Nowadays, we often hear the word "passion" being spoken in many Christian events. It seems that the current definition means somewhere in the lines of "something I really feel excited about", or "something that I am emotionally attached to", or "something that I have the heart for".
I think these explanations are not bad, but they are not quite complete. And whenever someone uses the word "passion" in sentences like "I feel passion for this..." or "I am passionate about this ministry...", I am slightly bothered because many times the word "passion" is not fully understood.
Passion comes from the latin passio which simply means "suffering". The reason why the suffering of Christ on the cross is called the passion of the Christ is simply because passion means suffering. A similar usage is found in Acts 1:3 with the KJV, the greek "pathos" is translated into passion, while NIV translates it into suffering.
To have passion is to be willing to suffer, and this is accompanied with strong emotions. The catch is to not rely on emotions, because when discouragements and trials come, it will not persists. It is about willingness.
This is just my personal choice, so whenever I use this word I can't take it lightly because to have passion for God means that you are willing to suffer for His sake. And that is not an easy path, but I believe it is the right one.
"The passion of Christ is the victory of divine love over the powers of evil, and therefore it is the only supportable basis for Christian obedience. Once again, Jesus calls those who follow him to share his passion. How can we convince the world by our preaching of the passion when we shrink from that passion in our own lives? On the cross Jesus fulfilled the law he himself established and thus graciously keep his disciples in the fellowship of his suffering." - The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Another example, is that the word "passion" can be used to refer to the strong emotions a man feels about his wife. To really have passion for your wife means that you are willing to suffer for her, in the same way Jesus loved the church and gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25).
Monday, December 6, 2010
Back
It has been a while since I last blogged. Somehow, I feel overwhelmed with full-time work, and it is so draining and consuming at times, that it is hard to get time to gain insight in my walk and to properly focus on God.
I plan to make some adjustments to re-calibrate myself. By the grace of God, I want to continue sharing about the things He teaches me, in my joys and in the sufferings.
Good to be back.
I plan to make some adjustments to re-calibrate myself. By the grace of God, I want to continue sharing about the things He teaches me, in my joys and in the sufferings.
Good to be back.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Working under Grace
God is faithful and by "holy coincidence" a coworker asked me if I am a Christian. He saw in my online work profile that I put the "bible" as my favorite book. He is a believer and invited me to a weekly prayer meeting where I met other brothers in Christ at work. It was really good because I really need the prayer support to handle the challenges at work, to be more productive and to share my faith. Apparently my coworker knows a past chairperson from CCF.
It was interesting when my co-worker was sharing during the prayer meeting that he is struggling with understanding grace, and that he is pushing himself too hard. While another person shared that he is experiencing a lot of grace but that he is in the border of slacking in spending time with God.
Coincidentally, I am reading Prayer - Does It Make Any Difference? by Philip Yancey, and he mentions the paradox of how we need to leave everything to God, but at the same time we need to do our homework in the Christian walk. This is very similar to a famous quote that says "pray as it all depends on God, and work as it all depends on you". I like how our faith is so full of paradoxes!
Rock Lee from Naruto is a character who lacks many talents in the ninja arts. He often see other talented ninjas who are considered genius, and he decides to strive to become strong like them. Since he lacks pretty much every skill, he focuses on training extremely hard in one skill that he is able to do (physical power). After intense training, he is able to fight on the same level as those who are considered genius because of his determination to work hard. And he is considered the "genius of hard work". Yeah, let's be genius in training hard for the Lord!
Jacky Chan shared with me this awesome mathematical formula relating faith, work, and salvation:
It was interesting when my co-worker was sharing during the prayer meeting that he is struggling with understanding grace, and that he is pushing himself too hard. While another person shared that he is experiencing a lot of grace but that he is in the border of slacking in spending time with God.
Coincidentally, I am reading Prayer - Does It Make Any Difference? by Philip Yancey, and he mentions the paradox of how we need to leave everything to God, but at the same time we need to do our homework in the Christian walk. This is very similar to a famous quote that says "pray as it all depends on God, and work as it all depends on you". I like how our faith is so full of paradoxes!
How do we connect the dots between God's grace and our works in our spiritual growth? It is very clear from Ephesians 2:8-9 that our salvation is given by grace through faith. But if faith does not produce works, then it is dead (James 2:17). It is dangerous in one end to abuse grace and use it as an excuse to not work hard in our spiritual life. At the same time it is also dangerous if someone focuses too much on works to forget grace.
This can be extrapolated to decisions between setting a rigorous schedule for spiritual activities to discipline myself... versus waiting upon spontaneous spiritual goodness prompted by God. I was catching up with a brother, and we're talking about how some leaders abuse the concept of being "Spirit-led" to neglect preparation. Jesus spend a lot of time praying and being alone with the Father so that He can be prepared for the works of His ministry. We concluded that the more we prepare is better because we will allow the Spirit to work more as we understand Him more.
