The Final Week

Luke 9:18-27 - "Peter's Confession"

In these two passages, Jesus was getting very serious about revealing who He really was to His closest followers. He had Peter confess who he thought Jesus was, to which he replied, "The Christ (Messiah) of God."

No sooner had those words come out of Peter's mouth, Jesus says that He is going to "suffer many things," be rejected, be killed, and be raised to life. It's the first time recorded in Luke that Jesus tells them what's going to happen to Him. How did Peter hear that, after making that bold confession that Jesus was the Christ God?

But before even giving them a chance to respond to that, He invites them to follow. "If anyone would COME AFTER ME, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me..."

For Jesus, it didn't matter what the disciples thought of it. Because they were His disciples, He expected that they would follow Him in His suffering, His rejection; that they would be with Him at Gethsamane; that they would walk with Him up to Calvary; and even be there when He died and give His last breath.

Obviously we know and He knew that they would flee as soon as He got arrested, but He was getting a message across - about what a life that is committed to Jesus Christ would require.

ANYONE who follows Christ, must expect to first journey with Him to Calvary - to deny themselves, to take up their cross, to not be ashamed of Him, to choose Him over the world and not forfeit their souls.

But the hope and the promise is that He's going to be there. When you journey with Christ, the focus of that phrase isn't the "journey" but it's "with Christ" that is our hope and strength.

Where are you headed today that's causing you to deny yourself? Be encouraged and reminded that you're following after Jesus. And when you lose your life, you will truly find it...

Glory be to God

Priorities

Luke 6:1-15 - "The Lord of the Sabbath"

Jesus loved people. There was no clearer priority on His heart. Even at the cost of His own crediblity as a respectful Jewish teacher, He made it crystal clear that when it came to choosing between rules and people, people would win every time.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law obviously had a bone to pick with Jesus, and was looking every reason to accuse Him and make Him out to be a lawless rebel. And so, they kept a careful eye on Him when He was walking the grainfields (what in the world were the Pharisees doing there anyway?) and when He was teaching that day - jumping at the first oppurtunity to knock Him down. And in this instance, it was to indict Him for working on the Sabbath, even after He told them plainly, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

But Jesus wasn't fooled. Luke wrote that Jesus knew what they were thinking. And He shut their mouths by not only healing the man with the shriveled hand, but pointing out to their faces that to have not done anything for this crippled man would have been to do evil, and to even destroy life.

Jesus had a particular emphasis on looking out for fellow human beings. He loved them to death. He saw this man who lived his life without one hand, and though that man could have probably went without that hand for a while longer, Jesus met his need, and restored it completely.

How rebuked the Pharisees must have been! And how rebuked I am.

A couple of weeks ago, I got upset in my office because my CD burner wasn't working well. I was frustrated fiddling with it, realizing that it was almost time to meet with a student on Penn campus. I was upset even on the ride to meeting this student.

I was stopped at a red light on Chestnut Ave, and I felt like a dumb donkey. God spoke so clearly to me, "Dan, look at you. You're upset over a CD burner. I care so deeply about this person you're about to meet up with. You care more about some 'thing' more than this precious soul. Where are your priorities? Will you pray? Will you care?" I felt like a loser. I prayed and repented on the spot, and asked for a new heart - a heart that cares for the things that God cares for.

I had a wonderful meeting, and got to really care for and minister to that student, and was so thankful to the Lord for setting me straight. I got back to my office, and my CD burner was working just fine.

I learned an important lesson that day as a Christian and as a pastor. Everything will fade out of existence. Souls will remain forever. God cherishes each one. And He's calling me to do the same. Even in the next passage, we see Jesus calling His disciples "to Himself." - calling them not to some profession or club, but to a relationship with Him. He saw people, and not just potential useful workmen.

I pray that as long as I live - my ministry will always be about God and His people first. Whenever I make it about me, about the ministry name, about expansion, and less about people, I pray that the Lord will break me to a pulp, and kindly correct me.

