Think again...

A culture based on lies and deception will sooner or later perish

It should perish for the sake of God and whole mankind

Let us live truthfully

Love for parents and love for God

Decades later, there will come a time when you will be holding your aged parents' hands and regret, "I should have served you more while I could."

It is good to serve your parents now thinking about that day which will surely come

But, if that day did come before you have no regret, then, you still could say, "I will serve you God, with my added dedication and heart of serving my parents."

Then, your love for your parents and your love for God deeply connects towards the end, which is something you could not buy with money

Where is that chance?

Yes, right here and right now!

Namaste

An Indian saint greeted an American boy, "Namaste"

The American boy responded, "Oh, yes, 'v a nice day!"

A Japanese man asked an American woman, "Would you like to have one?"

The American woman responded, "I've already got those."

The Japanese man shouted, "Wow! You speak Japanese!" (thinking she said "Arigatou")

Nov 5 Back to Fall before Fall Back (Oct 29 to Nov 5)

Oct 29

Nov 5-->

Another reason why blaming is dangerous

When you blame or accuse someone, of course you may have a good reason, or, righteous reason. However... be aware of one thing.

Devil always hear your blaming someone, and then he would go to God and say, "Hi, God. This person is blaming others about this problem. Is it ok I can test him to see if he is free from that blame?" Then what would God say? You guessed it. He says "yes"

That means, if you blame someone for some problem, then the situation will surely be set up that you would face the same challenge to prove that you are totally free from that very accusation.

That's why when you blame someone, you will have to suffer the consequence.

Of course, it's a different story if you really love the challenges...

But, just be aware

Anger and frustration

Of course there are different kind of anger and frustration, but most of them could be also.... a devil's whisper

In many cases, you get angry when things do not happen as you wish them to happen

and you get frustrated when people are not living up to your expectation

So, it's all because of "things" and "people" around you--your "environment"

When you get angry or frustrated, you are dominated (or, controlled) by your environment--for which you are supposed to be the lord as God's child

So, why are you dominated by your environment? A possible reason is that you are not dominated (or, controlled) by something which you are supposed to be dominated by.

In other words, it is because you do not have your "center", or, you do not have someone for whom you want to exist--someone for whose joy you want to exist

That's why you find yourself being dominated by your environment and get angry and frustrated

So, why not find your "center"?

Just a thought...

If you think you are not important, think again.

Sometimes you may feel you are not very important.

And then you start to think that you are not so important.

That moment you should check if that's also God's idea.

If you ask him, you might hear him say, "You are very important."

His revealed truth also tells you that you are very important to him.

"You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt 5:48)

Did he mean it? or, did he just try to encourage you?

He believes you can be perfect. He wants to see you becoming perfect.

So, God, the heavenly Father will be the same.

When you say that you are not so important, he will not be very happy.

So, now remember:

"Believe that you are not important." is a devil's whisper

Oct 25 to Oct 30 (snow on Oct 29, 2011)

What would you like to create today?

To begin a new day, talk to God:

"Hey, Dad, what would you like to create today?"

When you say it as a co-creator, you will have a fun day with God.

As you do things together with him, you will be creating many good things, of course the most valuable thing you are creating is -- YOU that has God in the center

And amazing thing is: God CANNOT create it by himself; He can do it ONLY with your participation! Isn't this amazing?

This is how much valuable you are to him

When you are in trouble...

Trouble comes in different levels

Why am I always like this...?

Why are these things happening around me?

Why is this person acting like this?

Why is my church doing this?

Why is this country going through this?

etc. etc.

One common element of all these troubles:

You might feel like saying,

"Why is not God helping me/us?"

"Why does God allow this to happen?" ("What is he doing out there?!")

Then a question:

Have you tried to report to him what's in your mind (of course, honestly)?

Pokemon song says, "Itsumo itsudemo umaku yukunante hoshowa dokonimo naikedo..." (Even though there's no guarantee that things will always work fine...)

"itsudemo itsumo honkide ikiteru koitsutachiga iru!" (...these guys always live their moment with genuine seriousness!)

So, at least give it a try--honest report to God (with sincere readiness to receive his response from any unexpected angle)

Once you feel you got any small response, keep engaging and see what happens to what you reported to him...

How can I start from untrue and arrive at God?

Let's say you can't love Mr. X.

Now you have realized how your love for Mr. X is untrue, but you still cannot love him for some reasons.

Your hope is that true God should be able to love Mr. X with true love

so, you will say, "God, because you do, I will do." ...but, you still cannot love him

so, next you say, "God, can you tell me how you love Mr. X?"

then say, "If I know how you do, I will do."

then ask, "God, how do you feel about what I said?"

Then, hours later, you realized that Mr. X had served as a catalyst to bond you and God in heart.

So, you will thank God for having given you Mr. X in your life.

And you learned to say, "God, because you do, I will do; because you do not do, I will not do."

