Friday, February 19, 2010
God is an Option?
I have been struggling these past few days. In Mark 4 and parable of the sowers, I am the seed sown in the thorn where the worries of this life prevent fruit to multiply. I am filled with worries, about money, marriage and general future. At times I feel like if one more thing goes wrong, I'll snap! So, in one of my more recent arguments with God, I said, ‘God you are an option!’ Inferring that you are not necessary to people, but you are an option and so how can I make a living declaring an option. Today, I preached 2 familiar sermons at two different places and I felt 'off.' Why? I knew the talks and I got plenty of rest, but I was not spiritually 'in tune.' So, I realize that God is an option, but by his grace, if that makes sense, i.e., I was still able to preach, convey the message and even joke around, but there was no deeper connection, no heart, and lack of the genuine self. There was less of God because I was not in right connection with him. Ultimately, he is an option, but it is not out of weakness, but out of grace! So, I must be content to preach a God who is an option by grace and hence receive compensation from a world that sees him as a option by grace until by grace some people with resources realize that this so called ‘option’ is the source of life, the beginning and the end, unconditional love, healer of souls, and only hope for the desperate!
Monday, November 30, 2009
The Ultimate Christian Attainment - Divine Union
Jean Guyon
Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
The Ultimate Christian Attainment – Divine Union (pgs.127-29)
There is something in this universe which is the very opposite of God; it is the self. The activity of the self is the source of all the evil nature as well as all the deeds of man. On the other hand, the loss of the selfhood in the soul increases the purity of the soul! In fact, the soul’s purity is increased in exact proportion to the loss of self! …….
So, how can two things so opposite as the soul and God ever be united? How can the purity of God and the impurity of man be made one? How can the simplicity (or singleness) of God and the multiplicity (endless fickleness) of man ever melt into one element? Certainly much more is required than just the efforts that you can make. What then is necessary for union to be achieved? A move on the part of Almighty God Himself. This alone can ever accomplish union.
For two things to become one, the two must have similar natures. For instance, the impurity of dirt cannot be united with the purity of gold. Fire has to be introduced to destroy the dross and leave the gold pure. This is why God sends a fire to the earth (it is called His Wisdom) to destroy all that is impure in you. Nothing can resist the power of that fire. It consumes everything. His Wisdom burns away all the impurities in a man for one purpose: to leave him fit for divine union.…..
God wishes to make your soul pure. He purifies it by His Wisdom just as a refiner purifies metal in the furnace. Fire is the only thing which can purify gold. Again, the fire that consumes us – utterly – is His highest wisdom. This fire gradually consumes all that is earthly; it takes out all foreign matter and separates these things from the gold. The fire seems to know that the earthly mixture cannot be turned into gold. The fire must melt and dissolve this dross by force so that it can rid the gold of every alien particle. Over and over again, the gold must be cast into the furnace until it has lost every trace of pollution. Oh, how many times the gold is plunged back into the fire – far, far more times than seem necessary. Yet you can be sure that the Forger sees impurities that no one else can see. The gold must return to the fire again and again until positive proof has been established that it can be no further purified. There comes a time, at least, when the goldsmith can find no more mixture that adulterates the gold. When the fire has perfected purity – or should I say simplicity ¬– the fire no longer touches it. If the gold remained in the furnace for an eon, its spotlessness would not be improved upon nor its substance diminished!
Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
The Ultimate Christian Attainment – Divine Union (pgs.127-29)
There is something in this universe which is the very opposite of God; it is the self. The activity of the self is the source of all the evil nature as well as all the deeds of man. On the other hand, the loss of the selfhood in the soul increases the purity of the soul! In fact, the soul’s purity is increased in exact proportion to the loss of self! …….
So, how can two things so opposite as the soul and God ever be united? How can the purity of God and the impurity of man be made one? How can the simplicity (or singleness) of God and the multiplicity (endless fickleness) of man ever melt into one element? Certainly much more is required than just the efforts that you can make. What then is necessary for union to be achieved? A move on the part of Almighty God Himself. This alone can ever accomplish union.
