Steps to Christ, ch. 5 Consecration

The whole heart must be yielded to God, or the change can never be wrought in us by which we are to be restored to His likeness. By nature we are alienated from God. The Holy Spirit describes our condition in such words as these: “Dead in trespasses and sins;” “the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint;” “no soundness in it.” We are held fast in the snare of Satan, “taken captive by him at his will.” Eph. 2:1; Isa. 1:5,6; 2Tim. 2:26. God desires to heal us, to set us free. But since this requires an entire transformation, a renewing of our whole nature, we must yield ourselves wholly to Him.

The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God, requires a struggle; but the soul must submit to God before it can be renewed in holiness.

In giving ourselves to God, we must necessarily give up all that would separate us from Him. Whatever shall draw away the heart from God must be given up. Mammon is the idol of many. The love of money, the desire for wealth, is the golden chain that binds them to Satan. Reputation and worldly honor are worshiped by another class. The life of selfish ease and freedom from responsibility is the idol of others. But these slavish bands must be broken. We cannot be half the Lord’s and half the world’s. We are not God’s children unless we are such entirely.

Temple of God

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" John 2:13-16

Temple is a place for people to come and meet God. Temple is a place where God dwells. So when you come to a temple you come and worship! But during this time of Passover, the temple was lost its function and it turned into a market for personal profit! Think of how sad God would have been when He was waiting for His people to come and spend time with Him, but instead they were only interested in making money for themselves.

God tells us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Our body is a place where the Holy Spirit can dwell. It is sacred and important. The above text tells us how important it is for us to take care of ourselves. God wants to dwell among us. He wants to spend time with us. We need to practice in thinking Godly things, not worldly things. It's important for us to make sure that we gain on Godly matters, not selfish personal matters.

GC, p. 263

There is, therefore, the closest connection that can be conceived, between the law and the gospel. On the one hand, the law continually makes way for, and points us to, the gospel; on the other, the gospel continually leads us to a more exact fulfilling of the law. The law, for instance, requires us to love God, to love our neighbor, to be meek, humble, or holy. We feel that we are not sufficient for these things; yea, that ‘with man this is impossible;’ but we see a promise of God to give us that love, and to make us humble, meek, and holy: we lay hold of this gospel, of these glad tidings; it is done unto us according to our faith; and ‘the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us,’ through faith which is in Christ Jesus...

Oprah learns Sabbath is on Saturday from Adventist moviemaker

Ezra 7:10

The people of God have been captives of Babylon and into the Persian era for seventy years. But as Jeremiah the prophet had prophesied, it was now time for the Israelites to return back home. In his first year, the Persian king Cyrus orders that the Israelite captives return home and rebuild the house of God.

Oh, how long have they been waiting for this moment! Ezra 3 tells that the first thing restored when they returned was the restoration of worship. Next they started on the restoration of the temple, the house of God.

I believe this applies to our lives as well. We have met Jesus, and He has made us clean. Before knowing Jesus, our minds were full of rubbish and meaninglessness. It was no different from the ruins of the temple. Now that we have met Jesus, we should restore worship and rebuild the temple of God. Worship is indeed important in the fact that it connects us to God. We were created in the likeness of God for us to worship Him. 1 Corinthians 6:19,20 tells us that our body is the "temple of the Holy Spirit." We need to rebuild our temple. It is very important that we cleanse our mind and thoughts and live for His glory.

But the process of restoring the temple was challenging. There were many objections. Hearing of the complaints, King Artaxerxes commands the restoration of the temple to stop. The people of God did not give up and at last under the decree of King Darius, the restoration of the temple is finished!

Notice what interests me next. Ezra comes to Jerusalem with the second group of people and this is what he does next:
"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel." Ezra 7:10.

I think this verse says it all. Being captives of Babylon and Persia for over 70 years they must have forgotten the Law of God, the statutes, and the ordinance. It was now time to restore their identity through the Word of God!

It is only through the Word of God that we can be restored. It has the power of life and we need to learn to practice it daily just as Ezra did. Daily connection with the Word of God is what accelerates us to sanctification. Jesus has saved us to eternity and the Word of God is what helps us keep connected and practices us to be suitable to live in heaven with God.

Ezra 7:10 reminds us of another verse (as my friend Mike Cho has told me) which is Deuteronomy 6:7: "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."

The Word of God must be lived in my life at all times.

Steps to Christ, ch. 4

True confession is always of a specific character, and acknowledges particular sins. They may be of such a nature as to be brought before God only; they may be wrongs that should be confessed to individuals who have suffered injury through them; or they may be of a public character, and should be definite and to the point, acknowledging the very sins of which you are guilty.