From untrue to God

The moment you see yourself untrue,

That's the moment when you have options at least two

The option one is to give up and lose hope

The option two is to accept the fact and seek for God

If you choose the option two, then that might be a moment to connect to true through true God

and find your true self coming up

which might have a power to melt untrue one

then, you will find a different "you"

So, life is short

to find many unfound "you"

but hopefully long enough to find enough of them

Thank God for challenges

Many different challenges come around in our life

Sometimes we say, "Why this thing comes again! I thought I already graduated this one."

But, there's one good thing about many different challenges.

Through challenges we realize how untrue our love is.

We talk about practicing true love, or, living for others, or, giving unconditionally, etc.

And somehow we assume we are doing these without realizing how untrue our love is

Challenges give us chance to realize how untrue our love is

how much I am not giving unconditionally

how much I am concerned about myself and not others

And when we humbly and courageously face the fact, and redetermined to be more true,

then, that will contribute to the fulfillment of the very purpose of our life.

That's how we can thank God for challenges

Re: limiting yourself

The Parable of the Talents (Matt 25:13-30) seems to tell you that your "talents" are given by God for you to develop, and when you do it, he will be happy so do you, and when you do not do it, he will be unhappy so do you.

If you limit yourself, then you will not recognize your talents and then you will not develop them. This will make God unhappy and thus you also become unhappy. (your becoming unhappy may be, in fact, the work of your conscience because it knows what you are doing is not good.)

Then, why would you limit yourself, which cause you to be unhappy?

Is it because you don't want to be challenged on the way to pursue your talents?

It is true that being challenged may not give you good feelings especially when you are defeated by that challenge.

So, maybe it is because you would want to avoid those bad feelings of being challenged and being defeated. In other words, you wouldn't want to face yourself.

If so, then the solution will be to have someone who you can love more than yourself. When you love that someone, that would give you power to naturally go beyond your fear of facing yourself.

Someone said, "Believe in yourself." Believing yourself will help when you have and know someone who believes in you.

Is God political? (3)

One example of such unrighteous act:

It is ok in a drama--you make someone who is not guilty of some crime as guilty by fabricating a story or an evidence, and use your political capability to ruin that person.

And through this process you are clearly aware of what you are doing.

Then, in a drama--you may be successful for a while (a month, a year, 10 years, 100 years, 1000 years depending on your political capability), and the whole world will believe that person is guilty

But the fact remains that your wrongdoing is wrongdoing, and eventually you will have to face the consequence one day, when you will have to pay the price for what you have done

You may have a good reasoning to justify what you are doing while you are committing that violation, but it wouldn't matter on that day

Is God political? (2)

But, even though you are giving your priority to some "political concern" over the truth of God, most likely you always come up with a nice excuse.

So, the question is, "Can you say that excuse with your clear conscience?"

Remember, you will have to stand alone at the judgment

You are your own lord--you are in charge

No one can come and defend you, not even your lord (Matt 7:22-23)

Your conscience has to testify your righteousness

"Hey, come on! I thought you were with me..." this will not work that day.

Is God political?

Does God work according to political concern? Yes? or, no?

If your answer is yes, then, what you do makes sense.

If your answer is no, then, why do you seem to give your priority to the political concern over the truth of God?

Thank God for the Creation

Right and wrong (2) Joseph's case

When children fight, parents' position is the key to bring solution because from parents' position you could find goodness in all, or, at least you could have a different perspective than "who is right and who is wrong"

This means, the one who could stand in the parents' position among them would bring the solution. Watch how our brother Joseph acted:


Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him; and he cried, "Make every one go out from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph; is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, I pray you." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Make haste and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry; you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have; and there I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come; lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty.

And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Make haste and bring my father down here." Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
(Genesis 45: 1-15)

"I didn't know that." (2)

Another reason why "I didn't know that." cannot be an acceptable excuse:

In many cases, it is not "I do not know" but in fact, it is "I refuse to accept the fact (even though I am aware that the fact might be valid) for some other reason."

And this, your conscience knows. So, even if you try to cheat your conscience, usually it doesn't work, and you will find yourself unhappy.

You cannot cheat your conscience even if you could cheat everybody else around you.

"I didn't know that."

"Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.

And Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.'

And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, 'He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!' The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, 'If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!' There was also an inscription over him, 'This is the King of the Jews.'" (Luke 23: 32-38)


Why did he have to say, "Forgive them; for they know not what they do"?

I believe it was because he knew clearly that in the realm of law, they would be held accountable and thus would be punished for the crime they had committed even if they did it out of their ignorance of what they had been doing, or, ignorance of certain truth.

In other words, in the realm of law, there is no excuse such as, "I didn't know." You will be held accountable for what you do even if you do it out of your ignorance.

Therefore, without a intersession given by someone like him, you would have no hope to get rid of the consequence.

So, be careful what you say and what you do. Don't think you will be ok if you say, "Oh, I didn't know that."

The very stone which the builders rejected...

"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.'
And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"

They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons."

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."
(Matt 21:38-43)

We always need to humbly ask what is God's doing behind what appears to be.
As long as we keep this humility of continuing communication/conversation with God, that would (or at least might) allow God to work through us.

