John 14:2
"... if it were not so, I would have told you..."
I'm preparing for a seminar on Six-Day Literal Creation at a conference this week. I find it quite interesting that John Whitcomb, after coming to a conclusion on this issue uses this verse to challenge his readers. He is quite right. Everything that Jesus says is true. Why should we not believe Him? Why is that we cannot believe God's Word when it tells us so clearly that the earth was created in six literal days? If it were not so, he would have told us.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Week in Review 12/25/09
What Did Your Pastor Do This Week
It's Christmas today! There's a lot that has happened this week. I had the privilege of spending some fun times with my old friends this Sunday celebrating Christmas and playing a gift exchange game and mafia. I also had a painful visit to the hospital because my mom's youngest brother was diagnosed for a serious cancer. It's been years since I saw him and his family. Please pray for him as he is in very critical condition. I am spending Christmas with mom and dad in LA and will be heading back up today. Merry Christmas everybody!
Interesting Happenings
I cleaned my house. Wow!
Check These Links Out
Charity: Who Cares? - Some interesting statistics.
O Holy Night - Dan Phillips explains its history.
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - One of my favorite renditions of one of my favorite Christmas songs.
The Ever-growing Wish List
The Marketing of Evil - By David Kupelian
It's Christmas today! There's a lot that has happened this week. I had the privilege of spending some fun times with my old friends this Sunday celebrating Christmas and playing a gift exchange game and mafia. I also had a painful visit to the hospital because my mom's youngest brother was diagnosed for a serious cancer. It's been years since I saw him and his family. Please pray for him as he is in very critical condition. I am spending Christmas with mom and dad in LA and will be heading back up today. Merry Christmas everybody!
Interesting Happenings
I cleaned my house. Wow!
Check These Links Out
Charity: Who Cares? - Some interesting statistics.
O Holy Night - Dan Phillips explains its history.
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - One of my favorite renditions of one of my favorite Christmas songs.
The Ever-growing Wish List
The Marketing of Evil - By David Kupelian
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Veil and Christmas
1 Corinthians 3:12-16
"Therefore having such a hope, we use boldness in our speech, and not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read,a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."
It's Christmas week so why not a meditation on something... Christmasy? Well, it's because I believe this verse has everything to do with Christmas. There isn't only a veil over the hearts of the Jews, but over every heart. The Lord has graciously taken that veil away for us that we might His glory in the face of Christ. Without this unveiling, we would not be able to see the true worth of Christmas. Let us rejoice that the veil is gone so we can celebrate Christmas truly! God bless and Merry Christmas
"Therefore having such a hope, we use boldness in our speech, and not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read,a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."
It's Christmas week so why not a meditation on something... Christmasy? Well, it's because I believe this verse has everything to do with Christmas. There isn't only a veil over the hearts of the Jews, but over every heart. The Lord has graciously taken that veil away for us that we might His glory in the face of Christ. Without this unveiling, we would not be able to see the true worth of Christmas. Let us rejoice that the veil is gone so we can celebrate Christmas truly! God bless and Merry Christmas
Friday, December 18, 2009
Week in Review 12/18/09
What Did Your Pastor Do This Week
He got his orange belt! It was quite an interesting experience. Now that I'm an orange belt, they let me do some sparring and grappling. I had to do a grappling match this week along, and so they taught me the basics along with how to do an arm bar and a kimodo lock. I never thought I'd enjoy Karate so much!
AS for CCS, it's the last week before Christmas so things are getting pretty jolly. Presents are being given, parties are being held; it's quite some fun. I also had the privilege of speaking at our Middle School chapel. That was a blessing. I'm praying that the message will really hit home for the students. I never received so many gifts before in my life. I am very, very thankful. I think I have gift cards that total to around $100 in cash value.
This weekend will be some more fun as well as there will be our church's Christmas service as well as a party at the Lee's! Looking forward to a wonderful Christmas season!
Interesting Happenings
One of the students at CCS gave all the other teachers chocolate, but he gave me Chinese Tea. Hm...
Check These Links Out
Should She go to Med-School - Some good advice from godly, wiser women.
Rich Daddy God - Tim Challies' light and funny review about a weird board game.
The Ever-growing Wish List
John - By RC Sproul
He got his orange belt! It was quite an interesting experience. Now that I'm an orange belt, they let me do some sparring and grappling. I had to do a grappling match this week along, and so they taught me the basics along with how to do an arm bar and a kimodo lock. I never thought I'd enjoy Karate so much!
AS for CCS, it's the last week before Christmas so things are getting pretty jolly. Presents are being given, parties are being held; it's quite some fun. I also had the privilege of speaking at our Middle School chapel. That was a blessing. I'm praying that the message will really hit home for the students. I never received so many gifts before in my life. I am very, very thankful. I think I have gift cards that total to around $100 in cash value.
