September 2006
Monthly Archive
General25 Sep 2006 08:34 am
AM I B.U.S.Y.??? by Naoto Yuki with inspiration from Pastor Chow, Taipei Bread of Life
Meetings seem to be unavoidable. Everywhere from the corporate office to the parts warehouse in a car company to the Church, meetings happen. Leaders need to keep their subordinates accountable, motivated and informed/up-to-date so they can be at their best in their daily duties. Guess what? Things are no different when it comes to Satan and his legions of demons/minions. Take a glimpse of what Satan is trying to accomplish in our lives…
The meeting started with Satan having a reality check saying, “Look, we can’t prevent a Christian from entering a Church, reading their Bible or holding onto their traditional and conservative moral values. However, what we can prevent is a Christian drawing closer to Jesus. Let them have their Church services, Bible Studies and their ‘morals’ but let’s steal their time so they don’t have any to truly experience Jesus. This is my game plan; all of you are to take every ounce of strength you have to distract the heart and mind of a Christian… keep’em B.U.S.Y. (explained later) with meaningless, miscellaneous things that aren’t important and never let them rest from the countless plans and unnecessary things of life…”
One of the demons shouted, “HOW DO WE DO THIS?”
Satan replied, “First, tempt them to SPEND, SPEND, SPEND… when they’ve spent it all, we’ll encourage them to BORROW, BORROW, BORROW… they’ll buy things they don’t NEED, with money they don’t HAVE, to impress people they don’t LIKE. Next, when the bills pile up, we’ll put pressure on the man (single men and husbands) to work more hours and maybe get a second job… and no one is better at putting pressure on the man than a woman (single women and wives)! Next, the woman will feel pressure through her own insecurities, which will lead her to work two jobs or ‘nag’ her husband to the point of an affair… all this just to maintain their new level of luxury and to suppress the emotion of debt… it’s divide and conquer!”
Satan continued, “Another target is the home and family. Make them feel stress at home so they don’t want to come home… alienate Fathers and their children, Mothers and their children, sibling from their siblings and we’ll do it by using the COMPUTER/INTERNET, SECULAR BOOKS and ENTERTAINMENT players as their surrogate parent, sibling or even spouse! We want to make it so that they don’t hear the voice of God telling them how much He loves them… When they drive, we’ll use Billboards, the traffic reports and terrible news reports to keep their anxiety levels high and their ‘wanting’ spirit high… We DON’T want them listening to Christian music or anything that would allow them to draw closer to God…”
At this point, Satan really poured it on… “Let’s build a cynical world for our young people so that they have no hope whatsoever when they grow older… Fill their world with DEPRESSION, WORRY, ANGER, HOPELESSNESS and LONELINESS… Let the young people watch their elders in the Church turn small group gatherings into gossip sessions, worldly discussions and a place to vent frustrations so they cultivate a negative spirit towards God’s “house” and His people… Fill everyone with confusion so that they will be double-faced and double-minded… God hates this!!…”
Satan concluded his pep-talk by saying, “Let their salvation be based on good works of endless toil rather than on the truth that we do not speak of. Prepare the masks they will wear when they enter Churches and the masks that they will wear when they are away from the Church. Make them understand that WHAT they DO is more important than WHO they ARE. They will sacrifice everything so that they will have a good ‘face’ in front of their Church members and the Christian community… All in all, keep them B.U.S.Y.!” (Bound Under Satan’s Yoke)
God has CALLED us to our place in life… whether we are in Corporate Canada or in the Medical office or in at the front cash of a Tim Horton’s. When God calls us, it means he entrusts us with His people that need to hear the Gospel… If we acknowledge God’s call, we will share God’s LOVE and TRUTH by not being B.U.S.Y. and by not fearing rejection, it’s not you they reject, it’s JESUS. Take a long look at your life and ask yourself that question… Am I B.U.S.Y.???
General18 Sep 2006 02:13 am
The MICROWAVE vs. The MASTER CHEF! by Naoto Yuki
How are a struggling Christian and struggling doctor related? They both have no PATIENCE (fine, PATIENTS… this is better when spoken…)
What do we HOPE in? Do we even understand the true meaning of that word… HOPE? Our societies in North America, Asia and to a lesser extent Europe have become Microwave societies. We’d rather have the control of being able to create something in 5 minutes rather than giving control to the Holy Spirit of God and allowing it to manifest a better work through time.