Red light

Japanese saying, "Akashingo, minnade watareba kowakunai"

roughly translated, "Red light, we are not scared if we all cross it together"

I sincerely hope that this is not what is happening today.

Right and wrong

I heard someone said this:

The difference between adult and child/adolescent is whether he can be conscious of the fact that someone else could view things differently from you, and could be correct

Children or adolescents think, "I am right, you are wrong."
Adults think, "I am right, and you can be right, too."

So, is he right? or, is he wrong? :-)

Scary effect of blaming someone

If you blame someone, it usually does not help that person to change as you would want to see him/her change
If you blame someone, it does help you to justify yourself for taking less responsibility than otherwise
So, blaming is not only ineffective to help others, but also ineffective to help yourself.

and consider this:

What if the person you would want to blame is, in fact, doing his very best to cope with or deal with the situation to the best of his capacity? That's possible even if you might not see it.

Your role and his/her role is different; your capacity and his/hers is different

so, you cannot make a correct judgment of how well he is doing, from your own viewpoint

Therefore, when you are tempted to blame someone, do not give in to that temptation, but it is better to use that occasion to check yourself whether you are doing your best to deal with your situation to the best of your capacity or not

Do not feed your urge for temporal satisfaction by blaming someone, ending up as a loser.

Hope on this day

Hope this day be a reminder of the preciousness of each of our lives
and of the sacrifices behind our existence
and of the existence of the noble souls who gave their lives to save others

Hope we can be reminded of our roles and responsibilities
to our fellow brothers and sisters in this world

It is still not too late
as it is said:

"if my people who are called by my name
humble themselves,
and pray and seek my face,
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin
and heal their land."
(2 Chronicles 7:14)

The most unfortunate people

The most unfortunate are those who are privileged to know what actually was happening
but concealed it and twisted it in front of others
for some political reasons including saving themselves

I wish they had a fear of God
or they were aware of the universal law of karma
and reconsidered their actions

because nobody would want to be remembered
as the worst hypocrites in human history

Scapegoat

If you are making someone into a scapegoat
in the name of unification,
or, if you are putting all blame upon someone
in order to bring your solution,
then, you should reconsider what kind of unification you want
or, what kind of solution you are to bring

also, reconsider what you expect to see
after that "unification"
and after that "solution"

if you still do not see contradiction in yourself
I don't know how long you are going to last

Defending yourself by denying your self?

Why are you making all your efforts to defend yourself
by making all your efforts to deny your true self?

Your criticizing ability

When you are criticizing someone for something,
usually the case is that what you are criticizing about is exactly your own problem

When certain thing really bothers you,
that also shows what your problem is

So, if you could use your ability to criticize in a certain way,
then you would become much better person

hmm... true?

It's coming...

Hmm, I don't know what to say about this...

Learn something new today

Learn something new today
and it is OK to forget something else
and just say thank you to God

Learn something new tomorrow
and it is OK to forget something else
and just say thank you to God

then every day will be a learning day
with something new all the time

then when I move into the next world
every day over there will be a learning day
with something new all the time

Majority is always correct?

"No, majority is not always correct", you may answer with your mouth
Your brain may also agree, but how about your feeling?

So, watch out
if your decision making
or your sense of confidence is based on what the majority says or does
then you will have to face the consequence one day
because majority is not always correct

So, do not easily give in to your feeling,
which is one of your worst enemy,
but build a stronger pipe with God,
who should be your true source of confidence
and the decision making

Bitter message and sweet message

And sometimes the message might be so bitter that you would immediately want to react
with emotions

but, wait

this could be that "moment"

Try to eliminate whatever you know about the messenger
or, whatever you think you know about him
forget about him, and just focus on the message
thinking what must be God's view about me and the whole picture

Then, if you try to communicate with him through your conscience
His message becomes more clear
and you will surely know God was the one who did send that message
through this unexpected "messenger"

Then, you could take your time to re-think about the messenger
it might not have been an easy thing for him to convey such message, which he dared
Then, you might find new view and appreciation about him

He is sent by God

Anybody who comes into your life is sent by God
with a certain message from him
That message has to do with your role
and his expectation

So, it is good, if you can, to treat every single person
as some special person sent to you by God

He started it

You didn't start it
It is God who started it
and he started with his Dream

So, do not ever think that you are the one who is doing it
You are following up what he started
and will complete it by doing your role,
which he can not and will not do

So, make his Dream as yours
and complete it for him
You will do this together with him
all the way till the end

Stay clear with your role
Blame no one for confusing you
No time, and no use

Are you really asking?

"Ask, and it will be given you;
seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.
For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask him!

So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets." (Matt 7:7-12)

So, in other words,
if you do not ask, you may not receive it;
if you do not seek, you may not find it;
if you do not knock, it may not be opened to you;

So, the questions:
How much did you ask?
How much did you seek?
How much did you knock?

Are you not getting frustrated of not being able to "receive" it, or "find" it, or "open" it
without really "asking" and "seeking" and "knocking"?

Or, why are you so satisfied when you do not receive, and when you do not find, and when it is not opened to you?
Are you not supposed to ask, seek and knock more?
Why did you give up?

