Christian thanksgiving

About 100 years after Isaiah prophesied about the destruction of Israel and surrounding countries in Isaiah chapters 13~24, Israel/Judah was destroyed by Babylon. In the next 2 chapters of Isaiah, the prophet was already looking ahead to the Lord's redemption that would deliver His people from exile in Babylon and was proleptically praising Him. His was anticipating a future event that had not yet happened and in faith was able to praise the Lord. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). To the prophet, the future event taken in faith was as real as the present, because it was based on the Lord's promise.

Apostle Paul teaches us, "In every thing give thanks: For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (I Thessalonians 5:18). How is it possible for a Christian to be thankful in EVERY THING? Bad things happen to Christians just as much as to non-Christians, or perhaps even more. A Christian gets sick, sometimes of a seemingly incurable illness. A Christian gets into an accident, both small and large. A Christian encounters a family death. A Christian may be laid off from his work, or his business may go bankrupt. A natural disaster like a tornado, an earthquake, or a flood may hit a Christian as much as a non-Christian. Yet the commandment from the Lord is that we give thanks in everything.

We can give thanks even in the valley of the shadow of death, when we believe that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). When we confess that ALL THINGS work for our good, we must surely mean that both good and BAD things work for our good. Our faith must be that with our LORD in control, even a lay-off, even an illness, or even an accident will work for our good. That's why and how we are able to be thankful and praise the Lord in every thing.

In October 1946, there was a Communist uprising in the South Korean city of Yeosu. During the week-long rebellion, the Communists were in control of the city and executed many Christians in the name of the people.  Among those martyred were two sons of Rev. Yang Won Sohn (손양원 목사님); their crime was that in the high school and middle school they were respectively attending, they were never bashful about witnessing Jesus. They were accused and killed by one of their classmates. After the rebellion was put down, a funeral service was held for the two young men.  At the service, Rev. Sohn offered ten reasons why he was thankful:
    (1) that two martyrs came out of a family of sinners,
    (2) that, among all the saints, such treasures of saints were given to him as sons,
    (3) that of his 3 sons and 3 daughters, he was able to offer up his first son and second son to God,
    (4) that when it would have been precious to have one martyr as a son, he now had two sons as martyrs,
    (5) that when it would have been a blessing to die a natural death as a Christian, his two sons were shot to death while proclaiming Jesus as the Lord,
    (6) that his elder son, who was preparing to go to the US to study abroad, instead went up to Heaven, incomparably better than the US,
    (7) that God gave him the heart of love to forgive the executioner of his sons and adopt him as his own son,
    (8) that he believed that numerous people will come to the Lord on account of his two sons' martyrdom,
    (9) that the Lord Jesus Christ gave him the joy and faith to seek the above 8 truths and God's love even in a very difficult situation, and
    (10) that God blessed him beyond what he deserved.
With these notes of thanks, he also made an offering of thanks amounting to 125 times his monthly salary.  On the envelope of the offering, he simply wrote "In gratitude for the martyrdom of two sons. ₩10,000. Yang Won Sohn." Indeed, with Rev Sohn, nicknamed the atomic bomb of love, even the death of his two eldest sons worked together for his and their good. As he thankfully declared, he not only adopted the executioner of his sons, but also raised him to become a minister of God.

Lord, let me learn from Jesus and from His witnesses like Rev Sohn and praise and thank You in everything.  Even when seemingly bad things are happening to me, let me have the faith and trust in You to continually thank you in joy. Let me be able to anticipate Your ultimate victory and redemption for me and thank you proleptically.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

God's fireworks

Last July 4th, my wife Sarah and I went to New Albany High School football field to enjoy the nighttime fireworks. New Albany is a suburb of Columbus, created by Wexners of the Limited. We figured that the affluent town would put on a spectacular show, befitting the privileged status of the town. We had to park our car a few blocks away, because there were so many people and so many cars all out to enjoy the celebration. We walked into the field and manged to get good seats right behind the field fences. As the night deepened to the midnight, patriotic songs blasted out from the PA system of the field. Then a moment of silence was followed by the much-awaited show of fireworks. We were certainly not disappointed. A blast after another lit up the sky and decorated it with diverse patterns and colors. The show went on and on and must have lasted at least half an hour. Then the display climaxed to the final fanfare and it was as if the stars of the sky were all falling down onto the football field in celebration.

