you have my axe

"Aragorn: If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword...
Legolas: And you have my bow.
Gimli: And my axe.
Boromir: You carry the fate of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done." 
       - from "Lord of the Ring - Fellowship of the Ring" by Tolkien

This is one my favorite quotes from the Lord of the Ring series (to the point that I almost memorized it). This takes place when the main representatives of each "tribe" (elf, dwarf, hobbit, man, wizard) meets up to decide upon the fate of the one ring. The general consensus is that this should be destroyed, but who is willing to carry the burden to take this ring to the fire of Mordor? So Frodo steps up as the one willing, such powerless creature taking upon a heavy burden. Soon after, powerful allies join in his quest and they form a solid fellowship (of the ring).

Recently, a group of 15-20 people from my university fellowship (CCF) met up for a Christmas gathering. And it was a pretty sweet time as I don't get to see most of them often. It is very nice to catch up with them, to chill with them, and to hear how God is working in them. I vividly remembered how we served together in the CCF in our undergrad times, and definitely the time we spent together serving has really solidify the bonds of friendship into something deeper, a relationship that transcends time and geographical location - no matter how little we see each other, or whether we live in different cities, I know for sure my fellow brother or sister is faithfully standing firm for the work of Christ, and that when we meet up we can easily pick up the relationship from where we left.

This is only possible because we are united under the same faith and love in God, and we are all redeemed by the same Christ, and empowered by the same Spirit, and entrusted for the same gospel, and hence we partner together in this great thing called fellowship.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." - Philippians 1:3-6

the end of Naruto

So the very first Japanese manga that I consistently followed has come to an end recently. And I was hoping the end will come soon because I felt the story in the last year or so was barely progressing and really dragging quite a bit.

Naruto started with a lot of potential, and the first few arcs of the series was pretty spectacular with memorable exciting moments:

• Battle against Zabuza (this is where it really starts to get serious, and also the first time to see the sharingan!)
• Chunin Exam (one of the best arcs ever in terms of character development and battle strategy)
• Sasuke leaving Konoha (many epic battles, specially Gaara vs. Kimimaro)

Unfortunately, it is hard to reach top-ness, but it is even harder to maintain top-ness. After the three year leap, the series of Naruto went through periods of decline in its quality, to the point where plot holes and lack of innovative ideas were obvious.

Regardless, as a committed reader, I continued to follow it.

The ending was not bad, but it was not great. In a way I was looking forward to a great ending that could "fix" the series overall, but that did not happen. 

Now, I will stop about my rant about Naruto (I actually wrote an email to my Naruto co-readers and created a script for my ideal ending).

In a way, the challenge to be consistently good is very hard. I want to draw parallel comparison with our spiritual walk with God. There are times when it is at its "highs", and times when it is at its "lows". There are times that is so easy to stay complacent and avoid doing the right thing.

The cool thing is that God is gracious and it is really because of Him that we can persevere in our daily struggle with our own self. It is because of God that we can recover from our "lows" and walk towards Him, because He is faithful.

As we run this race, we are encouraged by Paul's example to finish the race well, fighting the good fight for the sake of Christ.

"For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." - 2 Timothy 4:6-8

how to decide on job

As we grow older, the magnitude of the decisions we make are also bigger with greater consequences. Life can definitely go into many states of uncertainty.  As a kid, my parents decide on where I should live, what school to go, what to eat, etc. There is no such thing as choosing a course in the school I went, so I didn't really get to make decisions on courses. Probably the first big decision that I had to make is about which university to apply and if got accepted, which one to go to.

I was good in Math and Physics, so I went for Engineering, and by process of elimination, Electrical Engineering became my first choice. Somehow I ended up coming to the University of Waterloo, kind of far from home, with different culture and language, and with very cold winters. So far, this is one of the best decisions made so far.

Once in University, things are still pretty structured, I have courses, then I have to apply for coop jobs, and then so on, until I school is done. Though Engineering was a pretty tough degree, it never crossed my mind to switch. Once undergrad is done, the next big decision is to apply for a full-time job, and here is where I think life gets slightly more complicated because there are so many options and there is no longer a "curriculum".

What type of job to apply? How long should I work in this job? What career options should I pursue? Should I consider other job industries?

I have been working more than 4 years since I graduated, and it has been a very challenging experience. There is less flexibility at work than school, and the magnitude of pressure and stress from work seems to be a couple of notches above school; well the good thing is that there is usually no homework.

I feel that it is easy for years to pass without noticing, and these last couple of years I feel it has been a blur. So, I think it is important to constantly reflect and review on what's going on, and decide whether to keep going at the current job or to consider other options.

Here are a couple of questions or points that I am reflecting upon to help me determine what should I do with my current job situation:

• Finding fulfillment at my job
• Many times people ask me if I enjoy my work, and to be honest I like part of my job, but I cannot say I enjoy it always, because there are bad days and there is no perfect job where we will enjoy every single characteristic of it. Hence I am gravitating toward the word "fulfillment". Do I find satisfaction on what I do at work? Am I using the full extent of my capabilities at work? Am I causing a positive impact? (this is very linked to the next point)
• Glorying God at my job
• The classic example is to be an active witness of Christ at work, to find opportunity to share the gospel, and to make the work place a better place 
• There is also the intrinsic value of doing an excellent work at what you do. This is not for gaining praises to feed our pride, but this is to utilize the gifts God had given to us, and to gain a good reputation so that God can use us to influence our work place.
• How your job affects the other aspects of your life
• Does your job takes away time from you to do other things that are important to you? Does your job affects your health? Does my job hinder my personal growth. Sometimes work can drain you quite a bit, or causes you very high level of stress. It might not be the job itself but lack of a personal balance, and this likely will impact your spiritual health.

John Piper wrote a pretty helpful article about this topic: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/how-to-decide-about-your-next-job

the one true King

Recently I participated at a wedding as a groomsman, and it was truly an honor. On the Thursday before the wedding, I went to pick up another groomsman on my way to the wedding rehearsal. He is a very good friend who lives outside of the country so we don't get to talk a lot. And as he sat into the car, he asked me about my opinion on the protests in Hong Kong, which caught me a bit off guard as I was not expecting a heavy question as our first conversation haha.

This is a topic I have been thinking about for a while, as I want to understand how a Christian should respond to this situation. I lived 2 years in Hong Kong when I was in kindergarten, and my dad and his family lives there right now, so in a way I am connected with this city. To be truly honest, I am not 100% engaged or invested with the situation in Hong Kong as I don't live there and don't have a good understanding of the people's situation to make a stand.