Confession will not be acceptable to God without sincere repentance and reformation. There must be decided changes in the life; everything offensive to God must be put away. This will be the result of genuine sorrow for sin. The work that we have to do on our part is plainly set before us: “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Isaiah 1:16,17.

When sin has deadened the moral perceptions, the wrongdoer does not discern the defects of his character nor realized the enormity of the evil he has committed; and unless he yields to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit he remains in partial blindness to his sin.

The humble and broken heart, subdued by genuine repentance, will appreciate something of the love of God and the cost of Calvary; and as soon as a son confesses to a loving father, so will the truly penitent bring all his sins before God. And it is written, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Selfish love

God would have His children realize that in order to glorify Him their affection must be given to those who most need it.... No selfishness in look, work, or deed is to be manifested when dealing with those of like precious faith, ... whether they be high or low, rich or poor. The love that gives kind words to only a few, while others are treated with coldness and indifference, is not love but selfishness. It will not in any way work for the good of souls or the glory of God. Our love is not to be sealed up for special ones, to the neglect of others. Break the bottle, and the fragrance will fill the house. 

EGW, MS 17, 1899.

Desire of Ages, 329, 330

Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord. Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way will be opened for you to disentangle yourself from embarrassment and difficulty. The weaker and more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger will you become in His strength. The heavier your burdens, the more blessed the rest in casting them upon the Burden Bearer.
Worry is blind, and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet.

And they ridiculed Him

“And they ridiculed Him.” Mark 5:40.

Last Sabbath I was talking about a woman who had touched Jesus and that she was healed because of her faith. But that was just part of another story. For Jesus was actually on His way to the house of Jairus. But soon a messenger had come and had told the group that it’s no use anymore, because the girl had already died.

Yet Jesus insisted on going and He said, “The child is not dead, but sleeping.” And they “ridiculed” Him. This story is found in Matthew and Luke as well and each of them mentions that they “ridiculed” Jesus. 

This is really interesting, because this wasn’t the first time that Jesus had raised up the dead to life. Jesus already showed the miracle of raising the dead to life, yet the people laughed at Jesus. There was nothing to make fun of, for Jesus is the Creator, the maker of life.

I wondered as I read this part whether we go through the same experience as well. Do we ever doubt the things that God has promised to do for us? Do we doubt the power of prayer and so do we hesitate? Do we ever doubt God? On the other hand, if you put it the other way around, do non-Christians ‘ridicule’ us for us being who we are as followers of Christ?

I pray that this won’t become our experience. There is no need to “ridicule” Jesus. There is no need to doubt. Just believe, and be saved. It’s as simple as that.

Keep out of it!

I love the water and I love scuba diving. Exploring under the water is one of the things
that really makes me happy and I just wish I could be down there all the time. With air
tank on my back, I can dive into the water with limited amount of time. But I can’t stay
down there forever. The longer you stay in the water, and the deeper you go down, the
nitrogen in the compressed air of the tank will get dissolved into your body. With careful
procedures you can let out the nitrogen naturally and have no problem but once you
ignore certain procedures and stay too long, the nitrogen that was dissolved in your
body will grow bubbles and will cause serious damage to your body. In some cases you
will be intoxicated with oxygen.

The reason for these things happening is because we do not belong in the water. We
are mammals that belong out in open air, not under the water. We belong up there, not
down there. The point is, to keep yourself safe, keep out of it.

With oppression of the Philistines for 40 years, God gave Samson through Manoah and
his wife. Samson was to become a leader and judge for the people of God, and at the
same time, he was to live as a Nazirite. A Nazirite was a special group of people that
consecrate their life to only devote themselves to God. They were to live with a special
lifestyle. (To see more on Nazirite, read Numbers 6) When Samson was born, he “grew,
and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at
Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.” (Judges 13:24, 25).

Our lives as Christians are specially consecrated to God. The famous verse in
Revelation tells us, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” (Revelation 14:12) As we live in the end
time of history, we are called as a group of people specially consecrated for God. We
are asked to keep God’s commandments and have the faith of Jesus. Not only that, “the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.” (1Corinthians 12:7)
Just as the Spirit of God moved upon Samson, He moves upon us as well.

Samson was a strong and powerful leader. And the Lord was surely with Samson in his
legendary stories: when he killed the lion with bare hands, when he caught 300 foxes
and tied their tails with torches, when he killed 1000 men with just a fresh jawbone of
a donkey, when he pulled out the gates of Gaza. No matter how strong you can be,
you can’t do these things on your own. It’s just impossible. The only way these were
possible was faith. “And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of
Gideon and Barak and Samson... who through faith ... stopped the mouths of lions...”

