Last Monday, I overheard a hallway conversation passing by my office at my working place. A person asked his converser, “Are you still at the same job?” The converser answered, “I am not there anymore. I moved to a new job weeks ago.” This conversation prompts me to think a little bit, as one of my colleagues just moved to a new position a week ago. It seems to me job churning is becoming a common norm nowadays.

Sometimes “I am not there anymore” does not necessarily mean he or she moves to a new location. He or she could work remotely at the same location for his / her new assignments, as modern technology enables communications with others through various means with little limitations. If we ponder it further we can find that being a Christian bears the same “I am not there anymore” concept. In a sense, when one becomes a Christian, he or she is still in this world. That means he or she is still working at the same location except he or she is working for God from now on, i.e. to witness Him. No wonder someone used to say, Christians are “in this world” but “NOT of this world”.

In fact, there is a true change of location for Christians too, spiritually. Apostle Paul indicated to us that “He (God) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 他救了我們脫離黑暗的權勢，把我們遷到他愛子的國裡；我們在愛子裡得蒙救贖，罪過得以赦免 (Colossians 1:13-14)。” From God’s point of view, we do have a change of position and a change of location at the same time. Sometimes we don’t realize this fact because we are still physically located in this world – not until the day of Christ’s second coming, we won’t experience it physically.

Oftentimes, most of us feel frustrated in this world – we need to keep hopping from job to job and from location to location. It is like the Israelites wander in the wilderness. But we would be in the worst situation if we were still physically situated in this world couldn’t leave when the judgment day comes. Being a Christian, the hope to be with the Lord sustains one’s life journey in this world, even at the worst condition. Boethius, a sixth-century philosopher and was imprisoned and eventually executed by King Theodoric the Great, once said, “Nothing is miserable but what is thought so, and contrariwise, every estate is happy if he that bears it be content. 無事可使人痛苦，除非自怨自艾；反之，若知足則處處是樂土。” His faith in Christ gives him a perspective that overcomes circumstances. The hope in Christ gives him contentment under the persecution.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, may the concept of “I am not there anymore” could give you a new thought of Christian’s life journey.

———————————————————————————————————-
Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

Last Saturday was a beautiful day; several families of us went out to a local state park to enjoy its beautiful summer scenery. I was astonished to see such a huge crowd around the park, even at late afternoon when we were about to leave, we still see people entering the park. When we were at the park, I could literally see people everywhere, for BBQ, running, walking and boating. The air was filled with aroma of BBQ-ing and it stirred up my taste buds too 🙂

Seeing this amazing scene, it reminds me of the “hungry crowd of people” who followed Jesus to a desert place. According to the Gospel of Matthew, it was the time after Jesus heard the beheading news of John the Baptist. As Jesus withdrew by boat privately to a desert place, the crowds found it out and followed Him. From Matthew’s recording, you may see an interesting contrast between Jesus and His disciples – Jesus’ compassion vs. the disciples’ reluctance to the crowds because of their limited understanding of Jesus’ power. In the end, we learned that no matter how limited they are the compassionate Jesus could turn their limited “five loaves of bread and two fish” into a feeding feast to well over 5,000 people. What a miracle!

I was not sure how many people were in the state park last Saturday but I estimate it would be fewer than 5000 people. Imagine if Jesus appears to the crowds in the park and shouted, “Come here to eat! I have bread and fish” Do you think people will come? I would say, “Probably not, because they brought their own food and were satisfied already.” This tells us one simple truth, “If you are hungry for something, you will look for it.”

In the Gospel of John, Jesus declared that He is the “Bread of Life (John 6:35)” ； “Living Water (John 7:38)”; “Light of the world (John 8:12)”; “Gate for the sheep (John 10:7)”; “Good Shepherd (John 10:11)”; “The Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)”; and the “True Vine (John 15:1)” . 我是生命的糧；我是活水；我是世界的光；我是羊的門；我是好牧人；我是道路真理生命；還有，我是真葡萄樹. He told us that “No one come to the Father except through Him.” It is clear to us that He is the only way to God the Father. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, like the crowd in the park, if we are not hungry for Him, we would be hungry for worldly things – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life肉體的情慾、眼目的情慾並今生的驕傲. So, a question to you is “Are you hungry for Jesus?” Hope your answer is “Yes!”
———————————————————————————————————-
Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

Last Monday, we had to send our kids back to their college because of their housing arrangement and personal commitment to others. Our house is therefore quiet again after they are gone – normally we had a crowd of young people gathered, when they are around. As I looked back to my younger days, instant gathering is almost impossible for we need to call friends’ houses first and ask for permission from their parents. Nowadays, it is quite different. The younger generation all have their way of invitation through cell phones and computer. Impromptu invitations and gatherings become a norm – it is a social media era!

