January 25, 2025

Last week, I went to go visit a friend in the hospital in Minnesota. He was in the hospital for over 2 weeks and I only knew about it couple days before. As soon as I heard the news, I decided to go visit him, and I drove five hours to the hospital he was admitted in. He was glad to see me when I knocked on his door. 

Couple minutes after I arrived, there was another knock on the door. When the door opened, a man came in with his guitar. My friend looked really puzzled. I asked him, “Do you know this guy?” “I have no idea who this guy is.” We both looked at each other in amusement for a split second. It turns out that this man is a pastor of the Minnesota Conference. Someone apparently told that conference about my friend, and they had asked this pastor to come and visit my friend. We sang songs, worshiped together, and had a good visit until he left. When I look back, I still chuckle to myself when my buddy said, “I have no idea who this guy is.”

Jesus says something similar, but in a completely different tone. In Matthew 6:21-23, Jesus talks about people who call on Him, “Lord, Lord!” Not everyone of them would make it in to the kingdom of God. To them, Jesus says, “I never knew you.” Matthew 6:23. Jesus defined these people as those “who practice lawlessness.” The law of God defines His character, and to keep God’s law means that we choose to be in a loving relationship with Him. As Christians, we may be doing many activities for the Lord, but our hearts may not be there for Him. I pray that we can establish a genuine relationship with the Lord, and when He greets us, He will tell us, “I know exactly who you are, and I died for you! Come and join Me in the kingdom of God.”

#pastorsblog #waukeshachurch

January 18, 2025

When I ski at a new mountain that I have never been on, it’s hard to figure out the trails and terrain. There are trail maps you can look at, but it has its limits. It’s easier when you go with a friend that knows the mountain. As you get off the lift, the friend would say, “Let’s go this way, come, follow me.” The friend knows the trails, knows the difficulties of the terrain, and if you just follow your friend, it’s so much easier to navigate around.

Sometimes, you and the friend are at different levels of skiing. One might be more skilled and the other less. In that case, as you go down the slopes together, the skillful skier will slow down and ensure the buddy is in sight, so that you won’t get lost and ride down together. As you continue to ride together, eventually you get to learn some skills over the course of time, and become better at it. 

Jesus did something similar with the disciples. When Jesus was walking by the sea, he saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew. “Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” Matthew 4:19. Jesus also proclaimed in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” When Jesus called for the disciples to follow Him, He knew the way, and Jesus was going to lead them and guide them. He worked with the disciples over the years and taught them. Jesus called us to be His followers, too. We can trust Him, and follow Him. He will guide us and lead us to salvation that He made possible on the cross.

#pastorsblog #waukeshachurch

January 11, 2025

I used to enjoy Scuba diving a lot in my 20s. After you put on your gear, you jump off the boat into the water. You might think that you would sink into the water right away, but it doesn’t work like that. For you to go underwater, you must let the air out of the vest (BCD - buoyancy control device) by using one of the valves attached. Once you let all the air out, the body will sink into the water, but there are times when your body is under water but doesn’t drop down. That’s because you still have air in your lungs. In that case, you need to relax and simply breathe out and let it go. Then, you will find yourself moving down and start enjoying marine life.

After my runs, I always take about 15 minutes to stretch. I have been stretching religiously since I have had injuries. Stretches have been super helpful in my recovery and maintaining good run health. At first I started following instructors online, and an important part of stretching is breathing. If you stretch without breathing in and out properly, you will notice that your body still feels tense. In a routine, the instructor would tell you to breathe in, then breathe out. When you breathe out in a relaxed manner, you will notice how much more of your body part that you are stretching, will stretch out more and give you a sensation of the body being more refreshed. The key is to let it go.

There’s a little frame hanging between the entrance to the men’s room and the women’s room. It says, “LET GOD.” The first five letters ‘let go’ are colored the same, and the last letter ‘d’ has a different shade of color. So you can read it as “Let go,” and “Let God.” James 4:7 tells us that we should “submit to God.” In verse 10 it says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” How powerful are these words? May we learn to let go of our egos, and let God work in us as we begin this new year!

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