I’m back!

WOWW

dang its been a long time since i’ve posted. haha. I love being able to journal online and all, but it was weird for the last.. wow.. nearly a year, I honestly just got lost doing a lot of different things. Not all of them have been all that beneficial to me either haha.

Anyway, I’m going to once again start posting up different thoughts . feel free to journey with me.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of a culture of honor. If you know me, you know that I have not been very good at honoring people, encouraging them or even loving on people. Honestly, in the Asian church that I have grown up with, and am still at now, this concept of honor is lost. In its place, sarcasm and humor have been used to mask the pain and insecurities that so infect people. I have been learning a whole lot about this from my best friends and different people that the Lord has placed in my life. It is really interesting how the Lord has taken people out of my life that have not been able to be encouraging and speak life in this season. I can see how being in a culture of dishonor and of sarcasm is infectious and if you stay around it, and specifically, if you begin to believe that it is okay to speak death into people’s lives for the sake of humor and joking about it, you begin to dig a hole that is terribly hard to get out of. I am not saying that we aren’t called to change cultures and be atmosphere changers. I am saying that when you are planting something, it is important that it is in the right soil, environment, and being watered with water and not harmful chemicals– the results differ greatly.

So a principle that I am going to be applying is:

Do not define people by their actions.

Practically for me, this means that rather than saying things like, “You are gross”, I will say, “that is gross”. This is so vital in learning how to honor. We so often define people by what they do. In our words, we begin to teach people that their identity is directly correlated with their actions. I am not what I do. I am not a human doing, I am a human being. I am not defined by how good I am at something, or how I perform. I am a son– and I will steward this identity until this peace comes about me from it.

I’m going to start reading Culture of Honor by Danny Silk. woot woot!

wicked heart

oh wicked heart..

must you always be in want?

oh wicked heart..

may earthly desires continue to dissatisfy you.

oh wicked heart..

only one can take you and change you.

Hide me under the shelter of your wing

It’s interesting to see my dog like our new bunnies so much. When I first brought the bunnies home last week, my dog was so protective and in love with the bunnies. He would leave his house to sit next to us for five minutes, then he would run home, make sure that the bunnies were still there then come back. he would do this over and over. The truth remains, God never forgets about us. ever.

Hide and seek with Jesus

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Proverbs 25:2

This isn’t the best picture for this passage. It has been nearly 100 degrees these days and it is just too hot to lug around my camera bag. This passage is what is on my heart. God conceals things for us, so that we can search it out. The big man upstairs likes to play hide and seek! You see, you and I are kings! There are hidden treasures in the kingdom of God (Matthew 13:44-45). Even this man that found it, sold all he had to buy the piece of land the treasure was on. In order to attain these hidden treasures, we have to go search them out. God hides them for a few reasons.

Here are a couple:
1) He wants to entrust them to us! He doesn’t just hand out these treasures (Matthew 7:6 –> do not give pearls to pigs) but when we search them out, only the desperate (like the disciples who come to Jesus and ask for the interpretation) will receive them.
2) We are inherently built not to value things that we do not work for. It is like my laptop. I have had three laptops through college. I know, spoiled right? In my defense, I had the worst luck with laptops. Eventually, I had enough. I told my mom I was going to save up and buy my own laptop. I have not valued any laptop as my macbook pro. I treasure it, bought cases, even its own microfiber cloth to wipe it clean. It is the same concept.

Are you asking God for something? Seek him and search for it. Jeremiah 29:11–> And you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.

=) would the God of breakthrough please stand up?