For two things to become one, the two must have similar natures. For instance, the impurity of dirt cannot be united with the purity of gold. Fire has to be introduced to destroy the dross and leave the gold pure. This is why God sends a fire to the earth (it is called His Wisdom) to destroy all that is impure in you. Nothing can resist the power of that fire. It consumes everything. His Wisdom burns away all the impurities in a man for one purpose: to leave him fit for divine union.…..
God wishes to make your soul pure. He purifies it by His Wisdom just as a refiner purifies metal in the furnace. Fire is the only thing which can purify gold. Again, the fire that consumes us – utterly – is His highest wisdom. This fire gradually consumes all that is earthly; it takes out all foreign matter and separates these things from the gold. The fire seems to know that the earthly mixture cannot be turned into gold. The fire must melt and dissolve this dross by force so that it can rid the gold of every alien particle. Over and over again, the gold must be cast into the furnace until it has lost every trace of pollution. Oh, how many times the gold is plunged back into the fire – far, far more times than seem necessary. Yet you can be sure that the Forger sees impurities that no one else can see. The gold must return to the fire again and again until positive proof has been established that it can be no further purified. There comes a time, at least, when the goldsmith can find no more mixture that adulterates the gold. When the fire has perfected purity – or should I say simplicity ¬– the fire no longer touches it. If the gold remained in the furnace for an eon, its spotlessness would not be improved upon nor its substance diminished!
Growing Stronger Through Trials
my stepfather gave me these thoughts yesterday, during a rough patch in my own life, and it encouraged me, hope it helps you as well...
Growing Stronger Through Trials
By: Charles Stanley
Adversity is one of life’s inescapable experiences, and none of us are ever happy when it affects us personally. A popular theology says, ‘Just trust God and think rightly; then you won’t have hardship.’ In searching the Scriptures, however, we see that God has advanced His greatest servants through adversity, not prosperity.
God isn’t interested in making a generation of faint-hearted Christians. Instead, He uses trials to train up stalwart, spirit-filled soldiers for Jesus Christ. Most of us don’t even want to hear about difficulties, but it is far better to learn about adversity before you experience it than to face a hardship and wonder, Lord, what on earth are you doing?
We live in a fallen world, so like it or not, sin and its consequences surround us. Hardship is a part of life; it can cause disillusionment with Christianity. When we encounter such difficulty, we typically consider the ordeal unfair, unbelievable, and unbearable. Our attitude is usually, ‘its not fair God.’ But we should be asking, ‘What is God’s point of view?’
If our lives had no persecution or trials – if we had everything we wanted and none of the problems – what would we know about our heavenly Father? Our view of Him would be unscriptural and completely out of balance. Without adversity, we would never understand who God is or what he is like. God proves His faithfulness as He allows some situations from which He must rescue us.
Do you want the kind of faith that is based on only on what you have heard or read? Friend, it is never your truth until God works it into your life. Most of us memorized these words before we even understood their meaning: ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me’ (verse 4 KJV). But the 23rd Psalm didn’t become a living reality until we found ourselves in the valley.
Adversity can be a deadly discouragement… or God’s greatest tool for advancing spiritual growth. Your response will make all the difference. Remember that God has a purpose for the hardship He has allowed, and its fits with His wonderful plan for your life.
Growing Stronger Through Trials
By: Charles Stanley
Adversity is one of life’s inescapable experiences, and none of us are ever happy when it affects us personally. A popular theology says, ‘Just trust God and think rightly; then you won’t have hardship.’ In searching the Scriptures, however, we see that God has advanced His greatest servants through adversity, not prosperity.
God isn’t interested in making a generation of faint-hearted Christians. Instead, He uses trials to train up stalwart, spirit-filled soldiers for Jesus Christ. Most of us don’t even want to hear about difficulties, but it is far better to learn about adversity before you experience it than to face a hardship and wonder, Lord, what on earth are you doing?
