Missing out!

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” Matthew 27:46.

So I may have share this thought before, but I felt like sharing it again because I am realizing once again what I will be missing out on. I thought my daughter was already too cute since a long time ago. I wonder if she has reached the peak of her cuteness (is that even a word?) before but I am wrong. Every day I witness her growth and she becomes more lovely and lovely to me in my eyes.

And now my family will be visiting Korea for the next few (many) weeks. It was something planned long time ago. At first I didn’t think of it too much but as the time is nearing for them to visit I am realizing what I will be missing out on. It’s not the people that they will be visiting. It’s not the awesome Korean food they will be eating all the time. It’s not the great time they will be having in Korea. What I will be missing out on is my family themselves. I will be missing out on every moment of Sebin. Her giggles and laughs, her baby talks, her running all over the place, I won’t be able to see that for more than 6 weeks. I will be missing out on our second baby growing in Hyemi’s womb. And I will be missing out on spending time with my wife and her food. You can say that I will see them again next month, so what is the big deal? Well, every moment counts and that is a big deal.

I wonder how Jesus must have felt to be forsaken from God in His death. Come on, it was for only a short while! But no, it seems it’s beyond that. The slightest thought of being disconnected from the Father is something unthinkable and unbearable for Jesus. And yet, that is something Jesus was willing to do because He loved us. Jesus was willing to save us from our sins that He gave up His life and the moment of being disconnected from the Father even for a short little while. We should be thankful for the great sacrifice Jesus made for us. Our Creator and Savior did that for you and me.

Revelation 1:1

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must soon take place…” Revelation 1:1.

“As such, the last book of the Bible [Revelation] begins where the four gospels end. In the gospels, Jesus Christ is described as a man from Nazareth like all other human beings. The book of Revelation explains that at His ascension Christ was seated on the throne of the universe at the right hand of the Father. There, He is no longer a Man of sorrows, but the King and Lord over the entire universe.” Ranko Stefanovic, Revelation of Jesus Christ, p. 56.

The book of Revelation begins with the statement that it is the ‘revelation of Jesus Christ.’ It is a message from Jesus. Many times people find the book hard to read or afraid of what the message is about. People are afraid about the information on the Armageddon, persecution, or the judgment that you can read from the book. But we need to remember that the book is a message from Jesus.

I like how Dr. Stefanovic puts it in his book. The book begins where the gospels end. In another words, the book of revelation is an extension of the gospels. It is the good news of Jesus. It shows the ministry of Jesus in heaven. There is nothing to be afraid of when you read the book. Revelation is full of hope, joy, and what we can expect in the future when we stay faithful to Jesus.

Jesus makes numerous promises in the gospels that He will come again. Revelation is a book that reveals how Jesus will do that. I am glad John was given the Revelation. It’s another great reason we should study the book of Revelation.

Daniel in the lion's den

“My God sent His angel and shut the lion’s mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” Daniel 6:22.

We like to take Sebin to the zoo to see the animals. Sebin likes to see the monkeys, peacocks, tigers, lions, bears, and many more animals at the zoo. The other day, I showed Sebin a youtube video of a lion roaring and she was trying to follow its roaring. I mean, she wasn’t scared of the lion roaring in the video. Rather, she was enjoying it. It’s because Sebin knows that it’s only a video.

I am sure many of you have seen bears in the wild before. I saw one in the wild, too. It was about 3 years ago when I was still pastoring in California. This one Sabbath afternoon, the youth group went for a hike on this mountain. There were about 6 of us walking and we were busy talking on the way. Then suddenly Alvin shouted out, “There’s a bear!” I was walking in front of the group and when I lifted my eyes, I froze. This bear came down to the trail and it was about 30 in front of us. You know what I thought when I saw this beast? Nothing. My mind went blank, my feet seemed it was rooted to the ground. None of us knew what to do. Thankfully, it left.

I wonder what Daniel was thinking when he was thrown into the lion’s den. As much as bears can be scary, hungry lions are pretty scary, too. The Bible doesn’t tell us how Daniel felt. But it tells us how it ended. Verse 23 tells, “So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.” I think that last statement is really powerful. ‘Because he believed in his God.’ I wonder how many of us can do that when we are facing death. I know Daniel would have been still faithful to God even if he was eaten by the lions. So should we.

Jesus only

“When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” Matthew 17:8.

2 years ago when it was time to upgrade my cell phone I was excited. I had been using my old phone for 2 years. I dropped it many times, it didn’t function properly any more, and it was outdated. I needed a new phone, and I wanted it badly. It was time for the new iPhone to be released. I wanted that phone. Once the new phone was announced, the only thing I could think of was getting the phone. When the new phone was finally released, I got in the long waiting line to purchase the phone. I was in love with it and that was the only item I played with for awhile.

Do you remember when you had a crush on someone? Or when you started dating? Oh, I remember mine very well. When Hye Mi and I started dating, it wasn’t easy. As you know it was a long distance relationship and we were on a different time zone. My morning was evening for her. Her morning was evening for me. We were on Skype twice a day. The only person I could think of was her. She was the only one I saw. (Even when we were physically apart) I believe you might share the same experience as well.

The verse above tells that the disciples only saw Jesus. The context of this verse is the transfiguration of Jesus on a high mountain. And so you know that the meaning of this verse is that when the disciples lifted up their eyes Moses and Elijah disappeared after speaking with Jesus. But let’s not think about the context. Let’s just look at the verse only. Wouldn’t it be awesome for us that when we lift our eyes we’d only see Jesus? That’s what happens when you are in love. You can only see Him. Nothing else comes into your sight, but Jesus.

There are many things we can look at in this world. But I pray that when we lift up our eyes, we’d only see Jesus.