This weekend will be some more fun as well as there will be our church's Christmas service as well as a party at the Lee's! Looking forward to a wonderful Christmas season!
Interesting Happenings
One of the students at CCS gave all the other teachers chocolate, but he gave me Chinese Tea. Hm...
Check These Links Out
Should She go to Med-School - Some good advice from godly, wiser women.
Rich Daddy God - Tim Challies' light and funny review about a weird board game.
The Ever-growing Wish List
John - By RC Sproul
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
12/13/09 Sermon Review
Questions to Ask about Christmas
Matthew 16:13-17; Hebrews 10:5-10
Christmas is a wonderful time. As one song will put it, "it's the most wonderful time of the year." I will gladly agree. For some reason, everything feels a bit jollier. I love Christmas music, and I love gathering with families. I love the break that I get from school, and I love the gifts that I give and receive. But we all know that Christmas is much more than these things. Central to the Christmas season is the Christmas story. It is a marvelous story, and for us to forget the main idea of the story would mean we have failed Christmas. As some of my students would say, it would be an "Epic Fail." And it's not just an epic failure, it is an eternal failure since the main idea has consequences for your eternal destiny.
The Christmas story is not a mystery. The events and the details are there for us to see clearly in Scripture. But so often as we look into the story of Christmas, we get caught up in the periphery while neglecting the center. How little we contemplate on the true Christmas Day is reflected in our shallow reverence to the Christmas story. We make the Christmas story about Mary and Joseph, about how they endured trials. We make it about the lowly shepherds who were visited by angels. We make it about the wise men from the Orient who came to see little baby Jesus. We make it about Herod and how wicked of a man he was.
All those side-stories are great stories indeed, but they are not the main pillar of the Christmas story. Then what is? John Macarthur puts it well: "So the glory of the Lord was the angelic focus at the birth of Christ. The glory of the Lord was the aura that invaded the scene. It isn't imposed upon the Christmas story, it is the Christmas story." It would do us well to remember this day is called Christmas. This story is about Christ and His glory. This story is about the baby who sleeps on a manger on Christmas eve.
If we want to to understand Christmas therefore, we need to ask ourselves this important question: Who is this baby? And the best answer I've found comes from the lips of man thirty years after Jesus' birth. His name is Peter, and to Jesus' piercing question, "Who do you say that I am?" he replies, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." No man ever answered the question better, and Jesus gives Peter His approval.
The Messiah - I've already preached a sermon covering the details of what this term means so I won't go into much detail. It suffices to say that the Messiah has a threefold role: Prophet, Priest, and King. To say that Jesus was the Messiah is the He is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises who will deliver Israel and all men from their sins. His kingdom will know no end.
Son of the Living God - The statement "Son of God" does not mean that Jesus came into being at a certain point in time, that he was second to God. Actually, this term means that Jesus' nature was that of God! Take for instance the phrase "Son of Man." The phrase is not trying to say we came into being after a certain "Man," but that our nature is that of a man. The phrase "Son of God" when used of Jesus means to say that Jesus' nature was that of God. Everything God is, Jesus is.
If this is the case, if this is who this baby really is, then we need to ask ourselves another question. Why in the world is He here? Why in the world is this Messiah-God in a dirty manger in a baby's body?
He is in perfect existence as a Spirit with no restriction to form and omnipresent; yet here He is in a finite, human body and this for all eternity. He is God almighty, ominpotent and able to do whatever He so desires; yet here He is, a defenseless baby. He is God omniscient who needs no counselor or teacher, who declares the end from the beginning; yet here he is, a baby who cannot even mutter a single word. He is Creator and Provider who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and says, "If I were hungry I would not ask you"; yet here He is, a dependent baby who needs His mother to feed Him. He is a king whose throne is heaven and who can say earth is His footstool. Nothing can house his grandness! Yet here He is in a stable because no one would house Him.
Why would someone so exalted, in such an elevated position humble Himself to such a degree? Why would he want to become human? Well we know it definitely wasn't because becoming human was in anyway adding to His glory. It wasn't so that He could train disciples and teach good moral principles. Why did He become a man? As I search the Scriptures, I find one clear answer. So He can die.
There is much that Jesus did for us during His earthly life that He could have done if He were not a man. But there's one thing He could not have done: He could not have died. He becomes like us to die for us. A spirit does not have hands and feet to be pierced. A spirit does not have a head on which to lay a crown of thorns. A spirit does not have a side to be pierced or a back to be scourged. A spirit does not have a body to give up as a bloody sacrifice. But that is exactly what God required of His Son for the salvation of His people. So Jesus obeyed (cf. Hebrews 10:5-10, Philippians 2:5-11).