We live in a fallen world, so like it or not, sin and its consequences surround us. Hardship is a part of life; it can cause disillusionment with Christianity. When we encounter such difficulty, we typically consider the ordeal unfair, unbelievable, and unbearable. Our attitude is usually, ‘its not fair God.’ But we should be asking, ‘What is God’s point of view?’
If our lives had no persecution or trials – if we had everything we wanted and none of the problems – what would we know about our heavenly Father? Our view of Him would be unscriptural and completely out of balance. Without adversity, we would never understand who God is or what he is like. God proves His faithfulness as He allows some situations from which He must rescue us.
Do you want the kind of faith that is based on only on what you have heard or read? Friend, it is never your truth until God works it into your life. Most of us memorized these words before we even understood their meaning: ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me’ (verse 4 KJV). But the 23rd Psalm didn’t become a living reality until we found ourselves in the valley.
Adversity can be a deadly discouragement… or God’s greatest tool for advancing spiritual growth. Your response will make all the difference. Remember that God has a purpose for the hardship He has allowed, and its fits with His wonderful plan for your life.
Deficiency of Inclusion
In my understanding, Christian Education pursues to expand the mind and empower people, by integrating study of the Word, church, world, and personal pilgrimage. Negative tensions, conflict and ineffectiveness arise when the perspectives of the Word, church, and world are predominately unilateral. This reality diminishes the personal pilgrimage of an individual or group of individuals and falls short of empowering people. The lack of awareness of one’s personal pilgrimage reduces the fullness of the Christian Education to simply an intellectual experience, and however rich this journey may be, I believe it is insufficient in fulfilling the latter goal of a Christian Education, which is to empower people, or rather the current and future leaders of the kingdom of God.
Our souls cry out, ‘I need to own my destiny!’ I believe that an individual’s destiny cannot be borrowed; rather it needs to be intimately personal! I believe ownership of one’s pilgrimage empowers ministers and consequently the kingdom of God. My destiny is unique, I am an Asian American male and my world is different from that of others within the Christian community. In many ways, my world overlaps with Whites, African Americans, Latino Americans, but at the same time it is uniquely different. There are also shades of differences within the umbrella of being an Asian American, which comprises of approximately 20 possible places of origin throughout the world. Never the less my world, and hence my journey is different from others and the various cultural nuances of my world desperately need to be acknowledged in order for my voice to be ‘real!’ Or better yet, a colleague of mine once said that as ministers, 'we shouldn't be so quick to preach pass the differences.'
I feel that there is a deficiency in trying to empower leaders with generalized inclusive values and principles, but I do wholeheartedly believe that as leaders in the kingdom of God, one of our primary missions is to usher in Revelations 7:9, ‘After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb…’ However, I have come to realize through my own painful experiences that genuine empowerment of ministers or training the men and women for the manifold ministries of the kingdom of God must allow for the ‘origin’ or beginnings of the leader(s). As Christians, we are all focused in the same direction, which is the manifestation of Revelations 7:9, but a vital part of our journey, must be in increasing the awareness of our various beginnings. Where do we come from? What is our history? What are our values? What is our culture? Understanding our origins through a theological perspective is necessary to navigate through our own personal journey, while developing an affective ministry.
Is contextualization a current part of Christian Education? I believe it is, but there is significant room for growth, even if it is for example development of more contextual curriculum to be used in various churches that focuses on integrating Christian Education with your context. I think Christian Education should allow for its people to struggle more in discovering, refining and cultivating a deep passion for our God given voice! A voice that resonates from the depths of our soul and that is more than us, a voice that incorporates our heritage, culture, and future transformation. A voice that is mandated by God to proclaim to all who would hear, a voice that we would endure suffering for, a voice that God willing, we would die for!
Our souls cry out, ‘I need to own my destiny!’ I believe that an individual’s destiny cannot be borrowed; rather it needs to be intimately personal! I believe ownership of one’s pilgrimage empowers ministers and consequently the kingdom of God. My destiny is unique, I am an Asian American male and my world is different from that of others within the Christian community. In many ways, my world overlaps with Whites, African Americans, Latino Americans, but at the same time it is uniquely different. There are also shades of differences within the umbrella of being an Asian American, which comprises of approximately 20 possible places of origin throughout the world. Never the less my world, and hence my journey is different from others and the various cultural nuances of my world desperately need to be acknowledged in order for my voice to be ‘real!’ Or better yet, a colleague of mine once said that as ministers, 'we shouldn't be so quick to preach pass the differences.'
