2004-03-31 John 13
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
-- John 13:34-34
It is made clear hear that the act of loving each other is a testimony to others, possibly non-believers, of our faith and our belief. By loving brothers and sisters, we are following Christ's examples and are therefore his disciples. Christians are those who follow Christ. We must live up to what we have been entitled, for this is a responsibility: to be an ambassador of this gospel. Live a life worthy of the calling we have received.
2004-03-30 John 12
Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
-- John 12:42-43
Do we let our soulish desires stand in the way of confessing the Lord? This is a simple reminder that we need to sacrifice everything, including prestige, relationships, and friendships, if they conflict with our belief.
2004-03-29 John 11
Jesus said unto her [Martha], I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
-- John 11:25-26
Our Lord Jesus himself is the resurrection. He is the life living in us. We must believe wholeheartedly, and then we shall never die spiritually. May we live according to his plan and manifest his life in us.
2004-03-28 John 10
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. [. . .] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
-- John 10:4-5,27-28
This is a very simple message, yet very difficult. We, as the Lord's sheep, must know his voice, or else we are not his sheep. We must listen, and follow. He knows us, do we know him? The shepherd has made us his, no one will seperate us from him. Do we walk as one who is his? Let us listen and obey.
2004-03-27 On Bible Marathon
On Bible Marathon
2004-03-26 1 John 2
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
-- 1 John 2:3-5
Following his commands is an act of obedience. This obedience is the result of his love. If we have this obedience, we must have his love. For if we have his love not, we obey not. The act of obedience is, therefore, a testimony of his love, and we know that we know him through this. We must come and taste his love, then we will be able to naturally follow his guidance with obedience. We must understand the order of these things, to live this Christian life.
2004-03-25 On hiatus
On hiatus
2004-03-24 John 6
Labour not for the meat which perisheth , but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the father sealed. [. . .] For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. [. . .] I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. [. . .] I am that bread of life.
-- John 6:27,33,35b,48
In the passage from verse 26 to 58, inclusive, Jesus speaks a lot of words. Almost all the main points has been repeated two or three times. At first when I read this, I thought to myself, how redundant. I remembered, however, a ``rule'' saying if God said something thrice, it must be important. The converse does not hold. This has nothing to do with the importance of things God has not spoken of thrice. The original statement, however, might have some truth to it. In our textbooks, we often see boxes saying ``caution,'' ``important,'' ``common mistakes,'' et cetera. Jesus was, however, not writing a textbook. He was speaking to the crowds. A literary device for effective speaking includes the repeating of major points. I think the more a point is repeated, it possibly correlates to the burden on the Lord's heart at that moment of speech. That was a small tangent. Now to the main point. We talked about the water a few days back. The Lord is also the bread. The bread of life, the only bread we can eat of and be ever satisfied unto eternity. The bread that brings us to eternity. We must eat of him and maintain a fellowship with him. We dwell in him, and he in us. This bond is partially created by us eating of him. We must never think we have enough, we need more of him to be in us. Less of us, more of him. He is the bread of life, if we have more of him, we have more life. Then we will be able to live a life that pleases the Lord.
2004-03-23 John 5
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
-- John 5:39
Jesus was talking about the need of more than one witness. The work he is doing is a witness; God the Father is another. Scripture evidently is the third. People think from the scriptures and the laws and commandments, one may receive eternal life. Not so, yet they all point directly to Christ. Therefore, if we believe in the scriptures, we ought to believe him. It is sad that we sometimes do not read the scripture enough to realize how the scripture is aligned with Christ. This alignment might illuminate our understanding of the completeness of God.
2004-03-22 John 4
But whosoever drinketh of water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. [. . .] But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
-- John 4:14,23-24
We must learn to drink from his source, not from our own endeavors. Trust in him and take it from him. What else should we do? When we worship, it must be in spirit and truth. Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman, the place of worship does not matter, but the heart of worship. Do we worship with our hearts? Or do we simply go to a place and worship with our lips? We of course sing and pray and praise with our lips, but the content must originate from the heart, inside the spirit. The spirit is the only channel to properly worship God, who is a Spirit.
