New Heart

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you an heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

I have been using my computer for over four years. As much as I enjoy technology, devices, and upgrades, I really wanted to get a new computer. But now there is no need for a new computer for me.

I was visiting my Korean friends over the Christmas holiday. As I was staying over my friend said he had a gift for me. He said he had an extra SSD (Solid State Drive) that he wasn’t using and he was willing to give it to me if I wanted it. For those of you that don’t know too much about computers, computer drive is a storage of large amounts of data/information and it stores the operating system in it. It functions like a brain.

Well, my computer had a hard drive. It was old and would lag a lot, making it difficult for my computer to function properly sometimes. On the other hand, a solid state drive (SSD) is a much faster and quieter drive than a hard drive. (Most computers come out with a SSD now.) So when my friend offered me his extra SSD, I gratefully accepted it. Minutes later, my friend and I opened up my computer, took the hard drive out, replacing it with a new SSD. My friend said I wouldn’t need a new computer for a few more years. It had a new brain, a new heart.

This story will not fully describe the verse above. That’s because what God gives us is much greater and amazing. God has promised us a new heart, a new spirit. Let us pray and be prepared that God can give us a new heart in the New Year. As God gives us a new heart, let us remember the following verse as well: “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My Statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” Verse 27.

Idleness

“But we command you, brethren, in the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walk disorderly (idle) and not according to the tradition (teaching) which he received from us.” 2 Thessalonians 3:6

I was reading 2 Thessalonians 3 to my daughter on Wednesday night and my thoughts set on the verse above. The word ‘disorder’ is written as ‘idle’ in the New International Version. In the Korean version the word ‘disorder’ is translated as ‘lazy.’ Last winter, I learned the lesson of what happens when you are lazy.

Snow started falling only after a few weeks we moved from California. And there was a lot of snow. Up until then I had been living in apartments so I had never worried about the parking lots, watering and mowing the lawn, or even snow blowing. Inches of snow came down and I heard my neighbors starting their snow blowers to clean up their driveway and the side walks. I said to myself, “It’s going to snow again tomorrow and I have lots of work to do now. I will clean up later.” Couple days later I realized I made a mistake. There was just too much snow and the driveway had turned into an ice rink. Lesson learned.

Paul warns the church of Thessalonica to ‘withdraw from those who are disorderly (Idle or lazy).’ For they have not been living according to the traditions (or teachings). This warning is also an encouragement. Paul is encouraging the members to be faithful, rather than being idle, according to God’s teachings. In the rest of the passage Paul encourages the members to work hard and do good. But this is only possible if we walk according to the Word of God.

The New Year begins in couple weeks. It is now time to look back and examine ourselves whether we have been idle or faithful in God’s Words. At the same time, now would be a good time to reaffirm our faith in God, to live according to His teachings, so that we ‘do not grow weary in doing good’ (verse 13) in 2015, which is one year closer to Jesus’ second coming.

No vacation

“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:2

You know, I am on vacation. And it feels good to take a break. But as I have been spending my week here with my family I realize that I am not on vacation from being a Christian, or being a servant of God. Sometimes Christians make that mistake when on vacation. We tend to have vacation from everything, even our time with God. We have so much fun that we forget everything, we sleep in too long, or enjoy too much to ourselves so that we forget who we are. We are Christians. We are committed to following God.

As Paul gives guidance to Timothy, we must always be ready in season and out of season to preach the word. My dad is on vacation as well. But when my brother Beett was going out for a visit, dad said he would like to go together. When it was time to go for visitation, dad came downstairs fully dressed-up in his suit. As long as he had the chance to visit a church member and pray for them, dad is always ready. Dad’s passion for Jesus what it means to be a pastor and a Christian. Vacation could not stop dad from witnessing. He was ready.

I learned a great deal from dad this week. The three men spent some time talking about ministry, asked questions to one another, and trying to find out best ways to work things out. It was just great to talk about God and ministry. The most important thing I have learned (or remind myself) again was that we are Christians and that we must always be ready as Paul has told us. Each moment will be an opportunity. Do not let vacation stop you from being a Christian, a witness.

Belief or Unbelief?

“Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Matthew 13:58

The passage above comes from the story where Jesus visits His hometown. The whole story starts from verse 53 and ends in verse 58. I left home about 6 years ago. I graduated from college in 2008. I knew what I was going to do next and that was going to grad school at Andrews University (officially it’s called the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary.) When I left for grad school I didn’t know that I would be working as a pastor here in this country. And each year I really enjoyed going back home to my parents because I missed home.

3 years ago Hyemi and I got married and we started a new home of our own. And yet Hyemi and I still do miss our homes in Korea. That is where we grew up. That is where our parents are. And so, even though our home is now here, I would love to visit our old home anytime! That was probably the case for Jesus. After over a year of ministry Jesus and the disciples came back home to visit and Jesus spent time in teaching at the synagogue. But Jesus was not welcome at home. Rather the hometown people were offended and so Jesus had to leave. Because of their ‘unbelief’ in Jesus, Jesus was not able to perform ‘mighty works’ in His own hometown.

That last line made me think a lot. We need to ‘believe’ in Jesus. When we do so Jesus can do mighty things for us in our lives. Recently our family had a special experience. It was an experience where we prayed to Jesus but we didn’t believe in it. Jesus had prepared us something better than we had asked for and yet we were looking elsewhere. Later we praised God for His ‘mighty works.’ If we let ‘unbelief’ dominate our thoughts, we are keeping Jesus away from doing His ‘mighty works.’ If you have not been praying, please pray and believe. If you have been praying, then believe in Jesus.

1 Kings 8:56-61

Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. 

May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers.

May He not leave us nor forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. 

And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. 

Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.

One body

“For as the body is one and has many members of that one bod, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.” 1 Corinthians 12:12, 18

On Sunday evening, Hyemi was making some food and as she opened a can of beans she cut her left thumb. At first she said it was fine. But when I saw it I told her, “We are going to the hospital now.” Sure enough, it was a big cut and Hyemi got 6 stitches on her thumb.

There are a few things we learned from this. First, I learned how great a mother is. Literally I had to do everything for her. Cooking, washing, laundry, cleaning, you name it. I usually do help her with house chores, but not at the full scale of work like what I have been doing this week. And there is Sebin. I had to change every single diaper, bathe her, clothe her, feed her, cleanup after the mess, it was chaos. Mothers are awesome! Thank you for what you do!

But there is one more thing we learned. Because Hyemi couldn’t use her left thumb, there was not much she could do. A thumb is just a small part of her body, and yet it is so important. It’s just amazing to learn how God has designed our human body. Every single part of the body is important, whether it’s your heart, brain, eyes, nose, skin, nails, fingers, feet, you name it. There is not a body part that is not important.

Likewise, Paul reminds us that we as church members are one body. Whether you are a pastor, an elder, a deacon/deaconess, youth leader, Sabbath School teacher, young or old, you make up the whole body and you are important. It is God who has set us. Thank you for being a part of that, and thank you for what you do. And let us thank God!