Jinha Kim

I love opening the mail.  Yes, even bills. I like the sound of the paper ripping and the anticipation of reading something new.

When we returned from our trip to the US this week, I sat down with satisfaction over the big stack of differently sized and coloured envelopes.

My sister had sent us a wedding anniversary card.  The Conference had sent us our payslips.  Red Energy wanted our money.

There were some great news – our Permanent Residency medicare card, for example.  There were some bad news – a traffic infringement notice.

Sorting through the different mail, I found myself wondering where my priorities lay.

Why was the letter reminding me to vaccinate Micah carefully set aside while the ADRA letter requesting help for “Chipo,” a widowed woman from Zimbabwe, so easily discarded into the recycling bin?  It wasn’t until the next day that I shame-facedly dug out the letter and read it in its entirety.  It was about giving struggling families micro-loans to start agricultural small businesses.

$15 would help a farmer in Vanuatu to have chickens and chook manure to help their gardens grow.

$43 would help a Myanmar farmer recover from a season of poor yields.

$132 would provide goats for a single mother in Zambia to start a breeding business.

God gently reminded me of His unopened mail to me today:

“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’ Deuteronomy 15:7-11

“Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.

13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 58

It was a humbling reminder not just to focus on my own needs and desires, but also to “let  justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos 5:24.

by: Jinha Kim

"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

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I too have taken the forbidden fruit … and oh my, it’s wonderful!  For the first time in my life, I am now a hooked owner of a MacBook.  When Roy had his Mac, I used to say that it was just a prettier version of my PC and that it wasn’t worth the extra cost.  Being a good family man, he sold his and got a cheap PC.

But then I started noticing the difference in quality, capacity, etc. and when my PC started signalling its imminent death (I’ve had it for 4 years), and then my charger died on Sunday, plus JB Hifi had a 10% sale, I decided it was time.  We’re going overseas in a few weeks so we can even claim the GST back (hurrah!)

Maybe it’s just the excitement of having a new computer, but I feel like I’ve been more efficient this week. Is it possible that the Mac actually improves the quality of life?

I kid… sort of.

Having good tools helps!  It does wonders to motivation and productivity.  Remember the first day of school when you prepared new pens, pencils, and notebooks in your new superhero or Hello Kitty book-bags?  The joy of novelty can go a long way.

The same principles apply to Bible study.  Reading and exploring the Bible with good tools and new techniques can bring the ancient text to life in a way that is interesting, enjoyable, and inspiring.

For example, try typing out your thoughts and questions from Bible study on your computer.  Organise the notes into categories like “increasing faith” or “difficult texts.” Try to see a pattern between the passages that deal with the same topics.

I enjoy journaling in a brand new journal with a nice ballpoint pen.  If you’re like me, get a new journal that you will actually look forward to using to write down your reflections on a passage.

Do you know multiple languages?  Reading the Bible in different languages really help to bring to light the various meanings of words, phrases, and ideas. Just know English?  No problem.  Try reading the passage in different English translations: http://www.biblegateway.com. or http://www.biblecc.com.  You can read parallel versions on the same screen to compare and contrast translators’ choices.  I like reading the NKJV, the NIV, the NASB, and the Message versions together.

Pick one verse that you want to dig deeper into and look it up at http://www.blueletterbible.org.    Click on the “TOOLS” button to see the different cross-references, commentaries, Bible dictionaries, etc. related to that verse.  My favourite tool is “INTERLINEAR,” which shows you the original Hebrew or Greek words and their meanings.  You can click on the “Strong’s” number to see a fuller definition and references to where that word is used elsewhere.  For example, in John 3:16, the word “begotten” can be translated “the only one of its kind.”

Speaking of cross-references, if you have a Study Bible that has a middle column with footnotes, etc. try reading them!  Many people have invested long hours of research to provide cross-reference texts that relate to that particular text, phrase, or idea.  Read the various references to understand the greater context.  You could do a cross-reference chain reading where you start in one text, read its reference, then that reference, etc.