God has a message for you

You may not be stronger but

Never give up till the last minute

Let God work his miracle through you

Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it

(Luke 17: 33)

but, I was surprised that this phrase appeared in one Korean history drama - Yoin-cheonhwa ("Women's reign" or something)

When you genuinely determined to sacrifice yourself without expecting any benefit, then something unexpected (like a miracle in a sense) happens such as some change takes place in people's mind and heart, which results in the dramatic change of the situation into a "good" direction. (seems God intervened)

This must be the universal truth

And this could be the very message for you as you read this :-)

...or, a message for me as I write this down here ^^

For your reflection

Hmm... how are you going to apply this in your life?

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit.

A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.

"Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'

"Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his houses upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it."

(Matt 7: 15-27)

Don't ever forget who you are

You are God's child,
sent to this world by him to accomplish his goal
God and the whole world (the world that is beyond the physical limit) are watching you carefully as if watching the most dramatic drama
with their hopes and expectations

Live every given moment with this awareness
trying to feel their hope and pride

The most fearful enemy is your HABIT
which consistently denies to live this way
HABIT says, "It's ok, it's ok" when you are not living with that awareness.
But, when you somehow begin to identify this work of your HABIT
just honestly report to God and begin your most sincere conversation
then, you will know that those moments are the chances to connect to God in deeper ways

That way, you will be developing your new HABIT,
which will be the fruit of the hard work of you and God

So, enjoy!

What is important for you?

After all, the simple fact is
that you will end your limited life on earth one day
and move on into the next world and live there for eternity with some quality life

So, when you find yourself looking around and say someone is wrong, someone is right
or, someone did this, someone did that
or, no, someone didn't do this, someone didn't do that, etc. etc. etc.
don't forget that you are responsible for your own life--not someone else's

Forget all those things
and just live your righteous life
until God comes around and ask you to go there and do something

That's one option
Anyway try to be open to whatever God presents before you

If you are carrying some heavy burden (2)

...and if you happen to see God in someone that way...
then, the next thing you do is to try to see yourself from that God's viewpoint
with that God's heart

because it is a chance intended by God
for you to take an aggressive/offensive action
to connect to him

that kind of moment will not come all the time
and it does come with his plan
so, it's always safe to think, "Nothing happens by chance."

some old song said, "but this feeling doesn't come around every day... so I shouldn't blow the chance..."

If you are carrying some heavy burden

If you are carrying some heavy burden
or any pressure which no one may notice except you
and yet you show nothing of those and just keep serving people around you,
then, some people may not feel anything
but some people may be moved
or, may see God in you

That will make that person be humbled
and empower that person to live the same way
even with gratitude and excitement!

That's how God could use you to bring people back to their original state,
which not only would make God happy, but also make you and others happy

When you feel pain...

When you work hard using your muscle to make someone happy
maybe you may have a big muscle pain afterwards
But that pain will just remind you of your joy of making that person happy
Thus, you will find yourself feeling good when you feel that muscle pain

Can we not do everything to make someone happy?
Then, any pain caused by that will not be just a pain anymore,
instead, it will be a source of joy of your having existed for someone's life,
or, maybe, making yourself part of someone's life

Trap after Realization

When you realize something new, you may be trapped into this:
"Oh, my goodness, people around me seem to have already known this thing, and they seem to be practicing this thing. What an idiot I am that I didn't know this until this late!"
so, lament, lament, lament..disappointed about yourself...hopelessness might follow...

But, you don't need to do so. You could do this instead:
"Oh, my goodness, finally God could allow me to realize this thing today, and I believe whatever I tried and invested myself into up to now might have helped a bit for God to allow this to finally happen to me. Thank God!"

I think you should agree and if you can't, then just think what if you have died without that realization. You at least have a reason to be grateful.

Yes, you do have the key to the door of Heaven as well as the one to the door of hell.

Thank God for my misery

It is good to look at yourself sometimes...
but, don't look at yourself with your own eyeglass, or, with your own eyes
Try to look at you through God's eyes, or, eyes of the parent

God (parent) loves you unconditionally
God (parent) absolutely trusts you (or, trusts that your conscience will prevail)
God (parent) wants to be proud of you
or, he wants to declare to the world, "Look! this is my son/daughter!"
God (parent) is committed to do anything to support your victory
or, he is always there for you (24/7, even if you cannot see him, or feel him)
God (parent) would want to listen to you
or, he knows your challenge/loneliness and is there to give you strength
God (parent) is your "best friend" if you are willing to accept it
etc. etc. etc.

So, it is very unwise to keep rejecting him
and dwelling in your misery

Therefore, thank God for your misery
because you might not seek for God (parent) without it

Thank God for unthankfulness

When you find yourself uninspired
or, feeling uneasy, uncomfortable
or, frustrated, angry, complaining
or, fear, anxiety, worried,
or, no sense of confidence,
or, no sense of thankfulness, etc.
It is the same message from your conscience (or, message from God through your conscience)
telling/asking you,

"Did you report to God before you started to do what you are doing now?"
"Have you been communicating with God as you do what you do?"

