waiting and praying

"they all joined together constantly in prayer."

i love this picture of the early church. we are told that the 120 believers "all joined together constantly in prayer". mr. stott states that they prayed because a) Jesus had commanded them to pray and b) Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit.

the interesting thing is that Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit, then commands the believers to pray for the gift. the promise is essentially given before the command to pray.

i suppose herein lies the secret of the power of prayer: the command to pray and the promise.

Jesus knows exactly what is going to happen to us; He knows all the difficulties and sorrows that we will go through in our lives. consider this most amazing verse from psalm 139:16: "all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to pass".

before (sometimes years before) He delivers us from these evils, He gives us the faith and the inclination to pray--that's the command to pray.

when rescue and deliverance comes--that's the promise fulfilled.

whenever you have been given the inclination, the desire, and the faith to pray--it is the prelude, the assurance of the promise fulfilled.

i suppose the lesson is that we are never to give up praying--the answer is on its way.

waiting and praying is the story of the early church, and it is the description of the lives of faithful believers in Christ.

The Promise of the Spirit

Today's reading comes rather timely when our country is knee deep in the presidential election season. I think the 3 errors that Stott points out in the apostles' question is something that we can all relate to on some level.


It is easy to submerge ourselves into worldly issues (politics, cultural issues of the day etc.) and fight these mini-battles as Christians and forget that God has charged us with a higher calling to further his kingdom. This is not to say that Christians should not have a voice and that we SHOULD do our part to vote responsibly---we should.


However, this is a great leveling and perspective changing passage that reminds us of what God has charged us to do and that he has equipped us with the power of his Spirit to carry out his great commission. Spread his word and his love to the ends of the earth.

The significance of the book of Acts

As John Stott alludes in the introduction to the post-resurrection events... the book of Acts is a crucial element in the Christian story. Not only does it explain what happened after the resurrection but it also explains the expansion of Christianity and puts many of the NT epistles into it's proper context. Without it our knowledge of the beginning of Christianity would be next to nothing.

This makes the study of the book of Acts quite exiciting. Here we are given a glimpse into how the early church under the leadership of the apostles faced the cultural pressures and challenges of their day. Here we are given a model church, not because it was perfect but because despite it's weakness, God raised up the most unlikely of people like Peter and Paul and Barnabas and Luke and Timothy and many others to build and strengthen his church. In the next several weeks, we'll be studying the book of Acts so I encourage you to read along and do the extra readings prayerfully. I know that I'm always encouraged in reading this book!

Posted by Pastor James

World Mission

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations." Matthew 28:18-19

What if these verses were left out of the Gospel?

Of course, God's plan is perfect and there really is no "what ifs" in his plans. And yet the enormous significance of this one sentence in the history of our world is simply amazing. I am not speaking about the realm of Christians only. Judeo-Christian ethics, laws, and value has penetrated every significant economies of this world. It has continued its expansion for two millenia and will continue its dominance into foreseeable future.

For Non-Western Christians like us, this verse is even more significant. This really is the only explicit validation of our own existence as Christians. For us, the verse 19 is like a portal to the only Truth that matters. I wish there were more references of people in foreign countries like us in the Bible. But in its absence, I thank our Lord Jesus Christ for this new Mission; to make disciples of all nations, to seek out all human races and enlighten them with the Truth. That God created all things including myself, gave me life and the choice to fall away from him, then sent his Son to death and resurrection in order to save me from my own fatal choices.

I thank those early missionaries who took His command to heart and reached out to our people. And I pray that I too have the courage and spiritual strength to continue His Mission.

Our Living Hope

Hello everyone!  Sorry this post is so late.  I had some issues but, like Dave said in his blog, no excuses...Please bare with me cuz this is the first time I've ever done this...^-^

Today's passage comes from 1 Peter 1:3 and it says that "In his great mercy God has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."  

I think the author is trying to focus on the fact that the Gospel is our living hope and thru that living hope comes the promise of the resurrection of the body but this living hope also promises the "renewal of the universe" or a new heaven and new earth.  What this means is that God will not only purify our bodies but also the world that He created from the evils of the fallen world.   I never really thought about this because, like everyone in the world, I'm self-centered and only focus on the new body promise and never really thought about the cleansing of the world part.  The author even mentions that, "we Christians tend to think and talk too much of the ethereal heaven and too little about the new heaven and the new earth." But now that I think about it, it's like when we die or if Christ comes again, we will recieve our new bodies but where will we live with these bodies?  God takes care of that because, through his great mercy, He gives us a new and better heaven and earth where it is purge of all the sin and evils that it once was tainted by sin. 

This got me to thinking how we forget that this world is evil because it is full of sin.  We should remember that it's the people that make it evil too because of the evilness in their own hearts.  The world was created by God.  It's a gift.  But we tend to forget that and love the creation more than the Creator and try to horde it all for ourselves.  I'm also reminded of what Dulla smn once told me that the common world view is that people are born good and fight the evils of this world with that goodness but that's a wrong way of thinking.  In the Christian world view, it should be understood that people are born evil because they've inherited sin.  So throughout their Christian lives, they aren't fighting the evil/sin with their goodness but they recieve goodness from God so they can fight their own evilness with it.  And that goodness is the Gospel. 

Bottomline is the Gospel is good and our living hope. We shouldn't only focus on the promise of the renewel of the body but also to the new heaven and earth that God will give.  Sorry for rambling but that's it. Thanks for reading and see you Sunday!

The Resurrection of The Body

Hi everyone.
So sorry for writing this a day late. I have no good excuse so feel free to punch me in the arm when you see me. The reading I went over was a pretty cool one for me because it gave me an opportunity to really see our long term future in pretty clear terms. And I mean wayyy long term.

Usually, I always wonder how it's going to be like. I imagine how heaven might be or what it will seem like standing with all the saints throughout history. Sometimes I can picture it so clearly and other times my lack of faith gets in the way and it's difficult to take in fully.

But I really liked today's reflection because it paints a vivid picture of how the resurrection of our bodies will be like by using the promise of scriptures and the example of Jesus.

It also makes me reflect that God made my body and the way that I am with and for a purpose so that He could be glorified through it. It's amazing how detailed and intricate our Father is. Louie Giglio put it best when he said, "Though we are but a vapor, we are marked by majesty."

I won't lie. It kind of makes one feel special and unique but not in that arrogant way. More in that thankful kind of way.

One last thing and I would love an opinion about this... All my friends have tattoos and I always wanted to get one for some reason. But ever since I've been a Christian, I've come to believe in the resurrection of the body as Stott illustrates and I've been afraid to get any kind of tattoos because I don't want it to be with me forever. Pastor James...Do you have an opinion on this small matter??

The Conquest of Death

Today's reading made me think about death. I believe that everyone fears death. Some people are more so than others. Death is inevitable. Whether you are Christian or not death visits everyone. however for Christians who have been resurrected with Christ, death is not loss of life but gaining of eternity with Christ. We have been reading the passages regarding Jesus appeared to various people after he resurrected. Jesus appeared to his loved ones and empowered them with same power that resurrected Christ. Jesus Christ conquered the death. Whoever believe the risen Lord, death has no authority over them nor power to put them in captive.
Reading John 11:17-44, famous story about Lazarus, I put myself in Lazarus'shose. I was Lazarus died in my transgression. But Jesus called out, "Come Out" I am no longer a lifeless corp but through power of Christ I am alive. Jesus breathed in me a new life. This new life will continue on 'til eternity.