The Works of Our Hands

In that day people will look to their Maker
    and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,
    the work of their hands

There is nothing like desolation to humble people.  Whenever you see a global disaster, you often see people in utter despair looking to the heavens for answers.  Crying out to God in utter desperation.

But when things are good, we marvel at the works of our hand, the towers that we have built, the grand things of life.  We forget our maker, we forget that we are finite beings only here for a blink of a moment.  

Do I have to wait til an earthquake wipes out our city, or I suffer a tremendous loss to look up to God and cry out?  My bones should ache, my heart cry out, my soul anguish in utter desperation for his presence in my life.  

  

Colossians 3:18-4:1

Instructions for Christian Households

¹⁸ Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
²¹ Fathers,do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. ²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵ Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.

4 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

How fitting that this is the passage for today's quiet time.  I haven't done quiet time in months, and then all of a sudden I get this overwhelming desire and I kept muttering to myself, "I need the word, I need the word".

You see things are well with me and they have been for quite some time, and that's when I neglect my relationship with the Lord.   I don't need him during the good times.  

But I've been feeling more and more empty these days and I think it's because I have not been doing what I've been created for, which is praising and meeting with God in the garden.

How fitting this is the passage, because this is another reminder that I can't neglect my wife just because things are well.  Have I been loving her as I should, or have I been coasting on the lazy highway?  

Have I been interacting and teaching my kids or have I been letting the TV do all the parenting for me?  Am I pushing them too much or am I gently and lovingly guiding them?  You know the character of your boys, you have to treat them differently, push one and pull the other.  Remember how you father pushed you away and discouraged you.

God is the ruler of all.  We do have earthly bosses.  Ironically it was my bosses turn to do the dishes this week in our company kitchen.  She didn't do them, so I did them for her.  But I made sure she knew that I did it, jokingly.  But I didn't get as much kudos as I expected.  I knew I should have done it quietly and joyfully as a praise to the Lord instead of trying to get something for it.  Who is the Lord of all?  Who sees all, who rewards for the things unseen.  I've always struggled with this one.  Living for the praise of man, who doesn't want recognition?  But man's praise always comes short doesn't it?  It's flawed, they may come to expect it, they may want to know your reasons, they may take it the wrong way.  It's flawed because we're flawed.

Thank you God for this reminder today.  You are good all the time.       

Linsanity!

Gotta weigh in on this Linsanity. Back on 5/26/10 I wrote a blog about how we will begin to see more and more Asians in professional sports. I mean other than in ping pong and archery.

Here is a little excerpt:

I believe that in the next 10-15 years you will begin to see a lot more Asians entering into professional sports. Parents around my age/generation are no longer instilling this eastern mystical garbage into our kids, that a career in Medicine or Law is the only respectable career. I feel a lot more parents our generation will encourage our kids to follow their passion and support them no matter what they want to do, especially if they want to become a professional athlete.

Perhaps some of the reasons are that we don’t want to suffocate them the way our parents did, but a lot of it has to do with financial stability. Unlike our parents who often had to grind it out every day in their stores or multiple jobs, we have careers. We don’t feel the financial burden and impress upon our kids fear tactics of becoming rich and successful so they can help the family out.

Dr. Harry Edwards a sociology professor at Berkeley argued that African Americans dominated professional sports not because they were genetically gifted, but rather very much like the whole Asians becoming doctors phenomenon, most African Americans were channeled into that career as an only option.

Now I don’t completely agree with Dr. Edwards, but here we are two years later, we are enthralled with a new Asian phenom in the least likely of all places, the NBA. A league dominated by 6’8” black, athletic giants. Even good white players are overhyped and glorified in the NBA.

Now you get this modest, unbecoming Asian guy who looks like a little boy fresh off the boat and even though he is just a mediocre player, Asians all over America are claiming him as their own. We are so starving and desperate for an Asian role model who isn’t a kung fu action star with broken English, that we will desperately grab on to anything that comes our way, Jeremy Lin being the perfect example.

Now I’m not hating on Jeremy Lin, I really do hope the Knicks beat the Lakers tonight. I really do hope that Jeremy Lin scores another double double. When Kobe Bryant was asked about playing Jeremy Lin, he said, “Who is this kid?" said Bryant. "I've heard about him. What is he doing?"

If Lin is exploding against the Lakers, asked another, would Bryant consider guarding him? He cursed softly. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," said Bryant with the smallest sarcastic laugh.

No doubt Jeremy Lin shouldn't even be breathed in the same sentence as Kobe Bryant as he is no where in his league. But hey for many Asian Americans he’s all we got for now.

God is Our Refuge and Strength

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore I will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

I just got done emailing my spiritual grandmother Nellie. She is a prayer warrior and is always praying for me even though she lives all the way in Florida. I just got done asking her to pray for me to rely on God's strength, and this passage in Psalms was today's quiet time.

It's not like my life is dealing with such grand things like a mountain falling into a sea, although some are. Many times trouble comes more silently like a thief in the night in the forms of addiction or depression. Very subtle, yet the devastation that they leave is almost as destructive as an earthquake.

