will of the fire

So I have been quite busy with work that I am neglecting this blog a bit, but I cannot wait to write something about one of the first manga series that I started to follow, which is the famous ninja series Naruto.

This series is often criticized because there are many ups and downs, and sometimes it is just ridiculous. But there are certain aspects of it that I really like it. There is a common theme throughout the series, and that is the "will of the fire". Perhaps it is not explicitly portrayed, but it comes out on almost every arc.

The main village is from the Fire country, and it is ruled by a leader (called Hokage) which main job is to ensure the peace and safety of the people under his rule. It starts on episode 1, when we are told that the 4th Hokage dies protecting the main village against a fox monster. So the sub-themes of becoming strong to protect your town, become self-less for the sake of your friends, and living in harmony with others are very apparent in this show. And this overall idea is called the "will of the fire" and it is passed down from generation to generations, through example where leaders live it out, and the young ninjas are inspired by them.

It makes me think about one aspect of fellowship, where we meet up to encourage one another in our walks with God. For sure there is relationship-building and mutual support in fellowshipping, but there is also the aspect of being partners in the gospel, to live our lives serving God.

One thing that I want to see through a fellowship, is that the love (manifested through caring, actions, service, gifts) that we have for one another does not end inside the fellowship, but that each member will carry this "will of the fellowship" wherever they go, so that the gospel lifestyle can be experienced by others.

Recently, the pastor John Piper retired from being the preaching pastor at his church (he is transitioning into other ministries). It is encouraging to see the video that his church prepared based on his faithful service:http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-legacy-of-john-piper-in-the-lives-of-real-people-video-tribute

A joy to see that the passion that John Piper has for living our lives for the glory of God, and enjoying ourselves in Him, is impacting the people at church in multiple facets.

Barcelona 4 - Milan 0

So one of my favorite club-level soccer (futbol) teams, FC Barcelona, had a very important match against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League playoffs. Barcelona lost the first game 0-2, so it looked tough for them to revert back the score.

Even though Barcelona has been the most dominant team in the last five years, they were showing signs of inconsistencies in the recent games (they lost 3 of their last 5 matches). And many people were starting to criticize them. But yesterday, Barcelona once again showed what they are made of, being faithful to their game style, and played with their best, and was able to accomplish the feat to win the game 4-0 (so a global 4-2 score).

I was not able to watch the game, so I was checking the results during work and whenever they scores I was yelling silently of happiness.

They simply play their best. More info: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2013/03/12/sp-soccer-champions-league-barcelona-messi-ac-milan.html

On a separate note, we all encounter good days and bad days in our daily endeavors (whether it is work, school, ministries). So we simply have to do our best, and stand firm in what we believe in, which is in a sovereign God who is in control of everything and He takes care of us. Even if things don't turn out well, it's ok since God is with us so we don't have to worry about it.

the value of relationships

I finally finished watching an anime series called K-ON. It was a very enjoyable show, but took me a while to finish because it is a slow-pace "slice of life" show. I like "slice of life" because it usually has a good focus on characters' personalities, their growth, and interaction among characters. But I just cannot watch too many episodes consecutively since it is a bit slow.

I have to say the final episode (24) of seasons 2 was fantastic. Definitely an anime gem. Basically, this is about a group of high school girls who are part of musical club, and 4 of their members are graduating so this is the episode of the graduation ceremony. So there are several farewell scenes with their homeroom teacher, their underclassmen, and the musical club's only member who is left. There is some sadness since people are leaving, but at the same time there is this warm feeling of gladness because they were able to be part of their lives.

This made me think about the different relationships (not in the context of exclusive boy-girl) I have developed throughout all my years. And I have been privileged to meet really great people that has impacted my life in positive ways. As I looked back, there has been many farewells at different stages of my life:

• high school graduation
• leaving to Canada for University
• graduating from University
• friends leaving the city

Recently, a very old friend from high school emailed me, and I haven't talked to him for almost 12 years. I was really happy to reply to his email, and I really hope to catch up with him soon in person. But there are many people I have met in those stages that I haven't seen for a while, and there are probably some that I might not ever see again.

My point is that, with the little life I have lived, I realized that I will not always be able to be part of people's lives because it is inevitable that some people will move to different places, have a different "calling", etc. Once they live in another city, it is really hard to be connected (despite the available technology) unless the two parties made a big effort of it. 

