Happy Birthday to me…

in Thoughts  by Jinha Kim 0 comments

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I turned 24 today.  That is, as a Christian.  I was baptised on Saturday, 2 March 1991, in a very cold tank whose hot water function had unfortunately broken that day.  As I entered that baptismal fount, shivering, I remember the pastor gently taking my hand and confiding to me, “It’s cold, isn’t it?  I’m cold, too.”  Then he baptised me in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and I began my personal relationship with God in a more intentional way than before.

Every year, I celebrate this anniversary and reflect back on how God has led me. I also spend the day asking myself some serious questions – “Have I grown in the past year?  Am I more like Jesus?   Do I understand God better? How can I grow closer to Him in the new year? How can I serve Him better?”

At the end of the day, I am drawn back to my knees as I confess that I am still so far from being like Jesus.  However, I also thank God from the bottom of my heart that yes, I do understand Him better.  In the past year, He has shown me new sides of His character.

For example, I have seen Him as a Patient Father.  Being a parent of a toddler, I am constantly second-guessing myself and my son – am I disciplining him correctly?  Does he even understand me?  Am I consistent? Am I too lenient?  When I find myself getting frustrated with Micah’s frustration, I wonder how God can be so patient with me.  He does not demand full comprehension nor compliance.  He simply models what I should do and loves me through it, encouraging or challenging me as needed.  I am daily amazed at how much He trusts me – even though I have proven myself untrustworthy.  He always believes in me and works with my potential.

In the past year, He has also taught me to rest in Him.  Sometimes I can get so wrapped in doing things that I forget to simply abide in Him and enjoy His presence:

“Many, even in their seasons of devotion, fail of receiving the blessing of real communion with God. They are in too great haste. With hurried steps they press through the circle of Christ’s loving presence, pausing perhaps a moment within the sacred precincts, but not waiting for counsel. They have no time to remain with the divine Teacher. With their burdens they return to their work.  These workers can never attain the highest success until they learn the secret of strength. They must give themselves time to think, to pray, to wait upon God for a renewal of physical, mental, and spiritual power. They need the uplifting influence of His Spirit. Receiving this, they will be quickened by fresh life. The wearied frame and tired brain will be refreshed, the burdened heart will be lightened.  Not a pause for a moment in His presence, but personal contact with Christ, to sit down in companionship with Him–this is our need. Happy will it be for the children of our homes and the students of our schools when parents and teachers shall learn in their own lives the precious experience pictured in these words from the Song of Songs:

“As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,
So is my Beloved among the sons.
I sat down under His shadow with great delight,
And His fruit was sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banqueting house,
And His banner over me was love.” Canticles 2:3, 4.

In the new year, I want His banner of love waving over me with great delight.  I want to simply enjoy the fact that He is near and that He is good.

In the new year, I also want to recommit to being on God’s side – a young African pastor from Zimbabwe made the following statement that I find very inspiring:

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power, my die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of Jesus. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor by power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, and my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me-my banner will be clear.

I want my banner to be clear, and I want it to be His, not my own insignia of self-motivated second-guessing.

I want to celebrate my spiritual birthday by lifting up this praise:

I have not much to offer You
Not near what You deserve
But still I come because Your cross
Has placed in me my worth

Oh, Christ my King of sympathy
Whose wounds secure my peace
Your grace extends to call me friend
Your mercy sets me free

And I know I’m weak, I know I’m unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace, because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamed

I can’t explain this kind of love
I’m humbled and amazed
That You’d come down from heavens heights
And greet me face to face

And I know I’m weak, I know I’m unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace, because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamed

Here I am at Your feet
In my brokenness complete
Here I am at Your feet
In my brokenness complete…

At Your feet
Complete

– Jon & Tim Neufeld; Douglas Mckelvey

Thank you, Father, for giving me another year to stand in the power of Your grace.

The Will to Witness

in Sermons / Videos / Podcasts  by James 0 comments

The early church experienced persecution. Instead of it leading to fear, it led to deeper fidelity. What was the common denominator that made the early Christian believers bold in their witness of Christ?

Download the Discussion Questions here.

