Hanmee Youth Ministry Winter Retreat '08: SHINE

SHINE.

1 John 1: 5-7

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

I am so thankful for this retreat. I will write down thoughts later because... I'm dead tired. Good night : )

바다여행

바다여행 - 이선균

아주 머언 어느 날 이 햇살은 아름다운
너에게로 떠났던 내 여행을 기억해줘

아주 머언 바닷가 저 하늘가 어딘가에
너와 나의 소중한 추억들을 간직해줘

눈부시게 푸르른 너는 내게 바다인걸
손 내밀면 하얗게 부서지던 너의 꿈들..

여행을 떠나려 해 아주 깊은 바다여행
부드런 은빛 물결 몸을 싣고 너에게로

눈부시게 푸르른 너는 내게 바다인걸
손 내밀면 하얗게 부서지던 너의 미소

너도 알아 내가 넌 아주 많이 사랑하는

포근하게 감싸줘..
나에게...

doubt

I've been meaning to type this up from a while back but just never got to it. Another one of Pastor Frank Mesina's blessing sermons.

Servants 12/02/08 Re*flect
Pastor Frank Mesina

Passage, Numbers 13-14
In a college campus how can we not just survive but thrive as Christians?

Doubt: lack of confidence that God will keep our promises.

God promises us three main things.
- Promises to provide our needs
- Promises to protect
- Promises well being.

However, despite these promises, we tend to limit God to our abilities.
Oh, God can't possibly do this, possibly do that.

1. God places regular tests of faith to his children.

Israelites: they had no faith to do what the Lord told them to do. They doubted, they didn't trust. All they needed to go up and take possession of the land. It was there, and God had promised it to them. Yet because of their fears and doubts, they did not see the chance and opportunity. Because of their foolish doubts, God gave them two chances. He sent people up to the city to spy on the land and what it held. Even as they heard the description of the land and what God had prepared for them, they did not believe. This was their test. What is yours?

A lifetime of doubt = lifetime in the desert. In order to see our perspective and our faith, He gives us regular tests. When difficulties come, we see what we are made of.

2. The circumstances of your life will shrink or strengthen your faith.
Through fire, things are refined and made pure.
Crisis in Chinese are the characters danger and opportunity put together

Danger/dangerous - 危险 (wēi xiǎn )
Opportunity/chance - 机会 (jī huì )

Take the first character of Danger and the first character of Opportunity and you get:

Crisis - 危机 (wēi jī)

In a Crisis, there is both Danger and Opportunity. It is up to us which side we see.
Spiritual growth does not occur through Bible study, sermons, or even Quiet Times. It happens through crisis. He refines our faith through circumstances, so by avoiding trials, you do yourself harm. God finishes His work in you through these things - then you will be matured and be able to progress. Having faith is not about having blinders on. It is about seeing the world through all perspectives. 12 people in the passage went to see the same thing, the land that God had prepared for them. They all came back with different accounts. God was interested in their perspective. Some saw giants, some saw the milk and honey. Do you want miracles in your life? Then Don't avoid trials. The choice is up to you.

3. Doubt sees obstacles. Faith sees opportunities.

There was a situation where there were two rooms.

One room was full of toys, all unwrapped . A little boy was placed in the room and he happily played with the newfound toys. However, after a while, the boy stopped playing with them and seemed upset. When asked, why are you upset? He answered, “These toys aren’t mine. I won’t be able to take them home with me later. I’ll have to leave them here when I go home.”

In the next room, there was a little girl, and the room was filled with horse manure. Skipping around the room, she shouted, “Pony, pony, there MUST be a pony!”

The little girl was an opportunist, the little boy could see no further than his own unhappiness. Like the little boy, the Israelites could not see past the walls, into the land of flowing milk and honey, even when Caleb steps up and speaks through faith. “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” However, one of the men who went up with him says, “We can’t attack those people, they are stronger than we are.” Even with God’s promises and miracles they had seen, they lacked in faith and only complained to the lord.

What do you blame your problems on? What do you whine and complain about? Are you afraid? Do you have anxiety? Do you have anger? Do you take things into your own hands? Why do people pull back? They have doubts. “Maybe God won’t answer my doubts”

People of faith are those who see opportunities. 10% is what happens to you. 90% is how you respond to it. Faith is a pattern of thinking. Doubt is too. When surrounded by doubters, doubting comes easy.