I attended a funeral this morning of the brother who passed away last week from USP. I was reminded of the precious value of one soul. The word of God says that one soul is more precious than the entire world. I hope that I can love souls as Jesus did.

He is the Lord of the Sabbath, and the Lord of every man.

Fighting Temptations

Luke 4:1-12 - The Temptation of Jesus

As I was reading through this familiar passage this morning, the weight of the temptations that Jesus was confronted with hit me pretty hard. My whole life, I thought that these temptations were no problem for Jesus to overcome. After all, wasn't He God? Wasn't He in complete control of the situation? He just told Satan to buzz off, and He showed off His power, didn't He?

But looking more carefully into the text,and its context, I realized that I was mistaken. Jesus is called by many theologians as the "second Adam." And everywhere the first Adam (Adam from Genesis) failed and messed up, Jesus Christ succeeded and overcame.

In this case, where Adam failed in the garden to overcome the temptation of the serpent, Jesus here overcomes - temptations that were real and powerful.

I'm sure that all of you who are reading this knows what it feels like to be tempted. To have your flesh scream at you SO loudly at your weakest moments - something you crave SO much that you know is bad for you, that you feel absolutely helpless, and without even giving a fight, you give into it. I've been there many times, and I hate every second of it - when I'm being led to temptation, when I'm being tempted, and when I give in to it. It's the worst feeling in the world.

And for some reason, those feelings came rushing to me as I was reading this passage this morning. These were real tempations that only the Son of God, full of the Holy Spirit could have overcome.

Temptation number 1 came to Jesus when He was really hungry. He had eaten nothing during the 40 days He spent in the wilderness. This temptation represents the little things/habits in our lives that can distract us, and that we need to deny ourselves of. Food isn't a bad thing, nor would turning a stone into bread. But that wasn't why Jesus was in the desert.

The second temptation represents our bigger desires - for fame, for exaltation, for the worship and praise of man. This has been a struggle of mine for many years - wanting to be known and admired by the masses. Just reading verse 5 and how the devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in an instant, reminded me of the battles that I have had in this area. It's an issue of worship. I am not to be worshipped - I am to worship God. And I am not to get people to worship me - I am to get them to worship God, and serve Him only.

The third temptation represents the subtle ways that we manupulate God to serving our needs. What gain was there for Jesus to throw Himself down from the temple? It would only be to test and manipulate God. How many times do we get tempted to force God to do things our way? And how many times do we give Him a hard time, when He doesn't serve our selfish wants? We are not to put the Lord our God to the test.

This time around, it was painful for me to read this passage. Those temptations were real, and they came at Jesus full force. But it was SO strengthening and empowering to know that Christ, the second Adam, overcame it - as He was full of the Holy Spirit, and full of His Word. And now He lives in me, so that I too can overcome, even the most severe temptations, and even at my weakest moments.

And it's so good to know that Jesus knows how I feel when I'm being tempted to sin in the grossest way. He's been there. Satan came to Him at His weakest moment just as He does to me today. And now, He can help me. Praise His Name... Be encouraged, and do not be defeated, people of God...

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakensses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:15-16

"Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted." Hebrews 2:18

Late night ponderings...

My apologies for infrequent postings. Most of this week, the internet was down at church, and when it was finally up and running, I got extremely busy...

Late night ponderings...
1. I've been feeling a lot of spiritual attack this past week. I'm not sure what the enemy is up to. He's not trying to discourage me, or harden me... I think he's just trying to freeze my spiritual life and ministry. Please pray for me. I can resist and overcome in Jesus' name.

2. A student passed away at USP this past Thursday. It hit some of the ECFers pretty hard. Death is a reality in our world that is fallen, and one that all of us must face one day. May we always number our days aright, and learn the brevity of life. Live for what will outlast us. Build eternal things.

