contract" that leads them to action, but a promise also brings closeness (intimacy) to both parties who are involved.

This made me think of God who made covenants and promises with us. In Genesis, we can see a few covenants that God made with the Israelites, and in books like Jeremiah and Isaiah, God states that He will make an everlasting covenant with His people, that He will be our God, and we are His people. And there are so many promises that God made to us that it is hard to count. So much grace lavished.

We all know that God's covenant are so good because He is giving us what we don't deserve (grace), and His promises (like Romans 8:28) are intense and everlasting, all this glorifies and exalts Him on high! We rejoice in all this!

But we have to note that a covenant binds the two parties (God and us) not just so that we enjoy the goodness, but that we get more intimate with God. One distinctive aspect of our faith is that it is based on relationships, and the promises given to us are to deepen this awesome relationship we have with the Lord.

Vision

I am currently watching the anime Gurren Lagann and it is a very manly anime! That is not the point on this post. One of the main characters said something that I found interesting. He said that the reason why our eyes are on the front of our face is so that we can look forward to what is ahead.

It is a simple fact, but by knowing the context of what happened in the anime, I realized that it is easy for us to get stuck in the struggles and sadness of the past. And this hinders us in our spiritual growth. We need to remember our identity in Christ! We ought to learn from the past, but move forward by being full in the present and looking forward to the future since we are have the assurance that God is with us.

When we get to know the Lord more and more, we start seeing things that God sees, and a vision will be revealed to us. And we work towards that goal that God has entrusted with.

In the anime, the other character replies that we can use our eyes to see our leaders' back, so that we can follow to where they are going.

Vision is key.

"Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law." - Proverbs 29:18

"For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins." - 2 Peter 1:9

What are you thirsting for?

I remembered a good conversation I had with Bily. I didn't even say hi to him, but just asked "What are you thirsting for?", and here is the conversation.

It is a good question to ask ourselves especially since we are surrounded with a big drive to success, expectations, accomplishments, etc. But ultimately, what are you really thirsting for? This answer has a huge repercussion in what you pursue in life, in why are you doing it, and to what end?

Partnership in the Gospel

I listened to the sermon Living a Life that Matters - Living Courageously by Francis Chan from the Cornerstone Church. It is a very encouraging message that talks about community and the deep relationships that can be formed among brothers and sisters through the unity in the gospel. It reminded me of a sermon I heard a few years ago from Pastor Tim. Both sermons used these verses from Philippians:

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:3-6

What is the partnership in the gospel?

One main aspect of fellowship is that we have a partnership in the gospel. We gather and serve together because there is a common mission that keeps us united. Our lives have been bought with the a high price, the precious blood of Christ. We live for the Christ's sake, and we live to serve Him, to consecrate ourselves to expand God's Kingdom with the power of the Holy Spirit. This partnership is a strong bond of unity.

A strong aspect of CCF is community. We like to study together, eat together, see each other almost everyday, live together, hangout often after fellowship in Westcourt, and stay up late playing board games or having deep discussion until sunrise. All these are good times that I cherish and keep close to my heart.

I believe we can go beyond this community. There is a deeper bond that I have formed with some brothers through serving for this gospel. We have come to the understanding that our hearts beat at the same rate for the gospel, that we are willing to fight with all we got, that we are willing to suffer for the cause of Jesus Christ. And this bond is so encouraging that even if I don't see these brothers for a long time, I know with confidence that God is working powerfully through them.

This is a beautiful bond because it is not just during the fun times that we enjoy each other's company, but also during the tough times. Seeing each other's zeal for the gospel really brought a deep unity. I remembered a particularly 4am morning when we were shedding tears because we were so pressed on every side (but not crushed)... but we were filled with joy knowing it was for the sake of something greater.

Tips to memorize verse numbers

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night."

Psalm 1:2

Meditating and memorizing bible verses is a very rewarding discipline. During the course of the day, we can meditate on verses that speak to us allowing us to gain new insight, being transformed by the Word, and have the commands written in our hearts.

I shall discuss some other time the goodness of memorizing and meditating. I want to focus on memorizing the exact location (verse numbers). I know that it is not essentially important to know the exact location of the verse you are memorizing. I think that if you have a good estimation of where it is located, it is good enough as you can always flip through your bible (always carry your sword) and look for it, especially when you are sharing the gospel or defending our faith.

I have compiled a few tricks I personally use to memorize the verse numbers:

Numerical Method 1: Addition

• Example: "Be still, and know that I am God" - Psalm 46:10
• Explanation: 4 + 6 = 10

Numerical Method 2: Divisibility

• Example: "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14
• Other examples: Ephesians 5:25 (important verse for man), Psalm 75:3, Isaiah 30:15, 2 Corinthians 4:16
• Explanation: 25 is divisible by 5, and 14 is divisible by 7, etc

Numerical Method 3: Prime numbers

• Example: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23
• Other examples: Matthew 5:13, Matthew 7:7,
• Explanation: Prime numbers are those that are only divisible by 1 and by itself. Both 3 and 23 are prime, and they are not that fun, so it resounds with this verse that states that we are not good enough.

Numerical Method 4: PI

• Example: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." - 1 Peter 3:15
• Other examples: Ephesians 3:14-21
• Explanation: PI = 3.14, so the verse contains a number approx close to PI.

Chinese pronunciation

• Example: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." - Proverbs 4:23
• Other examples: Romans 8:28
• Explanation: For Chinese speakers, memorizing the sounds of Chinese numbers is way easier. This particular verse contains "4" (sounds like "death"), "2" (sounds like "easy"), and "3" (sounds like "alive"). This is interesting because the heart is deceitful, and if we don't guard it well, it leads to death easily. But when we guard our hearts well, it leads to life.
  
  As for the latter example (Rom. 8:28), it is to note that "8" means "prosperity" so this verse is about how good God is!

There is probably more I can think of, for some future posts perhaps :).

Sharingan obsession

Sharingan is a word that I say a lot =P.

Sharingan is special trait that is passed through the bloodline of a ninja clan in the anime Naruto. It is a special eye technique that has the ability to see through, decipher, and copy the enemy's technique. Since it can decipher so much information about the enemy that it is able to predict what are the enemy's future steps. The sharingan user gains such a great insight in a battle.

I find this special eye ability very cool, and the word sharingan sounds cool too. So I start saying it at random times especially when there is awkward silent times in meetings or conversations.

At the same time, I find the abilities of the sharingan are important for leadership. To be sensitive to your environment is very key in leadership. To know what obstacles you will face, to foresee what can go wrong, to know the condition of the people you are leading (whether they need encouragement, guidance, or even rebuke), to know where to attack next (attend a need). This insight allows the leader to plan and act accordingly.