They could easily have been jumping and rejoicing as they had been doubting. Is it any surprise that faith isn’t there?

When we do things that cause doubt, it can only affect us negatively. Friends, TV, music. Do you have a friend who can speak the truth to you? Are you a friend like that to others?

“If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken and plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt? We should choose a leader and go back.”

Fall by the sword? What? Whoever said so? God only promised them good things. They wish to go back? Who will provide the manna? Who will bring them back? Go back to Egypt where they suffered when they have the flowing milk and honey right in front of their eyes? Unbelievable.

We worry about things that never happened. You’ve got no time to doubt. Are you a doubting person?

focus

최선을 다하자.

recollection

The smell and taste of things bears unfaltering, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.

- Marcel Proust

친구야

내가 좋은 친구가 되고싶은데, 어떻해 해야할지 모르겠어
내가 너를 기쁘게 하고싶은데, 네가 무었을 원하는지 모르겠어
네 마음을 너무나 이해하고 싶은데, 그렇게 하지 못하는 내가 미워
친구로서 많이 걱정이 되고, 신경쓰이고, 원망할때도 있어
가끔씩 이런게 짐이 될때도 있지만, 우리 우정은 변치 말자
무슨 일이 닥치더라도, 서로 이해해 주려고 노력하자
꺼려하지 말고, 마음속에 있는걸 다 털어내자
너도 그렇고, 나도 그렇고, 서로 곁에 있어주고, 마음을 열어주고, 고민 들어주고, 위로해주고
이런게 내가 친구로서 해줄수있는 일이야
너무나도 부족하지만, 네게 힘이 됐으면 좋겠어.
친구야, 내 마음 이해하지?

Peppermint Gum

Greatest Analogy of all. SURGE has some great brains :D

Romans 1:16-17

16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

Juhae shared a quote with us: "A pepper outwardly seems cold to the senses, but the person who crunches it between his teeth experiences the sensation of burning fire. In the same way, he goes on, the gospel can appear at first like an interesting theory of philosophy. But if we take it in personally, we find it full of power."

Juhae: It's also like liquid burst gum where as you chew it, bursts of flavor come out.

Alvin: God provides the pepper or the gum. It is our choice whether to crunch/chew it.

Thus, we put all these together to come up with the peppermint gum!.

God provides us with a pack of peppermint gum and it is our choice to take it and chew it. He will reveal his power through the burning, minty sensation and the bursts of flavor, and by chewing the gum, we are living by faith. Also, it is our responsibility to hand out the other pieces of gum to others. When it comes to telling others about the gospel, we can attract them by

1. fresh minty smell
person 1: ooo that smells really nice. what is it?
you: the power of God working in my life. *hands over a stick of Gum* want to try some?

2. impressing them by blowing huge bubbles
you: *blows a HUGE bubble*
person 2: WHOA. What in the world was that? how'd you do that?
you: by the power of God. You can do it too *hands over Gum*

3. sticking gum on the chair they're about to sit in
you: *sticks gum*
person 3: *sits on it* What is this?!?!
you: the gospel. the power of God makes it really strong. I don't think you can un-stick it from your pants tho. sorry. But wanna try some? *hands over Gum*

Of course, this is so much meaning packed in a nutshell (or a pack of gum), but I think it's a great analogy. I love my small group.

SNOW

First snow!.
At church (friday service), the orchestra had a Fall Concert, and it was beautiful.
Of course nothing was exactly perfect, but it was just so wonderful to see a group of students passionate for music playing together.
I was amazed by some of the performances: violin solo, cello solo, violin-cello-piano trio, clarinet solo.
but most of all, Christine's piano solo piece. I always knew she was really talented, but this was my first time actually seeing her play solo. I experienced so many emotions listening to her piece: peace, happiness, sadness, grief, joy, relief, anger, rage, fear. She expressed what she wanted to and made sure the listener felt it too. It was just mind blowing, seeing her play like that. What a wonderful God given talent. She played with such grace and elegance that you couldn't help but be mesmerized by the song. Thank you Lord for such wonderful friend who can glorify your name through her talents.

Cheesecake Factory

So for SURGE fellowship night, we decided to dress up and go to Cheesecake Factory. It was awesome. I love my small group. I can really feel a sense of community, love, and friendship in our group. I can't express how thankful I am for that. All my life, I have never really though of myself as a member of a community. I never had a group of friends who shared my faith and was really close to me. Of course, I had very close friends, but I needed a good Christian community. One where I could be open about my faith, one where I could grow, one where I could share my struggles and problems. I believe God has provided me with that through Servants and it's a wonderful feeling.