Ultimately, the Spirit is the one who works in us to transform and enable us to do good works for God's purposes because everyone falls short of His glory (Rom. 3:23). At the same time, we have to work hard in knowing God more and prepare ourselves so that the Spirit can do more in us. It is really His grace that allows us to do works for Him, because God chooses to use us to make His gospel known to others.
"... continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." - Philippians 2:12-13
In the bible we see characters doing many great feats, and some of us will like to accomplish big things. It starts with being faithful with little things in life, in working in your daily life, and God will add more and more.
This can be extrapolated to decisions between setting a rigorous schedule for spiritual activities to discipline myself... versus waiting upon spontaneous spiritual goodness prompted by God. I was catching up with a brother, and we're talking about how some leaders abuse the concept of being "Spirit-led" to neglect preparation. Jesus spend a lot of time praying and being alone with the Father so that He can be prepared for the works of His ministry. We concluded that the more we prepare is better because we will allow the Spirit to work more as we understand Him more.
Ultimately, the Spirit is the one who works in us to transform and enable us to do good works for God's purposes because everyone falls short of His glory (Rom. 3:23). At the same time, we have to work hard in knowing God more and prepare ourselves so that the Spirit can do more in us. It is really His grace that allows us to do works for Him, because God chooses to use us to make His gospel known to others.
"... continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." - Philippians 2:12-13
In the bible we see characters doing many great feats, and some of us will like to accomplish big things. It starts with being faithful with little things in life, in working in your daily life, and God will add more and more.
Jacky Chan shared with me this awesome mathematical formula relating faith, work, and salvation:
Monday, August 9, 2010
God is always good
No matter what I do, the mistakes I made, the times I choose to disobey Him, God always shows me that His grace is exceedingly abundant. In the moments that my trust shakes, God's providence comes.
That I can always come back to Him knowing that there is no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1). As sin abounds, grace abounds even more (Romans 5:20). It is all because of Jesus. How can I keep from singing His praise!!!
Praise the Lord that I am blessed with the opportunity to work in where I am.
That I can always come back to Him knowing that there is no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1). As sin abounds, grace abounds even more (Romans 5:20). It is all because of Jesus. How can I keep from singing His praise!!!
Praise the Lord that I am blessed with the opportunity to work in where I am.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
the Gospel in the postmodern world
I recently watched a Tim Keller's sermon on the Desiring God's conference about the "Supremacy of Jesus Christ and the Gospel in the Postmodern World". It is very academic and heavily packed, but I enjoy how Tim Keller uses the book of Jonah to teach us some important points about sharing the gospel.
He mentions that now is much more difficult than a few hundred years ago to share the message of Christ because in the past most people did believe in the existence of God and in the bible. So a lot of the outreach events consisted of reminders and encouragements to pursue Christ. But in the postmodern world is more difficult because people don't trust in the bible and the concept of absolute truth is debatable. Tim Keller went even further to say that some evangelistical techniques such as the four spiritual laws might not suffice in today's challenges.
Definitely sharing the gospel is a difficult task, sometime scary. I tremble at times. But God commanded us and empowered us to do it. We know that it is not with human wisdom, but with the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 1:17, 1 Cor. 2:13) that the gospel is preached. This is a partnership that God uses us to make His message known to others, so let's pray for opportunities and also prepare ourselves so that we can be ready to share about the hope we have in Christ (1 Peter 3:15).
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20
This is an example of a challenge that Christians can face in sharing the gospel in the postmodern world:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfsljDzUuD0#t=7m00s .
(video is timestamped at 7m00s, watch till the end, but you can skip some parts when the elevator scene is interrupted)
I definitely enjoy the priest's use of words =).
He mentions that now is much more difficult than a few hundred years ago to share the message of Christ because in the past most people did believe in the existence of God and in the bible. So a lot of the outreach events consisted of reminders and encouragements to pursue Christ. But in the postmodern world is more difficult because people don't trust in the bible and the concept of absolute truth is debatable. Tim Keller went even further to say that some evangelistical techniques such as the four spiritual laws might not suffice in today's challenges.
Definitely sharing the gospel is a difficult task, sometime scary. I tremble at times. But God commanded us and empowered us to do it. We know that it is not with human wisdom, but with the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 1:17, 1 Cor. 2:13) that the gospel is preached. This is a partnership that God uses us to make His message known to others, so let's pray for opportunities and also prepare ourselves so that we can be ready to share about the hope we have in Christ (1 Peter 3:15).