Then you will realize how much you have excluded God in your daily life.

Realizing something --> good chance to change something --> keep growing

Thank God for this!

Thank God for our father!

What could father do without mother?
What could father learn without children?

That's true, but...
What could mother do without father?

What could children do without father?

Thus, conclusion: Thank God for our father!

Many thanks and Happy Father's Day

to our truth-loving dad!

For whose sake do you believe in God?

It is good to believe in God, or some higher being, in general

But once in a while we should ask ourselves this question:

For whose sake do I believe in God?
Is it for the sake of my own inner peace?
Or, is it for the sake of God's purpose (or, God's joy)?

A subtle thing... but, we will see it through its fruit

Very simple truth

The more you blame someone for what's happening today, the further away you are putting yourself from the chance to commune with God
The more you feel you are responsible for what's happening today, the closer you will be from the chance to commune with God
Why? It is because he is the One who is in charge, and thus he is the one who feels responsible more than anybody else does in the universe.

So, for you to feel responsible would develop the common factor for interaction/communion between you and God
Eventually those who have such heart cannot avoid to be revealed to the whole world.

Are you ready to be that person?
It is your choice; you are the only one to make that decision.

And don't worry, nobody needs to understand what you are doing, and nobody needs to appreciate what you are doing; You know what you're doing and God knows.

Say yes to God; one yes at a time (5)

"Say yes" is not "blind obedience"
and it is "to God" and not to someone else
and "yes" is not "blind obedience"

When you say "yes" to your parents, you can tell the difference between your "yes" when you were 6 years old and your "yes" when you were 12 years old, and 21 years old, 30 years old, 40, 50, 60, ....

The older you become, the more thought, care, consideration, etc. about the situation and heart of your parent will be involved in your "yes", or, the less "blind yes" it becomes

You may also say "yes" to your respected elders. However, when your respected elder asks you to do something, you first ask God about what he would say regarding how you should respond to the elder, instead of just say "yes" to the elder.

So, whenever you are aware, try to always have God in your center and have a mind of listening to what he would say to you, then, say "yes" to him (through your conscience)

When you make this conscious effort, eventually it will become more natural to do it (like a habit) and it will become part of you

So, whatever happens, first thing you would be naturally saying is, "Thank you, God"

The worst enemy

Each person has a different enemy or enemies
In general, though, the worst enemy is living in "myself"
Somebody inside keeps seeking an easier or more comfortable way as its habit
If you follow him, however, you might be bothered by fear or guilty at times

Somebody else also lives inside who always seeks to have God as his center
When you follow him, you might find a way for peace and happiness

But this is just "in general"; I don't' know about you

Your opportunity

Thinking about him,

and looking at what he is going through,

is one way of life

Going there,

and share what he is going through,

is another one

And it is your opportunity to pick one

This beautiful flower is for you

Don't worry about what people think about you, or, how they talk about you.
You know what you are doing
and your God knows what you are doing.
That's enough. God is the only one you can rely on
He not only knows you but he loves you.
Look at the flower!
He made it for you.

Thank God for our mother!

Everyone has a mother. But you are the special one!

Many thanks and Happy Mother's Day

to our hard-working mom!

Horrible things

As in many dramas, horrible things will come around in your life whether you like it or not, or, no matter how much you try to escape from them-- accidents, sudden loss of somebody or something, finding yourself in charge of something horrible, unexpected things in human relationships, etc. etc. etc...

It's better to live an offensive life than a defensive life, or, aggressive one than passive one. or...
If you are offensive at this ordinary moment, then most likely you might be offensive when those things come around; if you are defensive at this ordinary moment, then most likely you might be defensive when those things come around. So, this "ordinary" moment determines everything.

Offensive life: you consider this life to be a chance given to you (by "God") to make it valuable (or, something that gives value to God and the people) by your own hands --see the talent story in the Bible (Matt 25: 14~30)

Defensive life: you consider this life to be a burden (given to you by someone) which you have to go through somehow; so, you will persevere if necessary but you don't like it, nor appreciate it and you would avoid it if possible

or, in other words, are you the master of your life? or, the servant of your life

One thing is, by having God as your center, your life could be a very offensive one

So, what is your ordinary moment now?

Say yes to God; one yes at a time (4)

and your life is short; sooner or later you will be living in the next world; over there, what's left with you?

Think about those who went there already--our human "predecessors" and "pioneers"; what kind of life they must have been living out there?

Some people are remembered as great, or, respected, loved; some people are remembered as evil, or, hated, but how much do these things matter to them when they get there and live there? maybe to some extent? maybe not much... but over there they are living with "God" their "day-to-day" lives and I believe something else matters more. That, I believe, is what kind of quality of life they can enjoy--their life with God and with other people there --which, I believe, will be determined by what kind of quality of life they had lived while they had been here--on earth

So, get real, you will be there one day, and who knows which day will be the final day of your chances on this earth? Have you lived your life to develop the highest quality of life with him and with the people around you? How much you loved God and developed your personal love relationship with him (of course which should involve him as your center), and how much you developed that with people around you (which are also sent to you for reason)?

