Thank God for the snow!

Bathroom god ("Toire no kamisama")

I didn't know there is such song as this one--"Bathroom god"

Which side?

It is not important which side you belong to
It is not important who you support
because it is not necessarily you alone that determined which side you would belong to
or who you would support

Whichever side you belong to, if you intentionally try to put someone down by lies and tactics, then you'd better get ready to be exposed before the judgment of the universe

If you try to put someone down without knowing the real truth, then there will be a room for you to be forgiven
If you happen to naively believe in lies without realizing they are lies, then there will be a room for you to be forgiven

The bottom line is that you cannot treat your family member this way--put him down by lies and tactics--when you say with your own month that you believe we are one family.

Anyway, nobody needs to judge you
nobody needs to know what you are doing, because you know it.
Do not live the way you would eternally regret

to my dear HOT DAY FIG

Unfortunate people

Unfortunate are those who have no chance to examine what the facts are

More unfortunate are those who do not even want to have a chance to examine what the facts are

Further more unfortunate are those who intentionally hide what the facts are

Way further more unfortunate are those who manipulate people to not to want to examine what the facts are

When you are in conflict...

If your opponent attacks you--lies to you, blames you, seems to be tricking you, etc...
How do you feel?

Do you feel upset? irritated? frustrated? anger? hatred? resentment?

or, do you feel sorry? sympathy? deep love? repentance?

If you feel rather former than the latter, then you may be on the wrong track, or, you may be in the process of failure

If you feel rather latter than the former, then you may be on the right track, or, you may be in the process of victory

Of course, there is no such thing as "absolute" in this kind of thing
Just some idea to check how you are doing

If God revealed to you a hypocrisy...

If God has revealed to you a hypocrisy
and you pretend not having seen the hypocrisy
then you are worse than a mere hypocrite

If that's the case
it is you who are unfortunate
and not anyone else

And if such a person like you become unfortunate
then it is God who cries most

So, please concern about your God
more than you concern about politics (or yourself)

Gamaliel's advice

"Men of Israel, take care what you do with these men. For before these days Theudas arose, giving himself out to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was slain and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this undertaking is of men, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!" (Acts 5: 35~39)

We could doubt anyone's motivation for any reasons. But we have to be aware; if I doubt, then I will be the one who might lose heavenly fortune. It is my choice, to which nobody will be responsible. Therefore, it doesn't worth risking yourself to doubt someone without totally confirming reasons, or even with those reasons also.

One of the standard of judgment should be the universal law--everything exists for others--or, am I living for others or for myself first. If you judge someone's motivation without knowing what really is true, then you will be unfortunate not him.

You are the HOT DAY FIG!!!

Well, I could even see your disappointing face, however...please bear with me...

You are the

Hero/heroine

Of

The

Drama

And

Your

Fan

Is

GOD!!!

Be careful when you start pointing fingers

I believe the devil's goal is to bring disunity and destruction (so that he can claim everything)
This is pretty easy to understand and also easy to say
Then you would say...

"Hey, you guys are causing this disunity. You guys are the problem. So, you guys must be the Devil." thus ending up pointing fingers on the other party

Be careful! You might have become the powerful part of his plan, especially when you find yourself pointing fingers at someone for any reasons

Because that has been his major age-old strategy to accomplish his goal
--get someone to accuse, or blame someone, saying that it is "your" responsibility (means not mine)

Do not be so easily trapped, and become his instrument without knowing what you are doing

And please do not underestimate his strategy; do not be over-confident; do not say, "I know him too well, his strategy is to create division, that's why what you do is wrong! what you are doing just gives him joy and make God sad."

It is so easy to be saying these things especially when you become emotional
but what you are doing is based on some labeling certain people without considering they are "real" human beings--or, your brothers and sisters with their real feelings, etc.

So, just calm down and seriously examine yourself
How can you look at people so shallow... I know you may be good at math, but...

The only solution is...
to begin with saying that this is my responsibility
and stop pointing fingers at anyone

Take responsibility in finding out what is God's will for you
and what is God's will for the world
and what is God's will for the church

And you need to decide who you want to follow
Do you want to follow your own conscience
or, do you want to follow the majority?
so that you can avoid "fear" of any sort?
You've got to seriously talk to God about this

Anyway, it is not too late
no, it is just a beginning!

And needless to say, this is because you are ... of ... and your ... is ...!

Some "evil spirits" experience

I had some interesting "spiritual" experience.
I don't know if you have "kanashibari (palsy? sleep paralysis?)" experiences.
Anyway, to make a long story short, last night some "spirits" bothered me when I was about to sleep. Some pressed different parts of my body with very heavy stuff, some tried to sting something sharp, some pulled some parts of my body, etc. It was pretty much annoying as usual.

Usually when this kind of things happen, I would say to them, "You again? Come on! Don't do it. Hey...why you do these things to me? what do you gain out of this? etc..." But last night...

Some sense of sympathy felt, and I thought they are not happy spirits. What if "I" have to do these things when I get to the next world? They may not know God, they may not know the truth, they may not have experienced love, they may be so lonely... Then I found myself praying to God, "Please remember them, sympathize with them. For some reason they must have ended up so miserable like this through their lives...but they are also your children. Please help them get liberated from their state..." I even found myself with tears.

And then some new thoughts came in, "I received so much of God's love, while there are so many who do not, including these guys. I don't give myself enough to help them. I felt so thankful but also so sorry for my not doing enough...I'm so sorry..."

and another thought, "without their bothering me I wouldn't have this kind of realization nor this kind of love and sympathy for them. I really thank them for their bothering me..." Then somehow, the "spiritual" atmosphere gradually changed with some kind of nice "colors" and feelings.

Then I felt those guys getting off from me and the one guy gently grabbed my shoulders with his both hands and gently massaged my shoulder one, two, three times and left.

Then I prayed and peacefully slept.

I learned that when certain unpleasant thing happen to me, I tend to react with complaint/unhappiness or react habitually, but instead of doing that, I should first be grateful, and then have giving (loving) attitude to others. Then I believe that type of love should be able to melt many obstacles built by resentment, hatred, etc.

After all, "love" is so important and so powerful!

How much does it cost to believe in God?

When it doesn't cost so much to believe in God, then anybody could become a believer.
When it cost so much to believe in God, then true believer might rise.
Maybe that's what God is looking for.

Through true believers he may plan to usher in to this new age to come
which will be the age of true peace, true love, and true happiness
where there will be no boundaries
but only the genuine commitment to exist for others...

So, how much does it cost for you to believe in God?

A 'church' is living out of OOOO?!

Maybe the guideline is pretty simple.
Just ask, "Is my 'church' existing for her own benefit?
or it is existing for some greater good?"
Based on the answer, you decide what you can do to "support" your 'church'.

If you exist for your own benefit, then who will need you?
When you exist for someone, then someone will welcome you.
So, you can ask, "Why is this church living?"
or, "What is the motivation of this 'church'?"

God loves your church.
and maybe because he loves her so much
he is allowing the period of purification
Only genuine will remain; lies will not last

So, we should thank God for the challenge...

I am living out of FEAR!?

If you are confused, let's examine why do you want to live...

Why did you choose to start living the life which you have been living?
What are you living your life for?
In other words, what is your motivation to live the life that you have been living?

Is it out of your selfishness?
Is it out of your self-satisfaction?
in seeking your self-righteousness?

or, is it out of your genuine heart
to give joy to someone? "genuine" heart, I mean

When you live your life long enough, then things might get habitual
or, out of duty, obligation, guilty-conscience, FEAR, etc.
Yes, FEAR!
What are you so afraid of?