But I do want to learn on how we as Christians should respond because this type of situation could happen in the places where we live in. The question that comes to mind is, whether we Christians should participate in this type of protests. Here are a few points for discussion:

• Submission to authorities, are Christians to always obey authorities?
• Romans 13 is very clear on that we should be subject to authorities, and that God has put these people in power for a reason. We could ask ourselves whether this "command" was only for the people that the letter of Romans was addressed to, or whether it is for everyone. 
• We also know that not everyone in authority in the world will adhere to Christian principles, so we are bound to be in conflict with those in power. I like how Paul speaks about praying for those who are in power, so that the can grow in godliness and holiness (1 Timothy 2:1-2). 
• I think Daniel is a good example on how a Christian should behave when the authorities are imposing something that is not compliance to our faith. He did not revolt or make a big deal out of it. He did disobey the decree (of not praying to any gods other than king Darius), but he readily  accepted this punishment to be thrown to the lion's den, and God saved him!
• How to respond when there is injustice?
• I don't have a good grasp of all the injustices that people in Hong Kong go through, I do know of some like the increasing gap between the rich and the poor, the crazily expensive housing prices (that most common people cannot afford), and since the "governor" of Hong Kong is selected from a list of people chosen by the government in China, then there is little probability that this governor will strongly adhere to the interest of the people in Hong Kong. 
• Is it rightful to protest (and in the process disobeying the authorities) until demands are met? I cannot recall any bible passages where it deemed to be rightful to protest against the authorities. Instead I can think of passages where people in influential positions were able to convince kings to do something good for the Israelites (Nehemiah convinced king Artaxerxes to allow him to go rebuild the walls, similar examples with Ezra and Esther). 
• What is the "right" government system?
• I am not an expert of government systems, but many people in the western world do believe that democracy is the way to go. I know that democracy allows people's interests to be represented instead of giving full power to a central political body (or in some situations to a single person). From a biblical perspective, I think the ideal government is a theocratic one, where a king is selected by God to govern by God's statutes. But then, even the closest godly king, David, did very bad things. This is part of the human sinful nature, when given so much power, we can easily be corrupted.

I don't think I am providing any answers as I write, but I am finding more questions without answers.

My current stand is that I would participate in the protest with the aim to express my opinion that I disagree with the injustices people are going through, but I would not incite in violence or have a defiant attitude when engaging with authorities (e.g. police force). I don't think there will be a perfect government system here on earth, and I think there will continue be injustices regarding of the government system, but I think that this is part of God's sovereignty and that there is hope that God will impart justice on His proper timing. As well, I also think that this is a great opportunity to tell others about the gospel, because we have a true King that is just, and He is the savior of our lives. 

During this Thanksgiving, I am really thankful to Christ because:

• Christ is a servant king (Matthew 20:25-28) who came to earth to serve
• Christ is our role model (1 John 2:6) who exemplified how we should live
• Christ is a king who died to saved His people (Matthew 27:42, Jews were mocking Him, but really Christ chose not to save Himself from the cross, to save the world)
• Christ is a victorious king (1 Cor. 15:20-28) who has dominion over enemies and authorities and even death.
• Christ is also a compassionate king and his legacy carries on even now

don't cry for me Argentina

On July 13, my favorite futbol team, Argentina was playing a final match at the World Cup against Germany. It was the first time in 24 years that Argentina was able to get into the finals. I was thrilled to be able to be in the host country and host city for this great occasion.

As I took subway and then walked to the "Fan Zone" (where 2 very large screens were set up to show the game at the famous Copacabana beach), I saw many Argentinans filling up the city of Rio de Janeiro. There were a lot of them that came on the day of the final to support "la albiceleste". Most of them seems to have arrived via a car or road transportation, since not everyone was able to afford a plane ticket.

The "Fan Zone" was packed, really packed, and there were an overwhelming numbers of Argentinans and very few Germans. I was excited to be in this ambient, but also nervous about the game.

The game starts and many Argentinan cheers were heard (some of them a bit insulting against the Germans). The game is very tight defensively. Argentina is careful on the defense (to avoid the 7-1 disaster that Brazil had) and Germany is also paying careful attention towards Messi. As the game goes by, we can see Germany trying but not able to do anything against a well guarded Argentina. Meanwhile, Argentina goes on counter attacks, and is generating much more danger.

And yeah... Higuain misses a clear chance against Germany, and as well Messi has a one-on-one but the shot goes barely out. A offside goal that was annulled. My heart beat skips a couple of seconds during those plays. Still many Argentinan fans continue cheering and believing.

On second half, Germany generates a bit more chance; a corner kicks that hits the post, accelerating heart beats of the Argentinans. As the time goes by, Argentina seems to attack less and less, while Germany was given freedom to take the initiative, but without really causing any imminent danger.

Extra time starts... tough times as this increases the nervousness exponentially, and my legs were starting to give up after standing for more than 2 hours. Mario Goetze goes into the field instead of the record-breaker Klose.

When there was less than 10 minutes remaining, the only mistake made by the Argentinan defense allowed Goetze to be free in the inside area and deliver a very nice finish that shattered the Argentinan dream. The mood changed completely at the beach, from cheerfulness to gloominess. I felt that a bucket of cold water was poured into me. It was killer.

We realized that at the point, Argentina was lacking strength to make a comeback.

In a matter of a few minutes, we had to leave the beach because many people just started running and leaving (probably some Argentinan people got rowdy). As I saw from a afar that Germans were celebrating, I knew the score was set.

Technical (futbolistic) thoughts about the game:

• Messi: 
• Many people heavily criticized Messi after the game because he barely showed up in the final. I agree partly that he could have been more influential, but what affected him the most was the Argentinan tactical system. Messi usually enjoys partnering with forwards to generate danger, but Argentina moved to a more defensive formation, so Messi was left pretty much alone, while everyone in the world is expecting him to do great magic.
• Defensive formation: 
• Many people wondered why Argentina has to play so defensively when they have an arsenal of offensive players at their disposal. I think it is a strategy chosen to approach this very short tournament, where if one small mistake is made, it can cost the entire tournament. So Argentina aimed to play it safe, which allowed them to get in the finals. But the main issue is that this system depended too much on Angel Di Maria (since he is fast, can dribble, can shoot) but he got injured on Quarterfinals.
• Germany: 
• Germany is the fair winner of the tournament mainly due to its regularity. But in the final match they had much difficulty to deal with Argentina.

Insights:

I was pretty sad after the game, and it took me like a month to come to accept that Argentina lost the match (I am a fan after all). 

Argentina has always been my favorite team since I start following futbol. It started all the way back in 1994, when the World Cup was held in the US, and the second game that I watched in TV was Argentina vs. Greece. And the game ended 4-0 in favor of the Argentinans with a great offensive display. This is when I "feel in love" with Argentina.

Since that time, I have been an Argentinan fan and to the point that I almost consider it as my 2nd or 3rd nationality haha.

I was able to speak with several Argentinans during the trip, especially since most of the people from the hostel in Rio were from Argentina. It's really cool to see a group of people who cheer for the same team, but also that they are really loyal supports of the national team. Despite any criticism or shortcomings on the national team, these fans really taught me how to be loyal in the good times and in the bad times (there were times when I was not very sure that Argentina will made it to the finals because they were kind of sloppy in the first round, and also depended too much on Messi). 

Changing gears, I have been Christians for almost 15 years, and it has been a great journey of joy and growth. But also there has been rough times when there is a lack of motivation to live as a follow of Christ. There have been disappointments, defeats, and struggles, and to be honest sometimes it is so easy to want to give up.