I feel that there is a deficiency in trying to empower leaders with generalized inclusive values and principles, but I do wholeheartedly believe that as leaders in the kingdom of God, one of our primary missions is to usher in Revelations 7:9, ‘After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb…’ However, I have come to realize through my own painful experiences that genuine empowerment of ministers or training the men and women for the manifold ministries of the kingdom of God must allow for the ‘origin’ or beginnings of the leader(s). As Christians, we are all focused in the same direction, which is the manifestation of Revelations 7:9, but a vital part of our journey, must be in increasing the awareness of our various beginnings. Where do we come from? What is our history? What are our values? What is our culture? Understanding our origins through a theological perspective is necessary to navigate through our own personal journey, while developing an affective ministry.
Is contextualization a current part of Christian Education? I believe it is, but there is significant room for growth, even if it is for example development of more contextual curriculum to be used in various churches that focuses on integrating Christian Education with your context. I think Christian Education should allow for its people to struggle more in discovering, refining and cultivating a deep passion for our God given voice! A voice that resonates from the depths of our soul and that is more than us, a voice that incorporates our heritage, culture, and future transformation. A voice that is mandated by God to proclaim to all who would hear, a voice that we would endure suffering for, a voice that God willing, we would die for!
Parent/Youth Dynamics in Korean American Context
I attended a Parent/Youth Seminar this past weekend at Good Shepard Presbyterian Church in Rowland Heights, Ca. on Parent/Youth dynamics in Korean American context, conducted by Dr. Josephine Kim (google her). The seminar was filled with insights, as well as a good reminder of many aspects we are already aware of and yet the information seems to be in a 'bottle neck'! I will write in generalites because of various copyright 'unknowns.'
I felt that the seminar began with addressing various assumptions between parents and children, basically a lack of effective 'love language' communication. Alot of this is attirbuted to cultural miscues between Korean and American values. Also many, KAs (Korean Americans) grow up in a world where their ethnic makeup is not positive, but a source of 'shame,' often resulting in narcissism or low self esteem. Dr. Kim mentioned that KA males suffer from depression in high percentages. Overall, many KAs have low self esteem resutling in high percentages of depression, perfectionism, procrastination (fear of failure), shame and guilt (amongst other things)! KA parents often magnify exhisting shame in their children by trying to manipulate their kids into good behavior with statments like, 'your brother get straight A's, what about you?' Dr. Kim unequivically deters such statements and shared her personal struggles in working hard to cultivate healthy communciation with her our parents.
She often referred to Cho Seung Hui and the Virginia Tech trajedy, where she went as a bi-lingual and bi-cultural counselor and was 'heart-broken' by all the prevention that could have taken place! Dr. Kim talks about the WHOLE 'I' which states that a 'healthy' individual should be developed in a balanced way: intellectually, socially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. However, we often find overgrown areas and neglected areas. Cho Seung Hui had no friends, no support system, and was isolated.
In conclusion, she encourages us TO TEACH TO TALK! We often overspiritualize issues in church, with legalistic, spiritual 'guilt trips' which often hurt more than help people. We need to have strong, progressive leaders in the church who help faciliate opporutnities for real talk, real healing and real growth! Lastly, she shared an occasion where her and her team helped faciliate a small group of parents and kids with the focus on communciation and the kids left saying, if church was like this, I would want to come every week! That is crazy :0, I think that provides a invaluable insight into the hearts of our youth; they want to understand and be understood by their parents, but often see the chasm between each other too wide, thank God for people like Dr. Kim, who are building a bridge to that chasm!