If you don't do what you do now, what do you expect will happen to you?
some evil ghost will come and attack you?
or, some people may get hurt/killed because of your "faithlessness"?
or, your ancestors will be hurt looking at your "faithless" actions?
or, your descendants might dig your grave because of your "faithless" choices?
Why these fears seem to be preventing you from seeing from common sense viewpoint?
as if you are becoming a member of some "cult" organization?

If it is "cult" it won't last too long.
Your common sense perspective should agree with this.

So, examine why you are living.
Don't be afraid to admit it is out of "fear".
Nothing wrong to realize that
You may need some courage to face it and admit it
but you will gain more than you will lose

And anyway, I believe your God will be happy about it, and he will even be proud of you!

YOU are the cause of the challenge!

In general...

Once you proclaim something in public, such as "I will do OOOO.", then surely someone will come and ask you, "Can you really do what you said you would do?"
Of course you will answer, "Yes, I said I would do it, so I will do it."

Then surely he will say, "Ok, then how about this case, how about that case?" I mean, "What if this happens, will you still do what you said you would do?" "What if that happens, will you still do what you said you would do?"
Thus, he will not just ask you verbally, but he will put you in the situation with such questions
just as in the case of Job in the Bible

And I believe this is why so many challenging things are happening in our lives
It is because you "proclaimed" --or, you said that you will do something. (which he may not like to see happening for some reason--however, he longs to see it happening deep inside in fact...)

Therefore, as long as you said it, the only option for you seems to be, "just stick to what you said and never give up, nor, change your mind." and in the process you will be proving yourself.

If you don't change, then there will be a time your opponent has to change and admit, "I like what you do. (and thank God for you!)"

Thank God for the red light

I normally am not too excited about getting stopped by the red light. However...
when I was stopped this morning, suddenly one beauty of the changed color of the leaves just caught my eyes.
and I was awed by its beauty
and I realized that there are always things to be appreciated in every moment
which I must have missed--so many of them
because I just didn't like the red light

But why do I not like the red light?
It is because I have a destination to go, and the red light will prevent me to get there early enough
So, that's something I might need to examine.
Why do I want to get there that early enough (do I really...?)
Maybe not, so maybe the red light is not really something against my purpose
I don't need to be so negative about red light

Maybe because I am too much caught up with one goal (kind of vague understanding about one goal), which might prevent me to see things from different perspectives, causing me to lose many chance to appreciate things

and besides that, the red light might even be protecting me from getting into any possible trouble

Anyway, the red light at least this morning prompted me to think about what to appreciate
so, thank God for the red light!

How you can develop your personal experience with God

Well-organized theory is one thing, your own personal experience is another.

You could develop your theology to explain about things in order to bring certain conclusion. That theology might look pretty much make sense.
Somebody else could develop his theology to bring totally opposite conclusion. That theology might look pretty much make sense, too.

Therefore, more than worrying about some explanation, you need your own personal experience about things, particularly your own personal experience with God.

Here's how you can have your own personal experience with God:

You need to practice giving yourself to larger others, as genuinely as possible. Through this practice, you may develop your own personal experience with God. Why?

You could develop your own theology for this :-) but my belief is: God is the one who totally gave himself, therefore, unless I do the same, in other words, without common base, it would be difficult to have meaningful experience with him.

And without this, I believe your experience with God will rely on miracle or some superhuman intervention only.

I believe those things are also important, but you shouldn't just rely on them, but you need to initiate to have your personal experience by giving yourself first.

Needless to say, though, there is no "guarantee"...

What's the point of having "faith"?

What is the point of having "faith"?

Faith is meaningful because there is a possibility of mistake/failure or being mistaken/failed
If there is someone who is 100% guaranteed of never to make mistakes, or never to fail?
then, what's the point of having faith in him? --maybe it is not too special

But, if it's not that way, then when you have "faith" in someone who has a possibility to fail, you will be risking yourself.
The greater what is expected for him to fulfill, the greater your risk is

That's the faith God has had upon you
So, do not say so easily, "I have faith in God."
Think what kind of faith God has upon you
And say, "I have decided to own the faith which God has upon me."
Then, that "faith" will be something very meaningful

Please CHOOSE GOD!

You said you know your limitation
and you think that' s a sign of your humility

That sounds more like arrogance instead

You said you are not enough, or not qualified
because you think you created yourself

How arrogant! You ignore what God has been doing to you

He chose you, he loves you, he invested himself into you
He bet his life on you, and he absolutely trusts what you can do
And yet, you say you are no good?

It hurts him, even if you may not be able to feel it
and of course he will not complain about it to you

but by saying so, you may be losing a huge opportunity
and you may be preventing the beautiful dream from being completed

Do not be so arrogant to laugh at his beautiful plan
even to the point of completely ignoring it

He chose you, for sure
But he cannot force you to choose him
Can you please CHOOSE HIM?!

Attending the King: General Yi Soon Shin's choice

Religious concepts can be used in a very subtle way to push some agenda. One example is the concept of the life of attendance, which is basically translated as: to live according to the desire of the heart of one's subject.

Here's one example. It is from the Korean drama of the General Yi Soon Shin.

The King of Chosen ordered General Yi Soon Shin to attack Japanese staying around Pusan harbor. However, Yi Soon Shin refused to follow that order because he knew if he did it, he would lose not only his navy but also Japan will find their way to eventually move forward to attack the King as well as to take the whole country.

Then Yi Soon Shin was considered as a traitor and he was arrested and tortured. They assigned General Won Gyun instead and ordered him to attack Pusan. He eventually launched the attack after some hesitation and then lost the whole navy (as Yi Soon Shin foresaw) including his own life.

Then the King assigned Yi Soon Shin again, but of course he couldn't just give him the same order, and now Yi Soon Shin had to start from scratch.

So, Yi Soon Shin had a choice when the King gave him an order:

1. Say yes to him knowing that it is not the best idea practically speaking, but with the "life of attendance--to live according to the desire of the heart of the King" and maybe by justifying his impractical action with the belief "there must be some deep meaning behind the King's order even though it doesn't make sense at all, so I must absolutely obey and then God can accept it as a condition of faith and miracle might happen based on that condition."

2. Say no to him knowing that it is not the best idea practically speaking, and with the "life of attendance--to live according to the desire of the heart of the King, which means "the King wants to end this war by defeating Japan as soon as possible. That is more fundamental desire of the King than his temporal desire to attack Pusan, which might have become his temporal conclusion based on somebody's wrong and irresponsible reports"

The choice 1 needs courage because he may die in the attack and the King and the nation may be lost, but at least he may be considered as a patriot, and miracle may occur by his "faith".

The choice 2 needs more courage because he has to risk himself (or maybe his followers and their descendants) to be branded as a traitor, or, the King may misunderstand and/or doubt his motivation or King may get hurt, etc. These may be even worse than death. And since he is not obeying the King's order, he has to take total responsibility for what he is going to do.

Eventually, he took the choice 2 because that was the only way he felt could be responsible as the person in charge based on what he knew, which may not have been available to the King for some reasons.

So, was the King's judgment about him as a traitor correct evaluation? He might have made that conclusion based on the reports he was receiving. So, the problem may be his close aides who handled reports...

Anyway, the point I am trying to make here is that when you say a life of attendance, there could be different levels. The reason why the two choices above exist is that there are different levels of how you perceive the desire of the heart of the subject, and how you are trying to take responsibility in fulfilling it. Therefore, you cannot just judge everything flatly by just one standard of judgment such as: "following the order = good; not following the order =evil/traitor"

However, religion (or religious institution) has a tendency to use this kind of way to push its own agenda...

Practice of humility

You talk about humility often. However...
One practice is much better than thousand talks

Then you could learn from others so much
Labeling others you refuse a chance to learn
in order to defend your pride? or face?
or you are afraid to face the real truth/fact?

or, you have simply allowed yourself to be deceived?