I also recommend investing in some Bible commentaries.  You can buy E-books or print versions – or go to a theological library if you live near one.  Commentaries are not just for scholars.  My favourite one is the NIV Application Commentary.  It’s practical,  user-friendly, and in plain English.

Listen to the Bible – it’s amazing how listening to someone else read the text (preferably, a dramatised version and not just a monotone speaker) can make you hear something you’ve never realised before was even in the Bible.  There are apps and websites where you can download and listen to chapters of the Bible for free.  Here are some: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/

Paraphrasing a passage in your own words, creating a personalised Bible version, can help solidity the main idea.  Or write a Haiku version.

If you’re artistic, draw the passage out or compose a song.   Memorise a verse and ruminate on it.

For a simple step-by-step guide to How to Study the Bible, click here:  How to Study the Bible

What are some ways you mix it up?

by: Jinha Kim

"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

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Have you ever had a heartburn? No, I’m not referring to the terribly painful health condition that’s keeping me up right now (shouldn’t have had that chocolate muffin right before bed).

I’m talking about that fire-in-your-bosom feeling or experience when you fall in love, with someone or something. That excitement, that passion, that overflow of joy with anticipation.

It may be a steady ember or a fireworks of emotions – but whatever its cause and the following array of symptoms, it’s sure to leave you with a lasting impression.

Have you ever had spiritual heartburn? A time when you felt God stirring your heart, whether through an inspiring sermon, stimulating bible study, or a sincere prayer? Perhaps you were on a mountaintop or in a vast desert. A time when you felt the grandiosity of God, or His generosity of grace?

In Luke 24, two individuals experience this kind of heartburn – they are walking to Emmaus, disappointed, discouraged and utterly disheartened after the death of Jesus.

They are so focused on their own sadness from their own dreams deferred that they do not even recognize Jesus when He comes and walks with them. God shields their eyes, too, for various reasons.

But Jesus still walks and talks with them, showing them how their expectations of a Messiah were grounded in selective listening of Scriptures and misguided, earthly ambitions. They wanted a Messiah who would give them political freedom and physical comforts rather than a Messiah who would give them internal freedom and spiritual blessings.

Jesus slowly opens their eyes to the truer, fuller, grander nature and mission of the Messiah by giving them a Bible study ranging from Genesis to Malachi. And as their vision is shifted from focusing on temporary pleasures to eternal promises, they begin to realize that perhaps the Messiah did have to suffer and die – and that perhaps Jesus wasn’t a failure after all! Perhaps He really is God, and He succeeded in providing a way for all people to experience release from guilt, shame, fear, sin, and ultimately, death. Could He really still be alive?!

And so they experience heartburn. Later, after they realize that the person who had been with them all along the way was Jesus (ask me to show you how and why that’s significant – a fascinating bible study!), they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32, NKJV).

Could it be that the reason why we can’t see God is because we, too, are focusing on our own disappointments, caused by misunderstanding of the nature and mission of God? For example, we want and expect God (if He is real) to protect us from harm, provide us good things like family, health, job security, etc. But what if God wants more for us than just gratitude for physical blessings? What if He wants us to fall in love with Him simply for who He is rather than what He can give us?

What if that means that He surprises us with enormous respect, trusting us with the freedom of choice, no matter how difficult the consequences of those choices may be on Him?

What if that means that He waits painfully patiently for us to realize the detrimental effects of selfishness and to accept willingly a lifestyle of Christ-centred and other-centredness that is only possible through God?

What if that means He is willing to risk being misunderstood for the sake of being really known and desired for His whole character, not just the bits and pieces that we like about Him?

What if our own expectations of what it means to follow Jesus need to be broken down? What if that means we may have to go through suffering, failures, and disappointments? After all, that is what Jesus went through – He had to suffer and die before He could resurrect and be our Saviour.

So if we truly want to see God, we need to be open to a paradigm shift; we need to be willing to go back to old passages and see them with new eyes, willing to spend time listening to different ideas, willing to make difficult choices, willing, even, to suffer — willing, in essence, to catch on fire.

by: Jinha Kim

"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

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