2004-03-21 John 3
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent hot his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
-- John 3:16-20
John 3:16 is arguably the most memorized verse, how can I not quote it? The following verses, however, ties directly into the line of thoughts John is having. We should already have realized Christ came to save. We must also see that he brings us out of darkness into light. Men loved darkness by our manhood, we must learn to love the light, for he is the light. We must stop living the way we used to live and let his light shine on our new paths. Following him and obey him.
2004-03-20 Deuteronomy 8
And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely parish.
-- Deuteronomy 8:17-19
We often ``know'' in our head that what we have (wealth, or otherwise) is from God. But more than often, we still consider ourselves able of accomplishing certain actions on our own. For instance, I might consider that I am able to integrate the n-th power of the secant of x with respect to x. True, I am definitely able to (I can prove it), yet I must realize something important. In the passage above, Moses did not say God made the Israelites rich (even though it is true), but he said God gave them the power to get wealth. In other words, my ability to do math ``on my own'' was given by God. This is so simple and obvious that we often take it for granted. I can walk, I can talk, I can do math, of course, without constant prayer too. However the very reason I am able to do those ``without'' God is because God decided to give the ability to me. We need to be constantly reminded that whatever we accomplish is, big or small, through prayer or seemingly with our natural gifts, done through him.
2004-03-19 John 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. [. . .] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. [. . .] And he [Jesus] saith unto him [Nathanael], Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
-- John 1:1-5,14,51
The Word was made flesh, and all things were made for him. This is wonder alone. Jesus then said that angels of God will be ascending and descending upon the Son of man. I remember another place where there are angels ascending and descending: the ladder in Jacob's dream. We see that the pathway to God is always through Christ his son. Not only all things were made by him and for him, it is also through him that they were made. Everything concerns with Christ. We must do all things inside of Christ.
2004-03-18 Luke 24
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. [. . .] And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with greater joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
-- Luke 24:49,52-53
The first two-thirds of this chapter contained many instances of doubts and disbelief. I am always amazed at how the Eleven did not believe the words of the women. However, when Jesus showed himself to them, they obeyed and followed. The Lord asked them to wait for the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem, and the apostles simply stayed in the temple ``continually,'' and they kept on ``praising and blessing God,'' while they were waiting. What kind of passion they must have, even after the departure of the Lord, they kept on burning and burning. Let us also gain a desire and passion, so we might whole-heartedly obey his commands.
2004-03-17 On WSMC Mathematics Competition
On WSMC Mathematics Competition
2004-03-16 Luke 22
But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.
-- Luke 22:26
This verse is not meant only for the greatest to follow. I once remembered a saying that, all the verses speak of our Lord Jesus himself. Though I am not sure if it is rightly generalized to all the verses in the Bible, certainly lots of them do express the characteristic of our Lord. He serves. He also wants us to willingly serve. Not that we will become the greatest by serving the most, yet this verse simply testified that serving is the right thing to do in God's perspective. We should remember always to have a humble spirit and serve our brothers and sisters. It is when we have the love of Christ that we are able to serve selflessly. Therefore we also ask him for more of his love, in order that we might server brethren around us.
2004-03-15 Deuteronomy 2
For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
-- Deuteronomy 2:7
In context, Moses was giving a farewell speech to the next-generation Israelites, who was below the age of twenty at the first census. Forty years ago, or actually thirty-eight, the Israelites angered the Lord. Nevertheless, the forty years in the wilderness, including the two years before the thirty-eight years, apparently the Lord blessed the Israelites continually. They the children of God lacked absolutely nothing. Nothing! We should notice that God has an abundant supply of everything, from his perspective, the blessings do not run out (think of countably infinite aleph0, aleph0-1=aleph0). We simply need to invite him to be with us, so we will also lack nothing. Don't be a poor children of God (spiritually, not monetary), but acquire his fullness and let his love flow through us unto others as well.
