Simply Katherine, a Christian blog

"And the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel was crossing over on dry ground, until all the nation had completely crossed over the Jordan." (Joshua 3:17) I attended a virtual crystallization-study of the Books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. Like always the in-depth trainings held by Living Stream Ministry have been landmarks in my Christian life, prompting me to come to the Lord Himself to dwell on the revelations unfolded in these sessions of spoken messages. I take them as messages spoken from the Lord Himself. This time I was struck by the record of the children of Israel crossing over the River Jordan to enter into the good land. The parting of the Red Sea is quite famous, where the children of Israel exited the world (Egypt) and the ruler of the world with his evil forces (Pharaoh and his army) were buried. In our Christian life, the crossing of the Red Sea is a picture of our baptis...

Second Thessalonians 2:10 says, “And in all deceit of unrighteousness among those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved.”  In the past, I read this verse thinking that they “did not receive” because it had not been given. But clearly God intended to save! The following verses further expound that God sends them to an operation of error that they may believe the lie because — verse 12 mentions — they have taken pleasure in unrighteousness. This portion of the word is on the coming of Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, and how presently the mystery of lawlessness is already operating as signs that the Lord’s second coming is imminent.  To be sent to an operation of error by God is terrifying. Watchman Nee warns that in the last days people will accumulate wealth in an unprecedented way with multiplications of material enjoyment and lustful indulgence (Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Vol. 61). The world has always tried t...

I'm creating a new series entitled "Minute Posts" to jot down quick posts since I have recently been gifted a newborn and blogging time is extremely scarce. Hopefully this series will help me journal my walk with the Lord. Blogging and re-visiting my own posts have been very cherishing to me since they've been a constant reminder of how the Lord has been and has done in my life.  This week I just finished reading The Book of Second Chronicles. Second Chronicles ends with the record of the children of Israel's deportation to Babylon and the proclamation of their release by Cyrus the king of Persia to return and rebuild God's house in Jerusalem.  Needless to say, the deportation was a devastating event in the history of God's people. Often that's all I remember — just how severe God's chastisement can be toward His rebellious children. I was deeply touched when I read these verses in the last chapter of 2 Chronicles (2 Chronicles 36:15-16): "And...

I am overwhelmed by a renewed vision of the relationship between God and us, human beings. I always benefit from the in-depth study that Living Stream Ministry conducts semi-annually. This time the topic is on Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, tackling the great question that consists of two parts: what is God's purpose in creating man and what is God's purpose in dealing with His chosen people? This question arises when we read the Book of Job, a perfect man in his integrity, morality, uprightness, and material blessings yet suffered immensely and stripped to only his bare existence.  Job and his friends had multiple rounds of discourse attempting to provide some kind of logic to his sufferings. However, the underlying concept of their back-and-forth was a misconstrued thought concerning God's relationship with His people. I can't blame Job and his friends because I frequently find myself trapped in the same fallacy. That is, if we do good, God would reward us and if we...

It's time to pray. Pray for our country. Pray for our nation. There was a short prayer that impacted me greatly in these recent days: “O God, forgive our country. The immorality and chaos are offenses to You, the righteous God. We ask You to remember the cross on which Your Son, our Lord Jesus, died.” The prayer was in the outline of a recent Christian conference that I virtually attended and was actually a quote from the first chapter of a book entitled "The Satanic Chaos in the Old Creation and the Divine Economy for the New Creation" by Witness Lee. It was based on Genesis 8:20-22 when Noah built an altar and offered burnt offerings to please God concerning the keeping of the earth, which had just passed through the deluge, God's judgment. The significance of the altar and the burnt offerings is for us to come to the cross (signified by the altar) and offer Christ (signified by the offerings) to God. In the context of Noah's building an altar and offering burn...

To many it may be easier to respond to the developing Black Lives Matter movement, especially when the experience has been engrained and subjective to their personal lives. Honestly I can never say that I truly fathom the importance of this movement to the African-American community because of the simple reason that I am not part of the same community. I can only empathize to some extent. Back in my hometown I did go through an episode of ethnic cleansing in the late 90s where our family had to hide and pray for our lives. I remember the overwhelming feeling of insecurity that caused me to surrender to whatever was next. I lived in and witnessed the social reform that took place in the aftermath. Things got better but the solution had never been thorough because two decades later—it became world news—a local politician was incarcerated mainly due to his ethnicity and his faith. Soon I realized inherently things had not changed much. That was just the fact. This cry for justice, for...

I just participated in a virtual, international Christian conference with over 80,000 attendees. The general subject of the conference was "A Timely Word concerning the World Situation and the Lord's Recovery." The messages spoken were indeed timely and sobering, especially with the timing of the current world crisis. I'm enlightened concerning where I am now and what I should be doing because God is here. He is invisible but He is right in the center of the world situation, sitting on the throne, administrating the whole universe to accomplish His purpose. It is easy to be stumbled and to ask, "Where is God? What is He doing? Why is He letting all these innocent people suffer?" This is why we truly need a spiritual vision to see the throne of God, the spiritual scene behind the world situation that we see with plain eyes, and Christ as the center of God's administration. To be honest, when I heard the consolation to be comforted because God is on the th...

