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Showing posts from September, 2011

How to be a Christian

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Some are satisfied just to be saved from eternal perdition, while others have continued to struggle to be better Christians. The question has many facets, implications, and complications. How to be a Christian? Is it all about good deeds? Is it all about trying to obey the Ten Commandments? Is it about doing great things for God? Is it about getting hundreds of thousands saved? Or is it just about being saved from eternal perdition? Let's take a journey along the path of this big question. To those who are seeking the Lord in a genuine way, naturally we all have a concept of needing to do something for God. Like the disciples themselves had asked, "What shall we do that we may work the works of God?" (John 6:28). Also in Exodus 19, the children of Israel answered, "All that Jehovah has spoken we will do" (Exodus 19:8). To work for God is the mindset of most Christians throughout the ages. This is how I often think of 'how to be a Christia

God's Salvation to Us

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Dear readers, I've been out from my daily routine this past week due to an injury. It's truly challenging, staying at home, not knowing how to best occupy my time. Well, a lot of my companions dropped by to see how I was doing. Their visitations were God's salvation to me, from wasting away my time doing other things. Whenever these ones came, they not only brought physical food but they were also ready to dispense spiritual food into my hungry spirit. We didn't do a serious Bible study or anything like that but... how should I say this? It was like they were living out the spiritual nourishment, Christ, into me in the most normal way. I've also enjoyed reading an in-depth study of the Book of Exodus. I came across this matter of God's salvation depicted in the giving of God's law to the children of Israel in the Old Testament. Do you know what was God's original intention in giving out the law? In Exodus 19, this account was fully recorded. I

Conversations with Mrs. L - Letting the Brothers Take the Lead

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Click here for Conversations with Mrs. L - The Role of a Woman in the Church Growing up, I was taught to be an independent thinker. So when Mrs. L mentioned this matter about letting the brothers to take the lead, I was somewhat puzzled. I understood that we, as sisters, should follow the brothers' lead but Mrs. L opened up another dimension on the matter. She said, "letting." To me, that sounded like there was an implication of "you may not be thinking the same thing, but you would still let them take the lead." Now that's contrary to a popular notion out there to stand up for what you think is right. I'd be the first one to confess that this isn't easy. Many times I insisted on my ways because I genuinely thought that I was right, but if you think about it, that's exactly what the other person would think about his/her ways. So who's right? In the end, it's not about being open-minded or conservative. God's ordination is Go

Conversations with Mrs. L - The Role of a Woman in the Church

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I've been blogging on my Christians on Campus series these days, so I just decided to revisit my experiences with Mrs. L. For those who want to read the previous posts on this series, click here for Conversations with Mrs. L .  Recently, I've been wanting to write Mrs. L a letter. The last time I tried to visit her in July she was resting, recovering from a surgery, so I didn't get to see her or talk to her at all. Well, since she needed a lot of rest, I thought maybe I could just write her a letter so that she'd be able to read it at her convenience. But I never get to write anything yet. I really want to thank her for all her words of grace, of life, that she had infused into my being. In particular, I was always impressed with her answer to the question I had concerning the role of a woman in the church. You may think it's an old-fashioned concept. "I'm young and capable, so why be limited with this thought of how to function as a woman, a

The Divine Accounting

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My sister, Po, is studying accounting in one of the top business schools in the U.S. She's super busy but I appreciate her endeavor to make time for the Lord and the church life . That's an important prelude to my story. So here we go. Long story short, about two years ago, I was given the responsibility to own a house (I know it sounds strange, I should be happy getting a house for "free"). Yet with that ownership, there would be taxes and other liabilities. In my head, a balance sheet kept appearing. That's right, every asset is always followed by some kind of liabilities. Well, let's see. Fixed assets are tied to depreciation. Current assets can incur operating expenses, e.g., inventory generates the cost of holding goods in stock. Liquid cash is vulnerable to inflation rate, while accounts receivable are problematic in themselves if they're never met with actual payments. It wasn't that difficult to come up with a realization that th

Christians on Campus - I Needed a Home

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Like always, please check out my previous post ( Christians on Campus: Needing Older Christians ) for context, everyone! This post is part of a series, entitled "Christians on Campus". So Grace took me to this couple's house for a dinner one evening. Honestly, I can't remember when exactly we went to their house, but I think it was early in the Fall semester. It was just the four of us: the couple (Don and Judy), Grace, and I. We had a delicious home-cooked meal and chatted about many topics. Don was interested in the geography of my home country. He was an extremely resourceful man, both in knowledge and spirituality. Judy was a very pleasant, warm lady. The whole atmosphere in that home was casual, loving, and comfortable. I couldn't help but falling in love with being in their home, being in their midst. My cheeks were sore that night because I couldn't stop smiling all evening. Oh, I forgot to tell you that Don was the older man who ga