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20
This is an example of a challenge that Christians can face in sharing the gospel in the postmodern world:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfsljDzUuD0#t=7m00s .
(video is timestamped at 7m00s, watch till the end, but you can skip some parts when the elevator scene is interrupted)
I definitely enjoy the priest's use of words =).
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Engage
One of the major lessons that I learned in the last 5 years (and I am still learning) is to engage.
Christianity is not just about a point in time when you decide to submit to the Lordship of Christ, but it is a lifelong journey of pursuing God and engaging in what He has prepared for you. My friend's post is full of truth as it is not only about avoiding sin, but it is to constantly run towards God.
I personally realized that it is so easy for me to feel complacent after learning many things while serving in CCF. The coop terms can be especially dangerous if I choose not to engage in doing God's work. It is not so much about "doing", but when I am doing things for the Lord I am often put in situations where I learn more about my faith, the Spirit develops gifts in me, a stronger character can be mold in me, and more importantly I am pushed to depend on God alone. Most of the spiritual growth I experienced have been due to God using me in ministering CCF and the people.
That is one reason why I love to ask people to serve, because serving does push me to know God more and grow spiritually. Serving also allows me to get to know more other brothers and sisters, to the point that I can develop with them a deeper connection (a partnership).
When I say engage, I don't mean that everyone has to be serving in an official role in fellowship or church. But to engage means to actively seek God and partner with Him in doing His work. Not everyone has to be in committee, nor serving in leadership. God will call each of us in whatever circumstances we are in, whether it's to minister to coworkers, classmates, homeless people. We are to respond to this calling.
There is a lot of danger as sometimes we can take serving and works as idols. There are two extremes I see in churches (especially Chinese ones), that people perceive Christian maturity proportional to the number of ministries involved, and the other side which prefers not to leave the comfort zone and thinks that serving are for those who are hardcore. There is definitely a Chinese issue of putting too much focus on the image and reputation, while it is also very Chinese to avoid confrontation and stay in the comfort zone. At the end of the day, serving is not about doing things as duty but an expression of God's love (1 John). So, if we are to do works without the proper reason, that it is useless (1 Cor. 13).
There is something called the bystander effect where people see a problem, but they rather not do anything because they think that someone else will fix it. If everyone thinks that way, then no one will step up. And that happens in CCF many times when people see a need, but they think someone else will fix it. A good friend of mine shared with me that "if you see a need, you are probably the best person to deal with it". Obviously, serving is not about fixing a need. But just as Nehemiah saw a big need in the Jerusalem to rebuild the walls, he was so broken to see the needs of his people that he cried out to God. The Lord opened the doors for him to address this need.
But whenever you engage in God's work, we are pushed to step out of our comfort zone and also inviting troubles. There are times when it can be tough, when trials and tribulations are along the way. Discouragement and exhaustion can come often. The beauty is that God puts you in tough situations, and He will provide what you need to go through it.
Christianity is not a static point that have reached a certain threshold, but it is a directional vector with a positive gradient (basically a continuously growing graph) towards God.
Engage.
"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
- 2 Peter 5-8
Christianity is not just about a point in time when you decide to submit to the Lordship of Christ, but it is a lifelong journey of pursuing God and engaging in what He has prepared for you. My friend's post is full of truth as it is not only about avoiding sin, but it is to constantly run towards God.
I personally realized that it is so easy for me to feel complacent after learning many things while serving in CCF. The coop terms can be especially dangerous if I choose not to engage in doing God's work. It is not so much about "doing", but when I am doing things for the Lord I am often put in situations where I learn more about my faith, the Spirit develops gifts in me, a stronger character can be mold in me, and more importantly I am pushed to depend on God alone. Most of the spiritual growth I experienced have been due to God using me in ministering CCF and the people.
That is one reason why I love to ask people to serve, because serving does push me to know God more and grow spiritually. Serving also allows me to get to know more other brothers and sisters, to the point that I can develop with them a deeper connection (a partnership).
When I say engage, I don't mean that everyone has to be serving in an official role in fellowship or church. But to engage means to actively seek God and partner with Him in doing His work. Not everyone has to be in committee, nor serving in leadership. God will call each of us in whatever circumstances we are in, whether it's to minister to coworkers, classmates, homeless people. We are to respond to this calling.
There is a lot of danger as sometimes we can take serving and works as idols. There are two extremes I see in churches (especially Chinese ones), that people perceive Christian maturity proportional to the number of ministries involved, and the other side which prefers not to leave the comfort zone and thinks that serving are for those who are hardcore. There is definitely a Chinese issue of putting too much focus on the image and reputation, while it is also very Chinese to avoid confrontation and stay in the comfort zone. At the end of the day, serving is not about doing things as duty but an expression of God's love (1 John). So, if we are to do works without the proper reason, that it is useless (1 Cor. 13).
