from Shadow of the Almighty

I found a very subtle snare in doing so. I sought their fellowship in order that I might minister to them, 'be a help,' you know, to these 'weaker' ones. What a rebuke came when I sensed my real motive-- that I might minister. Love hacks right at this, for she refused to parade herself. I learned to recognize no 'spiritual planes,' but simply to love, purely, in every group. Trying to 'be a help' even has a smell of good works in it, for it is not pure. Our motive is only to be-- just to be a sinful bit of flesh, born of a Father's love. Then you see, Beloved, there can be no defeat.

pg 99-100

I pray for you, that all your misgivings will be melted to thanksgivings. Remember that the shadow a thing casts often far exceeds the size of the thing itself (especially if the light be low on the horizon) and though some future fear may strut brave darkness as you approach, the thing itself will be but a speck when seen from beyond. Oh that He would restore us often with that 'aspect from beyond,' to see a thing as He sees it, to remember that He dealeth with us as with sons. Amy Carmichael's words come to me:

'He hath never failed thee yet.
Never will His love forget.
O fret not thyself nor let
Thy heart be troubled,
Neither let it be afraid.'

pg 118

Crucial Last Bits

So, I'm finally finishing the 2 books I started 16 years ago... (jk... more like 3 months!)



The Cost of Forgiveness

"Forgiveness cost God His Son on the cross, but what does it cost us to forgive one another? Forgiving costs us our sense of justice. We all have this innate sense deep within our souls, but it has been perverted by our selfish sinful natures... We must realize that justice has been done... In order to forgive our brother, we must be satisfied with God's justice and forego the satisfaction of our own."

- Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness

[Addendum] Coincidentally, P Larry spoke about forgiveness today during service. He noted that trying to forgive someone can be a form of suffering... His wife shared her testimony to the congregation, definitely helped me see how forgiving can be a life-long journey... it can be just the "thorn" God leaves in our lives to draw us closer...

Worship: An Inward, Spiritual Experience

This is small chunk that helped me come to peace about the 6000 denominations in Protestant as well as the Catholicism v. Protestantism tension that's been going on in the Jiang family...

"... the New Testament is not a manual for worship services. Rather, it is a vision for missions in thousands of diverse people groups around the world. In such groups, outward forms of worship will vary drastically, but the inner reality of treasuring Christ in spirit and truth is common ground."

- John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad

Question about Knowledge

In heaven, do you think we'll have the knowledge of good and evil?

Darn it... I love these!

from http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100241048&page=2

8. WORST BOTTLED COFFEE

Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino (13.7-ounce bottle)

• 290 calories
• 4.5 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
• 46 g sugars

Add one of these to your diet every morning and you’ll add about 28 pounds of flab to your body in a year.

"We are not meant to be seen as God’s perfect, bright-shining examples, but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary life exhibiting the miracle of His grace."

- Oswald Chambers

Thoughts on Isaiah 6

I never realized just how intense of a man Isaiah was.

Yesterday I was reading Ch 6. That chapter has been pretty inspirational to me, especially this past year. It reminds me that even though God may not call me specifically for a certain task, I need to be developing a willing and ready heart... and that there may times He will enable me to step up to do something nobody would want to do.

For the first time (-__-), I paid attention to God's instructions to Isaiah. God told Isaiah to speak words to the Israelites that would harden their hearts towards Him. God basically sends Isaiah to turn people away from Him and thus destroy them for eternity.

When I think about things God calls us to do, I think of loving Him, loving others, spreading the Good News, and spreading His name. I think of His call for each of us to be salt and light wherever we are. And I think about the hope we have in predestination: that because of God's sovereign will to save, there will be harvest whether we live to see it or not.

Yet with Isaiah here, God sent him to basically do anti-missions! God sent him to turn people away from Him and guaranteed that "cities [will] lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land [will become] a desolate waste..."

-___- I had never realized the depth of Isaiah's faith. I saw his willingness and readiness, but not how his faith was grounded in God's character rather than His actions.

Of course it's awesome when I can give thanks and praise for what God can do, but deeper intimacy with Him should lead me to worship Him simply for who He is. I guess it is logical, then, for Him to care more about who we are (our hearts), than what we do...

Settling Down

I got to MA this morning :) Thank you for your prayers... my Amtrak rides were ridiculously smooth. Some super nice + cool people helped me lug my 60000 luggage to the station AND redistribute some of my stuff into an extra box because some were overweight! Erica even rode the train up with me to Baltimore! Our first train from Cville --> DC was delayed for 3 hours, but several nice friends kept us company and brought us FOOD >_< After Erica got off the train in Baltimore, my momma began calling me every several hours to make sure I'm not to lonely.

I'm ridiculously spoiled by my family + the people around me... I just hope I'll be able to bless others in similar ways! These experiences with super nice people really makes me think of 1 Jn 4:12.


Anyway... today, I was able to tour B-town a bit...




















Is it weird that the first place I visited was the Boston Public Library?

























Stairway of Library

























Study Area!

























Courtyard of the Library




















A nice day to chill outside!




















Library Coffee Shop

























This random picture of a skyscraper is dedicated to Ms. Jaeeun Cho :)


I walked around the Copley area for a bit and bought some new underwear (so that I won't have to do laundry as frequently)!



When I got back to my cousin's place, I grew kinda excited about school!























Pretty textbooks for summer session!



















Then I found my way to a nearby Asian grocery store and stocked up on some essentials (noodles, kimchee, etc.)

NOTE to prospective visitors: they have a small food court selling bubble tea, "Yo! Berry," Korean Cruisine, and more!



















Despite being excited about school and getting to know Boston, I'm intensely home (C'ville) sick. Good thing Jae is nearby... JJ/her bro! :D


I do look forward to tomorrow's church hopping adventure... I wonder where God will call me! Highrock? CityLife? CCFC?? I'm going to try to visit all three tomorrow...


One tremendous blessing (in disguise), I suppose, is that loneliness really forces me to cling to God... Ps 63:1, dude, seriously!