I recently read one of Watchman Nee's books. It was written in January 1923 on the first issue of a publication called "The Present Testimony." The issue itself is entitled "What is Prayer." Through some of the gatherings I had via video conference, the burden to pray began to increase within all of us. However, we soon realized that we took prayer for granted. Often I pray due to a need, to ask for things, but really, what is prayer? There's a particular paragraph in Watchman Nee's writing that deeply edifies my being. Allow me to quote: "To pray does not mean to change the mind of heaven. It is the greatest mistake to think that God is hard and stubborn and that we must use prayer to battle with Him until He yields to us and changes what He has predetermined. Actually, any prayer that is not according to God's will is useless. Because God's will has suffered a hindrance from either men or demons, we come before God (as if we are wrest...

Different lines of thoughts run through my mind during this COVID-19 outbreak. What is truly happening? Is this just the beginning? Anxiety, panic, fear mixed in with some utter ignorance and recklessness. Then the actual pestilence itself swiping through nations. The world is shaken. As a Christian, I know that I have to participate in prayers and caring for those in need. I also acknowledge that God has a specific need in this time, although I am not yet clear what He needs except for the unchanging fact that I must seek Him in prayers and in His word. He also obviously desires to spread the gospel of the kingdom to all the nations. But there's this great torpidity that drags me into a spiritual inertia. I have more idle time in my hands. It makes me restless and anxious wanting to fill my day with other stimulating excitements at this time. I can easily enjoy activities that do not necessitate the presence of many others. (I am an introvert by natural makeup so general soci...

These days I have been pondering on the Book of Deuteronomy. I was deeply impressed with a recent Living Stream Ministry's training on the crystallization study of this book. I knew Deuteronomy meant second law, or a respeaking of the divine law. Moses was rehashing God's commandments with all the statutes and ordinances to the younger generation of the Israelites, to prepare them to enter into the good land. But little did I know the sentiment and the pressing burden that Moses had, just like an old grandfather admonishing the young ones. Moses knew what were about to happen, how the children of Israel would turn away from God. Moses was almost pleading to the children of Israel to not forget Jehovah, to remember all He had done, and to obey all His commandments, truly for their own good. There were too many crystals brought forth during that Deuteronomy training. But one thing that I had been considering in recent days was the importance of the next generation - our childre...

This past week I helped my youngest brother moved to start college. Without much delay, we found ourselves sitting in a cozy living room with a happy rescue dog lying down in the center of the room waiting to be petted. It was Friday night and we were surrounded by dear believers, young and old, singing hymns to the Lord. My heart was deeply touched that we could go to a new city and jumped right into a fellowship that was low-key but in essence, dripping with life. Bringing my brother to this new city reminded me of my own transition as a freshman in college. Both my brother and I came from a high school in another country. No one could convince me otherwise, all these years Christ in the church has been the anchor of my soul. The Christ in the ministering of the word, in the church, continuously heals and humbles me.  This does not mean I never struggle. I did encounter questions in my heart and at times came across offenses that hurt. But the power of life in the ministr...

Making ourselves at home in God is not a mere theory. This implies daily we must live in the sphere, the presence, even the person of God in the sense of living in His most intimate desire. As the Apostle Paul mentions in Philippians 3:8, "be found in Him (Christ)." So that means whether we are resting or laboring, we do all things in Him. This is challenging. Well, I discovered a marvelous phenomenon - I am most restful when He is restful, I am most satisfied when He is satisfied. Yes, God desires to rest and be satisfied. Who is God God does not have any lack in Himself. He is the Alpha and the Omega, He who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty. Omnipresent, omniscient, eternal, self-existing, ever-existing, unchangeable, perfect, absolute, and complete. Praise God! Yet He is also a purposive, yearning God. When an ordinary human being has a desire in his heart, he will purpose in himself to gain what he desires, he then will plan accordingly how to accompl...

After many travels, I finally got to sleep a little bit more today because my most recent flight got delayed; and so I missed my connection to fly across the Pacific ocean. While I was waiting in line to speak to the customer service representative at the gate, I told the Lord that I couldn't figure why this happened but I would like to find Him in the midst of all. They reissued my ticket to depart tomorrow instead. It was strange; for the first time in a long time, I felt free. I had only planned to sit on the plane for the next 20 hours or so. Now I had nothing. I got home and remember that I had cleaned and packed everything already. No more list of things to do. I rummaged the fridge for leftovers, ate some snacks, then went back to bed. Two hours later I woke up rested and threw myself into the couch considering what to do next. In the back of my head, I still asked why this random thing happened with my travel and what I was supposed to accomplish today. I glanced over...

