Wonderful Counselor

Today, I felt the need to continue on Professor Horner's bible-reading system. I had started this before coming to seminary and stopped when things got busy here. I trust God will use all ten chapters of today to shape me and mold me into a better servant of his glory. Here are some prayers in respect to each chapter...

Mark 16

Lord, help me to have faith in you. When times look dim and the situations look bleak, Father, help me to look to your power and glory. Help me to preach the Gospel with boldness and passion, knowing that you are the worker behind salvation.

Genesis 8
Heavenly Father, let the patience and persistence of Noah to learn your will be given to me. Help me to know the way to best serve you and your glory. Enable me to trust that you are guiding me every step of the way.

Romans 8

Christ you have risen and you are alive. Allow me to focus on that truth and that power and that love which entails we will also share in your glory. No matter what type of hardships come my way, let me bear that with the hope that frees me to serve you without fail.

2 Thessalonians 3

I also pray with Paul that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored at Midwest Youth Group. Deliver us from evil and wicked people. Strengthen and protect us from the evil one. Direct our hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.

Job 8(욥기 8)

하나님 아버지, 네 입에 웃음으로 채워주세요. 힘들지만 항상 예수그리스도를 바라 보는 사람을 만들어 주세요.

Psalms 8(시편 8)

주께서 저를 생각하셔서 감사합니다. 저는늘 하나님의 뜻데로 못살고, 제 맘데로 사라가는데, 하나님의 은헤가늘 제 인생에 넘침니다.

Proverbs (잠언 8)

날마다 지혜의 문을 기다리면서, 생명과 여호와께 은총을 얻을 수있도록 인도해주세오.

Joshua 16 (여호수아 16)

아버지, 역사를 움지기는 하나님... 저에 작은 믿음을 백 배가 되께해주세요. Let the glory of your riches provide comfort in my wilderness...

Isaiah 9(이사야 9)

예수님을 보네줘서 감사합니다. 주의 이름은 기묘자, 모사, 전능하신 하나님, 영존하시는

아버지, 평강의 왕은 겄을 항상 기역할수 있도록 해주세요.

Acts 9

Father lead me like Philip to my Ethiopian eunuchs. Help me preach the Gospel always. Let the good news be apparent in my words as well as my actions.

Lord, you have led me today to reflect on your glory. The risen Savior, Jesus Christ, is who I am to look at. He is the goal of my life and my direction. Father, I pray you fix my eyes on the wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. I trust my life and my burdens and my worries all in your hands like a child who is powerless to protect himself, weak in strength, but knowing that my Father in Heaven wields authority like none other. Remind me that you will always remember me. Remind me that you will work things for my good. Remind me that you will protect me from all the arrows of the evil one. In Christ's name, Amen.

Typical Day

Sorry everyone for not updating for a while. I was moving into the new apartment on campus and was caught up in the busyness...

Anyways, here is what I found after organizing my room.

The Weekend

I know many of you are excited for the weekend. Songs like Friday by Rebecca Black do not exist without a reason. However, for me, it is not a time for partying or relaxation; rather, it is a time to get prepared for Friday Bible Study and eventually Sunday Worship.

I'll be honest with you... When it gets to be Friday, I began to worry a lot more about ministry related things. I start worrying about church attendance, participation in church related events, and whether or not the youth group kids will respond positively to the sermon. It all comes from my personality that tries to please people (This is something I have begun to realize about my personality more and more).

Therefore, I become irritable and oftentimes difficult to be around at this time. I think all types of worries and anxieties paralyze us from doing anything. We become so fixated on the worries themselves that we cannot live the life that God has offered us.

Today I have been reading from 1 Peter 5:1-11. The command from Peter to "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." God has been teaching me to put everything at his feet and express how much I need Him to shelter me and love me. Humility has been the biggest lesson I have learned... It isn't a lesson you want to learn either. I pray that I can believe the promise that by casting my worries and cares on him, the humbling of myself under the mighty power of God will eventually lead to the grace He promises.

Rock of Ages

We all know the hymn, "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me." One of the classic hymns that have been sung throughout centuries that have reminded us that we are so lost without Christ our Lord. I don't know about you, but as soon as I began youth ministry, I saw the head of Pride rear its ugly face in my life. It was my Ego and Pride that got in my walk with Christ.

Ministry has definitely taught me that I am nothing without my Savior who bled and died for me. All the fruit that comes from my efforts in ministry are a result of God working. I am nothing without His merciful hand touching my dead soul. I am nothing without His loving protection on my life...

