Call By A New Name

John 1:35-42
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What are some of the names you call your best friends? Sometimes it's "loser" or other times it's "sister" or some random nickname such as "BOYFRANDDD." But what's the true meaning behind a name you call someone? Sometimes it may seem derogatory, but in a humorous term, and other times it means something more. A name has the power to change; at times, it gives someone a purpose, a meaning in life, and others, it tells one they are loved and validated.


"Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas (which, when translated, is Peter)." [John 1:42]


When Andrew brought his brother Simon out to see Jesus, whom he was convinced was the Messiah, Jesus peered into his heart. What do you think he saw? Sin, obviously, the failures he has and will make, but he also saw the leader Peter will eventually become. Peter means rock, a foundation.


God sees everything in our lives. Our failures, tears, joys, laughs, smiles, pride, anger, lack of love, but at the same time, he sees where we are in terms of our relationship with him. Instead of calling us any other names, he calls us loved, redeemed, holy, beloved, precious, forgiven, chosen and many more. God calls us for a purpose. Let's use that purpose to define our lives. 

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No one can steal your identity in Christ.  

Journey: Guangxi

Second training. The missions trip is approaching fast actually, I'm leaving early july, so that gives us about less than 3 months before we depart and execute this. Today's training was surrounding the topic of Personality. For unity to happen, we must be able to understand each other and our teams, how we work, who we are as people. So we did a quick test.

There are four animals.

The Lion - the extrovert, task-oriented, strong, direct, but too dictatorial.

The Otter - the extrovert, people-oriented, open and positive, but may talk to much.

The Golden Retriever - the introvert, people-oriented, calm and sensitive, but can get hurt easily

The Beaver - the introvert, task-oriented, has high standards, but is a perfectionist.

I ranked as the golden retriever. And I can totally see it in myself, I'm sensitive, i try my best to sympathize with others, but I can get too sensitive and be hurt easily.

Looking around at the new faces at the training, naturally, there are people i tend to stay closer to, there are people who i judge based on first impressions, for instance there's this one team member who i just am not getting the best vibe from. I feel like we won't mix... and I don't know how to handle it.

We're also in somewhat of an uncomfortable situation. I didn't want to be put in a group with these people, but this team came together from different churches to make up this team. Its another chance to get out of my comfort zone, meet new people, and start new friendships. I have to continue to push myself forward and out there.

During the sharing, they talked about a typical day of the trip. I came to realize that this trip is going to be my longest short term missions so far. OJ Quebec was only 4 days of crazy wake up early, sleep late schedules. Day Camp was two weeks, but it was only most of the day, but on this upcoming trip, we will be up from 6:30am-10pm pretty much everyday for two weeks. In crazy climate and temperatures, with lack of luxury (they said there won't be seated toilets). I wonder how i'll cope. I remember in the past, i've heard these "typical day" talks and them saying that we'll be all exhausted, but honestly i haven't really felt that.

Im guess i'm nervous to work with these new people, i hope that i can mesh well and just open up to them.

¹⁶From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Ephesians 4:16

Paintings.

John 10:7-10
 ⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.


Many people see God as restricting, expecting his people to live a gray life like your first painting, full of rules, with all colour removed. 
Jesus came to give us all a full, vibrant, multicoloured life. Life in all its fullness. Think of all the blessing that knowing Jesus brings. See those blessings interwoven in the picture, contributing to this wonderful picture. Imagine another painting. It's colourful and beautiful. See those blessings interwoven in the picture, all contributing to its beauty.


Thank God for his rich gift of creative, abundant, vibrant life. 

God's Unfailing Love

Hosea 10:9-15
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To be totally honest, I never really stepped foot into the chapter of Hosea, so today's devotion was quite surprising for me. God told Hosea to marry a woman, who eventually left him for other men, but was told to bring her back and love her just as God loved us. It paints a beautiful picture of how even though we wrong him so many times, even though we draw away from him, God will always pull us back and love us despite everything!


But the book of Hosea also shows God's power and might.


"When I please, I will punish them; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bonds for their double sin...the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be devastated." [Hosea 10:10, 14]


God can do anything he wants, anytime he wants, anywhere he wants. He could wipe out the entire Earth right now, this very second. But no, instead, God chooses to love us. Despite the sins and unrighteous acts of his people, he still extended his grace to them, telling them to:


"Sow for yourself righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you." [Hosea 10:12]


Even though we planted wickedness, reaped evil and eaten the fruit of deception [Hosea 10:13], God still chooses to extend his grace towards us, telling us to grab hold of him and to allow him back into our lives. How can we not love a God who chooses to love instead of destroy?

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No force is greater than the power of God’s love.

The Parable Of The Sower.

Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower.

Today at my co-op placement the teacher decided to make the kids plan some seeds. In order for the seeds to grow nicely out into plants she taught the kindergartens how to plan and take are of them. This reminded me of the parable.