Definitely, Christianity is not about always been happy and be problem-free, but actually it is a road that will be marked with suffering, since our master Christ also suffered. There will be "good" times and "bad" times, but the joy for the Lord should not be dependent on these external factors. We should remember that the earth is our temporal home, and that there is an eternal dwelling waiting for us. Let us persevere in Him, because we know He is faithful even when we are not.

"If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

    if we endure, we will also reign with him;

  if we deny him, he also will deny us; 

    if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

  for he cannot deny himself." - 2 Timothy 2:11-13

over-nerdy

Recently in a conservation in small group, we were talking about how nerdy the conversations are within our Waterloo friends. As a graduate of Electrical Engineering, these conversations can be quite enjoyable, sometimes a bit too funny (4 dimension pie, hyper-cube, black holes, white holds, rail-gun harpoon). It's always cool to pull a nerdy analogy to explain a concept.

But then one member of my small group mentioned that sometimes he thinks that our conversations can be "over-nerdy". At that moment, everyone's eyes fixed on this member and we asked him if he could explain what is this threshold for "over-nerdiness" and if he could give some real life examples. Like, is this some sort of a subjective thing? Of course, my friend was a bit reserved and probably did not want offend anymore so he tried to change the topic of the conversation. 

In many group conversations in my small group or during church, often there will be some individuals that are left out... either they are not interested in the topic or have little to no knowledge about it. So the conversation will carry one with a sub-group of people very engaged and attentive, while other individuals start swiping (either seriously or just feinting) their smart phones. It a way it creates some sort of a fissure in the act of socializing. 

We can attribute part of this "issue" that some people have a narrow variety of topics that they are interested in. So when they hear people engaging on other topic, they will just evaporate from the socializing act. I think each of us can make more effort in increasing our interest in other topics and in being curious about it. Perhaps it is not about the topic itself that matter, but about getting to know people more and enjoy a good conversation.

At the same time, for those who are very engaged in conversation, it is good that there are topics that we have a fast heartbeat toward them. But it is also important to be mindful and sensitive to the people around us, and if I get to carried on and lose half of the group's interest when I talk about the art of futbol, I should consider changing topic or steering the conversation to get others engaged.

I feel this is important because nowadays there is a lot of socializing that occurs online, and it is easy to forget how to talk and deal with people in a real way. And that is not easy of course because we will have different interest, different opinions, and there could be arguments, but that's ok. Loving is a hard thing :), but it is the debt that we owe to one another. 

So let's not be over-nerdy all the time.

travelling - Maracana Stadium

Photos Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro for the Quarterfinals game between Germany and France:

 

Watching a live futbol game on a World Cup is one of my life goals. And it was an unforgettable experience. The only way to arrive to the stadium was taking the subway. So my friends and I decided to arrive there a couple of hours early. As we entered the subway train, we could sense the festive ambient as several groups of fans were present wearing their respective team jerseys (more Germans than French).

As we arrived to the Maracana Stadium, there was a huge police force presence, so I felt safe haha.

As we talk around the stadium, we saw people from many countries (especially Colombians whose team was playing later on the day) and it was great to see different cultural groups joining for the same passion towards futbol.

Since we arrived like 3 hours before the game, the stadium was almost empty. So we took our time taking pictures, appreciating the newly renovated stadium, and just enjoying the moment.

The seats we got were pretty good and we could watch the game without any problem. Also, there is a huge screen available to see replays.

There were a group of rowdy and young German fans who were sitting on the next row and were standing, so they were blocking the view for some of the people on my row. So there was some confrontation, and finally the German group just moved to another place.

The game itself was slightly boring. Most people would expect a great game between two historical nations. But the game was won by Germany 1-0 by an early goal, and from there on the game was very slow. Regardless, the overall experience was excellent.

It was very nice to see people cheering unceasingly for their team, and to see a variety of people united by same love towards futbol. And after the game ended, there was no confrontation between German and French fans, which is cool.

Futbol is one of the most influential sports in the world. It leads to many good things, like uniting people with differences together. For example, I read once that during a civil war in an African country, a truce will be held when its national team is playing a game. In many poor countries, there are futbol "clubs" that invest on the poor kids to teach them how to play so that they don't have to become delinquents to earn a living.

Since there is such love for futbol, there is power to influence people to do good. But it is also true, that there is power to influence people to do evil. There is a particular war that was triggered after a futbol game. There has been riots (some resulting in unfortunate tragedy) incited due to game outcomes.

Someone told me once that Christians are one of the greatest venues at which the gospel is preached because God uses Christian servants as vessels for His work. As well, Christians are one of the greatest obstacles for the gospel because if our behavior shows obvious sinful patterns, people will be deterred from believing in the gospel.

Christians have a very big influence as we represent one of the major religions of the world, so our behavior will be closely examined so we ought to walk with wisdom and self-discipline for the advancement of the gospel. As well, there is a realization that we as humans are quite weak, and we will sin. So we are not necessarily morally better than non-believers, but the difference is that when we fall in sin, we get picked up by God's grace, and it is our hope that we fall less into sin. That is a bit of the beauty of the gospel we believe in.

travelling - Rio de Janeiro

After visiting Peru, the next place I visited is Brazil, mainly to the city of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is actually a very big country so it is really hard to travel the entire country on a single trip (limiting factor on time and money). There are many cool things to do like the Amazon forest, natural parks, and beaches. But on my trip, I only visited Rio, since it has several famous touristic attractions and a very famous soccer stadium.

Intro
Rio de Janeiro has very nice beaches, nice mountains and scenery, and warm weather. But the city was dirty. Actually, I felt part of the city was like Hong Kong, not very clean, smelly, sketch alleys, but with less people density. There were a lot of tourists during the World Cup, so most touristic attractions have long lineups but the ambient is great and it is neat to see people from different parts of the world.

Language
Portuguese (Brazil was a colony of Portugal). Felt that English was not too helpful. Brazilians might understand a good portion of Spanish if you speak slowly.

Transportation
Public bus and subway are pretty good. Google map has its schedule integrated so it was easy to figure out the way around.

Food
In general very good. The food on the plane was very good, we ate Portuguese chicken. There are many restaurants that are buffet style, and charge by weight. Food includes grilled meat, stews, bean, rice, salad.

Safety
There was one police patrol car with 4 policemen on every major street intersection and subway station (because of the World Cup), so it felt safe. But I guess it is usually not that safe, hence they need such force to be put in place.

Things to do

There are kilometers and kilometers of beaches in Rio, Copacabana is a very famous beach but it is usually very packed with people. It is on that place where FIFA set up the Fan-fest where they put a couple of large screens for people to watch the game. But I enjoyed more the Ipanema beach which is less crowded. It's a great place to get together with people to play beach volleyball or beach soccer.

There is beautiful scenery on the Sugar Loaf Mountain:

As well the famous Christ Redeemer statue:

Insights

There are many influence from the World Cup into the city. Brazil is one of the countries that expresses a real passion for futbol, and so this event seems to bring a great joy to the country. McDonald's even have burgers with "country theme" from the World Cup:

There is also a macaroon store that also have country theme. Merchandises like the Havaiana flip flops also have country theme designs from the World Cup.