2004-03-14 Matthew 22
Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
-- Matthew 22:29
When I was reading Luke 20, there was the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection. They used the argument of the seven brothers with one wife to disprove resurrection. Not in Luke, but in both Matthew and Mark was recorded: Jesus replied that they are in error because they know not the scripture nor the power of God. This talks about our human fallacy: restricted logic. We have faulty arguments because we do not see the prepositions in the perspective of God. The way to correct this is to know the scriptures and to know the power of God. Obviously we need to read his word more, while paying much attention. We also need to experience his power, letting him show us his power, so that we do not error in faulty logic.
2004-03-13 On an orchestra trip to Gresham,
On an orchestra trip to Gresham,
2004-03-12 Philippians 3
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.
-- Philippians 3:7-8
I remembered this passage when studying 2 Peter 3 tonight at Bible study. It is because of him that we are able to have a clearer mindset: distinguishing what is important from what is not. This world is no longer important, the things in it is no longer important either. If we can have this perspective, we can better live a life that is full of him.
2004-03-11 Luke 17
But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
-- Luke 17:7-10
We are mere servants of God. This is already a very high position. But we must never think we have the ability to do good outside of what he commands. Furthermore, we are doing what we were made to do, nothing to be proud of. We were made to worship him. It is good that we are obedient, but have we realized it is him leading, not us following? I got this from Charles' quote from Jack Deere's book. It also touched me. It is all about him, not ourselves.
2004-03-10 Luke 16
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (wealth).
-- Luke 16:13
Again, this is a familiar verse. I am beginning to realize how a little more thought could turn well-known passages into passages of enlightenment. We live our lives in this world, yet we are not of this world. We are in it, yet not polluted. We do not fix our eyes on the things that rot, but things eternal. Let us focus our minds on our Lord Christ alone. If we even consider the riches of this world, we cannot follow God in purity and wholeheartedness. Separate us and sanctify us, O Lord, and let us be a vessel fit for thy use. Let us focus on thee alone.
2004-03-09 Luke 15
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? [. . .] Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. [. . .] For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.
-- Luke 15:4,6b,7,24a
The Lord Jesus uses three lively parables to illustrate the joy in saving a lost soul: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. These parables are so familiar that last year when I read it I did not even pay attention to them. It is because I am writing this paragraph right now that I have a chance to reflect. How wonderful that we have a loving Creator! He, and all the heavenly beings, rejoice in the saving of the lost soul. We just had a gospel meeting on Sunday, and I was in the choir singing ``The ninety and nine sheep.'' This occured to me that the Father is happy, we should also be so happy for the children of God who just returned. We should welcome new brothers and sisters and care for them as an older sibling does to a baby. May more of God's love be in us for the purpose of loving others around us. May the love overflow.
2004-03-08 Numbers 16, 18
And he hath brought thee [Korah] near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? [. . .] Therefore thou [Aaron] and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest's office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
-- Numbers 16:10; 18:7
God gave Aaron and his descendants the priesthood as a gift. It was a special privilege for them to serve as priests. Korah and his followers wanted more. Their action was unrighteous and they were struck down. However, this showed us serving God is not just a burden, it is a gift from God, a privilege. We need to remember that down at his feet is the most high place. In our daily lives, we shall not neglect to be a humble servant emptied for his use.