Remember, there will be no room for any excuses for having missed your chances; blaming people or situations, circumstances, etc. will not work at all, because it is your life given only to you, and you are the only one who can live your life--you are in charge here

So, be wise, and do not waste your time and chances. Do not be cheated by anyone who tells you that you are not responsible for your life--sometimes with nice, comfortable words and voices

"God" is so important for you; but it is your choice to recognize it and live it

So, talk to God in the bathroom
or, anywhere else you like
and don't forget to say to him, "Thank you."

Say yes to God; one yes at a time (3)

"Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'' anything more than this comes from evil." (Matt 5:37)

He seems to have spoken this in the context of pointing out the arrogance of the people. How many things do we do without asking him, or consulting him, in other words, by my own will?

That may not be the best way to involve God in your life. If you want to involve him in your life, then you need to decide this: do you want to have him as your center? or as your subordinate?

If your answer is "center", then you do need to make a conscious effort to have him as your center. Always try to go to him before you do things. And if you sense he is asking you to do certain thing, you just say "yes". Then he will be with you while you do the work, and you might be able to have a vivid experience of his involvement. Now you are not doing your work, but his work.

Saying "yes" is an interesting part. It usually is a request to go beyond yourself even a small bit--doing something which you normally wouldn't do. That's why you only need to take one step at a time--one "yes" at a time. He knows what kind of step you will need to take and he will ask you accordingly.

Say yes to God; one yes at a time (2)

However, such moment will not come around all the time.
So, when that moment comes, you recognize it and you grab it, then experience how God can be involved in your life with your vivid feeling.
You need to sharpen your conscience in order to recognize that one moment

But, whether your conscience is sharpened or not, or, whether you are prepared or not, or, even, whether you are "qualified" or not, it happens by the grace of God

So, it is not your decision but his because his love for you is absolute, unchanging and eternal
No matter how bad you are, or, you think you are, he still loves you, and he never gives up on you
and he continuously strives to give you that chance

So, do not ever give up
and, do not hesitate to grab that moment

Say yes to God; one yes at a time

Whatever thing you want to accomplish, obvious fact is that your ability might be limited
You need God's power to accomplish any great thing.
In fact, there is a way to bring God's power into what you are doing.
Here's some ideas:

1. sit quietly, open your heart and speak to God with your best honesty
2. listen to what he is, or might be telling you (through your conscience)
3. catch his message of asking you to say "yes" to a certain thing he requests to you
4. say "yes" to that request
5. and see what happens
6. then enjoy what happens
7. repeat 1 to 6

That's it for now...

Crack your neck at your own risk

You may feel good when you crack your neck, but I suggest you a secod thought.
Think about when you enter into your 50s (or 40s if early)...
One morning when you go to the bathroom and do regular washing your face and hands and now you are about to gargle...
What if your neck wouldn't bend backwards to let you gargle well...? I mean if your neck somehow wouldn't go any further than being straight so that your month cannot look upward to allow you to gargle. Then you would need whole your body to lie down backwards just to gargle, and then move your whole bady back again to spit out the water into the sink.
Or, when you want to look what is on your left, it is usually so easy, just to move your neck to the left, but... what if you need to move your whole body to your left in order to look at what is on your left because your neck itself wouldn't just move to left by itself?
So, if you have to expect this thing happen one day in your 50s, do you still want to crack your neck today?
In case you don't have this problem today, it is already a very good enough reason to say to God, "Thank you!"

Should I wear my seatbelt?

I will just mumble today.

Some driver thinks it is to show his brave nature not to wear his seat belt. And he thinks God will protect me as long as I am doing God's Will. He seems to be sending a message to God, "Hey God, you should protect me because I am doing your work, OK?" What can God say?

Another passenger has a tendency not to wear his seat belt. But, be careful. You are sending a message even without your being aware of it. What you are saying is, "Hey, Mr. Driver, I don't care if you get a ticket or not. I don't care if you have to go to jail or not." You may not even realize this, but everything you do is sending a certain message to certain people.

How long can you act like a critic or a commentator?

You will act like a critic or a commentator until one of your closest person gets hurt, discussing and auguing who is right and who is wrong, or, who to blame, who to defend

However, when one of your closest person got hurt, then you cannot be like a critic or a commentator anymore

You will be emotionally driven, so, you already have your conclusion based on your emotion. So, whatever your oponent says, whatever commentators say, no matter how the argument sounds logical from the objective viewpoint... it doesn't matter anymore because you already have your conclusion based on your emotional drive

So, now you realize how difficult it is to treat everyone as one of your family members, or, how your heart is so limited to feel that every person is a member of your family, even though you still could say, "We are one human family."

So, it is a challenge, or, a test that you practice what you believe

or, of course it is an opportunity to grow to be in the next level of your spiritual maturity

God is watching

He will not try to control you while you are using your own free will to think certain way, or act certain way

He may also consider this to be your chance

The road to unhappiness

Once you start to give in to the thought that someone should understand you more than you strive to understand that person, then you are going into the road of unhappiness

It is, in a way, saying that someone should give to you more than you give to that person--this is against the universal law, so the natural result is unhappiness

You should one day make up your mind that the whole purpose of your existence is to exist for others

Dramatic life

Don't feel bad when you see the lives of those people in the dramas are more dramatic than yours. It is supposed to be dramatic because it is a drama.