Though the city has many nice places, it is known that there are many slums (called favelas). Actually, the hostel I was staying is in a slum. People with financial limitation live there, and drug lords tend to control these places. But recently many of the favelas were cleaned up so it is a lot safer now.

But speaking to the hostel's owner, I learned that the government did a lot of cleaning and make things look nice for the World Cup, but there are many deeper issues that they are not addressing; so the changes they made were mainly for appearance's sake. Actually, there is a great discontent from sectors of the population because large amount of money were spent for the event, but more important needs were neglected. (Hence when Brazil lost the semifinal game, many feared riots).

As part of my Christian small group, we have regular sharing and prayer time in same-gendered groups. The goal is to share about how God has been working in each of our lives, and about the struggles we face. It is usually not too easy to go into sharing the deeper struggles that we face.

It is much easier to just show that everything is going alright from the outside, and kind of not care of the deeper things that is affecting our lives. So it is important to emphasize the aspect of authenticity (or genuineness) within these sharing and prayer groups, and realize that this is a safe environment to share and entrust these deeper things into fellow brothers or sisters. This is not just for accountability but as well to gain conviction to "deal" with a sinful pattern of our lives and to walk towards holiness as God commanded us to do so.

travelling - Machu Pichu

So Machu Pichu is the best place I visited during my trip. Mainly because I really enjoy visiting archaeological sites and learning from old civilization and history.

Intro
Machu Pichu is like a city from the Inca civilization. Nobody really knows the purpose of its existence, but some historians say that this is likely a city for the Inca elites. This city built around 1500 A.D., and abandoned very shortly after. And it was discovered on the early 1900s by an American explorer.

To get there, you can either walk for 4 days via the Inca trail or take the train from one of the small towns near the city of Cusco. People will have to stay at the town of "Agua Calientes" which is the town closest to Machu Pichu site. That town offers restaurants, hotels and hostels, bars, places for massage, etc.

Language
Spanish. Since it is a touristic spot, English is more than enough.

Transportation
The town of Aguas Calientes is very small, and everything is within walking distance. To get to Machu Pichu site, there is a daily bus that go every 15-20 min to the site.

Food
Same as Lima, I think it's kind of boring.

Safety
Safe.

Things to do
The town of Aguas Calientes have places for massage and also thermal baths, and I was not interested in either haha, but I did play football (soccer) for a bit.

On the actual site of Machu Pichu, you can spend 1-2 days walking around. There is also the option to hike a mountain in the site called "Huayna Pichu", which my group of friends and I did, this allowed us to get to see a great view of Machu Pichu from high up. I would personally recommend hiking the mountain (you have to pay more on the entrance fee, but it is worth it). The hike is a bit demanding (~1.5 hour of walking on steep "staircases"), so ensure you are used to the elevation and enough water. My group just spent one day at the site, but I recommend 2 days so that you can take your time and appreciate its beauty.

There will be many tourist guides that will offer you a guide (I don't remember the cost), but since there is so much mystery around the history of Machu Pichu that I think most of the guides will probably just bluff about stuff, so I chose not to get a guide and just do a self-guide by looking at the map. I can always wikipedia stuff later to learn!

Insights

When entering and walking in the Machu Pichu site, one cannot help to be feel amazement and being in awe of it. The surrounding landscape is gorgeous with beautiful mountains "covered" with clouds on the top, and the mystery that sounds the stone-made city. Many questions come out of it: How did the Inca managed to build all the stone structures on the mountain? What was the purpose of this "city"? Why did the Inca abandoned it?

Such a mystery.

Sometimes I ponder about the word "mystery" itself, and ask myself about the "mystery" of our faith. Like for example:

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." - Colossians 1:24 - 2:3

I find it hard to fathom why there is mystery in God's plan of salvation, perhaps because the plan of salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ is clearly made known to us. But for those in the early church and with a deep knowledge on the Old Testament, this was a very new "concept". How will the prophecies from the Old Testament be fulfilled? How will the Messiah rule the people of Israel? How will God bring salvation to His people?

God sent His son Jesus to be the Savior of His people, dying for our sins on the cross and conquering death so that through faith in Him we can live with God in eternity. This salvation is not just limited to Israel, but as well to the Gentiles. It is a glorious mystery, because it is full of God's grace, that He chooses to save sinful people like us, by providing the payment for the transgressions that we have committed. Though I don't really fathom the sense of mystery, I cannot help but to be in awe and in wonder of the grace that God has bestowed upon a sinful man like me.

travelling - Cusco and Sacred Valley

It's not unknown that the main attraction of Peru is the Inca city of Machu Pichu. In order to get there, one has to fly to the Cusco (less than 2 hours flight from Lima), and then from there you can walk for 4 days in the Inca Trail or take an expensive train from small towns located near Cusco.

Intro
Cusco is a small city that has many of the colonial architecture on it, including churches, buildings, and streets that are made of rocks. It is situated at an elevation of ~2900 m above see level, so some people do encounter issues acclimatizing with the thinner air and colder temperature. So it is recommended to spend at least a day taking it easy.

There are a lot of street vendors that want to sell things to tourists, so just be aware of them.

Language
Spanish. Since it is a city with many tourists, one can survive with English.

Transportation
Very small city, so there is no developed bus system, so the best way to get around is to take the taxi or walk around.

Food
No difference with Lima, actually every restaurant seem to serve the same type of food so it became boring.

Safety
Feels safe.

Things to do
Cusco itself has several Inca settlements you can visit within 1-2 days. Also, on your way to Machu Pichu, other Inca settlements can be visited while travelling through the Sacred Valley like Pisac, Ollantaytambo.

If you have time, then taking the Inca Trail for 4 days might be worthwhile, as the scenery from Sacred Valley is quite nice (just make sure to not go on the rainy season). If time is limited, you can consider taking a tour (either group or private), either arranging with agents at the airport or at the hotel or hostel you're staying at.

My friends and I went on a private tour taking us to both Pisac and Ollantaytambo, which were pretty nice Inca settlements to visit (though they do pale in comparison with Machu Pichu, but it is worth the visit).

Insights

On our private tour to the Sacred Valley, the driver was telling us about their tradition to perform a ritual of a symbolically offering to gods of harvest so that they will be blessed with fertile lands and rain, and so on. It is probably very common in small cities that traditions from old native religions are still practiced today.

I find it interesting that the concept of offering something to a god to appease them and gain its favor is kind of a common theme in many religions. You can look at the Greek mythology to look for many examples!

Our faith is similar, that God requires a sacrifice to satisfy His wrath towards sins of mankind. And there is nothing that we can do or offer to appease God. So God Himself provided the sacrifice, Jesus, to die as an act of propitiation so that God's wrath is satisfied and now we receive favor from God. It is just "scandalous" that God Himself did this, and our works are not what save us but by sheer grace from God. This is one of the major characteristics that makes Christianity so distinct and glorious.

traveling - Lima, Peru

I recently came back from a 3 weeks trip to South America. It was a great trip, and I hope to share some of the highlights, practicalities, and insights regarding the places I visited on my next blog spots. I am very thankful to God for the opportunity and ability to be able to go and explore these places.

