Psalm 128

1 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.

5 The Lord bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6 May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!

In a recent assignment for my Hermeneutics class, I wrote the following about the theme of the Bible:

The Old Testament is God’s Word about Christ, for the message of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament – all of God’s promises to Jacob, Isaac and Abraham, as well as the royal line of King David. The covenantal promises that were made by God in the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in the New Testament testimony of Jesus Christ.

For in the past few years, I felt like I was in the inter-testamental period — the so-called 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testaments when it seemed like God was not speaking or working in Israel. God had promised his people a land to possess, a King who would rule over them, a Savior who would save them from their enslavement to the Greco-Roman powers.

In that time, the Scriptures do not tell of the faith of the Israelites, but it was there. In the silence, God was working. In the silence, God was working out his plan to redeem a people for himself. Those people and those generations probably struggled very hard to keep their faith and their Jewish religion: for without the Temple they were stripped naked of all that made them Jewish — except for the “boundary markers” of Sabbath, circumcision and food laws. Four centuries is a long time of silence, and nothing compared to the 3 years that I have experienced.

And despite the difficulty in keeping the faith, I now know that God had never forsaken me. He has kept the promises that he has made 100%. In these first days in my own so-called “new testament”, the means of salvation is the same as it was in the old: faith in God alone. In the New Testament, the way God saves his people has never changed, and is the same as it was in the Old Testament and Inter-testamental period: sola fide. Read the rest of this entry »

These words say exactly how I feel about right now about them “400 years of silence” that I have experienced with God in the past few years:

In Your grace, You know where I walk
You know when I fall
You know all my ways
In Your love, I know You allow
What I cannot grasp
To bring You praise

Thank You for the trials
For the fire, for the pain
Thank You for the strength
Knowing You have ordained
Every day

Your great power is shown when I’m weak
You help me to see
Your love in this place
Perfect peace is filling my mind
And drawing my heart
To praise You again

In my uncertainty, Your Word is all I need
To know You’re with me every day

Every Day - By Joel Sczebel and Todd Twining
As recorded on Come Weary Saints

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

This was last week’s Worship Quote of the Week. I’ve heard the first sentence of this quote referenced by pastors and worship leaders numerous times, and yet have never heard anybody reference the quote in fuller length. Here it is in all its glory, quoted within its context. If ever I can find time to read books outside of my “required” list for the classes I’m taking at Southern, Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy is certainly up at the top of this list!

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.

For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God.

–A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperCollins, 1961), 1. Reissue (1998)

My new Moleskine notebooks (large, ruled, in Red!) failed to arrive on time from Barnes & Noble today. UPS had a mess up…

Exception Reason: INCORRECT ROUTING AT UPS FACILITY

Exception Status/Resolution: THE PACKAGE WAS MISSORTED AT THE HUB. IT HAS BEEN REROUTED TO THE CORRECT DESTINATION SITE (RESOLUTION)

UPS: You have never failed me in the past. We’ve always had a very amicable relationship… but this was just unacceptable! I love you… but this is strike one :@ ARGGGH!!

Two weeks back at home in Toronto has come and gone pretty quickly, and I’m about to leave for Louisville again in about 8hours. My whole time I was home, I was mentally preoccupied with my baggage that Greyhound had lost. After a few phone calls earlier this week, I learned that they had found my luggage and that it was on its way from Detroit to Toronto. Yesterday (Wedns), I went downtown to pick up my luggage from the Toronto Greyhound station. Praise God, everything inside was intact and nothing was stolen

Let go, let God.

On Sunday, I visited the church of my former English Pastor and attended their English Worship service. It was a very small service, only max 25 people in the little classroom in which it was held. My main thought the moment I stepped into that little room was: “What am I ever going to preach to these little kids?!” The room was filled with little Chinese kids, mostly high school, a handful of university students and a few parents/deacons in the back. And me, the odd visitor from Kentucky. The church is looking for an English Pastor, and I am contemplating the possibility of becoming an “ordinary pastor”. If the opportunity came, what would I do? Pray for me and the sermon I would preach to this little flock on Sunday, July 27.

On Monday, I attended the wedding and reception of two long-time church friends. After a 1.5 year engagement (!) and about a decade of dating, they finally — F I N A L L Y — got married. The wedding ceremony was actually pretty good, with a pastoral exhortation in Cantonese that was pretty funny. The ceremony was actually enjoyable — though my mind was preoccupied with a certain somebody back in Louisville which made the time pass by much quicker! All in all, it was actually somewhat an enjoyable experience to catchup with friends I have not seen in a while. I’m very happy for the bride and groom and pray that their marriage would magnify God in Christ.

Wednesday night, I had a dinner at a friend’s place downtown. He’s recently graduated from Ryerson University and is about to head back to Hong Kong in July permanently to work for his families business. My friend Lili and her boyfriend (”the Nut”) was also there — Lili is leaving for Hong Kong in June, for a year, to teach English at a primary school. I’ve known Lili since my second year at Ryerson, and it is a sad occasion to say goodbye to her. I will miss her dearly, especially all the conversations we have had in the past 5 years about the drama I cause. Nevertheless, I hope to see her in Toronto in December for Christmas — hopefully to introduce her to my better half! LOL

Well, there’s more to be said about love and life. My mom’s grilled me enough about it during this trip home, and I have a few words to say about the maturity of Christian singles. I’ll save that for later. If I don’t post anything for the next little while, it’s because I’m attending the New Attitude conference from Sat thru Tues, and I’ve got a job interview on Wednesday for a “Seminary Housing Liason” position on-campus.  Pray for that — I need a job! lol

Ta ta for now…

You don’t have to make your mind up
I just wanna take my time with you
If that’s alright, it’s alright
Oh forgive me if I get too shy but
maybe you’re the reason why, love
I’m feelin’ butterflies

Somethin’ bout the look in your eyes
Oooh it just makes me feel so right

When my mind’s void, you’re my joy
You’re the dream when I sleep
And hey I’m for ya yeah I adore ya
you’re everything that I need
And I love how you love me
If I’m made for you, you’re made for me
It’s too good to be
So tell me what we’re gonna do now
Yeah tell me what we’re gonna do now

yeah yeah
Oh right now
See I love how you make me smile
Don’t leave please stay awhile
Let’s make this happen
I don’t care how

Right now lets stay in the present
Can’t worry bout tomorrow cause today is a blessing
The world in a state of aggression
I find calm in you, I see my mom in you
It’s like a feeling in ya stomach
when you want it so bad
If we keep keeping it fresh it ain’t gonna go bad
I’ve been through the valley of love
Rode through the shores of Cali just to find peace of mind
Looking to the sky asking for at least a sign
Beautiful you came at such a decent time
When we combine it’s like good food and wine
Flavorful yet refined — you remind me of the divine
So easy
Love can be lost and then found, like Stevie
I just love having you around
you wearing the gown, I’m wearing the crown
pound for pound, we the freshest couple in town

Ooh tell me what we’re gonna do

Joss Stone - Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now