Education, p. 17

“No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, for the price of wisdom is above rubies.” Job 28:18.

For this week I would like to share this quote I read the other day in my devotional time. It’s written in the book “Education” by Ellen White:

The Holy Scriptures are the perfect standard of truth, and as such should be given the highest place in education. To obtain an education worthy of the name, we must receive a knowledge of God, the Creator, and of Christ, the Redeemer, as they are revealed in the sacred word.

Every human being, created in the image of God, is endowed with a power akin to that of the Creator—individuality, power to think and to do. The men in whom this power is developed are the men who bear responsibilities, who are leaders in enterprise, and who influence character. It is the work of true education to develop this power, to train the youth to be thinkers, and not mere reflectors of other men’s thought. Instead of confining their study to that which men have said or written, let students be directed to the sources of truth, to the vast fields opened for research in nature and revelation. Let them contemplate the great facts of duty and destiny, and the mind will expand and strengthen. Instead of educated weaklings, institutions of learning may send forth men strong to think and to act, men who are masters and not slaves of circumstances, men who possess breadth of mind, clearness of thought, and the courage of their convictions. Education, p. 17

This is Christian life 101. Ellen White once again reminds us of the importance of going back to the holy Word of God. This is the fountain of wisdom, truth, and salvation. We would be missing out big time if we just leave our Bibles piled with dust at home. Read.

Overview Effect

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit Him.” Psalm 8:3,4.

For long distance flights I prefer sitting on the aisle side but on shorter flights, I enjoy sitting by the window to look outside. I keep looking out as the plane takes off into the air. I notice how the buildings and the cars become smaller and smaller. They become small like miniatures, and then small like the ants. It makes you think how small the world can be.

But for the astronauts they go further out until they get to see the beautiful blue marble, the earth. As for many astronauts, once they experience the space and see the beautiful blue planet they have a paradigm shift of how they view the world. They call it the ‘overview effect.’ According to Wikipedia, this effect: refers to the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, "hanging in the void", shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. From space, national boundaries vanish, the conflicts that divide people become less important, and the need to create a planetary society with the united will to protect this "pale blue dot" becomes both obvious and imperative. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_effect

The problems and the strife that we see around us are just a mere speck when you compare to the vast space. We are nothing but dust. Yet our mighty God who has created us is mindful of us. That is how much He cares for us. He loves us so much. Shouldn’t we, then, stop with the problems around us and focus ourselves to God?

Patience

“Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.”

1 Samuel 13:10

In the morning when Sebin gets up, she comes down looking for something to eat. Hyemi is making breakfast for the family. And we are all hungry. While Hyemi is fixing food, Sebin can’t wait anymore. She runs to mom and says, “I want to drink soymilk! Give me some!”

Now Hyemi knows that is not a good idea because if Sebin drinks a cup of soymilk, Sebin will feel full. Sebin won’t be able to enjoy as much the good food made by mom. Sebin will only eat a little bit and there will be leftovers. Hyemi says, “No. I am making a good and tasty breakfast. Please wait until you eat this breakfast and then I will give you a cup of soymilk.” Sometimes Sebin will listen, but other times she will insist. She would keep on asking for it. Sebin would lose patience and she says, “It’s ok! I will drink first!” Sebin is hungry and she can’t wait. She is willing to give up what is much better to come by choosing what is available now. If Sebin learns to be patient, then she will get to enjoy what is better.

It seems something similar has happened in Saul’s case. They were surrounded by the Philistine army. They are out numbered. In the meantime, they were waiting for Samuel the Prophet. They waited for Samuel to come for seven days. Saul lost patience. Then he offered the burnt offering himself. Right after that, Samuel arrived. As a result Samuel tells the king that his kingdom will not continue because “you (Saul) have not kept what the Lord commanded.”

Romans 13:11

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than we first believed.” Romans 13:11

There has been more bad news recently such as the Brexit, or shootings by the police, but I want to share something hopeful this time. Euro 2016 is a European international soccer tournament that is going on at the moment. I haven’t had the time to watch the games, but I was able to follow some of the news. One of the most exciting news during this event was Iceland.

Iceland has only a population of 330,000 people. That’s a size of a small city in a big country. The country is cold and the grass can’t grow as well for soccer fields. They only have 100 professional soccer players. They have never passed the qualifying stage in the past. But you know what happened this year? This small country managed to join the Euro 2016 by winning in the qualifying stage. Not only that, in the Euro 2016, they won games in the group stage, advancing to the round of 16. From there, they beat England (one of the best teams in the world) and then advanced to the quarterfinals. Their journey ended there by losing to France. They call it a miracle.

How did this happen? I was listening to a commentator on the radio. He said that Iceland started preparing 15 years ago. They started investing in their infrastructure, investing in leaders and players, building indoor soccer arenas so that they can practice. Of course this infrastructure is still small compared to bigger countries that have strong teams. Yet Iceland was determined. They were determined to win and advance. Hence the whole world had witnessed this miracle.

This shows certain spiritual implications for us. We must be prepared. Our growth cannot happen all of a sudden. It takes time and commitment. But we must be prepared for that moment. We must be determined. We call it faith. Unlike Iceland, Jesus has done all the important work. We have to have faith in Jesus that we can win.

Matthew 6:9

“In this manner, therefore, pray…” Matthew 6:9

I had a great time at camp meeting this year. Yes, it was tiresome as well as I tried to manage between work and the two kids. But I was blessed with the time spent at camp meeting. As many of you know the theme for this year’s camp meeting was ‘Prayer.’ Many speakers spoke on this topic but I want to share my experience on this topic.

So when we returned back home from camp it took days to unpack and wash all the clothes and blankets. We were completely exhausted and frankly we weren’t ready physically and mentally not ready for visitors to come. But then on Tuesday morning, our Korean friends from the cities texted saying that they were on their way over here. We were tired but that didn’t matter since we are close friends and we’d enjoy their company at any given time. Plus, Sebin can play with her friend.

It was meal time and the kids were hungry. They were ready to eat so Sebin and her friend is now on their seats for the meal to be served. The parents are busy setting up the table. One by one we are placing the plates and bowls. But these girls couldn’t wait. Suddenly, I heard Sebin starting to pray for the food with her friend! When we looked, these two girls had their eyes closed and they were praying! I mean, both of these girls are 2 years old (almost 3) and they knew how to pray on their own.

Previously, Sebin had always heard my prayers during meal time and to my surprise she remembered the same words. She was able to remember them. So when they couldn’t wait for everyone to sit down, Sebin and her friend started to pray on their own. If these little ones can learn how to pray, I am sure we can learn to pray to. Jesus has taught us how to pray. It’s time we keep praying.