Some fun parts of the night:

Anthony came and took pictures of us all dressed up. I can't wait to see the pictures.

We waited like.. 25 minutes for the bus to come.. T_T

The weather was WONDERFUL

Our waitress had amazing memory. We had about 18 people and she memorized all of our orders, drinks and meals.

The food was really good :)

They prepared a little something for me and Eunice because it was our birthday. I felt special :D haha

Joe tried to cake me with the little whipcream/fudge thing they gave me b/c it was my birthday. I would've killed him if he actually did.

JJ stole my coat and wore it. He looked like a pink marshmallow. I guess that's what I look like when I wear it. haha.

It took like.. 30 min to figure out the check. Where are you math majors???

We had to walk so much.. by the time we got to halsted, I was dying. I told Joe, "You should carry me to JST." of course I was joking. But then the bus didn't come so we just ended up walking back so Joe offered to give me a piggy back ride. I refused cuz that would be awkward.. haha

People were shouting OBAMA!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!! all over the streets and they honked at us because... i think they thought we went to the rally or something. we were in a pretty large group.

all in all, it was an awesome night filled with memories to cherish.

birthday

It's my 18th birthday today! haha I'm finally legal. I am an adult!
honestly, I don't feel much different... but at least i won't be called a young'un anymore : D
Lord, I thank you for this day 18 years ago when I was born into this earth. Unfold your plans in my life, and may it be pleasing to you.

p.s. happy birthday to yoona lee (i think she's turning 8) and peter lee (19) :)

concentrate

need to focus. I keep losing sight of my goal. why? too many things on my mind.

I need silence. solitude. reflection.

gathering my thoughts

wow. today was one crazy day. I seriously need to slow down and reflect on myself, my values, my priorities, and what my calling is. I have been so distracted by my own thoughts, that I think I've been blocking out God's voice. There is so much static between me and Him. Not only my own voice, but my parent's voices, schoolwork, internet, music, friends... just everything in my life. I wish I could go on a mountaintop where I can hear His voice clearly. No static. No distractions. Just God calling and speaking to me.

"The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' Then Samuel said, 'Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.'" 1 Samuel 3:10.

Here I am Lord. Speak, for your servant is listening.

Re: Dear my friend,

You know i'm always here for you. :) We've each had our share of feeling completely alone in the world, but now it doesn't have to be so. I believe God has brought us together to grow in each other, to encourage one another. I'm sincerely thankful that I was given the chance to meet you, get to know you, and open up to you. Let's continue our spiritual walk in the Lord and put our full trust in Him, in what he has in store for us. Even if the road is rocky and even if there are obstacles we need to jump over, we can endure through it together and in the Lord. I love ya! : D

from,
your friend

laughter

of the day.

joe: so you know how when you eat meat you wrap it around with mulchi (멸치)?
us: uhh... what?
joe: you know that thing you always eat meat with? the green thing that looks like this (makes hand motions)
us: ... that's not mulchi.
joe: OH I mean.. kkaetnip (깻잎) I always get those two confused.
us: *laughing really hard* how do you get mulchi and kkaetnip mixed up???
joe: it makes sense in my world. :)

thank you joe for the laugh of the day :D
we had a good time.

conflicts

I hate conflicts.
God, please show me the right way.
Am I really walking with you? or am I straying away?
Am I really trusting you? or are my doubts blocking the way?
Will you answer my prayers? or am I just blind to what you have to offer me?
Lord, free my hands and make them clean.

cars

why are drivers so eager to run over people...
I almost got hit by a car twice today
I glared at both the drivers...
i mean.. there are traffic lights FOR A REASON.
take your turn. geez.

sunset

Sunsets are so beautiful.
It was our second sunset together :)

Food

I love food too much. especially korean food. mmmmm

please

show me Your way.

class night

tonight was class night. All the freshmen got together and had a time of prayer, praise, and games. I felt really blessed to be a part of Servants, a part of God's plan, and just.. a part of the freshmen group. I hope I will get more chances to know people better.

memories

둘리, 피구왕 통키, 천사소녀 네티, 꾸러기 수비대, 달려라 하니, 세일러문, 빨간머리 앤, 프란더스 개, 요술공주 밍키, 독수리 5형제, 은비 까비의 옛날옛, 날아라 슈퍼보드, 마징가 제트, 드레곤볼 Z, 꼬마 자동차 붕붕, 빨간 망토 차차, 축구왕 슛돌이, 돌고래 요정 티코, 모래 요정 바람돌이, 엄마 찾아 삼만리....