Then the thought hit me. If the independence of an earthly nation deserves such a celebration, if the affluence of a rich suburban town is able to afford such a display, how much and much more would it take to celebrate and praise the glory of God?... I had often wondered like a foolish child why God created such a vast universe, when a little planet called the Earth was all that was necessary to implant us human beings and carry out His salvation plan through His Son Jesus Christ. If the stars were made to "serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years" (Genesis 1:14), would it not have been sufficient to have perhaps just a few hundred of them? But in truth, there are billions upon billions of stars -- too many for us to even count.  Why so many? ... That night at the football field, my question changed from the homo-centric "Why so many?" to a more theo-centric "How appropriate is it to have such an endless display of God's majesty?" If New Albany deserves half an hour of fake stars falling out of the fireworks in the sky, why should God not get the eternal praise of all the real stars in the universe for ever and ever? Many, many stars, much brighter than the little star we know of as the Sun, are shining in all their brilliance, each competing to shine more brightly than the other in praise of God's glory. Their circuitry through the vastness of the universe is also creating waves of sounds to sing Hallelujah.

Indeed, LORD. YOU are worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! (Revelations 5:12)
     "The heavens declare the glory of God;
      the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
      Day after day they pour forth speech;
      night after night they display knowledge.
      There is no speech or language
      where their voice is not heard.
      Their voice goes out into all the earth,
      their words to the ends of the earth." (Psalm 19:1-4).

Lord, help me join the stars in singing Your glory and praise and honor for all the days of my life and for ever in heaven. In Jesus, Amen.

Message of Christmas

As a youngster, I grew up learning some of the songs written by my mom's oldest brother, who was an elder and an evangelist. One song he wrote for Christmas goes like this:

"크리스마스 축하하러 가는 길에
사랑하는 나의 친구 셋을 만나서
회개하고 예수 믿기 결심하니
기쁜 중에 더욱 기뻐 춤을 춥니다.

오늘 날은 우리 구주 나신 날,
기쁘고도 즐겁고도 참말 좋은 날,
얼씨구 좋구나, 참말 좋구나,
닐 닐 니일 닐 닐닐닐..."

which may be translated as:

"On my way to celebrate Christmas,
I met three of my dearest friends,
Who repented and decided to believe in Jesus,
Giving me joy upon joy and making me dance.

Today marks the birth of our Saviour,
Today is a day of joy, delight, pure bliss,
How joyful, how blessed is today,
Lal, lal, la-al, lal, lal, lal, lal ..."

I think the song captures the true meaning of Christmas really well, The main message of Christmas is as sung by the heavenly host on the First Noel:

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)

This good news of peace is referring to the peace that the believers get to enjoy with God -- peace that represents reconciliation between God and men, who are no longer separated from God because of their sin (Romans 5:1-11, Colossians 1:22). Jesus came to the world as a man, so that He can pay the price of sin and tear down the wall between God and His people. With His death, the curtain of the temple was torn in half from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), so that a new and living way was opened up for us to approach God (Hebrews 10:19-20).

Thus the true message of Christmas is our reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. With Christmas, the work of God, which is to believe in the One He sent (John 6:29), was begun.

Our job is to carry this message of peace and reconciliation to those who have not yet heard it. We are to be peace-makers.

Heavenly Joy

As was customary on Fridays, I went to the church to attend the youth group Friday evening Bible study. My class of senior high school girls had for the most part gone on a short-term mission trip to Peru and I was not sure if anybody would come. But I prepared for a Bible study and went to the church.

To my surprise, there was one student. It was a new girl, who had recently come over from Korea to study in the States. She did not speak English well, but was willing to study the Bible with me one-on-one. When we began the study, it became immediately obvious that she hadn't done this before. She did not know where the Gospel of John was in the Bible. She freely admitted that she did not know. I abandoned the original study plan and decided that we needed to talk about something more fundamental and more important to her.