2004-03-07 Numbers 14
The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
-- Numbers 14:18
So we must remember the many different characteristics of God. He is on one hand loving and caring, yet on the other righteous and just. We cannot expect God to forsake his righteousness by allowing our unrighteousness to be counted as righteousness. Yet because of his loving and caring nature, he prepared a way--his son Jesus Christ. Through the love of his preparation, we may be justified by faith. We are no longer our unrighteous self, yet when God looks at us he sees his own son on top of us. It is this biperspective nature that forms the full salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2004-03-06 Luke 11
No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
-- Luke 11:33
Yes, this was yesterday's verse. But until I rewrite my bundler program to handle multiple entries per day, I'll need to keep a backlog. This is an extremely simple verse. Christ uses some parables to make it easier for us to understand harder concepts. (Of course some other were spoken in parable so the scripture would be fulfilled regarding hearing without understanding and such.) Many times I actually felt the power of simple parables. We should be candle lighted in public and displayed on a candlestick. We should not hide our identity. In this comfortable environment, it is easier to say we are Christians. I am not certain what I would respond in times of physical persecutions. In school, however, a couple of times people actually laugh at me always reading the Bible (although most are nice). I should never be despaired and stop reading the Bible, nor should I hide myself from others. Let us be a testimony for him.
2004-03-05 Luke 11
And I say unto you, Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
-- Luke 11:9-10
This is such a familiar passage that, if I was not picking a passage to comment about each day, I probably not have noticed. This passage follows the parable of the persistent friend. In other places, God also instructed as to be persistent. Not ``repeating of words or phrases'' thinking that longer prayer would then be heard, but having a persistent heart. Seek him, persistently. Pray without ceasing, stand firm, press on!
2004-03-04 Luke 10
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
-- Luke 10:24-28
This is simple. We know we do not earn eternal life by our deeds. The commandments are a testimony for God's nature. We cannot do it. That is precisely why we need the Lord Christ who fulfill them for us. How we should wholly trust in him who saves to draw us back to him. Let his love fill us so we may love him back. It is a matter of trust and obedience. Am I willing to love him if he puts his love in me?
2004-03-03 Psalm 53
God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
-- Psalm 53:2-3
This passage is quoted in the New Testament. This speaks of how every single human being on earth is corrupt according to God's standards. It does not matter if someone is, in the human's point of view, ``more righteous'' or ``less sinful'' as others. No, he is also a sinner. If we measure our sinfulness, anything not zero is, by definition, not zero. It does not matter if it is 2.3 or 23, God cannot tolerate an epsilon. What we need is to fully understand how we are worth nothing, our self-righteousness will only hinder us. Let go of ourselves and allow him to work in us. When God looks at us, he sees his beloved son instead. This is the gospel. We need to embrace it from our heart. I should no longer ever think I can do good by myself. Rely on him.
2004-03-02 Luke 8
A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold.
-- Luke 8:5-8a
This is such a familiar parable. I remembered memorizing this several years ago (in Chinese). However, every time I read this passage, it still speaks to me. Do we simply let the devil snap away the words? No, we should receive the words. If I read the Bible yet does not even think about it, the seeds are simply laying on the ground asking to be taken away. But if we receive the words yet does not digest it, there is no use. If we do not let the words of God take root in our hearts, it cannot last long. If I read the Bible and think about it, yet does not put it into practice, the knowledge does not retain and the effects are few. If we have too much to worry in our lives, even if we try to put the words into practice, we find no time to do it. This is a sad reality for me sometimes: I can make time for studying mathematics and such, but I cannot make time for studying his words. How much more important is knowing the all mighty creator? Instead, let us all be the good soil, which bare fruit one hundredfold.
2004-03-01 Numbers 3
The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward... The families of the sons Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southword... [Merarites] shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.
-- Numbers 3:23,29,35b
I really have no idea what the meaning, if the meaning exist, of the three sides of the tabernacle other than the east. Moses and Aaron are to camp on the east on the side of the sunrise. However, the three tribes of Levi are assigned specific sides to camp on. If the LORD had a meaning, I do not know if the Levites understood fully, yet they obeyed. If there was not a specific meaning, the Levites still obeyed without objection. Today it is much the same. Many times we are given instructions that we do not understand the importance, but we shall trust and obey. If there happens that the Holy Spirit simply leads us to perform a specific task, even if we do not understand, trust him, and obey him.