So it is sad that there are many farewells. But I am glad that even for a short time period, we were able to build a relationship and enjoy each other's company. And I think that I should really treasure more the time I spend with close friends, to really made good memories out of it, because life is so dynamic nowadays that some might move on in life to a totally different direction than yours.

I am reflecting upon this as there are a group of people graduating from the UW (specifically from CCF). Actually most people who are graduating are people who were frosh when I graduated, and so they get some sort of favoritism haha. It is really a great joy to be a small part of their lives while they were in Waterloo. Though it is sad that they are leaving, the privilege to witness the work of God transforming int heir lives is an outstanding joy.

As a family of Christ, we have the assurance that we are not just friends, but also brothers and sisters in Christ, and that there is a deeper relationships rooted in the love of God. So we have the assurance to see each other again in our heavenly home, and also to know that God is working in each of us. 

But yeah, we gotta really take initiative to value these relationships and nourish them.

why Trinity

I was watching a video with Tim Keller, John Piper, and D.A. Carson about the Trinity which is quite insightful and good: http://thegospelcoalition.org/videos/44935725

I remembered on a Sunday school, this question was asked "would you stand up and die defending the truth of the Trinity?". It's interesting because the bible does not explicitly state the term "Trinity", and perhaps not many people think that the Trinity is one of those fundamental truths that we should defend like the death and resurrection of Jesus, salvation by grace through faith, or the authority of Scripture. Also, it is really hard to comprehend the Trinity.

But I think the Trinity is on-par in importance.

First of all, we are to grow in learning more about the God who we worship. So the better we know of who God is, the more accurate our understanding of Him is, the more accurate our worship towards the true God is. For example, we all know God is love, but not many know that God is wrathful. So people who lack understanding in the latter, will worship God because He is loving but will not comprehend why the cross of Christ was necessarily for our salvation, and not comprehend that the consequence of our sins is death. Having knowledge of both aspects of God (love and wrath), we can understand that His grace is actually a couple of magnitude larger than we thought, and we will realize that there is nothing else that we can do but worship Him.

The point I want to emphasize is the relationship among the persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, Spirit). Tim Keller in his "Reasons for God" book has a chapter dedicated to the Trinity, and it conveys the beauty of the truth of the Trinity. Basically, he describes it as a "dance", where each person of the Trinity is submitting and glorifying the other members of the Trinity, non-stop. There are examples in John 16-18, where Jesus submits to the Father, or when talks about the Spirit will glorify Christ. Also the statement of  "God is love" is profound. Because if God was just one person, then when we said "God is love", he can only love Himself, since love requires more than one member. So the fact that our God is three persons, the statement of "God is love" makes sense because the constant selfless act of glorying one another for each person of the Trinity is the essence of God's love.

Since God loves us first, we can also love Him and love our brothers and sisters. And by understanding the love within the Trinity, we can learn how to love one another by being selfless, gracious, submitting towards one another. God is so good.

fairly tactician

A regular thing that people like to say when making decisions is "follow your heart". Perhaps, not the wisest advice, taking into account that our hearts can be deceitful:


"The heart is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?" - Jeremiah 17:9


There is manga called "Fairy Tail" which is a pretty light-hearted show with very good fighting and with themes of friendship, good beats evil, "who do you think I am?" attitude... it is a great show for guys. There is a character called Fairy Tactician "Mavis", who is looks like a little helpless girl but she is actually the founder of magic guild and she is known for her accurate planning when making strategies to combat the opponent guilds. She can accurately predict the enemies' moves so she can plan a proper counterattack.

(warning: possible spoiler if you plan to read Fairy Tail)
In one specific battle, Mavis needs to take down a key member of a enemy guild "Rufus", and "Gray" (one of her guild's members) requests her to set him up to fight Rufus because he has some personal stuff to settle with him. But Mavis declines because based on her analysis from their abilities, Gray is not the most compatible member of her guild to fight Rufus. But Gray insists, and Mavis decides to let him fight Rufus. So she is not able to predict the outcome of the battle, but she acknowledges that "feelings can sometimes surpass calculations". Eventually, Gray beats Rufus, and it is a happy story.

