a testimony of the afflicted

"Suffering gets our attention; it forces us to look to God, when otherwise we would just as well have ignored Him." (Philip Yancey)

Remember Job who came forth from his "innocent" suffering with a double portion blessing, a man who confessed "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." (Job 42:5);

Remember David, a man after God's own heart who faced "consequential" suffering because of his sin of adultery and murder, resulting in painful family tragedy, though God ultimately turned it all for good through His disciplinary mercy;

Remember Paul who considered his trials as "light and momentary" in his "refinement" suffering;

But most of all remember Asaph, the praise leader, who agonized over the wicked living their godless lives with apparent impunity, but in the end realized the truth when he entered the sanctuary of God, the very presence of God as Job had done.

In your trials and sufferings, remember;

1. ...that God is good, God is perfect;
2. ...to Gain God's perspective;
3. ...to Fix your eyes on eternity; and,
4. ...to Restrain from blurting out poor testimony of God's faithfulness.

May your testimony in your time of affliction be like that of Asaph, who not so much as understood the reasons for his afflictions, but had seen the living God who was the strength of his life and his portion forever.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

-From July 30th Sunday 2:30 PM EM Service

just have to share...

This really has nothing to do with Nakwon EM, but I just wanted to share this adorable photograph of my 6 months old nephew, Timmy.

=)

No matter how upset I could be, one look at this little bundle of joy and I forget why I was upset to begin with.

(By the way, he's sleeping, not crying.)

spirit, soul & body

This is a preview for tomorrow's 5PM Bible Study (Actually, I should call it a "Prayer Study" since that's how it turned out last week.):

We'll be tackling some often misunderstood concepts of spirit, soul & body, and what happens to those three "parts" of a person when he/she is saved.

We'll find answers to questions like these:

*I accepted Christ as my Savior - so why do I find myself unchanged?
*How can someone who's received the gift of the Holy Spirit (apparent by gift of tongue) turn away and not live for God?
*What's the point of praying in tongues when I don't understand it?
*What happens when we die or the Rapture takes place? What happens to our spirit, soul & body?

We will tackle these together, searching His Words for truth and understanding, and have a time of praise and prayer as we commit to real-ize the truths God teaches us.

the da vinci code

People have raved about this book by Dan Brown, and though I personally did not bother to read it, I've heard enough to believe it warrants a brief attention to this popular fiction.

Read this well written and researched criticism that points out its grave flaws.

Christian fictions can entertain and educate, but beware so you don't get sucked into the wrong sort of "entertainment."

the invitation

The Invitation

You are invited to come dine with Me
From now through all eternity
Believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
And dine with Jesus as your host
All you must do is...

R.S.V.P.

(Artwork by Chiu)

blood of heaven

Forget that blasphemous fiction The Da Vinci Code that everyone's been raving about.

Blood of Heaven by Bill Myers is a far better investment of your time and money if you are interested in those "impossible scenario" fictions.

The plot is brilliant, the characters believable, the lesson poignant.

A criminal on deathrow receives a second chance - not to save his neck, but his soul...

He receives the blood of Christ.

And you got it: It changes him - completely. But the unanticipated happens and the story soars excitingly.

Read an excerpt.

The sequels, Threshold and Fire of Heaven are not as good as the first (as is true for most trilogies it seems), but they are also good read.

last sin eater

Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers (better known for her masterpiece trilogy Mark of the Lion, another superb fictional read*) is an emotionally charged, powerful book that reminds us to thank God for Jesus as our sin-bearing Mediator - something no man can ever fulfill, and the tragedy that follows when a mere man is forced to bear such an impossible burden.

Written in first person narrative of a 10-year old girl, with touching prose and visual insight from such young perspective, Last Sin Eater is a memorable read.

Read an excerpt.

*Mark of the Lion is a fictional trilogy (A Voice in the Wind, An Echo in the Wind, and As Sure as the Dawn) that vividly captures the capricious and breathtaking first century Rome at the beginning years of Christian persecution.

The historical details are enlightening and astonishing as we follow the life of a young Jewish girl Hadassah who during the fall of Jerusalem is captured and sold as a slave to serve in a Roman household where she learns the cost of being a true follower of Christ in such dangerous times, all the while unwittingly winning the heart of a skeptical and jaded son of a Roman nobleman.