3. Pastor Dan Hyun is finally getting married tomorrow, at the age of 34. I'm always happy for my friends who tie the knot, and get to experience one of the most precious, sacred gifts that God has given human beings - the union of marriage. Much love and blessing to our brother and Judie as they begin their new life together.

4. The school year is rapidly coming to a close. Details for ECF leadership has not been set yet. We really need the Lord's wisdom and guidance. He loves this body. I just need to be faithful, and love His people as He does.

5. The Chisec team is meeting without me now. It is such a wonderful team. We've been meeting quite often to eat, hang out, and share together. They all went to pick up Gene at the airport tonight, and then ate at John Kang's house. I wish I could have went, but I went straight home after dropping students off. I was pretty wiped out tonight - felt very weak during tonight's message, but I felt the Lord helping me with every word.

6. A student told me tonight that no matter what changes I make, I will always look like a young kid. I'm still trying to figure out if that's good or bad. What will I look like one day with wrinkles, and gray hair?

7. I'm blessed beyond what I have ever dreamed.

Blessed are the poor in spirit...

Yikes, I missed two days of posting... :( My apologies
(Please read... this is a very meaningful post for me)

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3

As I'm journeying this Lent season, I'm also trying to read through The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard, who does a very thorough work in describing the human condition, and how the message of the nearness of the Kingdom is the most important thing that this fallen world needs - more than our secular efforts at moral reform, more than education, etc.

In chapter 4, he does a very in-depth study of the Beatitudes, which are the "Blessed are" statements found in Matthew 5 - Jesus' sermon on the mount. He wrote about how so many have misunderstood these statements to be conditions for God's blessings.

For example, people can misread this the first beatitude by thinking that in order for you to really inherit the Kingdom, you need to become poor in spirit - or you need to acknowledge your spiritual poverty - or you need to sell everything and become destitute.

But this completely dismisses the message of grace that permeates the entire sermon, and the entire book of Matthew. In the previous chapter (Matthew 4) - we see the message of Christ summarized in one verse - "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near..." And in the following verses, he recruits his kingdom workers, and then goes to the sick, the paralyzed, and the demon-possessed and begins to heal them.

And it is to this crowd, that Jesus begins to say the words of the Beatitudes - "Blessed are YOU, who are poor in spirit..." - meaning "Blessed are you, who are absolutely spiritually bankrupt - you, who lack all the spiritual sophisticaed knowledge that the Pharisees possess - you, who will never get an A on a Bible quiz - you, who will never be asked to be a small group leader - you, who no one wants to sit next to at church - you, who feel like an absolute nobody - the Kingdom of heaven has come, and it is NEAR - for YOU..."

This isn't exactly a desirable condition to be in - nor does it merit salvation or the kingdom of heaven. And the point isn't to try to become "poor in spirit." The point of this verse was to highlight and reveal the indescribably MERCY and LOVE of Jesus. He came to rescue destitute sinners who couldn't help themselves. The Kingdom indeed is near, and those who are poor in spirit are invited. Not only are they invited, but the beatitude says that they can possess it.

This melted my heart - me, who grew up in the church, who so many times feel like I can help myself. And especially coming back from missions - this is such a powerful truth, about the breadth and scope of who the Gospel is actually for. Yes, it was for me, but not just for people like me.

It's for the hopeless, jaded, spiritually apathetic adult in the village of Chisec, who barely cracks a smile even when he sees his kid jumping around, singing Spanish praise songs with all his heart. It's for that woman who showed up at our clinic who had breast cancer, who just broke down, opened her heart and gave her life to Christ. It's for that newcomer at our church who doesn't know a single praise song that we sing, who feels so socially disconnected, but whose heart is hungry for the only Truth.

May our hearts beat with our Savior's this Lent season. He came to bring His kingdom to those who are poor in spirit. Let us join in His mission and passion - on campus, in this city, in another nation. His Kingdom is truly near...

Crying out for redemption...