I felt that the seminar began with addressing various assumptions between parents and children, basically a lack of effective 'love language' communication. Alot of this is attirbuted to cultural miscues between Korean and American values. Also many, KAs (Korean Americans) grow up in a world where their ethnic makeup is not positive, but a source of 'shame,' often resulting in narcissism or low self esteem. Dr. Kim mentioned that KA males suffer from depression in high percentages. Overall, many KAs have low self esteem resutling in high percentages of depression, perfectionism, procrastination (fear of failure), shame and guilt (amongst other things)! KA parents often magnify exhisting shame in their children by trying to manipulate their kids into good behavior with statments like, 'your brother get straight A's, what about you?' Dr. Kim unequivically deters such statements and shared her personal struggles in working hard to cultivate healthy communciation with her our parents.
She often referred to Cho Seung Hui and the Virginia Tech trajedy, where she went as a bi-lingual and bi-cultural counselor and was 'heart-broken' by all the prevention that could have taken place! Dr. Kim talks about the WHOLE 'I' which states that a 'healthy' individual should be developed in a balanced way: intellectually, socially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. However, we often find overgrown areas and neglected areas. Cho Seung Hui had no friends, no support system, and was isolated.
In conclusion, she encourages us TO TEACH TO TALK! We often overspiritualize issues in church, with legalistic, spiritual 'guilt trips' which often hurt more than help people. We need to have strong, progressive leaders in the church who help faciliate opporutnities for real talk, real healing and real growth! Lastly, she shared an occasion where her and her team helped faciliate a small group of parents and kids with the focus on communciation and the kids left saying, if church was like this, I would want to come every week! That is crazy :0, I think that provides a invaluable insight into the hearts of our youth; they want to understand and be understood by their parents, but often see the chasm between each other too wide, thank God for people like Dr. Kim, who are building a bridge to that chasm!
Elephant tied to a stake!
I heard a great analogy today that I feel appropriately describes many Christians today and in my context, Asian American Christians... hypothetically we are all elephants, gradually raised, attached to a chain and stake.. but over time we grow, in knowledge, strength, resources, discipline, you name it, but we never roam and conquer the greater lands because we don't think we can break the chain that we are attached to... however, over time we have grown into a 500lb elephant! I think proper perspective is the symbolism here! We have the Spirit of the Living God within us, but we don't believe we can even break the chains/stakes that bind us!
The Need to be Bilingual
I was reminded this week of the necessity for leaders in today's church to be bilingual (coined og by Ray Anderson, RIP Professor). We need to speak the language of theology and psychology. My reminder was sparked during a seminar on marriage and ministry. There are so many dysfunctional habits that the average person carries with them and often these habits do not disappear after one is saved. We all have particular ways of dealing with emotions and stress, which vary from trying to control others, escaping, blaming/anger, and internalizing into shame; unfortunately many of us rarely learn how to deal with our emotions in a healthy way. Family and/or school, often fall short in properly equipping us, it usually comes down to 'on the job training,' which seems to eventually work after lots of trial and error, but I also find myself feeling very frustrated in the church at times because we often over spiritualize relational issues that can often be significantly remedied through proper psychological counseling. A retraining of how to deal with emotions and others, especially your significant other, can be so beneficial! As the saying goes, 'knowledge is power!'
Coming from an Asian American background makes things a little more difficult, actually potentially a lot more difficult because of the 'taboo' perspective on mental health. I know we are now much more open to it, but I still observe many Asian American churches reluctant to go there!
I believe with all my heart that no matter how much counseling an individual receives, it will not result in salvation! We all need to be accepted and embraced by God's love for our souls to be redeemed. However, I also sincerely believe that psychology should play an integral part in sanctification, aka, being transformed more and more into the image of God...
Coming from an Asian American background makes things a little more difficult, actually potentially a lot more difficult because of the 'taboo' perspective on mental health. I know we are now much more open to it, but I still observe many Asian American churches reluctant to go there!
I believe with all my heart that no matter how much counseling an individual receives, it will not result in salvation! We all need to be accepted and embraced by God's love for our souls to be redeemed. However, I also sincerely believe that psychology should play an integral part in sanctification, aka, being transformed more and more into the image of God...
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