Do you see your sin so great and sinful that God would demand such a price? It is an absurd demand. Yet Jesus, for the glory of His Father and the salvation of His people, met such a demand. And God did not spare Him. He let Him taste every bit of His wrath. And so, Jesus became our propitiation. Arthur Pink writes, "How hateful must sin be to God for Him to punish sin to its utmost deserts when it was imputed to His Son." The more you reflect on this, the more you realize your sinful nature and the more you come to love and cherish the Cross of the Gospel. And then it puts Christmas into perspective.
Now you know why I love Christmas. It is a reminder that my God came to die for me, undeserving as I am. It is reminder that He paid the full price by tasting God's wrath on my behalf. We do not celebrate Jesus' humanity on Christmas day because it's a feel good story about how we should all be humble. We celebrate it because it looks towards the cross, it looks towards His death. And in so doing brings us back to the Gospel which is the power of God for salvation.
Matthew 16:13-17; Hebrews 10:5-10
Christmas is a wonderful time. As one song will put it, "it's the most wonderful time of the year." I will gladly agree. For some reason, everything feels a bit jollier. I love Christmas music, and I love gathering with families. I love the break that I get from school, and I love the gifts that I give and receive. But we all know that Christmas is much more than these things. Central to the Christmas season is the Christmas story. It is a marvelous story, and for us to forget the main idea of the story would mean we have failed Christmas. As some of my students would say, it would be an "Epic Fail." And it's not just an epic failure, it is an eternal failure since the main idea has consequences for your eternal destiny.
The Christmas story is not a mystery. The events and the details are there for us to see clearly in Scripture. But so often as we look into the story of Christmas, we get caught up in the periphery while neglecting the center. How little we contemplate on the true Christmas Day is reflected in our shallow reverence to the Christmas story. We make the Christmas story about Mary and Joseph, about how they endured trials. We make it about the lowly shepherds who were visited by angels. We make it about the wise men from the Orient who came to see little baby Jesus. We make it about Herod and how wicked of a man he was.
All those side-stories are great stories indeed, but they are not the main pillar of the Christmas story. Then what is? John Macarthur puts it well: "So the glory of the Lord was the angelic focus at the birth of Christ. The glory of the Lord was the aura that invaded the scene. It isn't imposed upon the Christmas story, it is the Christmas story." It would do us well to remember this day is called Christmas. This story is about Christ and His glory. This story is about the baby who sleeps on a manger on Christmas eve.
If we want to to understand Christmas therefore, we need to ask ourselves this important question: Who is this baby? And the best answer I've found comes from the lips of man thirty years after Jesus' birth. His name is Peter, and to Jesus' piercing question, "Who do you say that I am?" he replies, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." No man ever answered the question better, and Jesus gives Peter His approval.
The Messiah - I've already preached a sermon covering the details of what this term means so I won't go into much detail. It suffices to say that the Messiah has a threefold role: Prophet, Priest, and King. To say that Jesus was the Messiah is the He is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises who will deliver Israel and all men from their sins. His kingdom will know no end.
Son of the Living God - The statement "Son of God" does not mean that Jesus came into being at a certain point in time, that he was second to God. Actually, this term means that Jesus' nature was that of God! Take for instance the phrase "Son of Man." The phrase is not trying to say we came into being after a certain "Man," but that our nature is that of a man. The phrase "Son of God" when used of Jesus means to say that Jesus' nature was that of God. Everything God is, Jesus is.
If this is the case, if this is who this baby really is, then we need to ask ourselves another question. Why in the world is He here? Why in the world is this Messiah-God in a dirty manger in a baby's body?
He is in perfect existence as a Spirit with no restriction to form and omnipresent; yet here He is in a finite, human body and this for all eternity. He is God almighty, ominpotent and able to do whatever He so desires; yet here He is, a defenseless baby. He is God omniscient who needs no counselor or teacher, who declares the end from the beginning; yet here he is, a baby who cannot even mutter a single word. He is Creator and Provider who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and says, "If I were hungry I would not ask you"; yet here He is, a dependent baby who needs His mother to feed Him. He is a king whose throne is heaven and who can say earth is His footstool. Nothing can house his grandness! Yet here He is in a stable because no one would house Him.
Why would someone so exalted, in such an elevated position humble Himself to such a degree? Why would he want to become human? Well we know it definitely wasn't because becoming human was in anyway adding to His glory. It wasn't so that He could train disciples and teach good moral principles. Why did He become a man? As I search the Scriptures, I find one clear answer. So He can die.
There is much that Jesus did for us during His earthly life that He could have done if He were not a man. But there's one thing He could not have done: He could not have died. He becomes like us to die for us. A spirit does not have hands and feet to be pierced. A spirit does not have a head on which to lay a crown of thorns. A spirit does not have a side to be pierced or a back to be scourged. A spirit does not have a body to give up as a bloody sacrifice. But that is exactly what God required of His Son for the salvation of His people. So Jesus obeyed (cf. Hebrews 10:5-10, Philippians 2:5-11).