After all three books, you will feel as if you'd actually lived in such fascinating yet frighteningly corrupt hedonistic world that was Rome.

this present darkness

This Present Darkness is actually the very first book Peretti wrote on Christian Fiction genre.

And it is this book that first got me personally hooked on Christian fictions.

It is an excellent book about the power of prayer and the very real spiritual battle that is being waged every day in our world unbeknownst to even most believers.

With a whole lot of edge-of-the-seat action and tongue-in-cheek humor (though the book starts out a bit slow for the impatient), it isn't long before things really pick up and angels are confronting demons, demons are cowering before higher demons, angels are escorting young and old believers to safety, and a struggle young pastor of a small church fights a spiritual warfare that has unnervingly become very much real in the realm we walk.

This book is a must for anyone who doubts the power of prayer.

Although it is fictional, Peretti's intriguing assertion of the spiritual battlefield believers tread upon daily is credible and urges us to open our eyes to reality.

Read an excerpt for This Present Darkness, and follow up on its sequel, Piercing the Darkness, as good as the first as it delves deeper into the hierarchy of demons.

the Oath

The Oath by Frank E. Peretti is one of the best (fiction) books I've read that gives a bone-chilling allegory of sin and what it does to us.

Peretti writes very visually, and his descriptions leave you with an indelible impression long afterwards.

You'll be reading about a dark ancient oath, a town with a horrific past, its haunted people frantically sweeping darkness under the rug, an outsider who in his own quest for truth comes face to face with life-threatening deception that had caused many grotesque deaths, and so much more!

You won't be bored with this one. It will keep you reading through the wee hours and is worth your time and every penny.

Read an excerpt from Amazon.com.

who am I?

This is a beautiful song I heard recently that really blessed me entitled "Who Am I?"

Who Am I?

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt?

Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart?

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean, a vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am: I am Yours, I am Yours

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again?

Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me?

(By Casting Crowns)

Choose to give thanks

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Giving thanks is a choice, and so is complaining.

When we're tempted to complain about God, we have to choose to remind ourselves that maybe He knows a little better than we do about what's going on.
We have to choose not to daydream about all the things God should be doing in our lives or in other people's.
We have to choose not to whine (or as we sometimes call it,"vent") to everyone around us when sometimes we just need to be quiet.
As hard as it sounds, sometimes we have to just let God be God and serve up whatever He wants - whether we like it or not. We have to trust that He knows what He's doing. Even if it's not what we had in mind.

~Tim Walker

praise You aright

Lord God Omnipotent, how my soul delights to know that You care for the sparrows and number the hairs of our head! Lord, breathe on me till I am in the frame of mind and body to worship You.

O Lord, I would seek Your face now, but what good is my seeking if You do not reveal Yourself? Show me Your face, O Lord. Keep me ever seeing You.

O Lord, to praise You aright is a great desire of mine, created and fostered by Your Spirit and grace. This morning, O Lord, I praise You for all the past - so wayward on my part, so wonderful and gracious and long-suffering and forgiving and tender and inspiring on Yours.

Amen!

(Excerpt from Oswald Chambers' If You Will Ask, 38)

if you will ask

"God does not exist to answer our prayers, but by our prayers we come to discern the mind of God."
(Excerpt from If You Will Ask by Oswald Chambers, 60)

God's LOVE

In the height of my sin,
pride and conceit was found in my heart.

In the height of my sin,
God spoke of the cross, of humility.

In the height of my sin,
I was without boast;
I was brought low.

Thank you Father

For it is in this lowly place,
under grace,
that which I might receive
the fullness of your forgiveness and love.

In the height of my sin,
you have loved me much.

And I will love you much,
and I will love other sinners like myself much.

who can satisfy?

Who can satisfy my soul like You?
Who on earth could comfort me and love me like You do?
Who could ever be more faithful, true?
I will trust in You
I will trust in You, my God!

There is a Fountain who is the King!
Victorious Warrior, and Lord of everything!
My Rock, my Shelther, my very Own!
Blessed Redeemer who reigns upon the throne!

true worshiper

Remember Shah Jahan, the Mogul Emperor of India renowned for construction of the legendary Taj Mahal--a magnificent architectural wonder built to honor the beloved wife he failed to truly honor...

John 4:1-26 records one of the most poignant conversations Jesus, God in flesh, has with a fallen woman of Samaria.