We all go through many problems and stumbling blocks in our lives that we may get side track or 'not get planted in the right soil.'

Today, it hit me. I need to step up my game with God and focus on Him. He planted me in the right soil and has been feeding me with the right amount of sunlight and water in order for me to grow and sprout into a beautiful plant. Through this process i need to focus on him and keep my chin held high.

Endure! - Part 1

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

Hebrews 10:19-27

Lately, you can see that my posts have been more topic based instead of passage based, and i can feel the gap between his Word and my life, and its weak. Im starting to really realize the power of his Word, how it is the bread of life. Indulging in it is a must, if you stop, you start to stray away.

I came across this passage while flipping through my bible, and its under "A Call to Persevere". There's more to it and i'll make it the next post, like a MINI MINI series. At this moment in time, there's been a lot i've been trying to push through, and there's been little glimmers of hope that are pushing me through. God will last and not leave my side, so putting my hope in Him is the best choice.

How sure are you of your salvation? (v.22) I remember at my baptism interview, i was asked "if you were to die right now, would you go to heaven or hell?" I remember answering hell. Because of all the things and sins i've committed, there was no way i was near that "perfect" Christian that deserves heaven. Oh boy was i wrong. God hands this gift out to each and every one of us, we take it when we repent and believe in Him. It still took me many many years after to fully understand the assurance of my salvation. Only until recently, I came to realize that my name is already up in heaven in the book of life, that i can say that i AM going to heaven. Christ is my God and my Saviour, and i've dedicated my life to him, no matter how hard the road may be. His life and his sacrifice has cleansed our hearts. We now have the help of the holy spirit, we can be stronger in becoming righteous in a holy manner. May we live our lives each month, each week and each day glorifying God in ALL we do.

Hope. (v.23) we're always looking for hope. It times of trouble especially. We must hold onto Christ because his will keep his promises. That he will one day descend from heaven and will end all sin, all pain, when judgement day will arrive. I await that day. I think i tend to forget this promise and thus lose hope easily.

While on earth, with these challenges and hardships, we cannot do it alone (v. 24-25). I remember struggling through things, and i remember focusing on Philippians 4:13 "i can do all things through Christ" that was my motivator. And as true as that was, i was strong enough, and i had to have other people. Thats why God made people. So we can work and help each other get through trials and troubles. Its always nice to know there's someone there for you, someone you can talk to. Find accountability. Find community. Find support. Find unity. You'll find a good group of people you can talk to, share with, be transparent with and can open up to. Its so important.

If you say that you are a follower of Christ, you are his child and his representative. If you know that God does not like sin, yet you continue to do so, it isn't right. (v.26-27) But God is a good God. He gives us free will. You can do whatever you want. He won't stop you and wont force you. If you continue to indulge in the world, then he'll just wait, hoping for the day you turn back to him. Judgement day is coming for all of us. God will go through all of us, one by one, looking through what we've done, if we were true followers and servants of Christ.

We have continue to fight and push forward.

Salvation is assured for us.

There is hope in God's love and promises.

He's given us people that will support and encourage us.

We cannot go back to our usual desires and sinful habits.

¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12

Beautiful Scars

Luke 4:36-49
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This devotion started off with the author telling a story. A few years ago, he was hiking when he saw pine trees that had their bark stripped off. Remembering what a friend had said, the Natives that used to hunt in the area would peel the bark off, and use the layer underneath for gum to chew on. Despite the ugliness of the stripped bark, due to the crystallized sap, wind and weather that impacted the area, the stripped bark transforms into a pattern of beauty. 


Wouldn't it be crazy that if sin, something so bad, so ugly, so horrendous, was actually turned into beauty? Well, nothing is impossible with God. If we bring our sins, our transgressions and burdens to God, repent and allow Christ to work in our lives, we too, like the pine trees, can leave behind marks of beauty. 


The devotion states clearly how this is done:
"Some people, having tasted the bitterness of sin, now loathe it. They hate evil and love righteousness. Theirs is the beauty of holiness.

Others, knowing how far they fall short, have tender hearts toward others. They rise up with understanding, compassion, and kindness when others fail. Theirs is the beauty of humility."

But there's also a figure in the Bible that has been transformed because of Christ. She lived a past of sin; she was described as "a woman who had lived a sinful life." The Pharisee could not understand the compassion Jesus had on her, and even questioned it to himself. But because of the mercy and love Jesus had for her, he forgave her sins, leading him to say a statement that even I understand so clearly.

"Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." [Luke 7:47]

Sinners who are forgiven much understand the love that Jesus showed them. Theirs is the beauty of love. At times, people will not be able to comprehend the forgiveness of Christ because they are forgiven little; they do not understand love because Christ is love. The woman has sinned lots, but because she was forgiven even more, she understood the love Jesus had when he stretched his arms out for us on that cross. 

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A forgiven heart is the fountain of beauty. 