Anyway, you might have good reasons to justify what you do...

Speak out loud

Of course, it is important to speak out... out of righteousness... out of love/care ...out of ...

But, remember... what will remain?

What counts is what you practice, what you accomplish, what good things you give to some particular people, etc.

Do not underestimate that part.

Tears of God

It is so easy to judge, or get disappointed by someone who just lies without regret
as if lying is a part of himself, or his habit

However, think again,
What kind of life did he have to live that he ended up like that?
Did he have to lie so that he could keep through his life?
What kind of life is it?

.... a miserable life
And there must be tears of God who has been carrying him
whether he realized it or not
So, meeting tears of God
that might present a doorway for the healing

Abuse of power?

Your company president made an announcement, "I love transparency, and I love to listen to every employee's honest opinion. Please report to me honestly." Then one employee gladly reported, "Dear President, I really appreciate your message. I really love how you run the company. In fact, a little thing I realized was ... ... ... If you could put some change on it, then this company would bring more success... "

Few days later, you heard that that employee was suddenly noticed that he would not need to come to work any longer.

You felt it's a little strange. But then as time passes you have come to realize that this was not only the case for that employee. It seems that whoever gave real honest report got fired. Needless to say, whoever gave "wonderful" report stayed and got promoted.

Then, even though many things could be improved, since there was no such report coming to him any more, the president started to think that he was doing a very good job.

You love the company, and you do want to contribute to its development. So you're really concerned about what is going on. However, if you are fired, then you cannot do anything to contribute to the company.

So, the question: What shall you do now? Will this company have a good future?

Living God or Religion

I'd rather live a life relying on the living God
than a life relying on the power and authority of a religious institution

especially when the religious institution doesn't seem to be interested in the truth
but rather interested in the inner politics

and when its leaders seem to believe that they can use its mighty power
to crush their own people for not a right reason

But there must be a reason to thank God for this
I just haven't figured it out yet...

If you are unhappy...

When you are unhappy, you are blaming someone.
When you are angry, you cannot see things objectively.

So, stop blaming
and get rid of your anger

Then do something to contribute to someone other than you

Then find things to be thankful
find things you could apologize

Then try to address the root cause

hmm...

Judas lied and got what he wanted.
He won a battle, in a way.
But, what did history testify and what is he remembered as?

It seems that many people are not afraid of history
They are so much focused on winning a battle
But this may just show how powerful a religion (or religious institution) is
It may somehow provide powerful enough excuses for people to justify
their unreasonable actions including lying (to others and/or to themselves)

But, history will go on
and testify the truth anyway

So... let us do our best... not to lie...

The first three days would win the whole thing

Also, always the first three days are very important
If you lose the first three days, then you may lose the whole thing

If you cannot be strict to yourself, what do you expect to accomplish?
So, your commitment has to be very concrete and clear
It is hard, but it is still a chance.

Not what you will do, but what you will not do

Do you want to keep your spirit?
Then, before thinking about what you will do,
first, think and decide what you will not do.
That's where you should begin.

Blaming doesn't make you a victor

Real situation always looks complicated. However...
the simple truth is blaming others is an act of creating another barrier,
while saying, "This is my responsibility..." is an effort to destroy one barrier
This has to be the basic guideline all the time

Blaming could win a battle for you
But what's the worth of it if you lose the war?

Conscience and love

If your conscience works in the level of giving you a sense of duty and obligation, or some pressure to do goodness, it is not bad, but it might not bring you a very happy life.

The question is how we can find a motivation in ourselves that wants to do good things
that wants to do good things to give joy to someone
that wants to not just do good things to give joy to someone
but to just be with someone

It's like some heart of longing to be with someone (then naturally and genuinely wanting to make that person happy)
This someone could be God, because he is the one who loved you first
and could also be some visible human beings

How can I find that motivation (and with whom) in my own lifetime?
That is a chance
as well as a challenge
But anyway, it's worth it.
So, who around you is sent to you by God as that particular person who I am going to long to be with?

When you get offended...

It is very difficult for me to realize how much I am offending people, while it is so easy for me to get offended by what people do, whether I express it or suppress it.

So, what can I do?
Whenever I get offended by people, instead of giving in to that feeling, I try to talk to myself, "Isn't this something I do to people without my realizing it?"
Then, answer usually is, "yes", or "maybe", and sometimes is, "oh, my goodness!"
So, it seems to be a good way to learn about myself and improve myself.
It seems that it is another CHANCE in my life.

And I asked God if that's a good idea for me to do this, I didn't hear him say no. So, maybe it's a good thing. At least, I can find one more chance to be thankful.

Do not underestimate the ending part

No matter how good or how bad the situation so far looks like, it is not too important
The most important thing is how you finish it
Even if it may be a very short time that remains before you, if you could make this final period the best period, then the whole thing will become your victory

Just take a deep breath, and calm yourself down
then reflect what you've learned so far, especially through mistakes,
going back to your original motivation to begin the whole thing,
Then re-identify your goal towards the end
and re-determine to complete the period together with GOD

Remember, he absolutely loves you
and he never forgets you nor betrays you
He will never give up on you
He will just want to help you grow to be his champion
Therefore, he will go with you till the end knowing your heart and your renewed goals

People may tell you, "May God be with you!"
But I would say to you:
"May God be with you, and may you be with Him all the way till the end!"

Korea-shaped bread!

I hesitate to post this one.

It was not as shocking as the Korean beef

And yet, it was still interesting

So, here's Korean bread

which appeared on the breakfast

after I just carelessly bite a piece of bread

of a whole wheat toast

It came out on July 27, 2010

around 9am (EST)

We'll see later what happened in Korea around that time...

a loser?

Don't worry, nobody can make you a loser...
...but YOURSELF.

So, YOU are the most or the only fearful enemy.

Now, you know what?

Practice "Love your enemies."

...and see how it goes...

Needless to say, it is so important to experience how losers might feel
so that you can be of help to many people around you...

Thank God for headache--an Alarm

A Chinese doctor said, "Headache is not head's problem, but it is an alarm."
"What kind of alarm is it?"
"Sometimes your liver has problem and it cannot send enough energy to head, so you will have a headache. The problem is your liver and not a head."

Then he said, "But the Western medicine try to fix the headache itself by giving a painkiller medicine. Then what will happen to the liver which is the real problem?"

"Hmm... the problem will not be fixed..."
"Right, it will not even be noticed, then it will just grow bigger unnoticed."

He said, "alarm". I think it's a good metaphor. Imagine someone broke into your house and tried to steal something, then alarm goes off! Now, if you think, "Oh, alarm is so noisy and annoying, let's try to stop it, then use all kinds of possible methods to stop the alarm. When alarm got stopped, you feel relieved. Ok, it's fixed. And continue what you do. Then what will happen? The real problem--somebody broke in and tried to steal something (maybe stolen already)--will not be solved and not even noticed.

Ok, so, who would react to the alarm that way? You think nobody will be that ignorant to do that way. Yes, you got it right. You will react to the alarm that way only if you are "ignorant."

So, if you are taking a painkiller when you have a headache, you may be "ignorant", thus real problem may grow bigger...

Put God first? CHANCE?

One important aspect of religion is that it encourages us to put the first priority in God.

1. Do you live according to what you think is right? or,
2. Do you live according to what you think God wants you to do?

In case of (1), you are the center, while in case of (2), God is the center
My conscience seems to tell me to choose (2) at this point.