The first place I visited is Lima.

Intro
Capital city of Peru. Probably the reason why people goes to Peru is to visit places like Machu Pichu and part of the Amazon, but Lima will be the first port of entry. So people are bound to visit Lima. Other than the nicer area (where most tourists stay) called Miraflores, the rest of the city feels like a big town with old buildings and streets.

Language
Spanish. English might be ok on places like museums or parks.

Transportation
Taxi is the main way to get around. There is no "meter" to know how much a taxi will charge you, so you have to bargain the price first before getting in. The bus schedule does not seem accessible on the internet, so not easily used by foreigners.

Food
Ceviche which is a dish with raw seafood and vegetable is pretty good. They also have lots of fried meat like chicken and seafood. Other than that, I did not find it too special.

Safety
It feels safe hanging out on the touristic area (Miraflores).

Things to do
I was there for 2 days, but I feel that 1 day will probably do for me. I would recommend:

• Taking the touristic bus for city tour for 2.5 hours that takes you to some of the government buildings, historical site, and a walk to the monastery of St Francis that has catacombs
• Visit Larco Museum which have pre-Inca civilization stuff

There are also beaches, but the weather is usually cloudy so I did not go. There are also some small Inca settlements but if you are going to Machu Pichu then there is really no need to look at the small stuff.

Insights

While visiting the monastery of St Francis, there is an old library inside with many old books (relics), but unfortunately they are all exposed to sunlight and there is no initiative to attempt to preserve them. My friend was pretty upset about the lack of effort to preserve artifacts of cultural significance. So I explained that Peru is probably more focused on addressing areas that are more important like the economy, education, and other social needs.

Living in Canada is quite comfortable, and it is easy to take for granted the things that are easily accessible to us: good education, safety, health care, good work opportunities, etc. Many people on other countries struggle with getting some of these "basic" stuff. So we have to be really thankful to God for all the "basic" stuff that we already have (like food on the table every day, a roof to stay under) and be mindful for those who don't have it.

the shrewd teams

There has been many surprising results in the World Cup. Big teams like Spain, England, and Italy are out of the competition already in the first round. How is that possible? 

It's true that some of these big teams have a great amount of talent and skills, that it is almost inconceivable that they will lose. But in futbol, there is another big factor that contribute to the outcome, which is the tactical formation (or strategy). In the end, futbol is a team sport and requires the effort of the entire team and not just the talent of a few.

For example:

Chile - Spain

I was not able to watch the entire game, so this article does a great job explaining: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2101884-spain-vs-chile-sampaolis-high-press-high-intensity-gameplan-destroys-la-roja

Basically, Spain is all about short passes and circulating the ball slowly. But Chile did a great job pressuring the midfield, cutting the flow of the Spanish game, and when Chile attack they are fast against the slow Spanish defenders.

Costa Rica - Italy

No one could have foreseen that Costa Rica would have beat Italy. Traditionally, Italy has always relied on their defense, but nowadays this team tries to play with short passes (similar to Spain), guided by its game maker Andrea Pirlo. Costa Rica did a great job by putting pressure almost on the entire field and surrounding Pirlo to disconnect him from the Italian play making. Since there is a big dependency on Pirlo, Italy was not able to generate much opportunities for scoring.

Still, Pirlo managed to generate some really exquisite passes to Balotelli, who unfortunately did not had a good day and missed a couple of key chances. Eventually, Costa Rica found a way to score, and Italy was never able to overcome Costa Rican strategy for the rest of the game.

Iran - Argentina

On a piece of paper, Argentina has tons of talent on the offense, but Iran surprised many of us by being able to hold the score 0-0 for almost the entire game. Only the best player of the world, Lionel Messi, was able to defy the tactical formation from Iran to bring victory to the Albiceleste. 

But what Iran did, deserves the applause of many, as it is a team with many limits (skills and experience). It's true that they put almost 8-9 people on the defensive box, but it is not easy to keep focused and organized throughout the entire game to maintain the lock. They really put much effort onto it, and even they were able to generate some counterattacks that could have resulted on a goal.

But yes, the point is that big teams with big players do not always guarantee a victory. A "weaker" team can achieve victory if they play smarter. So there is room for shrewd teams in futbol.

Luke 16 talks about one interesting parable about the "Shrewd Manager", and I was always confused at the passage because the manager was dishonest and somehow he was commended at the end. I am not planning to do an in-depth study of the parable, but more a concise take home message. 

The manager was not commended because he was dishonest, but that he was shrewd (Luke 16:8). Basically, the manager was in trouble because he was wasting his master's possessions, so he decides to give a discount to those people who owe money to his master. I guess his intention is to come in good terms these debtors, so that in the case that he gets fired, he can find people to help him out. 

The point is that, the manager (in his worldly ways) is thinking on smart ways to secure a better future for himself. So similarly, we as Christians should also be thinking on smart ways to be more effective on the Kingdom work. On a more practical level, this could mean be more creative in bringing the gospel in our conversations with coworkers and classmates. The value (I think) is to be constantly mindful and engaged in the Kingdom affairs and not be complacent about it. There is always more things we can do to show God's message of the gospel to others.

la Argentina

I woke up very excited on Saturday morning to watch Argentina on its match against Iran.

Most people was expecting a very one-sided match since on paper Argentina is an agglomeration of talent, and Iran is fairly limited on its futbol skills.

With the passing of the time, it was clear that Iran was planning all along on defending with all their might, while Argentina takes the ball possession and the initiative to attack. But that was pretty frustrating for an Argentine fan. Iran placed pretty much 8-9 players on the defensive box, and was very organized and focused on blocking any attack from Argentina.

Second half starts, and not much really change, other than Iran actually had a few counters that resulted on chances to score, and that instilled fear because Argentina is known for its vulnerability on defense. When there was 20 min remaining, I just could not help but to stand and watch the match with a great sense of nervousness.

Argentina kept on attacking, crossing, passing, shooting, but it was pretty futile against the well organized defense of Iran.

Iran did a magnificent job, and they were close to get this historical draw, until the couple of minutes on the match when the best player and the captain of the team, Lionel Messi takes a shot from the outside of the box that went through all the defense and was able to beat the goalie. It was extraordinary, spectacular. I did not really have the energy to shout, but I just fell to the coach on relief that Argentina was able to get the 3-points from the match.

In this match, Argentina had to rely on its best player and leader to score. This might work on the short term, but it is clearly an issue on a longer run, as a team cannot just rely on a single player to win all the matches. They definitely need to work on many things if they want to go far in the tournament.

Reminds me of a Dragon Ball Z movie, where Goku says something like "if I don't do it, who will?" Basically, only Goku can save the day, similar to what Messi did.

