"Thus the very hour of disillusionment with my brother becomes incomparably salutary, because it so thoroughly teaches me that neither of us can ever live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and Deed which really binds us together—the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ."

--Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Gospel according to Jesus

Every Christian knows what the gospel is: The good news that Jesus, son of God, came to die for our sins on the cross and resurrected so that He has conquered death and we may now enter into His life and be counted righteous. And of course, everyone has seen the bridge diagram:But is this all? Is the whole scope of the gospel simply about one's path into eternal life? Is there more? The gospel that we so commonly know it came after Jesus' death. After all, it is Jesus' sacrifice that made the bridge in the above diagram. But what did Jesus have to say about the gospel before He died? There's the gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but what about the gospel according to Jesus? What exactly was the good news that Jesus brought, while still alive on earth?

¹⁴ Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” - Mark 1:14-15

Whenever Jesus talked about the good news, He was clearly referring to the Kingdom of God. Most of Jesus' parables were about the Kingdom of God. So, it's clear that the gospel according to Jesus was the good news that the Kingdom of God has come.

What exactly is the Kingdom of God?
A kingdom is made up of a king and his subjects. So, the Kingdom of God is a kingdom where Jesus is the King and we are His subjects.
Jesus preached that the Kingdom of God has come already. He was calling people to come and join His kingdom by repenting and believing - in Him who is the King. To Jesus, spreading the gospel was spreading His kingdom by recruiting people to come and live in it.

So whats different about this Kingdom of God than any other earthly kingdoms? Why should one live in this new kingdom over others?
Earthly kingdoms are damaged by evil. There's corruption, murder, injustice, theft, broken relationships, disease, fear, hate, and many more symptoms of sin. We can attest, being in our world at this day and age, that things are not as they should be.
²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. - Romans 8:22
We long for a better world, to live in a place where pain and suffering do not exist. This place is the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is where Jesus rules with mercy, justice, grace, and love. There is no pain nor suffering, everyone lives with selfless love. Its subjects follow the ways of its King and the kingdom reflects the glory of God. This kingdom is how the world should be.

I guess what I want to say is that the gospel encompasses so much more than just personal salvation. Through Adam's sin, all of creation was cursed.
²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. - Romans 8:20-21
But through Christ, not only us, but all of creation is reconciled to God.
²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. - Colossians 1:20
So the gospel is not just good news for the individual, its good news for the world - that a perfect kingdom is here and now.

The next time we present the gospel, maybe we can do it a bit differently. Try the following diagram:
Designed for Good:
In the beginning, creation was designed for good. We had a perfect relationship with each other and with God (represented by the inner circle).
Damaged by Evil:
Then, through sin, creation was damaged by evil. The world is broken, our relationship with God is broken, and our relationship with each other is broken.
Restored for Better:
Then, Jesus came and died so that our relationship with God may be restored. By the cross, our relationship with each other and God is healed. This is where the bridge diagram can come in and add more detail. But it doesn't end here. After all, the world is still damaged.
Sent together to Heal:
Jesus calls us to go and spread His kingdom, to be fishers of men and come and live in His kingdom by following His ways thereby healing the world of the symptoms of sin. Of course, through all this, Christ is the center of our strength and power.
Notice:
We can't go from the second circle directly to the fourth. We will only fail if we try to heal the world by ourselves. We need to go through the third, which by Christ's power, we will be able to succeed in the fourth circle. The diagram is not so much man-centered (like the bridge diagram) than God-centered.


I came across all these ideas and the diagram from a book I recently read called "True Story A Christianity Worth Believing In" by James Choung

Love the Lord your God with all of your heart

I never really thought about that verse before:

Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your strength.

I always knew of that verse, and always knew that was the most important commandment and what not, but for some reason I never really considered applying that to my life. I mean, I think that I've believed in God for a long time, and I got baptized when I was 14 and all, but lately I've just been discovering how lacking my walk with God has been. I'm rediscovering verses and theology that I've always known, but have never taken seriously.