(1) might include: "habitual" life, "secular" life, self-satisfaction, fear, lack of confidence and conviction, following people and not God, worrying about people's eyes, all other "worries", frustration, anxiety, anger, following emotion, self-righteous, judging people, think and strategize by your thinking, not realizing that you are putting yourself first/forgetting about God, and thus not being serious about this point, and thus not making effort to change that direction,

(2) might include: true humility, deep consideration, deep confidence and conviction, basic peace, experience God's presence and his involvement, heart of sympathy and compassion, gratitude, seek for God's guidance, give enemy the benefit of doubt, try to see the bigger picture, deep commitment based on love,

It is so easy to get into the mode (1), but my conscience tells me to choose (2) no matter how challenging it is.

If everything is fine, it is so easy to automatically choose (1).
If something unexpected comes up, then that would provide us a very precious chance to take the option (2) But this is not automatic. It requires us to decide to choose (2).

First, report everything (with honesty and detail) to God
Then, ask him what he would want to say
Then, listen to what he says
And follow what you believe he wants you to do

It is still a CHANCE!

Thank God for unhappiness!

Are you happy?
This is another checkpoint.
You are supposed to be happy
If you are not happy, then something is wrong
Immediately, speak to your conscience, and figure out what is the problem

It is good, in a way
It is like a sickness
Sickness is the sign to tell you that you should take care of your body
If your body needs care and if you don't know, then you will collapse
Therefore, God has to give you a sign so that you can take care of your body
That is sickness.

It is the same as why God made poo poo to smell very bad
If it smells very good, then maybe people may eat it and get sick
That's why out of love and care, it is made bad smell (I just guess, I don't know if it's true or not)

Therefore, being unhappy is also a sign given by God
so that you can take care of something internal about you

Don't get too external...

When you become so serious about accomplishing the goal, sometimes you become too external oriented, and forget about internal aspect
Then, things will not happen as you expected
and you may get so tired and exhausted
or maybe insecure or frustrated

That is a good chance to learn something different
You adjust your focus on internal aspect more, and try again

If you rely on external aspect, such as external capability, your accomplishment will be limited
You need to learn how to use your internal capability, which may include your ability to mobilize (or connect to) the "heavenly fortune"

You will work hard for a while to accomplish your goal.
But if you are too externally focused, then what will stay with you after everything is over
You are meant to accomplish something invisible, but something which you will be able to carry with you even after the period is over

Always be humble, be thankful, and be sincere
Let God be with you all the time!

Don't underestimate your potential

You tend to say, "I am not good at..."

Be careful.

If it's what God is telling you, then listen humbly
then repent and change
But if it's what the devil is telling you, do not listen
Tell him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' " (Matt 4:7)

It is not you who put you in where you are
asking you to do the task
It is GOD who did it
because he knows you can do it
That's how he is giving you a chance for you to discover what amazing potential he has given to you

Who are you to dare to challenge God by tempting you
telling you that you cannot do it
That's how you should deal with that voice from the devil
And that's how you will experience that living God right next to you

Labeling blinds you anyway

Labeling someone is not good because that would blind you and your ability to identify the real enemy might be affected.
Then if you cannot see the enemy clearly, you may have the false picture of who your enemy is. Or, maybe that is what your real enemy would want you to do.

Therefore, no matter how evil your enemy looks like, try to refrain from labeling him, but always try to see from real objective view. Also, remember, he has his own parents, spouse, and children who love him and need him not only as the financial source but also as a moral guide.

What do you think? You might win a battle, but what good is it if you lose the war?

frame up

Framing up someone to be a criminal also appears again and again in Korean dramas.

Not only framing up someone as a traitor, but they somehow managed to persuade the king to believe that successfully--knowing that they are lying. In the drama, it is usually the way the hero has to go through.

Eventually when the hero overcomes everything, then the hero appears in public as someone who everybody welcomes.

Those evil close aids of the king usually dies later with heavy punishment. Isn't it a huge crime to persuade the king to believe a righteous person as a traitor by using all kinds of lies? Always the history will be on the side of righteous, so is God.

We are living in the real history; we need to choose which role to play.

Shim Chung and Yi Soon Shin

I think it is very important that Shim Chung and Yi Soon Shin are mentioned as the great example of filial piety and loyalty.

Look carefully.

Shim Chung didn't follow what her father said (or wished) in order to save her father. What if she just obeyed what father said, then eventually father dies.

Yi Soon Shin did not obey the King because he knew that would mean the defeat. What if he just obeyed what the King said, then his country would be defeated.

But, I don't think they made the decision very easily. They must have struggled a lot; whether to take a temporal satisfaction of following their subject, or to risk losing their trust for the moment in order to eventually truly contribute to them.
There must be a lot of unspoken pain and tears involved in their decision.

The level of their filial piety and loyalty was beyond just obeying their parent/king. Their level was for the sake of the benefit of the whole (father's purpose, King's purpose), they were willing to even lose their pride or being temporarily misunderstood (and considered unfilial or a traitor)

The amazing thing is that they didn't stop in the middle, but they went all the way to the end. They didn't receive the recognition for their filial/loyal act during their life in this world.

Today (7/17) in the Bible and the fortune cookies again...

...and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest upon the mountains of Ararat. (Gen. 8:4)

Again we had a Chinese dinner and we got two fortune cookies, which read:

1. Never fear! The end of something marks the start of something new.

2. The truth is always bearable when told with compassion.

I do believe God can work even through fortune cookies...

Facts reliable?

We are very proud of our knowledge.
Of course there is nothing wrong in having a knowledge about many things
However, if the knowledge is used for a wrong purpose, or with a wrong motivation, then that knowledge has no value, or even has minus value.

I heard that even with the same sets of the "facts", human being has an ability to draw the two totally opposite conclusions.

So, what's the point of having a big knowledge?
Knowledge itself has no value if it's not used for a right purpose and with a right motivation.
It is not nice to be proud of your big knowledge, but in fact, knowing more requires more responsibility for what you know.

Therefore, knowing sometimes is very scary
because it comes with responsibility and expectation
So, why not put your focus on building right purpose and right motivation,
instead of cultivating knowledge for your pride or to hurt people?

Thank God for the pressure

Who loves pressure?
I wish I could say, "Thank you, God, for the pressure!"
To be honest, I don't like pressure
Or, I don't like stressful things

But that means I still have some room to grow (if you say it in a negative way, it means I am still "immature")
I don't know if I can grow that area within my limited lifetime
Anyway, God is not unfair, we all uniquely have something to dislike, but whatever it is...

As long as you are sincere and honest in dealing with life's challenges,
I believe you will find God, or find some connection with God in many different moments of your life
Once you lose sincerity and honesty, your life is no longer exciting
Once you learn how to lie, to others and to yourself
It will be so hard to even think about God
But some people will praise you saying you have grown up to be a "mature adult"
And you will start loving such life, but it will not be exciting anymore

I say this maybe because I am still too young (in a negative way, "immature")

Lie and God

If a leader thinks he can control his members by lies, then that kind of team will perish. So sad are the members under such leaders.

But how can they complain? They could have realized that manipulation, and could have done something about it. They are also collectively responsible.

How hard it is, though, in the real world for general members to detect those lies! We live in such a difficult world, and yet, we cannot blame anyone, we are collectively responsible.

It seems that history is seriously seeking for a truly true people, because if you are not truly true, you may not be able to survive this period.

Of course, we should not forget that God is behind all these happenings. He has a clear purpose and clear way to guide us. We just need to cling to that true God.

My reflection and his wrongdoing

My self-reflection (internal growth) is one thing, someone's wrongdoing is another.
Of course, first I need to look into my internal part when something happens.
But then, if you identify someone's wrongdoing, then you may need to do something about it.
Your internal victory will surely help at least indirectly to influence someone's wrongdoing.

If you are falsely accused and beaten up, but if you never complain, never hate the accuser, gladly take the blow (and pray for your enemy), then after a while people and that enemy's conscience might feel something and eventually they may change, enemy may surrender to you
However, it may take so long and it may not be over before you die.