Do you see your sin so great and sinful that God would demand such a price? It is an absurd demand. Yet Jesus, for the glory of His Father and the salvation of His people, met such a demand. And God did not spare Him. He let Him taste every bit of His wrath. And so, Jesus became our propitiation. Arthur Pink writes, "How hateful must sin be to God for Him to punish sin to its utmost deserts when it was imputed to His Son." The more you reflect on this, the more you realize your sinful nature and the more you come to love and cherish the Cross of the Gospel. And then it puts Christmas into perspective.
Now you know why I love Christmas. It is a reminder that my God came to die for me, undeserving as I am. It is reminder that He paid the full price by tasting God's wrath on my behalf. We do not celebrate Jesus' humanity on Christmas day because it's a feel good story about how we should all be humble. We celebrate it because it looks towards the cross, it looks towards His death. And in so doing brings us back to the Gospel which is the power of God for salvation.
Monday, December 14, 2009
God the Son Becomes Man
Luke 2:7
"And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."
The image of Jesus here is so strikingly human. He is described as a firstborn son, wrapped in cloths, laid in a manger. The language makes it clear that God the Son was a baby in the fullest sense dependent on his mother. Here is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, God Almighty, the Truth, the Way, the Life, and He is a baby, a human. Do you not find this weird? Why would someone so exalted stoop so low? What comes next is even more absurd: There was no room for them in the inn. Wow! Would it not be normal to send out those who are at the inn so you may give lodging to the King? You might offend the one, but you will have counted more precious your Lord. Yet this is not what happens. O how low did our God stoop! And why? So that He might bear the weight of our sins. God the Son becomes the God-man. Let us not take such a truth lightly. But let us do as Mary did; she "treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19).
"And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."
The image of Jesus here is so strikingly human. He is described as a firstborn son, wrapped in cloths, laid in a manger. The language makes it clear that God the Son was a baby in the fullest sense dependent on his mother. Here is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, God Almighty, the Truth, the Way, the Life, and He is a baby, a human. Do you not find this weird? Why would someone so exalted stoop so low? What comes next is even more absurd: There was no room for them in the inn. Wow! Would it not be normal to send out those who are at the inn so you may give lodging to the King? You might offend the one, but you will have counted more precious your Lord. Yet this is not what happens. O how low did our God stoop! And why? So that He might bear the weight of our sins. God the Son becomes the God-man. Let us not take such a truth lightly. But let us do as Mary did; she "treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19).
Friday, December 11, 2009
Week in Review 12/11/09
What Did Your Pastor Do This Week
I had a lot of fun this week resting and reading. It feels so good to read after not being able to. I picked up an old book called "Attributes of God" by Arthur W. Pink. So far it has been an extremely edifying read. I also had the joy of partaking in Evangel Bible Church's Wednesday night service. There is something so awesome about hearing in person the preaching of the Word. I was thrilled since I do not get the opportunity as often as I would like. This weekend, I will be taking my belt test for Karate. Hopefully, I will be able to skip the yellow belt and get an orange one! Looking forward to a great weekend!
Interesting Happenings
I actually saw my roommate every night this week. RARE... Not only that, we actually talked a lot. Super RARE.... It was quite edifying!
Check These Links Out
9 Examples of the Internet Changing our World - Interesting thoughts by Trevin Wax.
Top 9 Books of '09 - Challies' list well worth looking into.
One Cool Plant - The Alsomitra vine seeds.
Top 10 Religion Stories of 2009 - A list by Time's Magazine. Interesting read.
The Ever-growing Wish List
The Trellis and the Vine - By Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
Christmas music! - By various artsists
I had a lot of fun this week resting and reading. It feels so good to read after not being able to. I picked up an old book called "Attributes of God" by Arthur W. Pink. So far it has been an extremely edifying read. I also had the joy of partaking in Evangel Bible Church's Wednesday night service. There is something so awesome about hearing in person the preaching of the Word. I was thrilled since I do not get the opportunity as often as I would like. This weekend, I will be taking my belt test for Karate. Hopefully, I will be able to skip the yellow belt and get an orange one! Looking forward to a great weekend!
Interesting Happenings
I actually saw my roommate every night this week. RARE... Not only that, we actually talked a lot. Super RARE.... It was quite edifying!
Check These Links Out
9 Examples of the Internet Changing our World - Interesting thoughts by Trevin Wax.
Top 9 Books of '09 - Challies' list well worth looking into.
One Cool Plant - The Alsomitra vine seeds.
Top 10 Religion Stories of 2009 - A list by Time's Magazine. Interesting read.
The Ever-growing Wish List
The Trellis and the Vine - By Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
Christmas music! - By various artsists
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