December 28, 2024

During the holidays, we were in a neighboring state to spend time with our friends. The day after Christmas, Hyemi sent me on an errand to buy a list of ingredients to bake a cake with the kids. The mart parking lot seemed full the day after the big holiday, and while I was figuring out where to park, I noticed a car pulling out of its spot which was fairly close to the mart entrance. I said, “Jackpot!” and drove right next to the spot and turned on my signal. A moment later, there  was another car approaching from the other side that surely saw my vehicle with my blinker on. As soon as this car pulled out of its spot, this other car quickly stole my spot and parked. I yelled at myself, “Oh, come on!!!” I had to find another spot far away. I think many of you have similar experiences.

I got into the mart, only to find out that half the ingredients that I needed to buy were out of stock, after all, it was the holiday season. This added to my frustration that I got from getting my parking spot stolen, and I had to return other items back to the shelves. When I came to the entrance to return the cart, a young man working there said with a nice, big smile, “I can take that for you.” When he said that, I noticed inside his work vest a red UW hoodie. “Are you from Wisconsin?” I asked. “No, but I go to school there.” I told him that I live in Wisconsin and he gave me a thumbs up and a nice, friendly smile once more. This interaction wiped away all of my mental state of being upset and I was feeling a lot better.

We are at the end of the year, and when I think about the two types of people I met that day, I wonder what kind of person I want to be remembered as in 2024, and how I want to improve myself in the new year. In my prayers, I enjoy saying, “May we reflect the character of Jesus.” Let’s think about the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” I pray that we will think about the goodness of God and copy Him as best as we can in the new year and be a blessing to all those around us. God bless you all!

#pastorsblog #waukeshachurch

December 21, 2024

“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” Romans 12:5

I went to see “The Nutcracker” ballet with my family recently at the Marcus Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee. This was my first time ever seeing a ballet. The show was sensory friendly, so it was good for our kids to enjoy the show without having to worry about our kids staying quiet. We also had the joy of seeing Bonnie and Bill Grimm sitting just two rows in front of us!

I have to be honest, before the show,I had zero expectations about the ballet. I was just going there for the family. I was telling the family that I was going to fall asleep very soon into the show. I mean, you know, it’s a ballet!

Well, I was wrong. I was impressed! The performance, choreography, the plot, the orchestra, stage art, characters, etc. The wholesome production opened my eyes and I enjoyed every bit of it. I could tell the girls were impressed, too. When I looked over, I could see the girls could not take their eyes off of the stage. It was a really good production.

After the show, I thought about how the production was made. There were so many things at play, and the complexity of bringing everything just blows my mind. Everything had to come together. First the ballerinas and the ballerinos. The director has to direct them with choreography. With dozens of performers on the stage, precision is key. I can’t imagine how long they must have practiced. Then there’s the music. A full orchestra playing the music with beautiful and the performers dancing in sync to the music is no easy feat. What about the stage? The stage art director had to invest countless hours to create the stage where the scene changes every few minutes. And all the staff that are behind the scenes are there to help make the show successful. It took them time, practice, teamwork, and commitment to make all this happen.

What about the church? Ministry works in the same way. Church ministry is not, and will never be a one-man show. The whole church needs to come together as part of the body of Christ. It takes time and commitment to do ministry. Each effort and each time that is invested from the church members are extremely valuable. Therefore, I thank our God for blessing our church members throughout the year of 2024. We all joined together as one and committed ourselves to ministry. And I pray that God will continue to bless us in the new year of 2025 as well, that we come together as one, investing our time and efforts. When we do so, great things will happen for the Kingdom of God!

#pastorsblog #waukeshachurch

December 7, 2024

Even though my wife and I are not US citizens, we took great interest in the presidential election some weeks ago. In fact, the whole world was watching, as the leader of this big nation affects the political, economic, and military geography of the whole globe. I never spoke about my thoughts in public about the election, but I was still interested in how things turned out. And I am curious to know what the world will look like in the next few years.

On Tuesday evening at 10:20 pm Korean time, the Korean president issued an emergency martial law. This took everyone by surprise, and the whole nation was shocked. No one saw this coming. There weren’t any international threats, and there was no civil issue that law enforcement couldn’t control. There was absolutely no reason for martial law, and yet it happened. Within 2 and a half hours, the Korean parliament unanimously voted to stop the martial law. And now the Korean citizens are coming out to the streets to protest and demanding to impeach the president. I can say that this is an international embarrassment as to why the president did this. This isn’t something you would expect in one of the most advanced nations in Asia. While living across the Pacific here in Wisconsin, my wife and I were upset about this, and we have been following the Korean news all week long because it was about my country. 

What I gather from above is that how and what we decide affects our lives and the groups we belong to. Your voices and opinions matter. When they are expressed it helps us to find the right direction. Acts 15 talks about one of the first business meetings that took place in the early church, the Jerusalem council. The church at that time gathered to discuss the conflict over circumcision and sought the Holy Spirit to make decisions as “we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” Acts 15:11. They gathered because it was their church and they all had the same goal of all being saved.

I invite my church family to our annual business meeting at 6 pm this evening. This is our church, and we all have a common goal, to make this church a community leading to salvation. With the leading of the Holy Spirit, your voice and vote will help guide the church in the direction that God planned for us.

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