Seriously, do we really think about what it means to love the Lord your God with all our hearts, all of our souls, and all of our strengths?? That's something just revolutionary!

This Thanksgiving break has been something of a rediscovering God and rediscovering myself. It's like a mid-life crisis kind of thing, and I was just questioning where I would go from here. I was questioning my faith, and it was hard for me because I had some pretty intense feelings that just seemed too much to bear. It had me questioning the things that I thought I had learned, and I didn't understand the root of these feelings. Didn't I learn to put my hope in God? Wasn't God my strength? Then why do I feel like I'm in such despair?

Well, I learned two things so far. Faith isn't depending on whether I'm feeling like I have faith in God. And two, I learned that I do not in fact love God with all of my heart, and all of my soul, and all of my strength. There are so many things in my life that I put above God--that seem so much more real to God. I

thought about some of the things that I was holding onto. I would say that, since James Cha came into share with CBS, I think that I'm pretty ready to give up my own professional aspirations (but we'll see how true that is in the future). I'd always reasoned that I could glorify God wherever I was, so I might as well be a professor, but I realized after James Cha shared that I have to glorify God, not in whatever position I am, but in whatever place God calls me to be--whether that's being a professor or a missionary. I think I was pretty fine with that, but honestly, the scariest thing ever for me was, what if God calls me to be single for the rest of my life =o. Am I willing to offer up relationships to Him? Am I willing to love Him above my love for that? Ugh!

I think we all struggle with different things, but I think it just means that we each have to challenge ourselves to see if there is something that we value above God. We are called to love God with all of our heart, and all of our soul, and all of our strength. The ability to love God doesn't arise naturally from our own hearts--but are we ready to give up our idols to God in prayer? Are we ready to want God to be our first love? I personally think it's a scary thought, but I know that there is no other choice.

Hopefully I do get married someday, but by committing it to God, it means that God is more important to me than that. And if it doesn't end up happening, God will still satisfy.

I feel like I should have learned this lesson a while back.

Jesus being tempted

Matthew 4. I never thought this was a weird passage until today.

We always say things like "See, look at this passage. Jesus was tempted too". But this is such a weird way to be tempted. All three temptations come at once and in this sectioned out chapter right after His fast. Satan actually takes Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple before tempting Him--"the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple"... What does that even mean?--that the devil "took" Jesus somewhere. Why did Jesus even allow the devil to take Him somewhere? Also, verse 11, after the devil left Him, "angels came and ministered to Him". Angels came AFTER the temptation?? What? Where were they during the temptation?

And I guess for the longest time I couldn't figure out why turning stones into bread was wrong. Didn't Jesus multiply the fish and loaves of bread to feed the 5000? What's wrong with feeding himself? I mean, the fast is over. Just because man doesn't live on bread alone doesn't mean man has to go without bread.

Anyway, I have no idea why I never noticed how odd and mysterious/confusing this passage was. It's great though, to notice this. It shows just how many mysteries there are in the bible and how much we don't know. Will keep asking God to reveal these mysteries to me.

In the meantime, if any of you have ideas or things you've heard about this passage, please share!

North Korea Continued

A while back, there were a couple of people who shared a post on the Desiring God blog about a girl who was sharing her testimony and heart for North Korea. The blog post is here:

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/weeping-for-north-korea?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+DGBlog+(DG+Blog)

And recently, someone independently shared with me the video of her testimony, so I thought I probably ought to share it with everyone else

http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/11671

Psalm 85:10

Psalm 85:10

¹⁰Loving-kindness and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other:

"Jesus Christ, in the mystery of God's divine grace, was, as Wesley says, God "contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man," in the incarnation. The heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. Yet He clothed Himself in flesh and blood and crept into a woman's womb. How God became man I do not know, but less, less, less do I know HOW DID HE BECOME SIN?"