We read from Psalm 19. We talked about how God has revealed Himself to man -- in His creation and in His Word. We talked about man's sin and alienation from God, about God's redemptive works through Jesus Christ, and how one can be saved by believing in Jesus. Then I asked her if she would be willing to ask God for forgiveness of her sins on account of Jesus. She said yes -- that was the most joyful sound I heard in a long time. We prayed together, with me giving her the words to say and her repeating after me. But it was her prayer of confessing her belief in the Lord Jesus and in her own redemption through Him. I am absolutely sure that God heard her prayer and has accepted her into His family. We then read John 3:16 and I Corinthians 15 and talked about eternal life and our hope of resurrection. She seemed to absorb all of that like a sponge and with childlike trust.

Though I have been a Christian all my life, I have not been diligent about sharing my faith with others. The last person I brought to Jesus was my deskmate in junior high. More than 35 years have passed since then, until today I had one more chance with someone who walked into the church on her own and, with no persuasion from me, was moved by the Holy Spirit to accept the Lord as her Redeemer.

Lord, all praises and honor are lifted up to you. You alone are holy and mighty. You love us so much and have done this great work of redeeming the girl. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Rejoice in the Lord Always

In the Old Testament days, there were festivals during which all Israelites were to present themselves before the Lord "at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His name" and rejoice (Deuteronomy 16:1-17) -- the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Now the Lord dwells within us as the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19) and we are commanded to "rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4). Rejoice always, not just at times of festivals.

It is important to note that this commandment to rejoice in the Lord always was written in Paul's epistle to the church at Philippi. In Acts 16, we read about Paul and Silas being imprisoned in Philippi by false accusations of the owners of a fortune-telling slave girl that Paul and Silas liberated from the evil spirits. While in prison, they prayed and SANG HYMNS to the Lord. An earthquake followed and the prison doors all opened up. When the jailer tried to commit suicide, he was stopped by Paul and Silas and was then introduced to the gospel, he and his household. Thus began the church at Philippi. The Macedonian church at Philippi suffered from "extreme poverty" and "the most severe trial", but with overflowing joy, they gave richly and generously to support Paul's mission (II Corinthians 8:1-5). In writing to this remarkable church, Paul was in prison again in Rome (Philippians 1:12-14). Writing in the direst situations to a church suffering greatly from a trial and poverty, Paul admonishes to "rejoice in the Lord always." In fact, the word "joy" or "rejoice" is mentioned no less than 13 times in the epistle. Likewise, the Thessalonian church received the gospel message with joy despite a severe suffering (I Thessalonians 1:6).

In fact, our Lord Jesus commanded us to rejoice in times of persecution and false accusation on account of His name (Matthew 5:11-12). Paul's message to the other churches was the same -- to rejoice in times of suffering (Romans 5:3, Colossians 1:24), as was the message of other apostles (James 1:2, I Peter 1:6, 4:13). We are to rejoice, even when we face hardships and trials.

This is possible, because our joy does not depend on the circumstances we find ourselves in. Our joy is from within. Our joy is a gift of the Holy Spirit (I Thessalonians 1:6), a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The joy given by the Holy Spirit dwelling in us is not like the joy of the world, which is transient and is here one time and then is gone the next. It is like a spring of water that wells up within us, so that whoever drinks it will never thirst (John 4:13-14), since the Holy Spirit is the living water that flows from within (John 7:37-39).

"I've got joy like a fountain.
I've got joy like a fountain.
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul, Hallelujah!

I've got joy like a fountain.
I've got joy like a fountain.
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul."

(youtube version in Korean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGt2X_1OQd0)

Song of ascents

Last Sunday, I came to the emergency room with a chest pain, which was a harbinger of a relatively massive heart attack. I had a STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) in the territory of the heart supplied by the left anterior descending artery. Even though my wife drove me to the hospital without a prior call to the hospital, there was a team of people who worked expeditiously as if they were waiting for me to come in. They placed stents in the artery to open up the blockage and a balloon pump to ease the work of my heart. Working through these good people, God saved me and extended my life.