This reminds me of an important lesson learned in leadership, about mentoring and empowering others. In my experience, I find it easier to do everything myself instead of teaching someone else and encourage them to do it. That will require more time investment, and probably I can do a better job myself. But this will just create a dependency on me in the functionality of the organization (fellowship, small group, etc) and so on the day that I leave, maybe no one else will be equipped to take over.

A brother taught me a while ago, that once we step into a leadership role, my first task is to find a replacement for myself, someone I can mentor.

Hence, the emphasis on leadership is to really not to do everything ourselves, but to encourage, guide, challenge, and equip others to be more effective to the cause that we are fighting for.

matches to pay attention to

The final matches on the group stages are happening on the next 4 days, and there has been many surprises and a great number of goals. These final matches will be intense because it is pretty much "now or never" where teams will be playing with all they got.

In my opinion these are the matches to pay close attention to:

Chile vs. Netherlands:

Both teams already passed to the second round, so the only thing at stake is to end up first in the group, which could be pretty important if they want to avoid to face Brazil on the second round (ideally you want to avoid playing against the host). The beauty of this match is that both teams have an attractive and swift offensive play.

Croatia vs. Mexico:

Whoever wins will pass to the second round, though Mexico can go on with a draw. Croatia seems to possess more talent on the midfield, and have a good striker, but Mexico does have a great goalkeeper and they are very patriotic so they will fight until the last minute.

Italy vs. Uruguay:

Italy can pass with a draw, Uruguay needs the win. Very tight match. Italy has more technically skill, but Uruguay are warrior-like players that will give it all out. It will be intense.

Germany vs. U.S. and Ghana vs Portugal:

The reason why these 2 matches are together, it's because none of the teams are secured to pass, and there is a bunch of dependency, and these are some possible scenarios:

• Germany and US will pass: if they both draw, or if Portugal and Ghana draws
• US will be eliminated if it loses to Germany, and there is a winner in Ghana vs Portugal match, such that the winner ends up having a better goal difference than the US.
• Germany will be eliminated if it loses to US, and there is a winner in Ghana vs Portugal match, such that the winner ends up having a better goal difference than Germany

curse of the champion

It has been one week since the start of the World Cup, and I am definitely feeling its effect as my productivity at work is slightly compromised =P

There has been quite a few surprising scores, especially having the defending champion, Spain, losing its first two matches and been eliminated from the tournament.

Was this really unexpected? Well, not totally, Netherlands got second on last tournament and they have strong individual players in the offense, while Chile has a good set of players that play on important European clubs, so it was not an easy group to begin with.

Was this unprecedented? Nope, Italy was the reigning champion from 2006, and they got eliminated on the first round in 2010. Same occurred with France in 2002.

What are the reasons of the Spanish defeat? Futbolisticamente speaking, Spain have a very talented midfield but they lack the surprisingly factor on the offense, so it is not too hard to predict their game. Also, none of their forwards are on top shape (Villa is getting old, Torres barely scored this season, and Costa is too new on the team). Plus their defense has grown weaker and vulnerable to fast breaks. Another thing to add is the stubbornness to change, even when they needed two goals on the game against Chile, they never considered putting more forwards or consider other options of attack.

Outside of the "futbol aspect", there are factors why a champion has a tough time repeating a success. First, many teams want to beat the champion, so the opposing teams will have extra motivation to play well. Second, the thirst for victory might be absent, since they already experienced the climax of getting the most important title in futbol, it is hard to get that motivation to do it again. Third, it is easy to be complacent and not wanting to improve.

In a sense, this is a bit similar to our spiritual walk. When things go really well, it is easy to have the tendency of wanting to be complacent, and a tendency on relying on God less. As well, the enemy is waiting for opportunities to put us down with lies and deception. Hence it is really important to not lose sight of the precious things of God even when we are doing quite fine.

world cup

So this week, specifically on Thursday, the World Cup 2014 will begin, and it will be a one-month party of the most important futbol tournament of the world. I honestly have not caught up to the excitement due to the busy-ness of life, but yeah, this is one of the most favorite events to watch. So I foresee a lot of "coffee breaks" at work.

This post is just a random "dump" of thoughts about the different teams participating.

Top teams

Germany - well rounded

If there is a team that is reliably good on all its lines (goalkeeper, defense, midfield, offense), it will be Germany. They have the base of one of the best club at the moment (Bayern Munich) that won the UEFA Champion League last year. Plus they have a team hungry for victory, since this generation of German players have not won any international cups with the national team, and now they have acquired a great deal of experience and maturity.

Brazil - double edge

Home team advantage can be a great factor. Being accustomed to the climate and food, and having the support of the fans can potentially make a difference. But the pressure is also great, as there is a extremely high expectations for them to win, so a key point will be whether they can master this pressure and use it to their advantage. They have the young start Neymar who is not in his best shape with his season in Barcelona, but if he focuses well, he can make defenders go crazy.

Spain - defending champion

It's not unknown to people that does not follow futbol that Spain is a beast. They have won the last 3 international tournaments they participated (1 World Cup, 2 Euro Cups). They are still good but many of their key players are getting older and are not on their prime (Xavi, Villa). They do play very beautiful with nice passes since their midfield is still all-star, but I think they will have trouble scoring since none of their forwards are in their best (maybe Costa is ok). Another factor is that they already won a lot, so they might not have the same hunger for victory as before. I doubt they can make it pass the Quarterfinals.

Argentina - the dream

I might slightly biased, since Argentina is my all-time favorite team. I have been disappointed at their performance on the last couple of world cups since they do have a team that looks fantastic on paper, but they were not able to play as one team. Now, I think their current coach is good that he is down-to-earth, and he has been working hard in making this team as one, and maximizing the game of the best player at the moment, Lionel Messi. They have an arsenal in their offensive (Messi, Aguero, Di Maria, Higuain), but there are concerns on the defense and the goalkeeper, so a key point will be maintaining a balance in their midfield to ensure their defense do not get exposed. If they can achieve this balance, they can fulfill the dreams of a nation that has not lifted the world cup since 1986.

Surprise teams

Usually there is a surprise team will exceed people's expectations, especially because they are not well-known. Bulgaria (1994), Croatia (1998), Turkey (2002), Uruguay (2010) were teams that went to the top 4 without anyone expecting it.

I think special attention will be placed towards the South American team as they are playing close to home, and I specially like Chile (since they have one of the most complete players, Vidal) and Colombia (plays very well, but their best player is injured).

African teams can always give good surprises, and a team to be careful is Ivory Coast, as they have very good players like Gervihno and Yaya Toure (definitely a big factor on why Man City got the Premier League), and they do have a veteran striker who can make a difference (Drogba).

I could go on, but I think this is enough for now.

In the end it is really hard to predict what will happen, so I will have to sit back and relax.

what's amazing about spider-man 2?

Note: there will many spoilers of the movie "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" so read it at your own risk

Summer is always a nice time to go to the movie theaters because many blockbuster movies come out. In the recent years, there have been a huge number of superheroes movies.

