Mosaic Blogs

Here’s the passage for those of you following along.

I was struck by how much God desires faith from us… it’s a really odd thing for the Creator of the Universe to desire from us humans.

It’s interesting how even realizing that God is the Creator of all things requires faith according to the Scriptures, which seems like it should be obvious to me usually.

I wonder what it means in our times to “long for a better country” (v16)…

What might a ‘better resurrection’ look like?

It’s also fascinating how the scriptures don’t only describe the communal link between all of us today, but that there is an ancient thread throughout history that we are part of in making things complete.

Here’s the passage you can refer to

Some personal reflections

- I’m so glad the law is just a shadow - there’s so much more to life than following rules.

- I wonder what it looks like for us to be perfected?  What would it look like for you and me to head towards that today?

- It describes Christ as beign faithful… ie. full of faith.  What might that mean?

- A popular verse is mentioned in this chapter about not giving up meeting together and encouragement.  It’s so easy to think that we dont’ need one another, or the person right next to us needs encouragement.  The Scriptures remind us not to ever stop these spiritual disciplines.

“The manual arts have always taken precedence over the fine arts. Remember somebody had to build a ceiling before Michaelangelo could go to work.” –John Ratzenberger

What an encouragement to those of us who are not ‘artistic’ in the sense of being able to paint, draw, design, crafted or create. The everyday mundane work can also be an ‘art’ in and of itself. Without even knowing it, we are laying the foundation of ’art’ for others to complete. We could as well be the ‘original artist’ since we have readied the canvas, prepare the clay and help stimulate the idea.

We are created to create. However, we are called to involve in the different stages of the creating process. May it be the beginning, the middle or the end, go create and enjoy the final product one day.

 

 

 

 

This is one dense book of the Bible.  I’ve been fixed on verse 14

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

The blood, the death, the very Spirit of God was not so that we could simply feel better, feel safe, or saved, but that “we may serve the living God!”

God, who needs no servants, sacrificed, so that we could have the opportunity of serving along side of Him.

How might God be longing for you to serve him this week?

Beijing 2008 has officially arrived. I caught less than two minutes of the opening ceremony. The TaiChi movement and pattern of thousands, if not hundreds, combined with the light shows and children painting in the middle of the stadium was breathtakingly beautiful.

I am not an Olympics person. As a matter of fact, I have come to the opposite end of a continuum on the Olympics. When you were a ten year old, the Olympics was something that you would worship. Since then, the known corruptions of both the organizers and the atheletes had turned me away from even glancing at this thing. No matter how much the media makes it out to be, I am just not interested. I watched perhaps less than 2 minutes of the Olympics in Athens.

Of course, with Beijing 2008, the political issues have placed another dark cloud over the whole event. As a Chinese, I am proud of the achievement of hosting but I am ashamed of the human rights issues. As a Torontonian, I feel cheated of an Olympic but then I do not really want the city to spend money on something that is of aesthetics (look good for a few weeks but have to pay for it in the long run). Am I for really for the Olympics or against the Olympics?

Well, I think I need to learn to live with the both/and. Love it and hate it.

How so? How could I live in this kind of tension?

Perhaps, the ability of living life in a paradox is in the DNA of a Christ follower. I am given this gift when I committed myself to Jesus.

“If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life.”

“Anyone who wants to be first must be last.”

I have the ability of living above contradictions. I can embrace paradox and be okay. I slowly come to understand the true meaning behind what Solomon was saying: “Eat, drink and be merry…enjoy the fruits of your labor.” It is not easy-come-easy-go philosophy but a life lived to the submission of God’s way.

Back to Beijing 2008. I should cherish the imagination and creation of the organizers. I should cheer and enjoy the performance of the atheletes. At the same time, I should lament and feel shameful of pollutions, human right issues in China. I should feel bad that Toronto is not hosting this event. I should feel stupid when one of the arguments of not wanting the Olympics in Canada is that “we could have use the money to feed the poor and take care of the homeless”. For 7 years since 2001, the city of Toronto has not progressed in solving the problem of street people and panhandlers.

Finally, I will be watching the Canadian Women Soccer team play again China tomorrow morning.

 

 

 

 

 

my missions team and i will be leaving for Benin this Sunday=D!

other than packing right now, i’m also in need of financial support. if it’s on your heart to give toward God’s ministry in this way, i would really appreciate any help i can get. every little bit helps! you can give online at https://www.sim.ca/donationformsecurep89.php or you can send in a cheque to the SIM office (10 Huntingdale Blvd., Scarborough, ON M1W 2S5), and SIM will send you a tax-deductible receipt for anything over $20.

please remember us in your prayers and we hope to update our blog http://jesuslovesbenin.blogspot.com while we’re there. thanks and i hope to talk to you soon!

 

Here are the slides with the passage and images from the message this past sunday if you missed it or wanted some recall.

What do you think?

I’m not saying we all need to be poor.  The opposite of greed is not poverty, but generosity.

How might you be intentional and strategic about living a life of generosity and not greed or selfishness?

What would it look like to not plan your life towards independence, and not needing one another, or God himself, but planning on a life of generosity that needs inter-dependence & community in return?

There’s a quote by bono i believe in the song a beautiful day that goes along the lines of - what you don’t have already, you don’t need now’.  Could there be some truth in that?

Continuing along in the Scriptures through Hebrews 8

- Hebrews talks about how in the past the priest and the sanctuary were simply a shadow of what is in heaven and something far superior was coming.  I wonder if some of the things we do are still simply ’shadows’ of the real thing?

- It’s interesting how God says that his ‘new covenant’ will not be like the old, where he ‘led them by the hand’, that maybe there’s something better than direct handholding of God?

- It’s amazing how it describes God putting prints of himself directly on the hearts and minds of people.  I guess to what degree we accept that is a different question, but He’s already right here, within every person in some way.

I was excited last Sunday as I assisted in an interment ceremony for one of my seniors. We had all together ten people. I started with a prayer, then we sing a hymn. The daughters paid tribute to their beloved mother and said they had been deeply moved by her unconditional love. I thanked the family members for entrusting me in the care of their mother. I also appreciated the ongoing support from the family. The whole thing was initiated by her daughter a month or two before the death of her mom. She used to come with her mom for the Sunday fellowship I hosted. She was touched by my message. I told the people attending the interment that I appreciated the invitation even it is not in my job description. I felt honored to help out the interment of the deceased. It was also a way to glorify our Father in heaven. Obviously, I am not a minister but I am in the ministry of God. We had light snack after the interment in the home of the bereaved family. We had a wonderful time of sharing. Thanks be to God for the opportunity to serve others and make friends.