Redeeming the Time

in Thoughts  by Jinha Kim 0 comments
Have you seen this Thai commercial? Disconnect to Connect
The fact is, it’s far easier to watch trending Youtube videos than to read our Bibles .  We’re so busy checking Facebook during our commutes that we don’t notice the elderly and pregnant women standing near us.   We instagram pictures of food but fail to genuinely communicate with one another.
Our loved ones deserve our undivided attention.  God deserves our undivided worship.
We invite you to join us in doing a 40-day media fast (9 February – 20 March).
This media fast is not a fast from ALL media, but from the kind of media that does not promote the principles of Philippians 4:8:  “whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Our commitment for the next 40 days is to instead seek God earnestly, spending our time with reading, prayer and community.
Instead, we are reading Conquering the Dragon Within by Marvin Moore together, one chapter a day: http://www.amazon.com.au/Conquering-Dragon-Within-Marvin-Moore-ebook/dp/B009KACH84
We are “redeeming the time” – claiming back our precious minutes and hours to spend on what we truly value and desire to build.
 If you’d like to join us, please contact us (jinhakim@adventist.org.au or roykim@adventist.org.au) and we’ll add you to our 40-day fast email list!

The Greatest Need in the Church (You think I’m going to say “Revival”)

in Sermons / Videos / Podcasts  by James 0 comments

As part of our ongoing series on the History of Christianity, we will be looking at what took place in Acts Chapter Two and why the events that took place led to massive growth in the early church. Come join the discussion on what it means to experience spiritual revival in the present as we look see how God touched the lives of individuals in the past.

Download the Discussion Questions here.

The Storykeepers

in Sermons / Videos / Podcasts  by James 0 comments

Believing in and sharing the story of Jesus in the first century was a dangerous task. What inspired the early Christians to share their stories? And how did that lead to a worldwide movement that became the Christian religion?

Download the Discussion Questions here

It sounds right

in Thoughts  by Bronwyn 0 comments

I think this sounds right

Have you ever sat a multiple choice test where you weren’t sure of the correct answer? You re-read all the options and then thought, I think ‘C’ sounds most correct.

When I taught English to Cambodian high schoolers I was trying to explain why their sentences were incorrect. Since English is my first language, I speak it fluently but do not always understand why I say things in a certain way. So the best I explanation I could come up with at the time was: ‘it just sounds wrong when you write it this way. This way sounds better.’

Or perhaps you are going somewhere you have been before but you aren’t entirely sure of the way. And as you walk or drive along you think, ‘hmm this way feels right.’

What is it that gives us this impression of ‘right’? And how do we ensure that our impressions actually are correct? So often we put the wrong answer down on a test or we give incorrect grammatical advice or end up lost because our inner sense of right is misplaced.

In the case of the test, if we didn’t learn the material correctly then incorrect options will sound correct to our minds. If I learned to speak English incorrectly then I will likely teach others to speak incorrectly. And depending on how well I know the route to a destination will determine how easily I get there! In each case it is a matter of knowing the right way. To add complexity to this, there are degrees of knowing and with each degree of knowing comes increasing chances of getting it right.

And so it would seem with our life choices – which way seems right? What path feels right to you?

These are often questions we pose to ourselves and to others who are at a crossroads. Should I make this purchase or that? Should I go abroad to gain more experience or stay in my company to gain a promotion? Should I marry this person or keep looking? Should we have children? How should we raise them? The problem is if we don’t have any concept of ‘right’ then really anything could seem or feel right at any given point in time. And we may be faced with the question: ‘do I trust my feelings?’

God provides us with an avenue to know the right way. He illustrates a purpose for our existence through the Bible and in it are visions, mission statements, directions, examples to follow (and not to follow), descriptions, pictures and in some cases, explicit instructions. Just as the textbook and the test questions are not duplicates of each other, so with life the text and the choices given demand an applicable knowledge of one to answer the other. And so the more familiar we are with God and His way, the more correct our feelings about what is the right way will be.

Some people call it ‘feeding on God’s word’, others may call it ‘quiet time’, ‘devotion’ or ‘Bible study’. It doesn’t matter what name you give it, becoming familiar with the Bible is the best way to know God and His thoughts. As Albert Einstein said, ‘I want to know His [God’s] thoughts. The rest are details.’