When we make decisions between two good things (like choosing what schools/jobs to apply, where to serve, implementation for a ministry), sometimes it is very hard to figure out what to choose. For example, on the Winter of 2008, I was struggling with deciding whether not running for the CCF committee (actually for the 3 years that I ran, I always struggled with the decision). Serving in committee seems to be a good thing, but also not serving in committee seems to be a good thing to me. It is always difficult to exactly discern what God wants you to do in regards of decisions like this.

Definitely, much prayer, bible reading, and counsel from mentors and peers are essential. On one hand, this can be an intellectual decision based on facts (example: pros and cons, doors that have been opened or closed, time budget, impact on existing commitments, etc). On the other hand, it can be a decision made by "sensing" (example: the Holy Spirit can give reassurance on a decision). Obviously, it can be a mixed of both.

I tend to be more on the intellectual side, and I remembered that I actually made a decision-matrix (something useful that I learned from a bad course in school). It looks similar to that:

Basically, I list the factors that I am considering for my decision-making, and weight them numerically, and then I analyze the choices, and see which option has the higher score. I remembered vaguely that the decision-matrix I made on 2008 had like 10 factors. And based on results, I should not be running for committee (it was a very close). But, in the end I decided to run because somewhat I felt that was the right choice to make despite the results of my intellectual analysis. And by God's grace, it was a great year in committee.

Based on this example, I am not trying to justify that "feelings" should supersede "intellect". I believe that thinking and analyzing thoroughly on the facts is very important as it gives you a better idea of the advantages and risks. But God can also work despite the eminent risks, and we should be opened to what He can do. I believe that our God is one who works in an organized manner but at the same time God can blow your mind, and go beyond your expectation.

And our God is good and sovereign, who is in control of everything, so it is hard to think that we can "block" His plans. That does not mean that we can make irresponsible decisions, but that we should do our best in seeking God to discern for the right decision, but also be reassured that He is in control. And once we have made the decision, we should go for it wholeheartedly trusting that God will work in you.

calling my mom

So I was calling my mom around 1am (since it will be 12am in Guatemala) to wish her a Merry Christmas. And the background noise was so loud that she could barely hear me. The noise is due to the non-stop fireworks and firecrackers, as it is part of the tradition during big celebrations like Christmas. She told me to call her back in 30 minutes (I guess that's how long the firecrackers usually last).

I kinda miss that type of festivity, it's way too quiet here in Canada =P.

Thank you Jesus

I have been reading the Old Testament starting from Genesis with the goal to go through the entire Old Testament. In the past, I often skipped the "boring" parts, so I have not read books like Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

So as I was reading a couple of days ago, there is this prophecy that Jacob made to his son Judah:

"The scepter will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs
    and the obedience of the nations is his." - Genesis 49:10

It is a prophecy about the Messiah, who will come from the line of Judah. This is not the earliest prophecy about Christ, but I still think it is quite awesome that God has planned everything so perfectly according to His good will. There are many prophecies about Christ, that He will be born from a virgin, that He will be born in Bethlehem, that He will take away our sorrows and give up His life for our transgressions. It's just amazing that God planned this with such accuracy, showing that He is truly sovereign, in control, and all-powerful. But, God did not have to go through all this, and it will be ok to leave humans as they are, but God is rich in grace, that He sent Jesus to die for us. God is the one who initiated everything, we didn't do anything to deserve it. Intense.

As I was reading through Exodus, it is kind of disappointing to see the Israelites complaining against Moses (and eventually against God) when they were in the desert without water or food. God has just owned the Egyptians in the most spectacular way possible, and delivered them from the harsh slavery, but they tend to forget God's awesomeness so easily. But that actually reminds me of myself since it is so easy to forget about how good God is, and I start to complain about uncertainties in my life, and act sinfully even though He has just blessed me recently. The more I think about that, the larger God's grace becomes.

Christmas is a good reminder of the grace that is in Christ Jesus. It's definitely a great time to spend joyfully with close relatives and friends. I have chosen to spend some days in solitude because I really need the personal time with God, to ponder and be marveled at His immeasurable grace. It is a good time for me to rest, to get recharged, to reflect about my life, and to set goals for the near future. This is really helpful since work life has been considerably busy and draining. I have also set some time to catch up with family and close friends via skype since life becomes so busy that if one is not intentional, it is really hard to keep up with relationships.

Christmas is such a joyful times. All for the praise of His glory. Thank you Jesus.