A mentor of mine in Atlanta put it this way. Have you ever tried COOKING with a microwave? I don’t mean reheating something but actually cooking with the microwave. Sure your food would come out a lot faster but it would lose a lot in the process… a lot of it’s natural minerals, juices, flavour…etc. Isn’t that what we do with God’s will for us? We want the results of our lives quick and painless… sure we lose some blessings here and there but it’s more or less the same as God would’ve wanted right? Well, let’s not jump the gun on this one…
Now imagine a meal where every aspect was well prepared… I’m talking about a meal where the meat’s been marinating in the fridge for at least 48 hours (not to mentioned grain fed and raised in the best field) and the veggies have been freshly picked after a whole summer in the fields getting ready… then the master chef who has been training for decades from beginning as a dishwasher in the most celebrated kitchen, takes the meat, veggies and cooks them for a long period of time through a process of chopping, grilling, sautéing, roasting and garnishing… What would our lives look like if we allow God to work in us over a period of time acknowledging that HE is in control and that we only need to give Him praise, honour and glory for the process?
Too often we take what God wants and we try and control the circumstances because we are afraid of what people might think or it takes too long or we don’t want to pay the price for it. Further to this, the environment around us(the Five Senses) seems to be the hope we have instead of the the Spiritual (Things not naturally experienced through the Five Senses).
What does HOPE in God mean? What will it look like in our lives? I could write about “feel-good” stories of successful people who had “success” on their minds and that they paid a great price for their success (”The Pursuit of Happyness?!) but I’m only going to offer you the Word of God who speaks about countless people who didn’t make up their own “success” but put their HOPE in the Lord and whatever the Lord wanted was their success. Take the Apostle Paul for example… Paul speaks of his success of running the race that God has placed in his life… faithfully making sure he’s not disqualified from it… his life in Jesus landed him in Jail, shipwrecked, mobbed and dragged from official to official but like he writes, “… through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace (Jesus’) in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” –Romans 5:3-5
Where you put your hope is where your life will go. You see, HOPE is the TRUST we put in the DESIRE of our hearts. However, HOPE that is seen is not HOPE… (Romans 8:24) If our HOPE is in the glory of God, we will pay a price of sharing in his sufferings but those sufferings will produce perseverance (PATIENCE?) and that leads to TRUE Christ character that our co-workers can’t help but see and our Christ character produces HOPE… what is our reward?… Our reward is ALL the blessings that God has promised us if we follow His well and a pouring out of his Holy Spirit in our lives. “But I already received the Holy Spirit when I was saved…” true, but receiving something and having access to its power and anointing are two different things. The light bulb of our relationship won’t shine if God doesn’t turn on the switch of his power, through the Holy Spirit. Paul says it so clearly what the importance of the Holy Spirit is… “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” 1 Corinthians 2:5 Can you without a doubt say that your “message” to those around you comes from a demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power because you allow the Holy Spirit control of EVERY part of your life?
There is nothing in this world that can offer us true HOPE besides the Glory of God. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”-1 John 2:15-17… This can be a reality only through HOPE from FAITH in our Lord Jesus.
Next time there is a major decision in your life, a major opportunity, trouble at work or at home, even a major crisis, wait upon it, be still, KNOW that He is God and that whatever He is manifesting in your life is 10X better than if you were to take the situation and put into your microwave of HOPE and nuke all the blessings out of it until your left with something that you wish you had taken more time to prepare…
Lord, may our PATIENCE abound in Your unfailing love. May our HOPE be in your Glory and Your will, always careful in giving you the PRAISE, HONOUR and GLORY for the ALL the things in our lives (Romans 8:28).
In Christ,
Amen
General11 Sep 2006 10:42 am
Who Needs an IPOD? …by Bob and Jackson from Calgary
It’s nice how two posts back we already read about being counter culture and how we live in a time similar to the exilic times. I was actually going to write about something along the same lines. Don’t mind my casual writing style and please do not take offense as my writing often comes on quite strong.