But your life could be much more dramatic than theirs because you know your audience well while those people in the dramas did not know so much about their audience.

Besides that, you could even become one of those first actors/actresses in human history who first time ever thought about how to inspire their audience for good reasons.

Therefore, please have confidence in the value that you have--the value which nobody could get by paying any billions of dollars

Does God love me? Does he help me?

How can I believe that God helps me?

How can I believe that God loves me?

If you wonder around these questions, you may be wasting your time.

Whether he helps or loves --it is his doing and you do not have any ability to control over that

You should believe you are created with a potential

to become a person who can inspire God

or, to stimulate him so that his hidden power might be released

Believe in yourself --that's something even God cannot do

You are the only one who can do it, and you even have ability to do it --thank God for that!

Our time is limited

We cannot afford to waste it any more

Thank God....?

We survived
We are survivors
We could have been killed
But somehow we are still here

This reminds us of who we really are
We are one family
Sharing the same destiny
and the same mission

Let us deepen our commitment
and the sense of responsibility

It is still not over yet
Our family members are still there
Let us find out which part of this entire mission I can take
and let us fulfill that part
One step at a time

When you think you are idiot, think again

Why do you think you are idiot?
You may think you do not have some capability which everybody else has
But, what if you have that capability as everyone else?
Then, there's nothing special, and you will just live on without any problem
or, you may not need God to live on

Think what helped you to start seeking for God
Wasn't that something you thought you lack?
Without that lacking, you might not have chance to start seeking for God
So, what's lacking in you was the reason why you started seeking for God and found him

So, shouldn't you say, "Thank God for what is lacking in me!"

Korean Angel!

Why you cannot control yourself???

Why you cannot get up in the morning?
Why you cannot control your physical desire (hunger, lust, sleep, drink, etc.)?
Why you cannot control your emotion?
Why you cannot stop accusing yourself?
Why you cannot stop blaming someone?

These are essentially because you still have not found someone to live for.

Without having someone to live for, your life is a lonely one.

If your life is lonely now, then your life will be lonely as well when you get to the next world.

But, you are not meant to live that way; you are given the capability to search and find the one (starting from God...)

but how you use that capability is totally up to you; God reserved that special role for you (He didn't plan to take that role away from you)

and, while you exercise that role, you will be resembling him every step of the way--becoming his child, or, growing as his child!

When you are tempted to accuse yourself... (2)

(continued) ...and when you try to recognize what he does, then you will remember this quote:

"And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.
And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23: 33-34)

you think you are unforgivable, and you may be right, and yet he begs God still to forgive you.
interpreting what he says "I will take responsibility for them. I will pay the price for them because I am their father. I will continually take responsibility to raise them to be good because I am their father..." with that love, he is livign with you.

So, there's no point of accusing yourself.

Instead, use such occasion to connetct to his love as your parent...

When you are tempted to accuse yourself...

...please remember that no one will be happy if you do so

and think about this quote:


...And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them,
"Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

Jesus looked up and said to her,
"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
She said, "No one, Lord."
And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again." (John 8: 7-11)


So, if he does not choose to condemn you, who do you think you are to condemn yourself?
Are you saying you are greater than him?

Before you do anything you think is good or bad, first pay attention to him--how much he already has given to you

Recognize it, and appreciate it

This should be the first priority.

Message for non-Korean people

If you did not do this yet, I strongly recommend you to watch Korean dramas if:

--you want to learn Korean language

--you want to learn about Korean culture (or, how they think, how they feel, what kind of emotion they share as a people, etc.)

--you are interested to find out what is God's reason for Korea

And eventually you will find out that the real life is more dramatic than the dramas

When you get frustrated by someone around you...

When you find yourself getting frustrated by someone around you...

Do not just give in to that feeling of frustration and express that, but instead, you could do these:

1. first, check why you are so frustrated? what exactly is the real reason? --then, you will find the problem is that you are being frustrated anyway, and whoever around you do whatever is not the primary reason of your frustration

so, deal with your cause of frustration --in general, it is usually because you are not doing things which your conscience rejoyces and gets inspired and excited --> so it's your problem, and then you can start doing things which your conscience can rejoyce --> then, people around you even change what they do because of you (anyway, you will become happier and they will also become happier)

2. or, you could ask yourself, "Is this not the feeling I might be giving to God?", seeking for the possibility of whether you are not making God frustrated for any reason at this point --then, you will find that this situation is fortunately given to you so that you can realize what you are doing to God and make any necessary repentance and correction, for which you can thank God, and grow into the next level of relationship with him

Let's go back to basics

The task is like a huge mountain before you
but to do this, let's go back to basics

You need other people, too, but one thing about other people is
that you cannot control them
just as true as that nobody can control you

so, you cannot make their choices on behalf of other people
just as true as that you cannot expect others to make your choice on your behalf

So, all you can do, or, first thing you should make sure is
that you make your own choice instead of expecting someone else to do that part

"that part" particularly means:

1. You choose to have only God as your center, and nothing else (not any human including yourself)

2. You choose to communicate with him; reporting to him and receiving response from him (through your conscience)

3. You choose to live according to his words (or what you recognize is the universal truth, such as everything exist for others, you should not cheat/lie, do not blame others to justify yourself, etc.)