Among all the Marvel superheroes, Spider-man is my favorite. That's why Spider-man movies will have a special place in my heart (haha). I remembered watching the cartoon as a teenager, and I really liked it. One of the reasons why I like Spider-man is because he is easier to relate to when comparing to other heroes. He is a college student that struggle with girlfriend, earning money, job stress, family stress... so very realistic stuff.

I really enjoyed the "old" movies with Tobey MaGuire. So watching the reboot of the movies is kinda strange. I did enjoy the first movie from the newest series, and I recently watched the second one.

Most people criticized this last movie because of the overload of the plot line (there are 2 major villains, and 2 pseudo plot lines happening). In some sense I agree that the plot could have been simplified, and perhaps should have invested more time in the friendship between Peter Parker and Harry Osborne, and develop the Green Goblin better. I feel that Electro was way too over-powerful, but he lacks the character of a good villain.

Still I liked it. It was a pretty enjoyable movie to watch. Ok, I will try not to be biased, but these are the 2 major reasons why I like it:

1. The death of Gwen Stacy
1. Ok, let me explain. It's not that I dislike her. On the contrary, it was very painful to watch her die. Mainly because both actors had a great chemistry portraying the relationship between Peter Parker and his first love, Gwen Stacy. Even the non-romantics would have been cheering for this couple. This follows the comics pretty closely, because Gwen Stacy did fell from the Brooklyn bridge after been captured by Green Goblin, and then on a desperate attempt to save her, Spider-man shoots the web... but it was not enough, and our heroin dies. It's not that I like this outcome because it follows the comics, but because it takes boldness to have a major character die in a series. And this moment will mark Peter's life, and will strengthen his character for the future.
2. The dilemma of Peter Parker
1. For his lifetime, Peter/Spider-man will always have this dilemma: being Spider-man to do good is great because "greater the power, greater the responsibility", but it will also put Peter's  dear ones on great danger if his identity is exposed. This is the inner battle that he will always face, and that will test his resolve whether he should continue doing good at his expense. Being Spider-man also means that he gets to spend less time doing less stuff: working on normal hours, spending time with the dear ones, play games, etc. There is a cost for being Spider-man. And I think the movie did a decent job bringing this theme up.

In a similar way, there is a cost of being a follower of Christ. Perhaps many of us don't face the challenge of having our dear ones being in danger because of our faith but the reality is that when we choose Christ, we give up our personal desires, ambitions, plans. This is a struggle because it is not easy to give up our "things", but by faith we know that there is something better, and hence we persevere. 

on waiting

Recently I had to go to Toronto downtown to apply for a Peruvian visa as I am going to a South American trip this summer. I originally thought this should be a fairly simple task that might take me a couple of hours. 

So I went on a Wednesday, and told my manager that I will make up the hours later in the evening. I had to:

• wake up earlier than usual to take the bus to the Charles St. Terminal
• take the greyhound to downtown Toronto, 
• take the subway to Young/Bloor. 

As I arrived to the consul...

• 10:30 am - I arrived,  there was only one person before me
• 11:00 am - attendant called me, so I submitted the paperwork for the visa application, and I was told to sit and wait. 
• 12:25 pm - attendant was saying that everything looks good, but that the "person in charge" wants to interview me (I was not sure if this is a required thing or whether it is a just formality or I was just randomly selected). So he asked me to come back the next day, but I told him that I am out of town and that it takes me at least 3 hours to commute from my place in Waterloo to the consul. But there was nothing he can do, so I had to come back on Friday (I didn't want to take back-to-back days off at work).

On Friday, the same routine happened, but a bit different...

• 10:30 am - here was at least 10 people before me
• 11:30 am - there was at least 20 people in the room and there was only one attendant available, so it was very very very slow.
• 12:30 pm - I had the interview with the "person in charge", and she did not find anything sketchy about me. Then I was asked to come on another day to pick up the visa, and I reacted hesitantly, so they told me that they will try their best and asked me to come back in 2 hours. 
• 1:00 pm - went to Hero's burger
• 1:30 pm - went to Starbucks, and burn most of the time reading a good Christian leadership book, while chatting on whatsapp with a friend who recently got married.
• 2:30 pm - I came back and waited 
• 3:45 pm - I finally got the Peruvian visa! 

So it took me almost triple the amount of time than I originally thought, and I was fairly frustrated with the process of waiting. I realized I am not as patient as I thought I would be.

So I came across this article about waiting (in the Christian context): http://theresurgence.com/2014/05/21/7-ways-to-follow-god-s-will-for-your-wait

I have spoken with many peers, and in general I find a similar struggle in my life stage where most of us are working, but we are not fully convinced that this is what we are gonna do for the rest of our lives. And then we start exploring about other possibilities (other work industries, other cities, or working on more ministry-related work) and it is really hard to find a clear answer. So we rely on prayer and waiting, and hoping that God will reveal to us an answer, eventually. 

It's hard because we don't know how long the wait is, and I easily can either grow impatient or not paying attention to my current present, because I focus too much on the future stuff. But in reality I should be paying more attention on the opportunities God is giving me in the present!

After reading the article, I was encouraged, because even if we don't see much "progress" in the waiting, there are undeniable facts about God's goodness and greatness:

• God is sovereign, and I have little control of my situation, so I should not have to worry
• God is faithful, so He will not abandon me
• God does not waste the experiences that He is making you go through, so it is a good time to focus on areas of my spiritual growth that is lacking, and find opportunities to serve
• God is unchangeable, and He has done so many good things to me in the past, and even now, so I should constantly be reminded of how He carried me through in the past

At this point, I still do not fully comprehend the periods of waiting, but I can rest assured that God is working, and I have to put my faith on Him.

"Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;

     Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

    to my cry for mercy.

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,

    Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness,

    so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

    and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord

    more than watchmen wait for the morning,

    more than watchmen wait for the morning."

                   - Psalm 130:1-6

kingdom

Recently I stumbled upon a manga called kingdom, and it is crazily excellent. It reminded me of the old feeling of reading epic series like FMA and Rurouni Kenshin. The story takes place on the 6 warring estates in China (not on the 3 kingdom, but the period before that), and it tells the story of the king of Qin that will eventually unite China under one dynasty.

There are so many positive traits of this series including the manly battle scenes, fine character development, strategic battles, unexpected plot twists, very good pace in storytelling, like-able characters, powerful villains, and I can go on... I actually spent way too much on it, so I need to exercise some self-control.

One thing I really like is that what unites the two main characters, that both of them have a strong vision that fuels their desire to move forward no matter what opposition they face, and helps them persevere through the tough time. And its because they hold dear to this vision that they are able to overcome all sort of struggles and excel on who they are.

I remembered the very first bible study I ever help prepare in CCF was during a Fall leadership retreat in 2007. It was on the book of Nehemiah. And since then I have always loved Nehemiah for the valuable leadership lessons. Nehemiah exhibits so many great leadership characteristics: taking action, gathering comrades, planning well, good foresight, courageous, man of prayer, dependence on God, persevere in struggles, not afraid of opposition. All started in chapter 1, when he heard of the depressing state that Jerusalem was in, and God gave him a vision about the restoration of the walls, and he took action upon receiving the vision.