Our generation, just like Israel during the exilic age, is living in another culture. We don’t live in Babylonia but rather in Canada. Back then many of them worshipped the Babylonian Gods. Today we worship many Canadian Gods and Idols, often without being aware we are even doing it.
So what God do I wish to address in this blog post?
Mammon. I think one of the biggest issues our generation faces is that our society raises us and teaches us to value materialism, to worship it. Affluence is one of the issues that Project Contempo wishes to address, so it seems fitting that we address it here.
Christians think that everyone in secular society is so greedy and materialistic. But the truth is, most Christians are worshipping Mammon just the same. In some cases, entire Christian communities are unaware they are doing so. Why are there mega churches that have beautiful fountains, plasma TVs, expensive sound equipment, gyms, leather couches? Are these churches? Or are they leisure centers for Christians to play in? That money could have been spent on missionaries, or helping feed the needy!
Let’s talk about us, Gen X. What is the evidence that our generation is worshipping Mammon? Look around at your Christian peers. The majority of Christians in North America spend more time trying to make money, than trying to save lives and help people.
What is more important to you? Making money or God? Easy answer.
Your actions give away what you love. What do you spend the most time doing? What do your actions say is most important to you?
How can we break a value we have been taught our entire life by everyone and everything we have been exposed to?
Simply repent (like in Ezra 9), and grasp onto the truth and act on it! The truth? What is the truth?
Matthew 6:24 - No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
I am not trying to condemn Canadian Christians but rather stir hearts to change. I challenge all Canadian Christians (including myself) to be counter culture when it comes to affluence. Turn your eyes on Jesus and recognize the spirit of Mammon at work in our culture. Do not join in the Mammon worship. You do not need to live in a $250K+ house. You do not need a nice new SUV. You do not need a 32″ plasma/LCD TV with surround sound. You do not need a 7 mega pixel digital camera. You do not need an IPOD. You do not need a Bluetooth enabled cell phone! Society says you do, but we are part of God’s nation. We live by Jesus Culture. You do not need to care what the ladies will think of you if you do not sport overpriced, trendy, designer labels. You should feel good about living within your means. Buy a cheaper car. Give the money you save to the needy or support a missionary! You will find that the less you care about money, the happier you will be. You will have more time to serve Him, more time to love Him, and more time just to be with Him.
General07 Sep 2006 10:23 am
Honest Mistakes do Happen by Clement Yeung
This happened some years ago but the memory is still vivid.
I had been on call the night before. It was almost 7 pm and I finally got home after a regular day’s work at the office. Supper was nice. The Chinese TV channel had a funny program. By 10 pm, I was ready for bed.
Then suddenly my pager went off.
“I must be dreaming… it can’t be true.” I was trying to talk myself back to sleep. The pager buzzed again. The same sequence occurred three times before I decided to get the phone. The clock on the night table showed 2:30 am. Even with my eyes closed, I was able to dial the hospital ER department. It rang five times without answer. I was ready to hang up. “But no, they will buzz me again.” So I waited patiently.
Finally the ward clerk answered the phone.
“Someone called Dr. Yeung?” I mumbled.
“Yes.”
“I am Dr. Yeung.”
“But we didn’t call you. We were paging the lady doctor, Dr. Suzzane Young…The operator must have pressed the wrong button.” She said it in a matter-of-fact way.
I was really mad but I quickly remembered the most important rule of survival that we learned from medical school: Never get angry in the middle of the night, otherwise you will not be able to get back to sleep.
Honest mistakes do happen at the workplace. How well do we handle them? That is the time that we can spoil a relationship with our colleagues permanently. That is the moment that we can ruin years of witnessing to our co-workers. That is the occasion that can prevent us from being agents of change for God in the workplace.
This does not mean that we simply tolerate mistakes in the workplace. We need to minimize mistakes at work. Doctors, nurses and pharmacists spend countless hours trying to eliminate medication errors. But honest mistakes still happen.
How well we handle honest mistakes at work can have a very significant impact on our witness for God.
When I say the Lord’s prayer, I now underline my plea: “Lead us not into temptation… especially when faced with an honest mistake.”