To conclude, I would like to end with the third verse of this hymn:

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

Praise be to our God, our Father, our Maker, our Shelter, our Savior. Amen.

Being A Mentor

For those of you who know me pretty well, you know that when it comes to Summer break, I have been very consistent in not making the greatest use of it in terms of productivity. This Summer has been a little different from the norm. First of all, I decided to schedule out my time and to sleep at regular hours. That first step was HUGE. Once I planned out how I was going to spend my Summer, I had to figure out how I was going to keep with that schedule. So I found another Pastor to help me. We both kept each other accountable by going to the library as soon as we woke up and had breakfast.

On Monday morning, I really did not want to wake up at 7:00am. After a long weekend at church, I felt like sleeping in. But I realized he would be waiting for me at the parking lot if I did not wake up. So I got up and dressed. The Pastor is a mentor to me. He has taught me a lot about life, God, and discipline. Being about 15 years older than me, he gives me guidance on everything.

Today I thank God for providing such a person in my life. His family is a blessing everyday for me. His friendship has taught me more than I could learn by reading books in seminary. Thank you Father for guiding me through relationships with your people. I pray Lord that you teach me how to be a giving person, especially in the way of mentoring.

I love you, O LORD, my strength

This week has been a long one with lots of ups and downs. After helping my friend out with her move, I had to also plan organize the Rummage Sale and help there. It was a packed week where I did not have a chance to have a Sabbath. Through the whole process though, I was able to come out in one-piece. Praise and glory be to God the Father who always shows his great mercy to me even when I am losing my focus!

Today I read from Psalm 18:1 that said, "I love you, O LORD, my strength" (NIV). How I forget where I should draw my strength from... Many times I do things from my strength and I am left tired and unfulfilled. I have learned this week that it is imperative we draw upon the strength God provides for us. If we try to live this life with our own planning, organization, strength, and mind, we will ultimately lose touch of why we are on this planet.

Thank you LORD because you refresh me each day and renew my strength. You give me hope to go another week, you give me joy in the midst of suffering, you give me grace that is eternal. Walk with me each day.

"Hold my hand all the way, every hour
Every day from here to the great unknown
Take my hand, let me stand
Like a king I may live in a palace"

Amen

Suffering and God's Will

What's the deal with suffering? How come there is so much in this world? Why are innocent people the victims of evil tragedies and accidents?

It wasn't until seminary school that I heard about the term theodicy. At first I thought they were talking about Homer's epic poem. It wasn't until I saw the word written on the chalkboard that I realized it was related to God.  (According to Wikipedia, theodicy "is a theological or philosophical study which attempts to justify God’s intrinsic nature of omni-benevolence, omniscience and omnipotence, despite the existence of evil which, in the view of some, would otherwise stand to refute one or more of these qualities or God's existence altogether")

Now I don't have enough time to get into explaining what I think about the topic. To be perfectly honest, I don't even think I could ever explain this clearly. But I was doing my study of 1 Peter 3:13-17 and all of these questions about suffering began to surface once again in my head. Here are the verses:

(NIV)
1Pet. 3:13  Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?
1Pet. 3:14  But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”
1Pet. 3:15  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
1Pet. 3:16  keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
1Pet. 3:17  It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Verse 17 really got me thinking, "How can God will people to suffer for good? How can that be better?" I look at my life thus far and realize I haven't been a major target of suffering. As a member of the middle-class in America, I haven't had too many struggles. When it comes to suffering for the sake of Christ and/or for doing good, I think the amount of times that has happened is also low. But I've realized more and more that the call to ministry will always be the cross I will the glorious cross I bear throughout my life.

One year has passed since I started youth ministry. I came into it fresh and inexperienced. I did not know exactly what God had in store for me. A year under my belt, I feel as if God has challenged me more throughout this time as a pastor than I have been challenged ever before. The testing and trials throughout this year has shown me that the path in ministry is not all rainbows and fluffy bunnies (although there are those times too), but a narrow path that creates in me a kneeling spirit.

There are numerous times throughout this year that I had to come to God for healing and encouragement. If a movie title would be made, then it would be called Faith Under Fire. Please pray for your pastors today. Sometimes it can be discouraging in ministry and there are many pastors who have abandoned the road because of its hardships. Pray that 1 Peter 1:7 will be true for your pastor!

"Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold—gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away–and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:7, NET). Amen!