(Hebrews 11:32,33) “And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he tore
the lion apart...” (Judges 14:6) God was with Samson in all the legendary stories of
Samson. It is God who gave strength to Samson.

Though Samson was physically strong, he had a weak side. He was weak on women.
I am pretty sure most men will understand Samson. The problem here is that he keeps
falling for Philistine women, not an Israelite. They were heathen and did not believe
in God. People of God interacting with the secular things of the world is surely a big
problem for God. One of the reasons that God brought the Flood upon the earth
was “that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they
took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.” (Genesis 6:2) This is something
we need to look into as Christians who confess to have dedicated ourselves wholly to
God. Are we too much consumed and occupied by the things of the world? Are we not
spending enough time with God due to the fun and glamorous things of the world? Do
we belong to the secular world? Is it where we should be as Christians?

When Samson had a wedding with a Philistine woman, he gave a riddle to the people
there. No one knew the answer. Then Samson’s wife came upon him, wept and begged
to tell her the answer (so she can tell the people, for she was threatened). “Now she
wept on him the seven days while their feast lasted. And it happened on the seventh
day that he told her, because she pressed him so much. Then she explained the riddle
to the sons of her people.” (Judges 14:17) This similar experience happens again
later with Delilah. The Philistines are seeking where Samson’s strength comes from.
And so Delilah keeps asking Samson what secret is. Samson lies for 3 times to this
woman. “And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed
him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart, and said to
her...(the secret)” (Judges 16:16, 17). After this, Samson loses his strength, is captured,
and his eyes are gauged out.

Had Samson chose to leave that place where those Philistines dwelled, the
consequences could have been different. Because of Samson’s choice to stay there
and to give in, it gave the women opportunity to press on them. Secular temptations
will press you and grow unto you, should you choose to compromise and mingle with
the secular things. Keep out of it! Just as Samson didn’t belong with the Philistines, we
don’t belong to the world.

Now this is why I always choose Samson as my favorite character of the Bible.
Not because of his weakness and lust for women, not because of his strength, but
because of God’s grace and faithfulness. Despite the mistakes and wrongdoings
of Samson, God still used Samson as a judge and a leader for 20 years. (Judges

15:20) And whenever Samson had faith in God, God came upon him and gave him
the strength. “However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been
shaven.” (Judges 16:22) As Samson’s hair grew again, I believe Samson’s faith in
God grew again, too. Samson chooses to fight for God one last time. The Philistines
are celebrating at the temple and they call for Samson to make fun of him and his lost
strength. While Samson is being led by a servant boy, Samson asks him to lead him in
between two pillars that support the temple.

“Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, ‘O Lord God, remember me, I pray!
Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance
on the Philistines for my two eyes!’... then Samson pushed (the two pillars) with all his
might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead
that he killed at this death were more than he had killed in his life.” (Judges 16:28-30)

God did not forget Samson but was with him once more as Samson shout out in faith.
I wonder, however, did Samson have to die this way? Like I said earlier, had Samson
chose not to mingle with secular temptations and be faithful to God, then God could
have used Samson for more than 20 years. And he would not have ended up with his
eyes plucked out and die in that heathen temple. He would have been able to serve
God the rest of his life and age to death.

We now live in the end times of history. I can feel in my skins that Jesus is coming
very, very soon. It’s time to look back to our lives and see where we are at. It’s time
to get out of it if you find yourselves too much into the secular things of the world. We
don’t need to make the same mistakes that Samson had made. But it’s also ok to make
mistakes (for we are weak) as long as we remember to return back to God in faith. Let’s
remember that we do not belong to this world but that we belong to God.

Keep out of it!

Christian Service, p. 38

When I study the Scriptures, I am alarmed for the Israel of God in these last days. They are exhorted to flee from idolatry. I fear that they are asleep, and so conformed to the world that it would be difficult to discern between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. The distance is widening between Christ and His people, and lessening between them and the world. The marks of distinction between Christ’s professed people and the world have almost disappeared. Like ancient Israel, they follow after the abominations of the nations around them.

You are Special

 by Max Lucado. Pretty powerful!

I AM the Light of the world

I think many of you are familiar with the story of Mary where she is caught in the act of adultery. Mary is brought to Jesus by the Jewish leaders because they want to trick and trap Jesus. According to the Mosaic law, she is to be stoned. But being under the Roman authorities, they cannot kill (or stone). What is Jesus to do? 

Instead, Jesus says, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." (John 8:7) Then he wrote on the ground. We don't know what Jesus wrote on the ground, but the Jewish leaders, one by one, left the scene in haste! The following is the famous dialogue between Jesus and Mary:

"Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" 

She said, "No one, Lord."