The holiday seasons are hard, epsecially for those without family. I remember being alone during the holidays with the bottle as my only companion. During those times when we feel we are utterly alone and are at our wits end, we have to trust that God is our refuge and strength.

Too Many Christians, Not Enough Lions

I saw an interesting bumper sticker on the way to work the other day. It read, Too many Christians, Not enough lions. I have to admit that's a pretty good one.

Christians get a bum rap these days. I read an interesting article on Tim Tebow the other day, it’s so fascinating how much buzz this guy is getting. Mostly because he’s winning, but it’s also fueled by his in your face faith in Jesus Christ. It’s funny even the most devout NFL players are telling him to tone it down a little, “You’re making us all look bad here Tim.”

Tim Tebow is under such a microscope I hope he never falls publicly, as the media would have a field day with him. It’s unfair really, in my opinion. I never understood the concept where people think Christians are the most perfect people. I guess there are some that portray a squeaky clean image, but I’ve never personally been to a church service where I felt like I was surrounded by perfect people. Who would want to go to a church like that, even if it did exist???

From what I know of the Bible, Jesus came for the sick. He hung out with prostitutes, the crippled/diseased, tax collectors, women caught in adultery, lepers, cheats, thieves, drunkards, idolaters, and murderers, the unclean and outcasts of society basically. In fact he shied away from the “perfect Christians” of those days, the Pharisees and teachers of the law. He not only avoided them, he insulted them and rebuked them every time he got the chance. He called them hypocrites, white washed tombs, and a brood of vipers. I cannot think of a harsher insult than a brood of vipers, he is basically calling them children of the devil.

What I’m getting at, is that Jesus came for the sinners. When I go to church and look around all I see are sick and hurt people who need daily forgiveness. I’m not saying this is a get out of jail free card and Christians have a license to sin, but I don’t think we are better than any body else. We struggle with the same issues, we are all broken and we live in the same broken world. Most of us come from broken homes, abuse, addiction, violence, you name it. And because of this we have various pathologies, disorders, sicknesses and we come to the great physician for healing.

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)

Romans 5:3-4

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. “

I have been encouraged a lot lately by Romans 5 :3 mainly because I was going through some difficult times. But I never truly understood how character leads to hope, so I Googled it.

I wanted to spend some time writing down my thoughts on the subject and what I read, so I can cement all the different thoughts going through my mind. I also wanted to relate it to me personally because that is how I understand things best.

One writer stated, that character is what you are when you think no-one is watching. First of all, I love that definition. Suffering can test who we really are at the core. I'm reminded of the metaphor of metal being refined by fire.

A couple months ago I lost my job. For many months prior to losing the job and the month after was a very difficult time for me. I was miserable and every part of my life was affected because of my unhappiness at work.

During this time I drew closer to God, not because I was some saint or anything, but out of sheer desperation. I felt like he was the only one I could turn to. Throughout the day I was always in constant communication with God and his word. Mary encouraged me a lot as well during this time and we often came together to God in prayer.

My main prayer throughout this ordeal was that it doesn't matter what happens if I get fired or if I get new job, it doesn't change who God is and who I am in relation to him. I also realized that there are many things in my life that are beyond my control and worrying about them wouldn’t help any.

I felt closer to him than I have in years. And despite the loss of job and uncertainty for our family, I had a great peace that God would always provide our daily bread. I also learned many other great character lesson which I will not bore my few readers here with.

So good character that stands under fire, locks in and cements our faith, which leads to a greater knowledge and understanding of our hope, basically our faith in God and an eternal life in heaven.

I felt that my faith was tested a little bit through this ordeal, I came out of it with even stronger faith, which locked in and further cemented my faith/beliefs, which is the hope/faith that I have in God and eternal life in heaven.

Sorry I had to repeat this a couple times because I am pretty slow.

On another note, this year I am thankful to God for my new job! It is amazing how he not only brought me through this ordeal stronger, but placed me in the most perfect job I couldn’t have even imagined.

Happy Birthday to My Son

Happy Birthday Christian! I love you so much. I can't believe you are 5 years old already. I remember holding you in the delivery room and you looked at me like you knew who I was.

Since then I've seen you grow into the little boy you are now. First crawl, first steps, first time you caught and threw a ball and now you are almost ready for the pros. Last night when we were playing football you amazed me so much, I told you that you were my hero. It was kind of funny but I want you to know I am your biggest fan. You are an amazing athlete, every time I see you hit a baseball, score a soccer goal, catch and throw a football I am always amazed at your 5 year old talent.

You are a great older brother. Your sensitive and gentle demeanor is such a great fit for your little rascal of a brother Aiden. You have so much patience towards him and you are always looking out for him. Your mother and I always say that it's a good thing you are the older one.

I want to be the father to you that I never had. I will always be there for you no matter what. I know there are things beyond my control, but I want to help you become the best man that I can.

You bring so much joy into my life and I want to thank you for that. Every day when I come home, and you yell daddy and run into my arms, that is the best part of my day. As you grow, you must know that I'm growing with you. I know I'm not the perfect dad, but every day you make me better.