Ine and I spent a while talking about our favorite korean shows that we watched when we were younger... wow.
memories coming back to me... singing along to the opening songs...
good times good times.
그때로 돌아가고 싶다... 추억의 만화들을 다시볼수있게. ㅎ
If you know these. You are awesome :)

Fall

The leaves are changing colors.
Fall is here.

I asked God

I asked God to take away my pain.
God said, No.
It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, No.
Her spirit was whole, her body was only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No.
Patience is a by-product of tribulations, it isn't granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, No.
I give you blessings, Happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, No.
Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, No.
You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, No.
I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.

I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as he loves me.
God said... Ahhhh, finally you have the idea!

-author unknown

하나님

제 간절한 목소리가 들이시나요
제 뜨거운 눈물이 보이시나요
제 심장뛰는게 느껴지시나요
제 마음을 아시나요
저를, 보잘것 없는 저를,
사랑하시나요

왜 저를 선택하셨나요
너무나도 약하고
잘하는게 하나도 없는 저를
사랑하는 방법도 모르고
사랑받기만하는 저를
너무나도 잘 잊고
한없이 죄를짓는 저를

이 삶에 잔인하고도 또 잔인한 전쟁에서
하나님 없인 안된다는걸
유혹이 너무나도 많은 이 넒은 세상에서
하나님 없인 안된다는걸
내 혼자서의 힘으로는 도저히, 턱없이 부족하다는걸
깨닫게 해주셔서
진심으로, 마음 깊이,
감사합니다

저 산이 하늘에 닿을만큼 높아도
저 바다가 세상 끝까지 갈만큼 넗어도
하나님 사랑 만큼 못하리

You're Everything

David Crowder Band From the Album Can You Hear Us?

You’re everything
I could want
That I could need
If I could see
You want me
Could I believe
‘Cause You’re perfectly
All I want
And all I need
If I could just feel Your touch
Could I be free

Why do You shine so?
Can a blind man see?
Why do you call?
Why do You beckon me?
Can the deaf hear
The voice of love?
Would You have me come?
Can the cripple run?
Are You the one?

To raise me up from this grave
Lyrics
Touch my tongue and then I’ll sing
Heal my limbs then joyfully I’ll run to You

You’re everything
I could want
That I could need
And I can just
Feel Your touch
And I can’t breathe

Look how You shine so
The blind can see
And how you call
How You beckon me
The deaf hear
The voice of love
You bid me come
And the cripple run
You’re the one

‘Cause You’re everything

And I’m alive and I’ll sing
And I’m alive and I’m free…

family photos

Another night filled with fun. we talked about our dream girl/guy... haha I guess we shouldn't be together when we really want to study :) This post is mostly pics cuz I'm too lazy to write anything more.

Thank You

Servants Re*Flect (Wednesday, October 1st, 2008)
Speaker: Pastor Frank Mesina
Passage: Isaiah 43: 1-4

Introduction:
'Grip by Greatness of God': book recommendation

Col 2: 5-16 discusses who we are and how we need to redefine ourselves. We need a change in perspective and we need perspective.

*story of homeless man and old lady

A homeless man knocked on the door of an old lady's house and said, "If there is anything I can do for you, I will do it and you can award me accordingly." The lady wanted him to paint the porch and after he finished, he said. "I don't mean to be rude, but your porch isn't a porch. It's a jaguar."

'paint porch & reward' -> porch (2 definitions, balcony and car)

Here is a huge gap between perspectives in reality; it can be a matter of a life and death situation. It is only after we seek God that can we have true perspective in understanding God.