And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." 

John 8:10-11

ah! isn't this a famous text? We always talk about that line: "Go and sin no more." We like to put emphasis in this line and make it the climax of this story. And I agree with it, too. But we have to realize that the portion of this story does not end here. I realized it this time.

This is what verse 12 says:

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I AM the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

Yes! This is one of those famous "I AM" texts in the gospel of John! I AM the water, I AM the bread... I AM the LIGHT says Jesus. It is important to "sin no more" now that Jesus does not condemn us any more and that we should live a purer life. BUT it is more important to live in JESUS! The best way to succeed in the "sin no more" life is to live in the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. Attempting to just to "sin no more" without Jesus is just very difficult. We need to to put ourselves in the Light where there is no more darkness. If we are in darkness, no matter how much we run we will still be in darkness, unless we turn on the LIGHT JESUS, for He will get rid of the darkness.

June 21, 2012, from my weekly devotional for Rosemead Korean EM

John 16:23,24

And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Kyle Idleman, Not a Fan, p. 160

You can't carry a cross without suffering. There is no comfortable way to carry a cross.

Come and See

With his two disciples standing next to him, John the Baptist points to Jesus and cries out, "Behold the Lamb of God!"

When the two disciples heard this, immediately they followed Jesus. Jesus turns around to them and asks, "What do you seek?"

The two disciples asked, "Rabbi, where are You staying?"

Jesus said to them, "Come and see."

Following day, Jesus found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."

Philip was so excited and he wanted to share this great joy with his buddy, Nathanael. Philip runs to Nathanael and shouts, "We have found him, Jesus of Nazareth?"

Uninterested, Nathanael responds, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Philip said to him, "Come and see."

I got excited as I read this story in John 1. I read this chapter numerously before but all this time I was only focusing on the beginning part of the chapter which talks about the Word, and the Word becoming the flesh. But this time, as I read the chapter once again, I saw this very invitation, "Come and see."

Jesus invites us to "Come and see." Many times, we tend to be ignorant and uninterested like Nathanael. Or we could be like the two disciples wondering about where this Man is staying. We tend to look for a solid evidence before actually stepping up to meet Jesus. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, yet our doubts, uncertainty, carelessness become obstacles and hold us down when the invitation is given to "Come and see."

Indeed when Nathanael finally met Jesus his confession was, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

When Jesus invites us we need to welcome that invitation and step up to see for ourselves who Jesus is and what He has done for me. We should not hesitate but rise up to that call. And when we respond to that invitation, our confession will be, "Jesus you are the Son of God! You are the King of the Universe!"

"Come and see."

Steps to Christ, ch. 3

How shall a man be just with God? How shall the sinner be made righteous? It is only through Christ that we can be brought into harmony with God, with holiness; but how are we to come to Christ? Many are asking the same question as did the multitude on the Day of Pentecost, when, convicted of sin, they cried out, “What shall we do?” The first word of Peter’s answer was, “Repent.” Acts 2:37,38. At another time, shortly after, he said, “Repent, ... and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” Acts 3:19.

Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the life.

But when the heart yields to the influence of the Spirit of God, the conscience will be quickened, and the sinner will discern something of the depth and sacredness of God’s holy law, the foundation of His government in heaven and on earth. The “Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” illumines the secret chambers of the soul, and the hidden things of darkness are made manifest. John 1:9. Conviction takes hold upon the mind and heart. The sinner has a sense of the righteousness of Jehovah and feels the terror of appearing, in his own guilt and uncleanness, before the Searcher of hearts. He sees the love of God, the beauty of holiness, the joy of purity; he longs to be cleansed and to be restored to communion with heaven.

Inspired mind exrpressed

"It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man's words or his expressions but on the man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, is imbued with thoughts. But the words receive the impress of the individual mind. The divine mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is combined with the human mind and will; thus the utterances of the man are the word of God." EGW, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 21

Every morning at 8am, daily lessons for the Sabbath School Quarterly Studies pop up on my smartphone (how cool is that...). It has become a routine for my morning that a lot of times these days I just ignore and do my morning stuff. But for some reason, this morning I just started reading the page and above was what I read. It was only the 2nd week of the quarter and because I got interested I skimmed over last week's study and this week's as well. I liked this quarter's studies :)

Anyways, according to this quote, the inspiration comes upon the man. Depending on what my capabilities can be, the expression of my inspiration will be different. I felt the need that I should become a better person, a more capable person, so that however God inspires me I would be able to well express to the people around me.

I do want to express God to the people around me. I want to testify of God to people. But if I am not capable enough, then no matter how much I am inspired, I would be limited to how I can express myself.