The True Worshiper is;

1. ...drawn to God's presence because God has called him first;
2. ...asks for and receives the gift of God without hindrance of reason or logic;
3. ...finds contentment in God alone;
4. ...is truthful before God; and, finally,
5. God reveals Himself to the True Worshiper.

Our Heavenly Father is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth--a True Worshiper who would walk daily as a living sacrifice.

Are you a True Worshiper?

-From July 23rd Sunday 2:30 PM EM Service

sermon for paupers

Here's a bit of "foretaste" of what we will be studying during this Saturday's Bible Study at 5pm:

We get previews for movies all the time; why not for the wondrous Word of God?

A truth to remember: God will satisfy your need in proportion to your hunger.

Is your need great? He will satisfy it.

Are you hungry for the Word? He will fill you.

Keeping that in mind, our text will be from Matthew 5:1-12, the beginning passages of what is more commonly known as "Sermon on the Mount" or the "Beatitudes"(meaning, supreme happiness).

As you read the passage, consider these two questions:

Q1: To whom is the Sermon on the Mount addressed?
Q2: Is it possible to carry out the Beatitudes?

mission statement

Our Mission Statement:

The mission of Nakwon English Ministry is to love God and love people by fulfilling the Great Commission; nurturing fully devoted followers of God through Christ-centered teaching, fellowship and accountability; and equipping spiritually mature servant-leaders who will serve as Ambassadors for Christ at home, in the community and in the world.

heaven governed by earth

Copyright laws notwithstanding, I am compelled to share another portion of the aforementioned book by Fomum:

God has a will and all the power needed to execute [His] will unaided by man. However, in His soverignty, He has decided that, unless He finds people who will co-operate with Him by praying, He will temporarily let His will go unaccomplished. The Bible says, "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be, having been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be, having been loosed in heaven" (Matthew 18:18-19). Heaven has already bound and heaven has already loosed. What then must happen before this thing that has been bound or loosed can become practical reality on earth? It is this: earth must bind and earth must loose. Without this, what has been done in heaven will be forced to wait. God will allow a lot of His resolutions to go unfulfilled for some time if He does not find people to co-operate with Him in prayer. God will postpone His work or allow it tp appear as if He did not care about it, unitl He finds someone who can pray and who does pray...(Fomum, The Way of Victorious Praying, 1, all emphases mine)

This is one of the clearest and definitive exhortation on the will of God (and the reason why our prayers are essential) I have ever read.

prayer...wow

There is an awesome yet tragically out-of-print book on prayer by Zacharias Tanee Fomum entitled The Way of Victorious Praying.

Wow.

I've only read one chapter and it is absolutely incredible!

Here is just a sample to whet any seeker's appetite:

Prayer is the art of a soul being lost in God-adoring and worshiping Him. It is the insistence that God's will, which has already been established in heaven, should be done. Prayer is the commitment of a believer to fulfill and to satisfy the needs of God. Prayer is the rail on which the locomotive of God's will moves.(Fomum, 1)

Wow.

We often relegate prayer to a banal give-and-take relationship between a doting God and a selfish "Christian."

Imagine such truths real-ized in a believer's life! A believer committed to fulfill God's will, to satisfy God's needs...

Wow.

I bet God himself would say Wow! about such a believer.

he knows my name

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

Words and Music by Tommy Walker
© 1996 Doulos Publishing

the sudden good break

Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." (NIV)

"Unrelenting disappointments can leave you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn a life around." (MSG)

Isaiah 40:27-31 records one of the first messages of comfort God gave to the disillusioned and chastened people of Israel.

It is a powerful message of hope.

Without hope, we lose sight of God blinded by our stormy circumstances despite countless testimonies of God's greatness and nearness, and gain a distorted view of God, inevitably drowning ourselves in self-pity arising from feelings of abandonment by God.

But with hope, we are renewed (our fallenness and weakness exchanged for His goodness and faithfulness); we can soar on wings like eagles (rising above our tumultous troubles); and, we can run and walk and not be faint (no longer seeking temporary "fixes" and thrills to keep our spiritual fervor).

Nakwon English Ministry's hope and vision is to be that "sudden good break" - that "longing fulfilled" - by serving as a beacon, a guiding light to that end of all hope which is Christ Jesus.

-from July 16th Sunday 2pm EM Service