For a while, I could not even sit up. I laid helplessly and could only entrust those around me. Even though I wanted to, I could not go to the church to worship and praise the Lord.

From Psalm 120 on, there are several psalms that are labeled as Songs of Ascents. Jerusalem is sitting on a mountain plateau and surrounded by valleys and (dry) river beds. So to go to the temple, one had to ascend or climb up. The songs of ascents are songs sung as one went up to the temple.

Having been in bed against my wishes and unable to ascend to the place of worship, I can appreciate all the more how precious the hour of worship is in the company of fellow believers. There is nothing more valuable than to know the Lord intimately and praise His holy Name.

My Father, my Lord.
You have given me a breath to sing your praises;
therefore, I will sing your mercy, grace, and salvation.
You have given me eyes to see and shed tears;
therefore, I will shed your tears of mercy and long to see you and the world from your perspective.
You have given me ears to hear;
therefore, I will hear the words of blessing and accept them with faith and obedience.
You have given me a mouth to speak;
therefore, I will use it to utter and actively share my faith, so that I may have a full understanding of every good thing I have in Christ (Philemon 1:6).
You have given me a mind to think;
therefore, I will seek to think your thoughts.
You have given me a heart, a new heart;
therefore, I want to feel your feelings and cry out to you, you who turn your ears to me (Psalm 116:2).
In Christ, you have made me a new creation. Let me now live a life as a new creation. Fill me with your presence. I want to be ever so intimate with you. Amen.

Open wide your mouth ... (Psalm 81:10)

Last night I attended what was (for me) an unusual Good Friday service. Certainly the message was about the death of Christ. On the cross, Jesus declared "It is finished (τετελεσται)" (John 19:30). Jesus accomplished all that is necessary not only for my salvation, but also for my freedom from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1). It is time for me to repent of my sins and live a life full of the Holy Spirit. The service was unusual in that it ended with the congregation praying individually, freely and audibly until each was satisfied with the grace from the Lord, without there being a set ending.

As I prayed in response to the message, my prayers were two-fold.

First, I prayed for forgiveness of my sins, as I recollected them -- the sins that I had not hitherto confessed. This was not to repent again of the same sins that I had previously confessed. For Jesus declared as He washed His disciples' feet, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean." (John 13:10). Then I went on to pray for the sins of my family, my town and city, my nation (USA), and my people (Koreans of North and South Korea).

Second, I prayed for my total transformation. I wanted to be after God's heart, pleasing Him, just as David was. I prayed that my eyes will be focused on the kingdom of heaven and, when looking at the world, be filled with God's tears; that Jesus' heart will be transplanted into me, so that I may feel the same way as He does; that whatever I see, hear, smell, think, and do may be in accordance with His will; that the Spirit of wisdom and revelation will fill me, so that I may know the hope of my calling, the riches of my inheritance, and the power that raised Jesus from death. I prayed to be filled with the character of the Holy Spirit, armed with the full armor of God, bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and empowered with the power of the Holy Spirit.

What is it to have God's tears in my eyes and feel the same way as Jesus? I remembered that in Romans 8:34, it is written that Jesus sitting at the right hand of God is interceding for us. The Spirit Himself also intercedes for us, with groans that words cannot express (Romans 8:26) If I am to feel the same way as Jesus, I should be grieving and praying for all the peoples and nations going down the path of destruction and damnation, without knowing the true Savior, Jesus Christ. In praying intercessory prayers, I wanted to embrace not only the city of Columbus, the state of Ohio, or the nation of the United States, but also the world and the people in it. I was opening my mouth wide, in the sense of Psalm 81:10.

Praise the Lord, for His mercy is endless and enduring.
Praise the Lord, for He has awakened me to pray in the morning.
Praise the Lord, for He reminds me to pray in the evening.
Praise the Lord, for He is not ashamed to call me His own and fill me with His Spirit of revelation and wisdom.
Praise the Lord, for He gives me a heart to grieve for the dying souls.
Praise the Lord, for He gives me a heart to offer up prayers of intercession.

Praise Him on earth! Praise Him in the highest! Amen.