How many times do we forget that when we call upon His name, he answers? How many times do we call upon His name? When my bunny was in the pool, my dog went crazy. Patches, my dog ran around the pool trying to find any means to rescue what he believes is his new toy. Bunnies don’t squeal, don’t have a distinctive bark or quack or any other noise that escapes them. Yet, as I watched this scene something hit me. Even when I don’t call upon his name, he is there waiting to pull me out. All we have to do is grab hold of his hands by calling out to him. God, I call upon you to come and release that breakthrough over my life. I want to be real with you.

sorry for the lag

haha.

so I decided that this semester 5 days a week in the midst of my own Jesus time, I wanted to improve on my photography. Most of you already know the way I try to read my Bible. I simply read it till I encounter God . Whatever doesn’t lead us into encounter will only make us more religious. So I try to read until there is something that strikes me that I know can change my life. I then seek to allow that word to grow roots in my heart. So whatever God is teaching me, I will try to be creative and take a picture that somehow symbolizes that. That, or just a picture that i took that day that I thought was cool. haha. I’ll attempt to update as often as I can. but a picture a day is harder than it looks . pray for me! Jesus is king!

God is random.

Exodus 15:22-27–> Find yo Bible and read it

But you should be familiar with this story. The Israelites were traveling for three days in the wilderness and found no water, finally they arrive at a place called Marah and there is water! Bad news, the water is bitter. As usual, Israelites cry and moan, Moses turns to God, God delivers them. God shows Moses a tree, Moses cast the tree into the water and God made soda! That’s actually the historical evidence that God created soda btw. Anyway, the verse that made me think God is random is verse 26

“and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.“

In the midst of the Israelites complaining about water, God establishes that he is the Lord who heals. . All I can say when I see this, is that time after time in my own life (and I’m sure in yours) I have seen God do miraculous things. I am not just talking about healings, or watching the supernatural break out. I am simply talking about him providing for me, showing up when I ask, coming to my rescue when I call, listening to me speak, living life with me, dying for me on the cross, saving me from hell, etc. For instance, the Israelites watched God perform the ten plagues on the Egyptians. All the while, that all of Egypt was afflicted the only place that wasn’t afflicted was the dwelling place of the Israelites! Then they witness the flipping Red Sea parting and swallowing the Egyptians behind them. Not to mention the cloud by day, and the magical fire by night! Even after seeing all these things, the Israelites refuse to believe that if they ask, He will provide. They were thirsty for three days.. my guess is if they had asked for water on day one God would have dumped the red sea on them!

If we ask, you will come. Send your rain on everyone. God we’re asking. Come. Come. Come.

Where are you looking?

Exodus 14:10-11–> And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?”

Where are we looking? If we look to the trials, temptations and hindrances that are chasing us we will only become afraid. Even in the midst of impossibilities; with the Red Sea blocking our path of escape, if we trust in God we press on. I believe Moses in this chapter had a very interesting response. He was so used to defending the Lord, that his natural response was to elicit a response to the Israelites. However, the Lord asks, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.” I think in that moment, that Moses’ response was to comfort the Israelites, but to also comfort himself. Instead the Lord spoke to him and gave him directions. How many times do we do this? So often we simply fall back on our default actions of habit that we forget that we follow a creative God. All we have to do is obey! It’s so simpo! Let’s look forward, and stop looking back. The only result in looking back is a blinding pillar of salt.

Covenant to remember.

Exodus 13:14–> “So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (skip to verse 16) “It shall be a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

God wants us to remember what he has done in our lives. Throughout my life, I have noticed a pattern. When I don’t remember what God has taught me, I often have to relearn it. haha. However, there’s a balance. (I hate this word. absolutely hate it. but in instances like this where God is teaching me both, it is necessary). On the other hand, if we continue to live in yesterday’s breakthrough we will never live in the breakthrough that God has created for us today. I’ve been struggling these past couple of weeks in being stuck in media. Stupid tv shows haha. I’m not saying that it is bad. But if you find yourself out of the presence of God while you are watching or allowing yourself to be entertained you need to stop. We, as Christians need to always be found watching and waiting. We can do that only in his presence and being aware of his presence .

I won’t be satisfied.

In the last few weeks I have grown comfortable. I have become complacent with the breakthroughs I once experienced. All I can say is: Yesterday’s breakthrough is not good enough for today. Yesterday’s encounter is not todays.

Jesus, I need you each and every day. Without you, I cannot live. I cannot breathe. Become more real to me. Become more necessary than the air I breathe.

This is my choice.

This is my desire.

This is my vow.