2009 has come upon us and I am eagerly awaiting what God has in store for us. Last year was quite a challenge to say the least and it really was difficult to recover from but God has been gracious in being more than merciful and has restored my heart and hope in light of the cross of Christ and the hope of the resurrection.
This past Christmas break gave me the opportunity to minister in several places. The first was a youth retreat with Los Angeles Christian Presbyterian Church's youth winter camp at Big Bear. I had done an evangelism training seminar for them during the summer so it was an opportunity to follow up with them and I had a great time challenging them to be unifed in Christ. It snowed quite a bit as well so the retreat site was a bit slippery and I ended up having to put on chains but it was a wonderful time, especially having the opportunity to encourage the youth pastor and the Christian Education director. We had some great talks and I realized that God has been gracious to give me an opportunity to minister to other pastors and leaders who have been discouraged and downcast because of ministry.
After enjoying Christmas with both sides of the family, we drove up to San Jose for two ministry opportunities. One was with San Jose Korean Presbyterian Church where my friend is the EM pastor. I had a chance to preach at both the youth service in the morning and then the EM service in the afternoon. From there we drove over to Mount Hermon where I was the main speaker for Student for Christ, a college/singles winter conference that is held every year. I was still getting over a cold and cough that I had before the previous retreat so it was a bit challenging to speak so many times when my throat was killing me. But God again was faithful to get me through each session and I had the opportunity again to speak with other pastors who were discouraged and were in need of encouragement.
After the conference we went over to the home of Ed Yip, where we were generously and graciously treated to some Shanghainese food and then we slept over. On New Year's Day we had a LBC fellowship over lunch and it was great to see both past and present LBC members come together and share how they were doing as well as hopes of future ministry in San Jose. We need to be in prayer for our brothers and sisters in San Jose as the church scene is tough and the adjustment for them has been challenging. We also need to pray that God would one day maybe give us opportunity to hopefully plant a church in the San Jose area as it seems that it is a place ripe for ministry to take place.
Our family drove back down on New Year's and we then were able to have a couple of days to recover before getting back to our home base. Church this past Sunday was sweet. It was good to see people back from studying abroad as well as to just see the church family together. One exciting thing was a quick-notice meeting of dating couples and engaged couples. I hope to start a "lab" where we could really work toward providing ongoing teaching and accountability for those in relationships. Quite a few people came out so I'm excited about the future opportunities.
Babies keep coming - Hwa and Suzie Park added Ethan to the family and Jin and Grace Lee added Christian to their family. More babies are on the way so we are excited to see the church's future take shape.
Let's all be in prayer for our church this year. As we celebrate our 10 year anniversary, I am hopeful that God would continue to lead and direct us to move forward and fulfill the MVP statement that we have set before us. I would also encourage you to spend time reading Scripture daily. Even if it is only for a few minutes, take time to read carefully and prayerfully and meditate on it throughout the day. Treasure it and it will keep you from sin (Psalm 119:11).
Thank you for your prayers and for your support. I love my church family!
Showing posts with label Happy New Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Happy New Year. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2008!!
To say "Happy New Year!" is not something that I really take too seriously as it seems a bit superficial and even contrived when you look at the harsh realities of life. But I think it is something I have had to address in my heart that I often would be more pessimistic in my outlook toward things rather than hopeful and it just might be because the joy and peace in knowing and trusting in Christ is more in the background rather than in the forefront of my heart condition and it inevitably shows.
When I have heart pains, I usually get concerned because I know that my physical heart condition is not so good. I have allowed the circumstances of life at times to overwhelmingly stress me out to the point where my physical body actually feels the consequences of the emotional and mental distress. My teeth have been grinding for so many years that I didn't realize it until half of my bottom teeth were worn away (don't ask to look - it's not a pretty sight). I actually tore a muscle in my mouth last week while I was sleeping, even with my nightguard in place - I didn't know that was possible. My neck and back are so tense at times it feels like I am sleeping on a rock. All this and more have been more than enough proof to show that my emotional and mental state can have some very severe effects on my physical body and I often am in so much pain that I can't stand it.
Left to myself, I am helpless. I can resort to drugs, physical therapy, and other things, but I realize that what really can bring relief (not necessarily physical) is the shoring up of my spiritual condition. When I am truly experiencing joy and peace in Christ, it really does affect my emotional and mental state to the point where I am reminded of the hope I have in Christ and the anxiety no longer paralyzes me. But when my gaze is not fixed on Christ, I find it so easy to be not only distracted, but to be redirected as to how I live my life.
This new year afforded me the opportunity to do some evaluating of my heart condition and I have come to see that I need to be more resolved in pursuing the hope of my life - Jesus Christ. It really is in Christ alone that I can find the joy and peace that anchors my hope and trust in Him. It is in Christ alone that I can have the right perspective in life amidst the challenges and trials that come and go. It is in Christ alone that I ultimately find my life's purpose and apart from Him, there would truly be no real reason to live.
So while circumstances are not necessarily so "happy", I have found joy in my salvation, I have found peace in the sovereignty of God, and I have found hope in the promises of a faithful God who I know will consistently and daily make manifest His mercy and grace to a sinner like me.
Happy New Year!!
To say "Happy New Year!" is not something that I really take too seriously as it seems a bit superficial and even contrived when you look at the harsh realities of life. But I think it is something I have had to address in my heart that I often would be more pessimistic in my outlook toward things rather than hopeful and it just might be because the joy and peace in knowing and trusting in Christ is more in the background rather than in the forefront of my heart condition and it inevitably shows.
When I have heart pains, I usually get concerned because I know that my physical heart condition is not so good. I have allowed the circumstances of life at times to overwhelmingly stress me out to the point where my physical body actually feels the consequences of the emotional and mental distress. My teeth have been grinding for so many years that I didn't realize it until half of my bottom teeth were worn away (don't ask to look - it's not a pretty sight). I actually tore a muscle in my mouth last week while I was sleeping, even with my nightguard in place - I didn't know that was possible. My neck and back are so tense at times it feels like I am sleeping on a rock. All this and more have been more than enough proof to show that my emotional and mental state can have some very severe effects on my physical body and I often am in so much pain that I can't stand it.
Left to myself, I am helpless. I can resort to drugs, physical therapy, and other things, but I realize that what really can bring relief (not necessarily physical) is the shoring up of my spiritual condition. When I am truly experiencing joy and peace in Christ, it really does affect my emotional and mental state to the point where I am reminded of the hope I have in Christ and the anxiety no longer paralyzes me. But when my gaze is not fixed on Christ, I find it so easy to be not only distracted, but to be redirected as to how I live my life.
This new year afforded me the opportunity to do some evaluating of my heart condition and I have come to see that I need to be more resolved in pursuing the hope of my life - Jesus Christ. It really is in Christ alone that I can find the joy and peace that anchors my hope and trust in Him. It is in Christ alone that I can have the right perspective in life amidst the challenges and trials that come and go. It is in Christ alone that I ultimately find my life's purpose and apart from Him, there would truly be no real reason to live.
So while circumstances are not necessarily so "happy", I have found joy in my salvation, I have found peace in the sovereignty of God, and I have found hope in the promises of a faithful God who I know will consistently and daily make manifest His mercy and grace to a sinner like me.
Happy New Year!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
