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| Couple weeks ago, my friends and I decided to go to Korean BBQ in Korea town. $9.99 for all you can eat kbbq =) good stuff. My apartmentmates are not Christian and it is very difficult to start conversations with them about spiritual things so it is really a praise to God when the opportunity arises to share about God with them.
So on the way back from korea town, my apartment mate asked me if I was a Calvinist. IF you don't know what it means it is a label for a Christian that believes in predestination, the sovereignty of God, the supreme authority of the Scriptures, and the irresistability of grace. I asked him if he even knew what it meant to be a calvinist to which he responded with a "no". I quickly summarized it by saying at its core it believes in predestination and the sovereignty of God among some other things. I shared with them Romans 8 which talks about predestination and my apartmentmates half-jokingly asked if they were "screwed." I responded by saying, "I do not know, but God does know. If He has chosen you then you aren't destined for hell, but if He hasn't then "screwed" is one way you can put it. But all I know is that where you currently stand with God, as an unrepentant sinner, rejecting God's grace and mercy and love, you are 'screwed.'"
One of them commented that that wasn't fair, that it doesn't seem right for God to hold him accountable if he is unrepentant. So in response to that, I shared with them a passage from the following chapter, Romans 9:14-24:
14What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION." 16So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH." 18So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. 19You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?" 20On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it? 21Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? 22What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. In summary, God will have mercy on whomever He wills and several reasons he has allowed things to turn out the way they have is to show his mercy, glory, power, patience, and love.
My friends concluded that God was just showing off, which is slighty more accurate I suppose.
I was able to continue talking to one of my apartmentmates who then asked me how I knew the bible is true. He couldn't accept the things I say because he found no validity in the bible.
to be continued...
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| Psalm 118:22-24 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it
When I was young, one of the songs my mom would sing to me was "This is the day, This is the day, that the Lord has made... We will rejoice and be glad in it..." Up until now I had always interpreted this song as a praise for "today" to rejoice and be glad for this very day ... that I am alive and well, that I have food to eat and drink to drink. And indeed we should rejoice and be glad in the blessings God gives us everyday. However when I began reading this Psalm in its context, it appears that this "day that the Lord has made" is actually referencing the day that Christ died on the Cross and paid he debt of our sins to reconcile us to God and that He rose again three days later to be our Great High Priest!
Why? When we read the New Testament, in the gospels Jesus reveals to us that he is the stone that was rejected but became the chief corner stone. (Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11) That those who fall on him will be broken but those whom it falls on will scatter him like dust. In Acts 4 we read that there is salvation in no one else.
With this in mind, when looking at verses 22-24, we see that it is the day in which Christ was rejected and became the chief cornerstone is then the day which the Lord has made, the day we are to rejoice in and be glad in. This is rightly so. Without His death and resurrection, we have nothing, we have no hope. So Christian, rejoice and be glad for Christ has redeemed us, he has become our salvation. If you ever come across this song, be reminded of its meaning from scripture, that we are to rejoice in what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did, our source of joy and eternal hope.
God Bless
~jsheng
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| Daily Devo from Jon Courson
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| … The hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: |
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| John 17:1 |
| | | Prayer is not the way to get God to do our will in heaven. Prayer is the way to get us to do His will on earth.
Once this is understood, you will find yourself praying in an entirely different manner. And that’s what Jesus is doing here. ‘Glorify Me,’ He prays, ‘so that You might be glorified — even if that means being pinned to the Cross of Calvary.’
‘That sounds sadistic,’ you say.
Not at all, because on the other side of the Cross is a crown — joy unspeakable, full of great glory. We only see five months or ten years down the road. But God sees the next ten zillion years.
You see, Jesus’ allowing the Father to be glorified through Him, ultimately bought a Bride for Him for all eternity.
It’s so radical when a believer finally gets the big picture and stops saying, ‘God do it my way.’ God is not Burger King. We can’t give orders about how things should be done, and then complain when we don’t get the lettuce and onions we asked for. God is not Burger King — He’s the King of Kings, and He sees what is going to be absolutely best in the long run. |
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| Daily devotional from Jon Courson
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you ... John 15:7
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| | | The word ‘abide’ means to ‘be at home in’. The Psalmist didn’t say ‘Thy Word have I hid in my mind’ or even ‘in my memory’. He said, ’Thy Word have I hid in my heart,’ (Psalm 119:11).
Paul echoed him when he prayed in Ephesians 3 ‘that Christ may dwell in your hearts.’
Why does the Lord want Himself and His Word to abide in our hearts and not just in our heads? Because, affected by data, discussions, and information, the mind is incredibly fickle. I can change my mind 100 times in a single day concerning a single issue. So can you. But not so the heart.
Think back to your dating days and you know how this works. If someone dumped you, even though you knew in your head you were glad to be free of him or her you would still find yourself feeling for him or caring about her. Why? Because the heart holds on. That’s why the Lord wants His Word to dwell there.
How does this happen?
For me the most practical way knowledge moves from the head to the heart is through meditation and contemplation. Spending time in the Word — in morning and evening devotions, in corporate study, in times when I’m waiting in line or waiting at a stoplight allows it to sink in and permeate my inner man, to be at home in my life, to abide in my heart. |
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| A devotional by Pastor Jon Courson:
And he departed , and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. |
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| Mark 5:20 |
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| There are three prayers offered in the first half of Mark 5 ...
‘Let us go into the pigs,’ the demons cried.
And Jesus said, ‘Go.’
‘Leave our region,’ said the Gadarenes.
And Jesus left.
‘I want to follow You,’ said the previously-demonized man.
‘No,’ Jesus said.
When you and I wage war spiritually, when you and I petition and pray perhaps reverently, we must remember, even as this story illustrates so dramatically, that Jesus can say, ‘No’, and ‘No’ is just much an answer as ‘Yes.’ In fact, ‘No’, is sometimes what God reserves especially for those He loves.
Why?
In the case before us, Jesus answered the prayers of the demons and of an unbelieving, cynical, hostile society. But He answered the prayer of a believer not in the way which affirmed his request, but rather changed his course. No doubt, this once-demonized man was disappointed initially, but he realized he must keep the directive of his Deliverer and thus returned to speak to his community. And Church History records the group of believers which began to surface in the region. The Church had a powerful expression in the area — most likely birthed by the man Jesus sent home.
Take hope, dear friend. Your prayers not being answered in the way you desire are not indicative of God not hearing or not caring — for He only said ‘No’ to the one who loved Him.
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