There is something called the bystander effect where people see a problem, but they rather not do anything because they think that someone else will fix it. If everyone thinks that way, then no one will step up. And that happens in CCF many times when people see a need, but they think someone else will fix it. A good friend of mine shared with me that "if you see a need, you are probably the best person to deal with it". Obviously, serving is not about fixing a need. But just as Nehemiah saw a big need in the Jerusalem to rebuild the walls, he was so broken to see the needs of his people that he cried out to God. The Lord opened the doors for him to address this need.
But whenever you engage in God's work, we are pushed to step out of our comfort zone and also inviting troubles. There are times when it can be tough, when trials and tribulations are along the way. Discouragement and exhaustion can come often. The beauty is that God puts you in tough situations, and He will provide what you need to go through it.
Christianity is not a static point that have reached a certain threshold, but it is a directional vector with a positive gradient (basically a continuously growing graph) towards God.
Engage.
"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
- 2 Peter 5-8
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Fullmetal Heart
As many know the famous manga Full Metal Alchemist has ended recently. It is one of the best series I have read, and talking to some friends we have concluded that we are slightly sad that it ended.
The very last page of the series shows this text:
A lesson without pain is meaningless.
For you cannot gain something
without sacrificing something else in return
But once you have overcome it and made it your own
You will gain an irreplaceable fullmetal heart
I won't say much, but the main characters went through a lot of pain, but in the end they realized that the suffering led to a greater lesson and a stronger inner character.
I started to link this to Christianity. I think of these following verses:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
- 1 Peter 1:6-8
It is really hard to share about Christianity to others because it is not an easy life. I remembered telling my home church pastor that "life is tough with much suffering" and he replied "you are a man of wisdom".
God does not promise a life full of comfort because we are so weak that we will take Him for granted. So we are given a life of trials because we will have no choice but to rely on Christ who gives us strength and joy to endure. The beauty of this is that even though God puts us in difficulties, He is the one who gives us what we need to go through them. There will be moment of sadness, but God's joy will fill your heart. There will be perplexing moments, but God's peace will be with you. There will be moments of persecution, but God will never abandon you.
Taking a step back, it is really "grace" that we are suffering. Because we are objects of wrath by nature (Ephesians 2), and we deserve not suffering, but the wrath of God. So, God taking His time to care for us and planning trials in our lives is really part of His pouring of grace on us, so that we can be molded into a more beautiful person by conforming into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Going back to the quote from FMA: you cannot gain something without sacrificing something, this reminds me that we are to die to ourselves everyday and follow Christ. Because if I want to gain Christ, I have to declare that He is Lord of my life and that means that I have to let go of the control of my life.
Why is that I get motivation to continue walking in this life of a Christian that entails trials and tribulations? Because of Christ, our hope of glory. I know that this life is temporal and that the troubles here are so little comparing with the greatness that awaits for those who trust and follows our hope of glory, Christ.
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
The very last page of the series shows this text:
A lesson without pain is meaningless.
For you cannot gain something
without sacrificing something else in return
But once you have overcome it and made it your own
You will gain an irreplaceable fullmetal heart
I won't say much, but the main characters went through a lot of pain, but in the end they realized that the suffering led to a greater lesson and a stronger inner character.
I started to link this to Christianity. I think of these following verses:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
- 1 Peter 1:6-8
It is really hard to share about Christianity to others because it is not an easy life. I remembered telling my home church pastor that "life is tough with much suffering" and he replied "you are a man of wisdom".
God does not promise a life full of comfort because we are so weak that we will take Him for granted. So we are given a life of trials because we will have no choice but to rely on Christ who gives us strength and joy to endure. The beauty of this is that even though God puts us in difficulties, He is the one who gives us what we need to go through them. There will be moment of sadness, but God's joy will fill your heart. There will be perplexing moments, but God's peace will be with you. There will be moments of persecution, but God will never abandon you.
Taking a step back, it is really "grace" that we are suffering. Because we are objects of wrath by nature (Ephesians 2), and we deserve not suffering, but the wrath of God. So, God taking His time to care for us and planning trials in our lives is really part of His pouring of grace on us, so that we can be molded into a more beautiful person by conforming into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Going back to the quote from FMA: you cannot gain something without sacrificing something, this reminds me that we are to die to ourselves everyday and follow Christ. Because if I want to gain Christ, I have to declare that He is Lord of my life and that means that I have to let go of the control of my life.
Why is that I get motivation to continue walking in this life of a Christian that entails trials and tribulations? Because of Christ, our hope of glory. I know that this life is temporal and that the troubles here are so little comparing with the greatness that awaits for those who trust and follows our hope of glory, Christ.
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
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