"When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying His hands on each one, He healed them." Luke 4:40

A huge part of Jesus' ministry when He was on earth was that He went to those who were ill and had all kinds of diseases, and He physically touched them to heal them. He had an unmistakable compassion for those who were sick, and never turned away from them, when so many would send them away, for fear of being defiled.

Sickness exists in our world as a result of the fall of man. And it is one of many conditions that the Christ entered our world to redeem. Sometimes when we're sick, we fall into this self-pity mode, and scream for medicine and recovery, but as I look at Scripture and into the heart of Christ and how He dealt with it, it makes me want to continue to scream for complete redemption of not only my physical condition, but for the whole world and creation.

Paul writes in Romans 8 that we, along with the whole creation, are groaning inwardly waiting for the redemption of our bodies. And as Jesus walked among the crowds, I'm sure that His heart was groaning as well - so much so that He wielded His power to bring supernatural healing to the sick - to show all that was watching that this is a glimpse of what we were always meant to be - a new creation that is healed and restored.

While we were in Chisec, we got a glimpse of the heart of Christ, and His heart of mercy for the sick as the medical team was busy everyday seeing patients at the clinic that the missionaries had set up. I was so encouraged seeing our team of doctors and pharmacists deal with and treat each person with such tender care and loving attention. (It made me kind of want to go to medical school, but who am I trying to kid?)

I think this was what Jesus would have done. In this passage, it says that Jesus layed His hands on EACH ONE and didn't miss anyone. Each one meant so much to Him. He valued and still values the healing of the body, and more importantly, the healing of the soul. This was His mission and purpose, and we see that He didn't stop until He went to the cross, and took on Himself ALL of our spiritual diseases on Himself so that we could forever be healed.

This LENT season, may He bring healing and salvation to many - as His name spreads to one heart at a time...

Don't Let My Vision Die...

"'I tell you the truth,' Jesus said to them, 'no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.'" Luke 18:29-30

While we are at Chisec, we had the opportunity to work with 3 very godly missionaries who had responded to the calling the Lord had given them. At first, we had some reservations because they were all first-generations Koreans, and we thought it would be hard if we didn't see eye to eye with them. But it ended up being, at least for me, one of the biggest blessing being able to serve side-by-side with them, hearing their stories, and learing from their experiences.

In the above picture, we called out the missionaries and their families to do the motions to "Making Melodies" on the last day of the VBS. If you notice, only one of them had his wife and children with him. The reason for that is because the other 2 (the older ones) left their families back here in the States in order to obey the Lord, and serve as missionaries there in Chisec.

As they shared their stories with us, this was something that I couldn't really understand. Our team was later sharing with each other what a painful situation it would be if we were ever faced with it - if one of us were ever called to leave everything to go to the mission field, and our loved ones didn't agree and couldn't follow. I, personally, don't know if I could handle that.

But here they were (Rev. Chang, and Missionary Daniel), serving the Lord with all their hearts, jumping around to children's songs, battling their loneliness every day, the emptiness knowing that their beloved families are thousands of miles away. The only reason that they were there, is because their vision never faded away. Neither of their decisions were dictated by feelings, but they were faithful to their vision and calling.

On the bus ride to Chisec from Guatemala City, a couple of us were singing the old song, "Don't let my love grow cold...Don't let my vision die, I'm calling out, light the fire again..." And it started making more sense to me what those lines really mean, when I saw these missionaries screaming, "Thumbs up! Elbows out!" Their vision has not died. Their love has not grown cold . Their fire is still burning.

What's that vision? I think Jesus painted it for us well in these verses in Luke. NO ONE who has left home or their precious loved ones for the sake of Christ's Kingdom and His work will fail to gain MANY times as much here in this world, and in the world to come. I don't see any other reason why those missionaries haven't quit or packed their bags yet.

This is what Christ values in the hearts of His followers. This LENT season, I pray that our vision for our lives and for eternity will be renewed, as we behold HIS beauty and worth. May our fire always remain lit and may we faithfully carry our crosses, even until our last days.

Lord, don't let my vision die...