That day when we drove them back, in the car I saw they kept their heads down all the times on their cell phones. My wife couldn’t stand that and complained to them. Do you know what their answer is? “What? What?…” This makes my wife even agitated because she thought they were not paying attention to her. Sometimes I got the same feeling too – I have to raise my voice and repeat my question in order to get their attention. What a social-media addicted generation! I find that “technological convenience” promotes “bondage” and “aggravation” in this case.

As much as we don’t like people respond with “What? What?” to us, I don’t think God, who is our Heavenly Father, would like His children respond to Him with the same “What? What?” either when He speaks to them. In fact, this has been recorded in the Bible repeatedly throughout the history of Israelites. Even Israelites is called God’s chosen people, God is not always pleased with their response to His instruction, after He spoke to them through the prophets at many times and in various ways. No wonder Moses said, “You have been rebellious against the LORD ever since I have known you. 自從我認識你們以來、你們常常悖逆耶和華 (Deuteronomy 9:24)”

The question here is do we have the same rebellious attitude as the Israelites toward God? If yes, it certainly will hamper our growth in the Lord and quickly become a serious problem to our spiritual journey. What we can do is to come to our Lord everyday reflecting on our attitude toward Him. We can adjust our attitude through the help of the Holy Spirit. Hence, my dear brothers and sisters, my prayer to you is: may you listen to the whisper of the Spirit and become a child that is pleasing to Him.

———————————————————————————————————-
Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

Entering the first week of August, I had experienced an action-packed week – family outing to the local Outlet Mall, kayaking in a local pond, attending Praisefest at church and then a wedding celebration down in the city after Sunday service. I find that life sometimes is just plainly busy, full of excitement and of course, physically demanding too – I need to be the designated driver all the times.

This lets me think of a familiar term. called “Backseat Driver”. Normally, the term “backseat driver” is for an annoying person who is fond of giving advice to the person performing a task or doing something, especially when the advice is either wrong or unwelcome. In my case, it is different – I have a “right-seat driver” who is actually my wife sits on my right hand side to help me in looking for direction, to raise my awareness of roadway condition, and to keep me from dozing off. Thus, it is actually for my own good. 🙂

Evidently, most of us don’t like backseat driver much in our life and instead, a right-seat driver as described before would be preferred. However, even the best right-seat driver is still not perfect – he or she may sometimes doze off too. Worse yet, when he or she becomes the backseat driver sitting on your right hand side, it is going to make your life miserable. Therefore, a “good right-seat driver” in our life journey is absolutely essential.

King David in Psalm 16 told us, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 我將耶和華常擺在我面前，因他在我右邊，我便不致搖動 (Psalm 16:8)”. David indicates that it is God who is at his right hand side and therefore, he is not afraid of difficult situations and he rejoices and rests secure in Him. Then in Psalm 110, he also prophesized, “The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.耶和華對我主說：「你坐在我的右邊，等我使你仇敵做你的腳凳。」(Psalm 110:1)”. David indicates here once again the importance of right hand seat. In this case, it is Jesus who sits at God’s right hand and is honored.

David not only knows the importance of who should be at his right hand side, he also knows the imperative need to let God be in his life’s driver seat. No wonder, David was called “A man who follows God’s heart 合神心意的人”. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, my question to you is: “Are you willing to let God in the driver seat of your life?” If you do, then your life will be protected and full of grace because He promised, “The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand. 保護你的是耶和華．耶和華在你右邊蔭庇你。The LORD will keep you from all harm — He will watch over your life. 耶和華要保護你免受一切的災害，他要保護你的性命。(Psalm 121:5, 7)”

———————————————————————————————————-
Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.