God loves you and I because He chose us: He is not impressed by you, we do not need to prove ourselves. Although we'd like for God to love us for who we are (we often try to impress God with our performances/grades/actions, but in the end, God doesn't love us for who we are: God loves us because of who He is) "If I'm faithful, perfect, maybe God will choose me." We are unlovable according the Gospel and it is the truth. (At this point in the sermon, we turned to each other and said 'you are unlovable')

We tend to psych ourselves up with energy before a sermon or a test. It is because we try to make ourselves worthy by proving ourselves. Whether it be getting a 4.0 GPA, winning first place, or just doing well on something, we always want to do well so that we won't feel rejected. However, as Christians, it is not building ourselves up based on perfection or performance, because that causes us to be a bottomless pit and have the deepest longing for something. This happens when we are finding our identity by focusing on the fruits and not the roots. We have a place in our hearts that is for God and ONLY God can fill it.

I'm not who I say I am, what my friends/family says I am, or what the mirror reflects back at me. I am who God says I am. He is always right. If we are affected by how we think of ourselves or how others think of us, we've lost perspective along the way. Only God can say, "You are mine" to us. Not even our parents, our friends, our loved ones. "I've called you mine, You are mine among the few that have been chosen."

When someone is adopted today, the legal bond is so tight that his/her parents cannot disown him/her. Our relationship with God is similar; He has adopted us as his sons and daughters. If adoption in our world makes relationships that strong, think of how much greater what God has prepared for us is. When we believe that we are chosen, our fears will be blown away.

(v.1) opposite of fear = faith / you are who you are in God

(v.2) God is here with us. He is not watching us from a distance but He is right here, every moment.

General to specific: God is present – water -> river, fire -> flame

(v. 3,4) "substitutionary atonement"

*story of committed Muslim @ work. In their religion, Allah does not forgive you if you do not forgive someone who has done wrong to you or offended you. This is NOT substitutionary atonement.

Because of God's love He allows a substitute for us - Christ chose to do this because of v.4. Verse 4 shows God's love for us and 'forever' is in present tense. None of your failures/sins matter. However, just because we are valued by God doesn't mean that we are valuable. We are NOT valuable. God values us = you/we are not valuable in ourselves.

The change in perspective is a small change, but the difference that it makes is gimongous. I am God's beloved and He is never going away. It all starts with a new perspective. Because of God's patience, kindness, love, forgiveness, and because He is who He is, we are chosen by him.

John 1: 3-1 how deep the father's love for us is.

There should be no self condemnation. We cannot focus on how messed up we are but the fact that we are chosen by God.

Reflection:

This sermon made me reflect on myself and I felt like every word that Pastor Frank spoke applied to my life. I had been bitter about the world just before large group today. “How much more do I have to work to prove myself? When will my parents trust me enough to do well on my own? Why do I keep disappointing myself? Why am I so unworthy? Why is it that I feel emptiness inside me so much? Does God really love me? If so, why am I not able to feel it?” I did the exact opposite of what I should have been doing.

During Pastor Frank’s sermon, his words hit me at the center of my hardened heart. With every Truth, with every word, the outer layer of my heart began to slowly chip away. I agreed in my head to everything he was saying. God was speaking directly to me; the sermon couldn’t have been more fit for me. However, the final hit wasn’t until after the sermon was done, when we were praying. I was suddenly overwhelmed with the Truth as it all began to register in my head and in my heart. How wrong I was to ponder those questions. How foolish I was to ever doubt the love of God. In that moment, I realized that I need to change my perspective, and the moment I did, I felt God’s love. It was nothing like what I felt before. The truth pierced my heart and at the same time, it was filled with God’s love. I started crying. Why? I don’t know. Tears just cascaded down my cheeks, and a mixture of thoughts and emotions flooded my head. I started praying, apologizing to God, asking for forgiveness, and all the while I was doing it, I heard God saying, “It’s okay. It’s okay. You are mine and that will never change.” I heard it, I felt it, I believed it with all my heart.

As we sang the last song, I felt like it just copied my heart exactly.

Why Have You Chosen Me

Why have You chosen me out of millions Your child to be
You know all the wrongs that I have done
Oh how could You pardon me, forgive my iniquities
To save me give Jesus Your son


But Lord help me be what You want me to be
Your word I will strive to obey
My life I now give, for You I will live
And walk by Your side all the way


I am amazed to know that a God so great could love me so
Is willing and wanting to bless
His love is so wonderful, His mercy so bountiful
I can't understand it I confess

God, thank you for piercing my heart and opening up my eyes to the Truth. I was desperately in need of a reminder.