Bond.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

God has given every Christian certain gifts to strengthen the whole church. I sometimes think of myself as someone who's useless. Just a roadblock. After reading this passage i realized that we need each other to support and pull through everything that goes on in our lives. God created us differently so that we an learn how to bond with each other. He teaches us how to live with different and unique people while serving and glorifying Him.

dystopia

Ever since diving into this concept in gr. 12 english, a dystopian society has always been on my mind. As a quick crash course, dystopia is the opposite of utopia. Utopia is the concept of having a completely ideal and perfect society, and therefore dystopia is how we cannot have a perfect society, where things are corrupted and flawed.

Nothing is perfect. Nothing is perfect in this world. You'll never find a person who has the whole package, and be the perfect soulmate. Eventually you'll find something about them you may not be fond of. Society and media today understand this very well. I've seen in several tv series where they talk about dating, but how every single person they may date has a package, whether it be clingy, or messy and unorganized, nobody's perfect.

Although we understand such things, we are still going to that utopian world. We're constantly trying to make electronics, develop technologies that will last forever, and will never fail us. Has it worked? no.

Things fade.

Things fail.

But one thing doesn't. Our God, His Love. His Mercy. and His Promises. We place our hopes on such useless and meaningless things. Materialistic things. We're relying on technology more and more, we rely on friends more and more when we really should be focusing on God, not these flawed things/people.

Put our hope on something that is worth putting our hopes in. Its like betting i guess you could say. Would you rather bet on something you are unsure of, or something you have complete 100% faith in? Obviously the thing that will guarantee a win!

¹Praise the Lord! He is good.
God’s love never fails.
²Praise the God of all gods.
God’s love never fails.
³Praise the Lord of lords.
God’s love never fails.

⁴Only God works great miracles.
God’s love never fails.
⁵With wisdom he made the sky.
God’s love never fails.
⁶The Lord stretched the earth
over the ocean.
God’s love never fails.
⁷He made the bright lights
in the sky.
God’s love never fails.
⁸He lets the sun rule each day.
God’s love never fails.
⁹He lets the moon and the stars
rule each night.
God’s love never fails.

¹⁰God struck down the first-born
in every Egyptian family.
God’s love never fails.
¹¹He rescued Israel from Egypt.
God’s love never fails.
¹²God used his great strength
and his powerful arm.
God’s love never fails.
¹³He split the Red Sea apart.
God’s love never fails.

¹⁴The Lord brought Israel safely
through the sea.
God’s love never fails.
¹⁵He destroyed the Egyptian king
and his army there.
God’s love never fails.
¹⁶The Lord led his people
through the desert.
God’s love never fails.

¹⁷Our God defeated mighty kings.
God’s love never fails.
¹⁸And he killed famous kings.
God’s love never fails.
¹⁹One of them was Sihon,
king of the Amorites.
God’s love never fails.
²⁰Another was King Og of Bashan.
God’s love never fails.
²¹God took away their land.
God’s love never fails.
²²He gave their land to Israel,
the people who serve him.
God’s love never fails.

²³God saw the trouble we were in.
God’s love never fails.
²⁴He rescued us from our enemies.
God’s love never fails.
²⁵He gives food to all who live.
God’s love never fails.

²⁶Praise God in heaven!
God’s love never fails.

Psalm 136

Who Gets The Credit?

Philippians 3:1-11
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Today, I got into an argument with my yearbook teacher (again...). I was collecting the hours I had put into the yearbook for the past two years, and thought it was reasonable to ask for 300. Some may think, "Woah, isn't that a bit too much?" Well, this year, we only had two individuals (including myself!) to design the yearbook, and I was also editor. Sometimes I would be up at 4AM just trying to meet deadlines, and spend evenings upon evenings at school. Although she may think I want credit or deserve these hours, I felt like I was being truthful about it and just collecting the work I had done. I do not get a free yearbook, nor a discount; I was a bit angry at not being able to collect the hours I rightfully worked for.


But to think about it, in the end, it is Christ who deserves the credit. No matter what clubs I join, what I do, it's all for Christ. Although people think I'm arguing with her because I deserve it, I know I don't. I don't deserve anything. Heck, if I do deserve something, it's death because I'm a sinner!


"What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ." [Philippians 3:8]


I shouldn't worry about yearbook, or my almost failing chemistry mark that I have; all this is rubbish as long as I know Christ, the one who created me, loved me and manifested me into this world. He's the one that gives me life and will ultimately take it away from me. Ten years down the road, who cares how many hours I got for yearbook! 


Is there something you always wanted credit for? Maybe it's something totally awesome and could have gotten you an award or something. But at the end of the day, we should lift up all things to God. Paul saw that and had to lay down everything he had in order for him to humble himself and give all the credit to God. 


"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." [Philippians 3:10-11]


That should be our goal -to obey God like Christ did to the point we would die for our faith and become martyrs for our relationship with Christ. We need to allow Christ to be the person who has bragging rights to our lives. Let us lift everything to God!

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We are nothing without Jesus, so give Him the credit.