On the last day of 2015, I am spending the night at a dear Christian home nearby Seoul, South Korea. In this home I came across a little booklet, an excerpt from Andrew Murray's The Spirit of Christ, chapter 5. I am on a 3-week trip to see my old friends who are all Christians with a heart to know and love the Lord. So tonight after meeting, catching up, and having small fellowship times here and there with them, the prayer that I read from the booklet truly becomes my prayer in the closing of this year. Now I hope to share this portion with you all. May this little prayer supplies you with a fresh dose of the Lord Himself. "Blessed Lord Jesus! I do believe, help Thou mine unbelief. Do Thou, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, perfect the work of faith in me too. Teach me, I prayed Thee, with a faith that enters the unseen, to realize what Thy glory is, and what my share in it is even now, according to Thy word: 'The glory which Thou gavest me, I have given them....

Naturally I prefer a tranquil situation, an isolated position where I only have to make myself comfortable in the Lord. No frills and no complications. But this is not the journey God has ordained for me to live on. God's mercy indeed for me to not remain the same and idle. I recently traveled back home and was met with many dramatic happenings. A relative of mine is going through a very difficult and sensitive circumstance, thus I can't elaborate. But such personal affair becomes quite center stage in some aspects of the church life where he and his family live. It's a profound episode in his life. Maybe humanly only he himself knows the dimensions of the catastrophe. All of our relatives empathize but no one can truly sympathize. We were brought up as Christians who would uphold the preciousness of the church, the Lord's Body. My relatives are not perfect people (they can get angry too) but they go through the matter in much fellowship and prayers for the sake ...

I sat across from a fourteen year old, my youngest brother. We had dinner together at a nearby restaurant, just the two of us, before he had to catch a plane to go to school abroad. My youngest brother loves to eat and play computer games; he also loves spending time with me. I can't believe he's about a foot taller than I, and still growing. He's chatty but usually the topics revolve around food, going to the malls, his friends, or the best, newest fancy gadget he's been eyeing for a while. That evening, however, he nonchalantly told me more serious matters concerning his surrounding. At first he sounded like a tattletale, but when I put myself in his shoes, I immediately felt a great empathy toward him. The situation he mentioned was heavy to bear, but he spoke as if it was an ordinary part of life. The Lord reminded me right then: It is human to need God. That's a plain fact, even for a teenage boy. My brother received the Lord a few years ago, at night, on...

I was "born this way" therefore everyone should accept the way that I am and come to terms with the lifestyle I'm naturally drawn to. Such notion is prevailing in society today. It's a right to live according to our inborn propensities, some say. But, we were all born sinners, and our chief inborn propensity is to sin. If sinning is a right, then we are truly living in an inverted world.  We were born sinful, but why do we think to sin is a rightful liberty? It's an illegal enslavement. Within, our own conscience convicts us with guilt, and without, the consequences of our sinful deeds ripen. But we keep on sinning beyond control. The world is confused and is blatantly confusing. In moments like this, the phrase "born again" brings me to tears, tears of deep gratitude. I was born a sinner but the Lord Jesus died for me, paid the highest price to redeem me from the wages of my sins. When I received the Lord Jesus Christ as my God and Savior, He c...

This week I've been enlightened, convicted, and supplied by God's Word. It's a privilege, a blessing, and a mercy to love God because He has first loved us. So I made a little tune to 1 John 4:10-11, 16. "Herein is love,  not that we have loved God but that He loved us  and sent His son as a propitiation for our sins. Beloved,  if God has loved us in this way,  we also ought to love one another. And we know and have believed the love which God has in us.  God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God  and God abides in him."

After serving the Lord for a few years, I gradually realize that none of my qualifications, whether it's integrity or skills, is worth anything in His eyes. According to Philippians 3:3, we must be ones who "serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh." I experience an outward change in my service: instead of serving full-time, I will serve part-time with the campus ministry I've been involved with for the past five years. I don't know yet what I will do with the rest of my time, but the Lord has not required any less of my genuine service and worship to Him. I still belong to Him and He is still my God. I'm not certain of what the future holds, but one thing I know, the Lord Jesus will never let me go and will always demand a resurrection-ly  living. And yes, I cannot attain the Lord's desire by myself but He can continue to be and do just that in me. This morning I had a time with the Lord and was touched ...

What a great deliverance we have: out of the authority of darkness. What a marvelous transfer: into the kingdom of the Son of God's love. Today I found genuine freedom. Freedom from flesh, freedom from self; freedom from striving just to be good. To live in God's kingdom is not a matter of outward teaching & regulation. In this realm we are ruled in love, with life, and under light. A realm that requires the divine life with the innate ability of life. The authority of the kingdom is in the flowing of this life, in the shining of Jesus, and in the sense of life. Here there is no fear. No more struggle to please others, 'Tis freedom to live solely unto the King. Personal notes from "The Ministry of the Word" Vol. 19, No.1 (Jan 2015)