Is there any other way to influence enemy's conscience, and somehow put him into the situation to voluntarily change? --instead of just getting beaten up while you pray for him?
There must be a way which offensively appeal to his conscience, or at least the conscience of certain group of people who would have power to put a pressure on him to surrender voluntarily.

You cannot use cheating even though your enemy uses it. You need to follow the right path to at least get support from the people and many invisible guys out there, even including God himself.

God's words center? or I center?

When you come to judge someone and especially with some religious fervor (in the name of God...), then you will start to use God's words for the sake of supporting your judgment
That time, you may not be aware what you are doing with God's words

Look at yourself
What is the expected way of how I deal with God's words?
I will humble myself before God's words
and through God's words, all my problems will be exposed
and I humbly repent and with God's grace I determined to overcome my problems
then through God's words there will be a process of healing, and renewal
Anyway the point is God's words are the center and I humbly surrender to God's words

But now what are you doing?
I am trying to push my agenda (such as judging someone, blame him, condemn him...) even to utilize God's words for that purpose. ("See, according to this word, he is absolutely wrong..." etc.)
Now I am the center and I am using God's words for my agenda.
So, religion is so scary. Without knowing we find ourselves doing this at times
One day we have to overcome this problem
if we are to live in the world where everybody can live as a family member with no need of even religion

Therefore, don't judge easily

Therefore, do not hasten to pronounce your judgment
according to your own idea
But, go talk to God, asking what he is planning to accomplish through this
You've got to tackle God to find your answer
The more you find even tears in communicating with him
by being touched by his heart,
the shorter the period of the tribulation
I think God needs many people to cry out in tears
pledging that his will be done

Your arrogance is exposed

And if you think I'm wrong, then just look around
Look and listen carefully what people are saying and doing

If you know Mr. A as a good loving person, then why today is he judging so much?
(***Judging--labeling--having decided somebody is wrong without qualified information but somehow thinking you have qualified information for some reason--such as arrogance=means, you think you know when you don't)
That doesn't mean he just became judgmental/arrogant recently. His hidden arrogance is just getting exposed by what's happening
So all of our hidden problem will be exposed because of the situation.
This is the process of getting cleansed

Therefore, when you see any problem getting exposed on someone, be careful...
Now is your turn, your hidden judgmental heart will now be exposed
So, if you think you see some problem in others, the safe way is to thank God for letting you know your hidden problem exposed through that person, so that you can work on it on yourself
So, it's safe to be internally focused, and based on that
externally seriously seek what God really wants you to do in today's world around you

HE KNOWS EVERYTHING!

I believe that he knows everything.
He is just watching carefully how each of us act.
His only concern is how to raise each of us to be ready to live in the next world (we are not ready, in general...)
The next world of peace and happiness cannot come by any kind of force
nor by punishments; nor by threatening; nor by hypocrisy; nor by political manipulation
nor by LIES
That means every one of us must become true and genuine and free
That means he might need to provide us that chance to obtain all these
Isn't that what's happening today?
So he knows and he cares; his only concern is each of our precious life
Why don't we just believe in him
Then with peace in mind, we can go with his plan
And what if he didn't know?
That's fine, too, but it is a bit less exciting and dramatic
But for you, it is already dramatic enough, so it doesn't matter because...
You are ... of ... and your ... is ...!

God's plan and strategy upon you

I think God is pretty desperate, or, very desperate.
He needs a lot of capable people who can contribute to making this world much better.
Even though it seems that he doesn't have so much manpower, he still have a plan.
He has an ability to completely transform one person just in one month, or even one week.
But, he absolutely needs your cooperation to make it happen. (without you, it's just a joke)
Here's some possible cooperation you could offer:

* First, you believe God can change you within one month. (imagine what kind of change he would want to make upon you--as concrete as you can)
* Second, you put yourself in his shoes, thinking then how much drastic operation he may have to give to you to really make that change happen.
* Third, prepare yourself for his plan #1 approaching anytime to you to change you (means, just get ready to say "yes!" to his next challenge)
* Forth, with the coming of his challenge, just say "yes!" and accept the challenge.
* Fifth, just go through the process together with him.
* Sixth, look at what's happening to you objectively, and recognize his involvement.
* Seventh, keep record (journal, etc.) of his activities at every moment
* Eighth, after one week, reflect the whole week to see more about what his training plan upon you must look like, then make any necessary adjustment to accomplish the goal.
* Ninth, do this reflection every week
* Tenth, Congratulations! Now look at yourself. You are totally different person than one month ago!

Note: no guarantee, though...

Don't wait for someone to come and tell you what to do

Come on, young man! It's YOUR life.
Don't wait someone to come and tell you what to do.
You have to believe in what you do.
Don't let someone dictate your life.
You are much more worthy than a zombie.
And by the way,
Do exercise daily. Strong physical body is so important in whatever you want to accomplish. And when you get into your 30s, it's too late to build your basic health.

Wow! Did you notice that I am telling you to do so many things? Ha ha....

When you feel scary and lonely...

You received some mandate from Heaven.
But you cannot share this feeling--kind of intense, kind of scary, kind of heavy, kind of awesome...
You cannot share this feeling with anyone for some reason...
That's a kind of "lonely" situation and some part of you would want to run away from it
Kind of uncomfortable, and in a way, you feel like crying

Yes, that's where God can step in
and you will have an unforgettable encounter with him
Well, of course no guarantee, though...

A sad thing

Anyway the sad thing is that that was the very final decision which the best of the best people have come up with. I don't know enough, but I wonder if they could have come up with the better decision based on what they know. It is very disappointing...

Scapegoat

"But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all; you do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they took counsel how to put him to death. Jesus therefore no longer went about openly among the Jews, but went from there to the country near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim; and there he stayed with the disciples. "(John 11: 49-54)

When the powerful leadership has made a decision to sacrifice one person for the sake of the whole (scapegoat theory?), everything started to be done to accomplish that goal. Was that decision truly God's will? There's always justifiable argument to make something as God's will anyway.

Knowing many different situations and arguments, the powerful leaders anyway decided to make up one person as the cause of the problem, and decided to denounce him all the way to the end, for the sake of the unity of the whole. I don't know how much they seriously consider the consequences involved and to me, it sounds so crazy, but religion has a power to do such things.

Are you a blind believer?

If your church is treating you like a blind believer, don't get angry. Don't feel insulted, or don't be disappointed about them. Maybe that is the best thing they believe they could do.

More important question to ask is, "Are you doing what you believe is the best thing?"

Don't waste your time. Life is very short.

Intentional hiding

You know some critical information A and B. But you also know if you share both A and B, then that wouldn't fulfill your purpose. So, you decided to only share A and intentionally hide B. Then surely you will accomplish your purpose.

But, be advised. That is making you a liar.
And your becoming a liar not only would give you its consequence, but the whole people would be at stake, as well as God's will.

For those who have no idea about both A and B, then your explanation might be found to be so helpful. Then you might be appreciated as their savior. But be aware that you are fooling the history.

In case if you are so clear about A and no B, then you might regret one day asking yourself why you did not give B a benefit of doubt.

I am right and you are wrong

Is it possible for human being to get rid of the mentality of "I am right and you are wrong."? This mentality seems to be the core of the problem. As long as we keep this mentality, we have to expect communication breakdown. Especially, religion seems to be encouraging this attitude. Is this something we cannot avoid as human being? --like destiny? or fate?

Can't we see each other as someone who has such tendency as a human being, and try to embrace him knowing this tendency?

In other words, can't we be more humble to God who is living with each person, knowing his situation? In a way, what I am saying may be the same thing as having the heart of a parent in looking at each person.