4. that also means you choose not to live according to whatever is against his words (or whatever you recognize is against the universal truth, such as existing for your own benefit, cheating/lying, justifying yourself by blaming someone, etc.)

5. You choose to always reflect and check with your conscience whether your thoughts and actions are according to God's word, and then make any necessary corrections

6. As long as you totally invest yourself into these directions, you will start to see the next step, as well as "God's hands" in your daily life

7. Through this, you may develop your own understanding of how God can work in your life, but just make sure not to insist on it, and always be humble to accept God's unique way of work in different people and different ways

So, in a way, instead of lamenting about what you cannot control, first do things which nobody else can do except you!

Question: Why can't I experience God?

Well, what kind of God do you expect to experience?

If you want to experience God of love, then it's simple

For anything in this universe to have a meaningful interaction, they need some common base
If you want to have a good interaction with God of love, then first try to make some common base with him --try to become loving, or, giving-- as a first step

Then the next step will be, try to communicate based on your first step

Then you will find communication will go different from when you try to communicate without enough common base (or with a lot of uncommon elements of "not giving")

Then, after that, let's think about the next step...

Oh, of course, don't forget to say "Thank you, God!" in each step of the way

Thank God for unhappiness (2)!

Unhappiness comes when you forget your purpose

You've come to this world to "love"
--or, to exist for others
and in that process of loving you are meant to grow
or, to expand yourself towards your limit
with the element from your origin poured into you
in that process

It is, so to speak, a growth of your "heart"
or, the eternal entity within you,
which you will keep even after your departure from this world

So, when you forget that purpose and start saying:
"Why do I have to do this?"
"This is enough! Why do I need to do (give) more?"
"That's not fair. This is not my problem but his."
"Why can't he understand how much I already gave?"
etc. etc. etc.

then, you will find yourself unhappy
In a way, being unhappy is a sign that you are going away from your original purpose
So, you could still appreciate being unhappy in that sense
Let's do the right thing

For whom are you doing it?

If you have a difficulty in getting up in the morning,
then think for whose sake you are getting up
or, for whose joy you are getting up

Are you getting up out of habit?
or, are you getting up to make someone happy?

Whenever you find yourself doing something you don't like to do,
just think for whose sake you are doing it
or, for whose joy you are doing it

Are you doing it out of duty?
or, are you doing it to make someone happy?

This might help you to see your life
from the whole new perspective

Thank God for very cold weather!

I really don't like cold weather

But one thing for sure is that the spring will surely come after a while

And when the spring does come,

I will be thinking about how I went through the cold period

Then I would regret I didn't learn enough while I was in that period

In fact, there are so much to learn during that period

and so much to build your spiritual and physical strength

It is a discipline freely given by God

for the long term victory of his child

But when I'm in the middle, it is so hard to see this way

Therefore, it is always good to try to see from God's perspective

Then you would find something different

another reason to thank God

Justice and Righteousness

Seeking for justice and righteousness is always very important
But if you are demanding justice and righteousness, you have to watch out
Check if you are existing for the benefit of the others by doing so
or demanding others to exist for your own benefit

No matter what excuse you try to make
if you are, in fact, not existing for the benefit of the others
you will surely lose heavenly fortune
and you will end up as a loser

f-ROSE-n

Type "lord" and press "enter"

If you believe that the power will bring you victory, you are mistaken
Only true love will

If you are angry about your "enemy" and try to change them by any type of "force", it will not work
Why not deal with them with true love? Just treat them as your beloved family members
with love, care, respect and sincerity

I believe that's what your conscience would tell you, but why not listen?

Even the power of the "lord" which you rely on might not help in the very end
as the lord said in the book (see my old post at http://bathroominspiration.blogspot.com/2009/12/thank-god-for-religion-4.html or, you type "lord" on the search box on the left side of the bar above and press "enter", then some related posts will show up )

Anyway, no matter how you design it, the "fake" thing will not last; better to be genuine

Thank God for the cold weather!

Thoughts under 14 degrees F

Maybe the severe cold weather is given so that we could appreciate the warmth
or, the hot days are given so that we could appreciate the cool weather

And yet the fact is that someone still have to stay outside in this type of cold weather
That is the reality of our God's daily life

A lot of things have to be done; this world is calling you!

To my HOT DAY FIG

Who is attacking and who is being attacked?

Of course things are always complicated, but one guideline to examine the situation is to pay attention to who is the one that is attacking and who is the one getting attacked.

Then, check what is the one gettign attacked doing: are they attacking back? or something else?

Anyway, just an idea