Now that I am in the work life stage, it is really easy to live life by following the routine and lose sight of the things that God has burdened me with. It is so easy to become complacent about life. My prayer is that I will hold dear whatever God has put in my heart, and that this will fuel me to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

vegetables overload

So I was reading this post from desiring God about the battle against pornography: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/jesus-is-better-than-porn

A couple of thoughts:

And there are many "things" or "methods" a guy can do in order to fight over this struggle: having accountability partners, software that can block the sketchy sites, have someone lock your computer, etc... These are good methods to help for sure. But really the key is to focus on God, on His goodness and how He fills us with love and satisfaction. And that by the exceeding abundance of His grace displayed on the gospel, we should be overwhelmed.

And in general it is easy to point out that sins we commit are bad, and we are encouraged to flee from these temptations, but we should also encourage each other to run towards what is good and awesome. Running towards God, and understanding that His love is enough, that never fails, and that we based our identity as a child of His.

And there are some of us that struggle with just reading the Word consistently, and so we set up daily devotional time, a reading plan, or memorizing verse challenge, etc. Once again, I think these are great things to do (I am not trying to discredit them), but the key is to really understand and be convicted that we need God and His goodness. And sometimes, we might need some of these "methods" to get us started to run after God, but ultimately it is not these "methods" that will sustain our fervor for God, but it is the conviction that His love is all we need.

Similar with eating vegetables, some people don't like it, and sometimes it is forced upon them to eat because it is good, or blend the vegetables into the meat dish somehow. But it is really when someone understands the exquisite firmness of a well cooked "gai lan", then the love for vegetables will grow.

So our fridge is in chaos, and it has a unprecedented high amount of vegetables (and some of them are huge) haha

gospel: resurrection

Recently, we did a bible study on 1 Corinthians 15:1-21 in small group, just before Easter. This passage includes a condensed version of what the gospel is:

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve." - 1 Corinthians 15:3-5

A major part of the discussion revolved around the verses 12-17, where Paul speaks about the importance of the resurrection in our faith (if the resurrection did not happen, then our faith is futile). So we were trying to determine why was the resurrection of Jesus so essential to our faith, and we came up with several points:

• we have faith in a living Christ
• Christ is our mediator (it does not make sense if He is dead)
• Christ overcame death (wages of sin is death) to makes us free
• Christ is supreme, even over death, so that proves He is God
• Christ resurrected with a living body, to give a foresight that we will also have resurrected bodies in the restoration

Then an interesting verse came to play:

" It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,  who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." - Romans 4:24-25

So the main question we struggled about was, how does the resurrection of Christ leads to our justification (to declare us righteous in front of God's eyes)? Many of us, understand that the death of Christ was necessarily as propitiation (taking away the wrath of God) for our sins. Christ is sinless, hence His sacrifice is perfect and sufficient to pay for our sins. The great exchange happens so that the Christ suffers the punishment of our sins, and His righteousness is imputed into us, making us righteous (justification).

But then, how does resurrection leads to our justification? Shouldn't the death of Christ be enough to accomplish this?

So we have to do some readings from theologians to understand more:

• Wayne Gurdem in Systematic Theology, points out that "When Christ was raised from the dead, it was God's declaration of approval of Christ's work of redemption. Because Christ 'humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross' (Phil. 2:8), 'God exalted him..' (Phil. 2:9). By raising Christ, from the dead, God the father was in effect saying that he approved of Christ's work of suffering and dying for our sins."
• R.C. Sproul writes an article "Resurrection and Justification": stating that the resurrection serves as a demonstration (so to assures us that He is God) but also as a vindication that God the Father validates the authenticity of Christ. And also that God the Father approves of the work of Christ.
• John Piper states on his book "50 reasons why Jesus came to die" on page 100-101: "The resurrection of Jesus is God's gift and proof that his death was completely successful in blotting out the sins of his people and removing the wrath of God. You can see this in the word "therefore". Christ was "obedient to the point of death, even on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him" (Philippians 2:8-9). From the cross the Son of God cried, "It is finished" (John 19:30). And by means of the resurrection, God the Father cries, "It was finished indeed!". The great work of paying for our sin and providing our righteousness and satisfying God's justice was finished in the death of Jesus."

Pretty awesome stuff, glory to God!

trip home

I had the joy to visit home recently, and it has been almost 3 years since I last went home. Actually it was surreal to me when I got out of the airport in Guatemala. I just could not believe I was home. One of my best friends came pick me up (because my mom was sick) and we went out to a local fried chicken place for dinner, and that was so good! As we drove to the streets and saw different places, many things were very familiar to me, but it seems foreign at the same time.

I am really happy from the trip.

From a logistical point, I was not stressed about scheduling my short week at home. Usually, I get many requests to meet up with different groups of people, and it can be very stressful to accommodate everyone. So this time, instead of saying "yes" to everyone,  I decided to just put people on hold, and consult with my mom first. As a result, my days were pretty relaxing, I got to meet up with everyone (family, church friends, high school friends, high school teachers) I wanted to see, and it was not rushed to go from a meeting to another one.

From a purpose-driven point, I wanted to focus on strengthening relationships with my mom and her side of the family. I have to admit that I am not too close to her, nor to her side of the family. So I wanted to talk to them more, to get to know them, and also to share with them about my life. I made a point to have meaningful conversation, but I wished I was more bold in certain times when I could share about my faith. Despite my weakness, I was happy to have a deep conversation with my mom about the gospel, and I can sense her desire to learn more about God. And that is very encouraging.

It was also neat to not have easy internet access, and that made more focused to think about things.

A realization I have after visiting my high school is that I am very blessed. The teachers were happy to see me, and happy to know that one of their students were able to attain some level of success in a foreign country. Most of them expressed that they knew I will get far in life. For more context, it is not easy for someone in Guatemala to go study abroad and find a job. I am reminded that I am very blessed to have the family support, the education, the skills, and the opportunity to study and work in Canada.

More so, it is really God who orchestrated all of this, and I am very thankful for what He has done.

And this linked to another lesson, which is that without God, I cannot achieve anything. I received many compliments from family and friends, and it is easy to lose sight that it is God who granted you all this. So I am reminded to be humble at all times. This is one of the fiercest battle in my life, and every day I need to learn how to humble myself as God can make you very successful, but He can also take it away in no time. So all the successes we have is to be attributed to our God.

And then, another realization came by because there were many talks about old anecdotes in school and in fellowship. And I am blessed that many people hold me in high regard because I was able to serve and help them in some way. This reminds me of the importance to live each day being very mindful on how you want people to remember you. Not because of self-glory, but because we are ambassadors of Christ. We want people to see that it is God who is enabling us to love one another sincerely.

ps. all these thoughts came around 2-3am haha

fellowship

Just came across a very good article about what fellowship is: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/learn-to-fly-in-the-fellowship

It resonates with me very much for what I appreciate about fellowship, which is not just the good times spent together with fellow brothers, but also the labor and service in the Kingdom of God. And the joy to witness a fellow brother loving the gospel that has save us... all these add to the richness of what fellowship is for a Christian.