To be honest, I feel sometimes toward my child, "I am right and you are wrong." But, right after feeling that, I feel my conscience laughing at me, or maybe looking at me with some telling look. In a way, it is like a spitting towards sky (you will soon be spitted upon by your own spit) So, what if we could carry such heart as a parent to everyone?

Self-justification

Whatever we do, we need to believe what we do is right.
We do need to justify what we do.
The challenge is that we should keep our focus on what we do, and not too much on justifying what we do. Sometimes we forget this balance.

What we do give value to people, more than what we say (includes justifying what we do)

What is God's plan and what's my part?

If you believe that in the future one person is to lead not only one race, not only one small group, but the whole world, then the question is what is God's expectation for you according to that plan (if that is his plan).

If that is God's plan, then surely God would want to see the whole world willingly and joyfully accepting him as their leader. Then the question is what I can do to make that environment possible. Is it possible that one person's leadership is welcomed by the whole world not by power, not by money, but by something like love--in a way, or, any way out of the volition of the whole people? And if it is possible, then how? And what can I do to contribute to that?

If there are people who would want to destroy him for any reason, what is the way to even eventually change them into his friends, who would willingly welcome him?

What is God thinking, knowing all the situation and just letting us fulfill our part of responsibility? Whatever the situation is, God is the center, and we need to struggle to find a way together with God.

Arrogance: listening to allies and enemies

Just talking to myself:

My arrogance has to be detected and destroyed.
If you cannot sincerely listen to and try to understand your ally or his advise, then, how can you expect yourself to sincerely listen to and try to understand your enemy?
It's a long way to go.
But going is better than not going
Just one step at a time.

"Discussion for the sake of discussion"

I hear it said sometimes, "Do not make argument for the sake of the argument."
But, how about the "discussion for the sake of the discussion"?
I don't know what exactly is the definition of "discussion", but I tend to think that discussion for the sake of discussion is not good, either, of course depending on the situation.

If you want to have a meaningful discussion, I think the participant should have some agreements first, such as:
* as much as you have your points or reasoning (or justification), you have to admit the other person also has this all, and respect this fact
* in other words, the attitude of "I am right and you are wrong (no matter what)" has to be thrown away
* each present his/her points, reasoning, and then each try to understand the points, reasoning of the other
* then discuss on each presented thing based on the attitude listed above

If these points are not agreed upon, then the discussion will end up pouring oils onto fires of each side's "I am right and you are wrong.", participants all get angry and exhausted, and thus the situation will not only not be settled, but be even worsened (and some observer with some intention will be very satisfied...)

But, maybe it is not realistic to expect such discussion on some heated matters...

Only Truth remains

I think it's true that the time is coming that everything hidden will be exposed.
Our value system will be exposed--how I see the people; in which level do I see people; what's the standard of my judgment; what I think is good; what I think is evil;
--all these will be exposed; I will have to face it; face who I really am;
My relationship with God will be exposed; what exactly is my relationship with God anyway?

I will be pushed to the situation to say either yes or no
I will do it only based on my value system; so it will be exposed
That's why it is said that the only person who will judge you is yourself, or, your conscience
Things change but only truth remains
For me to remain, I have to be "true"
This may be God's doing to give everybody a chance to be "true".

Thank God for this "unexpected thing"!

When some unexpected situation comes up, your reality shows up, or, the culture you carry will be exposed; your hypocritical nature, your lack of sincerity, your self-righteousness, your sarcasm, your arrogance, your cowardice, etc.,

Then, you may be shocked, or so disappointed to see your reality.
You may wish to become un-you and throw all the accusation upon "you"
You may not want to continue your life anymore.
Then, you may want to curse that "unexpected thing" which somehow happened

However, think again, what if that "unexpected thing" did not happen?
Then you might not even realize who you really are, or, what kind of culture you, in fact, are carrying (regardless of what you say or what you think)
Just carrying a wrong picture about yourself without realizing the internal mess that has to be dealt with (before you go to the next world)

From that perspective, that "unexpected thing" was an expression of God's love and care,
with his heart, so much wanting to help you to get to your eternal freedom
So, it's hard, but if it is God's doing, then, why do you keep lamenting so much?

Just say, "Thank you, God..." and,
try to take a next step with God
One step at a time

Thank God for the threatening!

I don't think things just pop out overnight; everything has a long history behind it, which we may not, or can not be aware of.
Therefore, we don't need to be caught up with external stressful aspects, but we do need to stay in the core; as long as our heart is right, basically we will be fine, or, we will be guided into the right direction (however, right direction could mean anything...)

Our life is short, but our life is real, and whatever people have influence on it, it is essentially yours and nobody has a control over it, not even ....
So, you have to be smart, wise, and just be responsible for your eternal life
Something may seem to be scary but ask yourself if that is the only possible perspective; is there any way to see it "out of box"?
You are the only hope for you

And anyway it is a great chance for you to see who you really are, and also who you are becoming :-)

Thank God for my hatred!

There must be at least one person who always touches your nerve, or, irritates you
Sometimes my feeling would come to the level of even "hatred" if not "anger"
And you wonder, "Why did God put this person around me?"
Then you almost doubt, "How can a loving God like you do such a thing?"

However, one clear thing is that you don't want that feeling (especially, for it to last forever!)
And the only way to be free from that feeling is to overcome it

Then, just change your thinking a little bit--"What if that person did not exist?"
There is a creative process to find out amazing God's love behind that situation, depending on how you use your God-given creativity and imagination, and how you communicate with your "personal" God, including how you be honest with yourself, etc.
There is a whole different world, and the process varies uniquely depending on each person, but the conclusion in general is: you will thank God for putting that very person right in front of you!
The worst enemy has become the doorway to your "personal" God.

Life is a chance. You will find your amazing creativity given by God--your capability to create heaven in the midst of hell.
Nobody can take this away from you.
Then you know that you are ... of ..., and your ... is ...!

Do not get pressured by external details

Young man, don't get caught up with external details and thus get pressured
Of course, external details are important, but it is not there to pressure on you
Don't forget the most important thing, which is that you are here to exist for others

If you start thinking of giving, or, if you want to give and try to give, then many things will be given to you including external details
So, as long as you focus on internal giving, then God will provide what you need, including external details.

God's word and I

When I said to God, "God, I want you to use me to reach out to others.", I felt he seemed to be happy, or, at least happier than when I did not say that to him.
Then he started to give to me many inspirations, insights and realizations, etc.
So, I was very happy thinking, Wow! now I have something to give...
Then I started to give...

Then I realized, in fact, he gave me these words not that I could lecture them on the people
But, in fact, the words he gave to me were the words I needed to practice.
Then I realized that God has an interesting way of educating people
If he is using my mouth to speak to the people, then I need extra sincerity to listen to what my mouth says, and I have to be the first one to sincerely practice what my mouth is saying
I may be wrong, but so far that's how my conscience is telling me to think

It is so easy for me to make that mistake: when the word is given to me, it is so easy to use that word to judge others, but, in fact, the purpose of that word having been given to me is for me to practice it and grow first, which may be the first step to help others

Is truth creating barriers or destroying barriers?

When the truth is revealed, we have some options:

1. Try to connect to the spirit/heart behind the letter of the truth
2. Try to connect to the letter of the truth, ending up holding it as a dogma, becoming a slave to the letter of the truth

Which option to choose? It is up to each individual and not up to the religious institution you belong to.

But, let's think, which option more likely end up causing fights (or, building barriers)?

And which option more likely end up reconciliation (or, taking down the barriers)?

You have to denounce with honestly and fairness

When you have to denounce someone, do not add your version of story to try to make you look good (or make him look bad). You may think it's helpful but it isn't. You have to be very honest with the fact, and maintain objectivity, which would send a silent message of who you are to the people, and which would give to people the reason why they would want to listen to you.