"Do we really explore the possibilities of God?
What's the most exciting thing in your life? Don't answer me, answer straight up to God. Tell Him what is the most exciting thing.
That you become more knowledgeable, make more money, become more fit?
What is the most exciting thing to you?
Is it that day by day you slip in to Him and worship and adore Him?"

Leonard Ravenhill

Do you know Jaeson Ma?

Do you know who Jaeson Ma is? I first heard of him through one of his songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73kZ6wBoqTk

And then I listened to his testimony here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfFOrf1WiUI&feature=related

Do you ever wonder how the people we listen to got saved? God changes our lives and transforms them. I may not have been a drug dealer before, but God changed my life too. And so, with this thought, I wonder what kind of story people like John Piper or Chris Tomlin have

Prayer Answered by Crosses By John Newton

I asked the Lord that I might grow 
 In faith and love and every grace, 
 Might more of his salvation know, 
 And seek more earnestly his face.

‘Twas he who taught me thus to pray; 
 And he, I trust, has answered prayer; 
 But it has been in such a way 
 As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that, in some favoured hour, 
 At once he’d answer my request, 
 And by his love’s constraining power 
 Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, he made me feel 
 The hidden evils of my heart, 
 And let the angry powers of hell 
 Assault my soul in every part.

Yea, more, with his own hand he seemed Intent to aggravate my woe, 
 Crossed all the fair designs I schemed, 
 Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

Lord, why is this? I trembling cried; 
 Wilt thou pursue this worm to death? 
 This is the way, the Lord replied I answer prayer for grace and faith.

These inward trials I now employ 
 From self and pride to set thee free, And break thy schemes of earthly joy, 
 That thou may’st seek thy all in me.

Meaninglessness

“Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain. Meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure. When you have exhausted that last dream and you find it leaves you barren or empty”

G.K. Chesterton

Proverbs 13:12

12Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Colossians 1

²⁷to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory

Matthew 25

Parable of the Talents

¹⁴"For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.

¹⁵"To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.

¹⁶"Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.

¹⁷"In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.

¹⁸"But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

¹⁹"Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.

²⁰"The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.'

²¹"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

So, this parable is pretty familiar, and I was just thinking about it the other day. At a recent conference, I was just challenged to find something new about Christ, instead of being complacent with the stuff that I already knew, and so I tried to think about this parable, and see if I could see anything I hadn't seen before. Because, sometimes, when I think I understand something, I just stop thinking about it at all.

One thing that I saw in this parable, that I didn't really notice before, was just that the servants maximum yield was only as much as the master gave them. For example, the first servant got 5 talents, and he used them to earn 5 talents, and same with the 2 talented one.

Like I shared previously, I've always been a very competitive person, and where I get really competitive is in the area of Christianity. For a good while, I think I tried to get ahead in this "race" because I wanted to be first and win the prize. I justified myself through verses like

1 Corinthians 9

²⁴Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

And so whenever I saw a trait or quality in someone that I really liked, I would try to imitate that trait. If I saw generosity, I would want to be generous. If I saw leadership and boldness, I would want to do that too. A couple problems with that is--I'm still a sinner, so can't become what I saw as the "ultimate" Christian--and the essential motivation that I had was to basically collect as many gifts that I could and feel good about myself. But this isn't the main point...

The main point was, God gives us everything that we have, and the best that we can do is be faithful to that. What I kind of wanted was, if God had given me 1 talent, to run so hard and earn 10 talents. But then, what I would have earned at that point would be something that I had done with my own hand, and it would have given the glory to me. But, the truth is that the best that we can do (and it's a good best) is fulfill God's will for us. Looking at it now, it's not like we can surpass what God's will is for our lives--because it wouldn't be surpassing at that point, it would be degrading it because there would be the "self" mixed in.

Basically, the whole point of it is

What can I give to the Lord that I have not received from the Lord?

"His commands are His enablings" said by someone I forget