Family Bonding Time!

a great way to spend the last day of september... family bonding!
I love my lovely daughter ine, cute son t-bear, adorable dog pete. A night filled with unproductiveness and cuteness and laughter and eating and... FUN! attempts to study, failing miserably, my daughter eating cheerios/cake/apple pie/granola bars/sunflower seeds like it's the end of the world, t-bear showing off his oh-so-handsome looks when he's golfing, pete the talking dog flashing his hind paws in my daughter's face. loveable family. being delirious. my daughter insisting that she's awake even though she's not. my whole family having driver's licenses except for me... the mom... even my dog has one. cheerios for eyes and ine being cyclops. singing along to random songs... t-bear proclaiming his love to mariah carey, alicia keys, jason mraz, andy mckee. Ine falling in love with a ten year old. Pete showing us pictures of his gf. b-ry making alien faces. ine repeating 'you are so cute' to her younger bro. t-bear falling in love with an orange. me drawing a perfect replica of t-bear on the orange. peter laughing so hard everytime he sees the orange. us comparing the orange and b-ry and laughing again. taking videos of us being weird. t-bear is a fake domo monster, pete is a balloon, ine is a O.O face, i'm a pencil. pete talking to random people online and making ine awkward. ine sharing her dream guy with us. me taking notes on my daughter's dream guy. needs to have eyebrows, nostrils, needs to appreciate art, sort of athletic, studies hard enough, is funny, glasses. pete insisting it's b-ry. but that would be incest. busan satoori. bap mooguhra. singing along to praise songs. b-ry making weird hand motions and country singer voice. pete trying to study physics but failing. falling asleep. waking up. falling asleep. ine only wakes up when I talk to her in Korean. peter drawing on ine's foot.










laughter

happiness

moments to capture

I love my family :)

As social documents, Riis's photographs have the effect, through valuing their human centers, of denying any picturesque quality to the squalor in which they are set. Dimensions are accurately captured, light or the lack thereof is noted, debris appears as itself. The human does not adorn or ennoble this setting, he or she appears superimposed on it, as in a montage of grotesquely juxtaposed elements. The vibrant faces look all wrong against the dirt. The mismatch cries out for rectification.

- picture taken by Jacob Riis, excerpt from Low Life, by Luc Sante

Patience

What makes people dishonest? We lie out of fear. We exaggerate to make people think better of us. What do we fear? losing approval, losing trust, tainting our image... we modify ourselves and we try to make ourselves look better. How can we become honest people? When we understand that we are secure and loved, just for who we are, we will stop lying. Everyone is fallible, but God doesn't treat us based on what we do.

Passage: Matthew 18:21-35

The NEED for Patience.

In the passage, the servant owes the King 10,000 talents which is the equivalent of around 300,000 dollars. However, the King takes pity on him and cancels the debt and lets him go. The original word of Patient is "makrothumeo" makro: long thumeo: tempered. longtempered. The servant asked the King to be longtempered with him, and the King did. "power to bear an offense or an injury without meltdown."

When we are offended, it is hard not to retaliate. We automatically count the differences between us and the other person. "I am so much better than that other person." "I would never do what that person did." "What makes he/she think that she can treat me like that? I am above him/her." We make that person 1-dimensional. All we think of is the bad quality of the other person. That person is bad. That person is a betrayer. That person is a liar. We need to highlight not the differences but the commonalities. We also make mistakes. We are all human. We all sin.

Our anger, hurt, and fear are like weeds in a field. If we just take a lawnmower and cut off the top so that no one notices the weeds, it'll grow back. Unless we pull the weeds out from the roots, there will be constant anger and hatred in our hearts.

We are told by God that we need to be patient. We need to be 'long tempered' when someone offends us. We cannot hit back, talk back, or do anything else to retaliate. It hurts. It tortures us to keep it in. It may be so hard that it'll take over our life so that getting revenge is all that we think about. It is impossible to handle it on our own and that is why we need to trust in God because we cannot handle it alone.

- servants connect. notes from sermon given by pastor reggie.

From Mean Streets to Dream Streets

On the bus there were old people and young mothers and teenagers coming in late to school. Most of them were black people. Dark-skinned with generous features. Women with eyes so deep that most men can never know them. Women who'd lost too much to be silly or kind. And there were the children... with futures so bleak that it could make you cry just to hear them laugh. Because behind the music of their laughing you knew there was the rattle of chains.



From Mean Streets to Dream Streets, Woody Haut.

never say goodbye...

I've created a blog...


"Faith is a gift that grows when you practice it"

let's keep each other accountable.