Of course when you are denouncing someone, you may be already feeling, "That's not fair!" type of feeling. But, denouncing without controlling that type of emotion would not benefit anybody including yourself.

And if you are denouncing someone because you are ordered to do so from higher clerical authority, you are either fortunate or unfortunate to have to do such a thing, but I believe it is a God-given chance to show to him who you really are. Just make sure one thing: If the denunciation turned out later to be invalid, you cannot just say, "I denounced because I was absolutely obedient to the authority, so it's not my fault." This excuse will not work anymore. It may have worked twenty years ago, or even ten years ago, but not today anymore...

You have to denounce based on the fact, or correct information

If you have to denounce someone, then you should denounce him based on the correct information.

If you do it with incorrect information, then you will end up showing off your ignorance, or incapability/unwillingness to properly deal with the truth, and eventually you will lose your own credibility and the trust from the people. Those who care about you might advise you this point, but those who don't care might just praise you for your amazing wisdom.

Sad thing is that it is not easy to find people around who really care about you. So many just might want to utilize you for their own cause. Sigh...

God's agenda and your agenda

You have to be able to distinguish between these two things: 1. God's word; 2. Presenting God's word to push your agenda (which may not be the same as God's)

God's word is always important, but when you present (or use) God's words to accomplish your agenda, that is not a right thing to do. And especially when you are holding a position of certain clerical authority, that could be an abuse of power, which could even consist a crime.

For example, if you think denouncing someone is God's will, then you could use all kinds of God's words to make it happen. Yes, I'm sure you will always find certain words which perfectly fits your need. But the question is, "Is denouncing someone really God's will or not?" I'm sure you will look for God's word to justify your cause, and you will certainly find some.

Therefore, always the important thing is your motivation, and your purpose in doing anything. For whose sake are you doing it? In this process, you have to be totally honest with yourself, and your conscience.

Before reacting to your "enemies"...

Before trying to make a strategy to defeat your enemies, or, before you react and try to defend yourself, first, you need to humbly come to God, and seek for his advice. Then, at least you will find peace in your mind, and also love, as well as hope. Then, you will be able to see the situation more "objectively".

If you react to the situation and get caught up with emotions...who would like to see that? We need to always try to prepare the way in which God can be involved in our midst.

In other words, we need to be able to see who is the real enemy. Who wants to see us expressing negative emotions just for the sake of justifying myself and blaming the other? You are smart enough to know these things. But, somehow religion has an amazing power to blind the people, always with the same pattern of thought: "I am right and you are wrong." Then you lose sincere humility to "listen to others" and "try to understand them". Then attacking others and feeling righteous, then eventually regret so bad, but maybe a hundred years later. Amazing thing is that you do not seem to be afraid of the "history" which will record every detail of what you say, and what you do.

Do not worry by yourself

After all, it is all God's doing.
Therefore, you should not just worry by yourself.

...Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures:
'The very stone which the builders rejected
has become the head of the corner;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes'?
Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it." (Mat. 21:42-44)

This is God's doing.
If his goal is clear and he is very serious about the goal, surely he will guide us to accomplish that goal. If he is very serious about creating one family under God, then he will help all of us to be the people who will live as one family under God. (at this point I find myself very far from the expected level) So, it is a very necessary process in order to achieve that goal. And of course you need to be concerned about the whole, but first you need to be serious about what is your role looking from "God's perspective" in this whole picture--especially your role to create yourself as that person. You have a lot to do, and in a way, it's a long way to go.

However, as long as you hold on to God and do everything together with him, there is always a hope.

How can I stop the habit of lying?

This is another lesson from Korean dramas:

Lying is so destructive. Once you make one lie for any reason, then you will have to make another lie so that your initial lie will not be exposed. Then you may have to do something else to hide those lies again. This includes: you may have to make someone shut his mouth; you may have to make someone a liar; you may have to make something as not happened; you may have to have someone disappear; etc. This would cause all kinds of crimes. such as murder, bribery, threatening, abuse of power, character assassination, etc.

So, the best thing is you never lie. Determine to make it a habit of not lying.

However, the more important thing is the reason why you lie. If you don't deal with the reason, you will lie anyway, which will take you to your demise. Therefore, first, you have to deal with the reason part.

Try to find out who is asking you, hoping you, or pushing you to lie. Who would receive benefit out of your lying? Think from long term.

Also, what is your justification of the lie. There must be some reason you are justifying your lying.

To do this, one helpful way is to listen to your accuser. To whoever criticises you, do not get offended, but listen carefully what is God's message behind what he says. This takes humility and courage, but this is where God will help you. And this is something we usually do not do--sincerely listening to your accuser, or your enemy. That's why when you hear people arguing to each other, you can tell there argument will never end because they so much hold onto their own view and never listens to other party and never try to understand what the other party really is saying.

This is sad, and in fact, this kind of situation of human relationship must change somehow. Maybe it has to start from your own family, which may have a better chance to build such human relationship--a relationship based on humility and trust. Once you manage to build such relationship with one person, you will be able to do it with other people, too. Anyway, you can think every good thing starts from you, because you are the hero/heroine of the drama!

When you get upset about somebody...

When you get upset about somebody, just be careful not to give into that emotion right away.
Take a full breath first, and then
Think who will be benefited if you hold onto that anger and express that anger.

Of course you may think, yes, I know it's the Devil who will be happy
But, that's not enough
Is there any particular person, or group of people around, who will get benefit out of it?
Of course the Devil may be happy, but the Devil cannot just be happy by himself.
There must be some substantial human being who would want to see you giving into that emotion
and let you fight with someone, and use all the resources of the both, and eventually both die...
Then he will take what he wanted
Are you really sure nobody has such intention around you?

Then, think again.

Because you know it is not reasonable to have such negative feeling toward someone
And in fact, you really do not want to do such a thing
But only for some reason which was instilled from somewhere, you find yourself opposing someone

Beware, somebody may be lying...

Anyway, I am not forcing my idea, but just think about it.

When you have to criticize someone...

If you have to criticize someone for any reason, first you need to have a clear understanding of what you are trying to criticize. It is because if you don't do that, the person who receives your criticism will have an impression of you not understanding what he says. Then, the criticism has no meaning because he will not take it seriously and then he will not accept it. Who would want to accept the advice from someone who seems to have wrong understanding about you?

Therefore, when you have to criticise someone, you have to criticise in the way the receiver of the criticism feels he is understood. Then that criticism might be taken as a proper advice, then that criticism becomes meaningful.

Sadly, we don't usually practice this way when we criticise others. We criticise not based on complete understanding of what he says, then our criticism will not be taken as seriously as we expect, but instead, it will give him very good reason to keep defending himself, making him more assured that he is right and you are wrong.

However, in order to have such criticism, you are required to have a deep sense of humility of truly trying to understand what that person says, and also why he says it. Many people act as if they are trying to understand the others through sincerely listening, but sadly, they, in fact, are not listening. This is because they already have their agenda set clearly, and no matter how they externally show they are trying to listen, they don't. They just "hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest..." What a difficult thing to have a true humility! and especially for those who have some kind of "conviction"

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteosness' sake

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This is the assurance from the lord, Jesus.
So, if you find yourself being attacked falsely, do not feel bad. Be assured the history is your witness. History is awaiting to testify to you for your righteousness.

But, in case you are attacking someone, just be careful.
You'd better humbly examine whether the reason for your attacking is based on truth or falsehood involved; whether the motivation of your attacking is the benefit for the whole or not. Of course there is always some possibility of getting deceived without your own realization. But you still have to do your best to examine yourself and avoid that situation. It is because history will judge you, no matter how you (or "majority") think you are right. It's better to be humble before history.

Thank God for challenges!

