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| Every once a while opportunities knock on my door to give 'talks' to the youth group. I wouldn't call them sermons because... it's just sounds too holy =) So last Sunday I spoke on what does walking with an invisible God look like on a day to day basis (most of my material is from 'Reaching for an invisible God'). From my vintage point there's a great disconnect between the victory of Christ on the cross and our own often fallen, struggling, sinful lives. We don't talk about 'my power is made perfect in your weakness' often enough. Well, in an abstract sort of way but not in this is what happened to me last week concrete-relational-vulnerable way. I'm not sure how much they got out of the talk because I am the worst person to share about this. My walk with God is not a defined personal one. God speaks through scripture but I have only heard God's voice once in my 19 years of walking with God. Every relationship is different so is every walk with our Lord. The gist of the talk is on faith (Daniel 3, the even if he does not faith). If one can't see/touch God, if God does not answer to prayers in a loud voice or a soft whisper, then what's can we count on?
I'm still growing in this area. It's been a challenging and educational personal ride.
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| For the first time I'll be voting in the California primaries for the democratic party (registered independents can vote in almost all parties except for the republican) and I am darn excited... for Obama. Maybe the hope he's stirring up in me is unrealistic; maybe it's all heart and little action; but maybe it's not and the world would be a different place. The gambler nature in me is coming out. High risk/high reward... Hillary seems to be the safe choice but given her divisive nature, I'm not confident that she can rally the senate/congress to pass necessary bills for healthcare and other reforms. I still remember the definition of politics I learned in 8th grade, sphere of influence. Basically popularity is the capital of politicians and for too long this country has been divided, red or blue, moral or immoral, Christian or else... I really hope we can get pass that.
Who are you voting for?
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| Facts: 32 years of age, 142 lbs, benched 225 lbs.
After 28 years in the gym, I finally got 2 plates... inspiration for all old folks out there.
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| Youth counseling is not exactly an immediate gratifying ministry. As oppose to feeding the homeless or building houses for the near-poor, youth may absorb the lesson and the payoff is more evident when a storm hit, then the foundation of sand or stone would be revealed.
So the highlight of my short career in youth ministry came last Sunday when a high school junior (who's related to my wife's family but again, in the east bay, I think most Cantonese are related to my wife's family) shared that one of my little assignments changed his life. On my teaching Sundays, I tend to give assignments to re-enforce the lesson throughout the week. This assignment was identify one activity that consume most of your leisure time and give it up for a week. This particular youth gave up video games for a week about a year ago and realized how much consumption it was taking up so since then, he has not played. The lesson was that one has to give up something in order to take up something else. The goal is not to cram more activities into one's life but to substitute as our lives are not full of empty slots, but a full busy schedule.
Thank God! I can't make the blind see, only the spirit.... sweet.
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| Faith is an easy word in the Christian world. I feel like we abused it without understanding what it is based on. No, I'm not going to write about the theology of faith, that's not my specialty. I can only write about my struggle with it.
I've been seriously struggling with the concept of faith for the past year or so. It's not that I don't believe in God any more. Far from it, I struggle with the intersection between faith and reality. If I have faith in God, would I really hear God speak to me often? Joseph seems to not interact with God on that level (at least through my reading, I could be entirely wrong) and everything he did, he was blessed. What does my faith look like in times of uncertainty? Would it really be a resounding gong or even a gentle voice in the wind that reveals God's will in my life? How can some be so sure that God spoke to them and others (like me), are not so sure? Faith is what I want and is what I have little of.
I'm half way through 'Reaching for the invisible God' by Philip Yancey. I feel a little better that someone out there also struggled with it and can phrase far more elegant than I can. I don't think people would go to heaven or hell base on a slightly wrong interpretation of theology (ie. Calvinist has it right, not evangelicals). After all, it's faith that saves and I gotta get more of that.
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