March 22, 2025

I had another encounter with a raccoon the other night. I was coming back from the church board meeting and the time was close to 10 pm. Since we live in a townhouse-style condo, smaller trash trucks come in on Fridays to pick up the trash. The drivers will get off the truck and throw the trash bags into the back of the truck. So some of the neighbors will just leave the bags in the driveway instead of putting them out in trash bins; that way, they don’t have to bring them back in the bins in the morning. Anyway, as I was returning home, I noticed a raccoon trying to open one of the trash bags that were sitting outside our neighbor’s house. Curious, I stopped my car and stared at the raccoon. It moved behind a tree and peeked to see me. I thought it was going to run away immediately with the headlight beaming out of the car. Instead, it stood there for about two minutes, staring back at me, and finally decided to walk away. I have a feeling it came out again after I went into my garage, but I will never know that.

The raccoon took advantage of the situation because the trash bags were not placed in the trash bin, as it shoul have been. They were not protected; they were vulnerable. Ephesians 6:10-20 talks about the whole armor of God. In verse 11, Paul tells that we must put on the armor of God “that you may be able to stand the wiles of the devil.” The devil is always looking for its prey to attack on and will not hesitate to attack you when you are not protected. Therefore, the Bible tells us that we must be equipped with the whole armor of God. “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:14-18.

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March 15, 2025

It’s a great joy to see our kids grow, and also when they improve in certain skills. When our kids first started swimming, they could barely stay on the surface of the water, and they would get scared if their feet would not touch the bottom of the pool. The kids would depend on flotation devices or hold on to me. I think many of you can relate to that. Once the kids started to get used to the water, I would challenge them to more difficult skills. They would swim for few feets, and I would assure them I will catch them right away. Other times, I would have them jump into the pool deeper than their height. I promised I would catch them. With fear, they would jump in, and I would catch them. After a few times, they gained their confidence, and they did not need my help anymore! Once they overcame their challenges, playing in the water became easier for them.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Challenges and struggles come our way in life, and there’s no way for us to avoid them. They do come. God give us the power to overcome them, and once we overcome them, the things of life will become more manageable. I can’t say that this will be the case every singe time, for every single one of you. But what is certain is that when we hold on to God, He will not give up on us and will give each one the strength and help to overcome, making you bigger than you were before and your faith in God growing more and more!

I have been gone for two Sabbaths, I will be back to see you all again next week. I miss my church family very much. See you soon, and happy Sabbath!

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March 8, 2025

Many of you know this story. When Hyemi and I had a long distance relationship while we were dating. I was in Michigan at the seminary and Hyemi was in Korea in her graduate studies. There was a whole Pacific Ocean between us with the time difference of 13 hours. We didn’t have smartphones back then. We had a medium of communication: skype on our computers. We spoke to each other twice a day using skype.

Fastforward many years, we are married, live together, and have kids. Hyemi has her desk on the second floor in the house, and my cave is in the basement. At first, when she needed to say something to me, she would yell at me from the second floor. Most of the time, I can’t understand what she says, and I would have to yell back, “What did you say?” One of us (that would be me) will have to move closer to communicate better. We don’t even do that anymore. While I am down in my cave, I get a phone call. It’s my wife, calling from two stories above me. Whether we are 7,000 miles apart, or only couple stories apart in the same building, we have our means of communication using our devices. They connect us together.

When Jacob was running away from his brother Esau, he fell asleep one night and used a stone as a pillow. He had a dream. “Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” Genesis 28:12. The dreamed showed that Jacob was connected to God. The ladder was a representation of that. And the angels were moving up and down as messengers. I am so glad we have our Father in heaven that we are always connected to. And we can talk to Him anytime we want. And He wants to talk with us all the time. Let us “pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

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