I think I may have written before, but i believe the challenging time is really given by God out of his deep love for us. In general, challenging time is the time when our hidden problems are getting exposed one after another, followed by the cleansing process, so that we all will more resemble the Christ, or resemble God.

Of course the process could be very painful, which might give you the series of hells and valleys, even to the point of losing your reason to live on. It is, however, the moment of looking into the "looking glass", to find out who you really are.

The others will act to you like a mirror or a looking glass.
When you are about to judge someone for some reason, that exactly shows what kind of problem you have which you need to work on (or, which God wants you to work on). If you do not have that problem deep in yourself, then your feeling of wanting to judge someone for that problem will not occur. Therefore, everybody is your teacher, who you need to humbly learn. And remember, those who can learn can grow, and those who cannot learn cannot grow. After all, life is a process of learning and growing, and enjoying the process of learning and growing. Maybe I could say this because I am still not put into the worst kind of challenges that really give me the real hell.

Anyway, we'll see...

Seek, and you will find

A very strange thing...

When someone asks me to look for something, I always ask him/her two questions:

1. "When was the last moment you remember you have seen it?"
2. "and, where was it at that last moment?"

Then, if they have some answers to these questions, I tell them,"Ok, we will find it in five minutes. Look at your watch and start counting!"
Then, within five minutes, the thing would be found (either by me or by them), and usually from a very unexpected place.

I didn't know how many times this would work, but to my surprise, it didn't work just once in 20 cases. However, in that one case, the thing did appear few hours later. Therefore, so far my reflection is: if you seek, with sincere motivation and good reason, then somehow it will be found. But I still don't know why it always happens within five minutes. Is it God? I tend to believe so. If the same thing happens to you, just let me know...

Thank God for religion -- (10) Judge not, why?

Even though religion has so many problems, it has many good points, which may be what God originally expected religion to offer.

Such as the teaching of the universal wisdom, "Judge not, that you be not judged." "For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measures you give will be the measures you get..."

It is your choice to denounce someone and you may be right, or correct in what you say. However, if you denounce others too much, then you will naturally be losing the credibility of what you say, or who you are. It doesn't matter whether you are right or wrong. Denouncing someone itself has its consequence, which you have to be aware of... I don't know... but that's what I tend to think.

Witch-hunt today? It's impossible.

"Witch-hunt was done by evil people," my friend said.
Is he really correct?

"Of course, otherwise, how could good people do such evil thing like witch-hunt?"

But, I don't think so. I believe the witch-hunt was done by pretty good people, or, "normal" people, who "claimed to love their church," and surely as you know, "in the name of God and the Pope=living representative of God." They did not want disturbing thing in their beloved church. They wanted "peace" in their church. They may have hated those "witches" or they may have loved them but sympathized with them, and maybe cried and prayed for them with tears so that they could somehow recant...

Therefore, watch out! If you are such good normal people, you might any time become someone who supports "witch-hunt" wholeheartedly, and this is what the future history will remember you about.

Never make this mistake!

Never make mistake in understanding this:

It is not who you are praising that determines your value
It is not who you are denouncing that determines your value

If you happen to praise someone who is popular (or who majority supports), never make mistake to think that you are ok
If you happen to respect someone who is less popular (or who minority supports), never make mistake to think that you have no future

Those things will pass...
Or, those things will change around any time.

The only important thing is YOU!
The only important thing is who you are
Your responsibility or duty as a human being never changes
It doesn't matter whether you are in a hostile environment, or in a relaxed atmosphere
The only important thing--your responsibility is there, never changing
Your responsibility to make your own choice
So, you cannot blame anyone for what action you are taking
You cannot expect anyone to come and defend you about your choice

It is because you are the son/daughter of God, who is in charge
At least over your own life

Yes, you are the main character of the drama
And you best audience is GOD!

Thank God for religion -- (9): arrogance

Religion has a lot of great things, but also a lot of problems.
Religion tends to make people feel and think, "I know the truth." Of course there's nothing wrong knowing the truth; it is a good thing. However, if you are not careful, there is a trap awaiting you right there: "I know the truth, which you don't know."

Once you are trapped in this thinking, then inside of you somehow the system to maintain fairness in your thinking will be disabled. And then you will start to "label" someone as "he doesn't know the truth=someone lower than me", or "someone who is thinking wrong", "someone who is doing wrong", "someone who is criminal", "someone who is a devil", etc. Then in your system the access to the room to accept that labeled person as normal person will be disabled. Once these are done, then you will only hear what you want to hear, and before hearing anything about what he says or does, already you know he is wrong anyway, and according to this filter, you will hear everything.

What if you are aware of this kind of dynamics going on inside of you, then you might be able to take more control over this system, and you might be able to keep the room in you to listen to and understand the person who you would "label" normally.

This system--by making you think you know the truth, and thus making you see others through some filter--causes building barriers around you, pushing people away even without your being aware of it. Thus you will have enemies and it totally doesn't make sense to you how come those people dare to say things and do things to you. You will never understand and all it makes sense to you is that "they must be the devil, the poorest soul in the world, who, sadly, has no choice but to walk into the hell"

Of course, it is a different story if you are a Christ. Then you could surely say, "I know the truth, and you don't." and it's true! But then you would know how to handle that. So, the answer is, we all should become a Christ!

How can I be so arrogant to judge someone?

If those who claim to know the truth better start to label others as heretics or cults, and persecute them and make every effort to destroy them -- this is ugly.

What if those who claim to know the absolute truth start to label others as heretics, and persecute them and make every effort to malign them -- this is uglier.

That would involve much higher arrogance of "I know the absolute truth, which you don't." However, sad to say, the nature of human being cannot change overnight, and this thing keeps happening again and again. It is a sad thing because when you are performing this type of arrogance, you would not find peace and happiness in yourself, and nor God feels joy looking at you. This is an action of creating hell around you, which your conscience would know.

But, what is more fearful is that I have to admit that's exactly what I am doing!

You will hear what you want to hear and disregard the rest...

"...all lies and jest still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest, mmm...."
A phrase from the "Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel

I think we have already decided what we want to hear, and we will hear what we want to hear and somehow do not hear what we do not want to hear... this is really true!

Thus, the ability required of us is: even though we have decided what we want to hear, can we still be able to hear what we do not want to hear? If you lack this ability, do not even expect that the conflict will be over one day. That's just a self-deception.

First you need to try to hear what you do not want to hear even though you have decided what you want to hear. Oh, even before that, first you have to realize and admit that you already have decided what you want to hear. No more self-deception, please.

Then, the next thing you should do is to examine the content of what you have decided to hear. Is that conclusion really valid? or, is it not too early to come up with that judgment? That's the moment you really need to be humble before the truth. Surely it takes courage to be humble, or it takes "love" to be humble. And that's the moment you might realize what you lack.

I believe this would greatly help to solve the communication breakdown. That's why we often need some negotiator who could help both sides to practice this. So, what's the next thing...

Now ask yourself, "Are you not that negotiator? or, do you need to wait for another?"

What kind of answer are you satisfied with?

I think everything is up to you.
Do you really want to know the answer? or, how seriously (or, to which extent) do you want to know the answer? That's the question.

If you would want the real answer, you wouldn't be satisfied to make your judgment by examining partial information, but you would want to know the information from every aspect. You will end up making some judgment anyway, but this would just show what kind of understanding you are satisfied with.

If you insist on one judgment as absolutely right, then you would naturally tend to make something or somebody to be absolutely wrong. But then there is always somebody who insists on different judgment as absolutely right. You will not find solution if both keep insisting his position. Therefore, we should not dwell with being satisfied with the answer based on the partial information, but always humbly seek to find the better answer based on the whole information.

In other words, if you are saying to someone, "I am right and you are wrong," then that is the very moment you need to humbly examine yourself about how much information do you have to have come up with that conclusion.