100 Percent
- April 25, 2006 -
I’ve always been pretty cynical when I hear about celebrities and such donating to charities. I mean, it’s awesome that they give so much, and it truly does make a difference. But I always question their heart and motive behind the giving. Sometimes I feel its a publicity thing, where its simply to get their name out there. Other times, I feel like its to shine some good light on them, because of what they are doing. I question whether they do it for the sake of giving or for themselves to be glorified.
Jesus sat at the temple and watched people giving their offerings. The rich men gave so much money. The sound of all the coins hitting the offertory box would have been music to any treasurer’s ears. Everybody knew that they were giving, and that they were giving alot. And then came this poor widow, who quietly approached the offertory plate. She reached into purse, and pulled out 2 coins worth less than a penny, and dropped it in. The hollow sound of that might have made many people laugh. After the never-ending jingling of the coins the rich men gave, this widow had a quiet offering.
But Jesus said that this woman was blessed. He looked at her heart, and saw that she gave everything she had. The rich gave alot out of their wealth, but didn’t give everything. They kept what they wanted for themselves. They gave just enough to get people to think they were doing something great. But this widow, who could have easily kept her two coins to save up for her family without anyone giving a care, gave it to the Lord. God wasn’t looking at the dollar amount given, but the percentage of their lives that they were giving. And only the widow gave 100%.
Sometimes I feel like the widow, only with 2 small coins, that is worth nothing compared to those who have gone before me. I feel like what I have to offer won’t make any noise in the grand scheme of things. I also see all the things that I need personally, and feel like once I’m able to be sufficient for myself, then I can give for others. And other times, I’m get very proud with the talents and gifts that God has given me, and I come off as the rich men. I start to go all out, giving so much in comparison to others, where everybody notices. But I still keep just enough to keep me satisfied.
I need to find that middle ground. The understanding that I really have nothing. The understanding that with my nothing, God can do great things and make a lot of noise. The realization that God knows how much I have, how much I can give, and how much I actually do give. He’s asking for 100% of me. Who am I to sell him short? Take my two coins, Lord. You are my treasure.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | 
filed under: Personal No Comments | add a comment
Passion Week: (Easter) Sunday
- April 16, 2006 -
Plain and simple. If I could give a logical explanation as to why Jesus chose the cross, I would lessen the power of His grace. If I had a reason as to why we deserved to be saved, then salvation could be attained through more than just faith. What we did deserve was to have our flesh torn and our blood spilled. But Jesus, knowing that that wouldn’t unite us all, chose to face that pain Himself.
The amount of sin in our lives outweigh the amount of good we do. If you break one commandment, you’ve broken them all. And the only justice to that is death. Jesus recognized that, and loved us so much that He paid the price. But the story does not end on the cross. Even the cross wouldn’t have as much power if He didn’t rise on the third day. Our hope does not lie in the grave, but on the One who who rose out from the grave, overcoming every pressure and obstacle, and ascended to the throne of heaven. He overcame Hell so we wouldn’t have to.
Jesus is coming again. But for now we live in the present day Friday/Saturday. We live in a world torturing Jesus, disrespecting and falling away from Him. We live in a time of pure evil. But our hope is in the Sunday to come. There will be a time when He comes again, and gathers all the faithful who truly believed in Him. Then He will take them up with Him to paradise.
God created the world in 7 days, and has been preparing Heaven for us for over 2000 years. You think this world is beautiful? We’re living in a garbage can compared to what we’ll see up there. I long to spend eternity with Christ. He is my hope and my salvation, the only reason that I press on everyday. Simply accept and believe…He’s waiting to call you home.
“It’s Friday. Friday. And my Jesus, my Jesus is dead on a tree. But that’s Friday. MmmHmm. But Sunday’s a comin’. Friday? Friday, Mary’s crying her eyes out. Disciples are running in every direction, like sheep with a shepherd. But that’s Friday. Uh-huh, do you hear me? That’s just Friday! Sunday’s a comin’. Friday? Friday, those looking at the world saying, ‘things have been so things shall be, you can’t change nothing in this world! You can’t change nothing in this world, what you trying to do?!’ But they don’t know, uh-uh, they don’t know! It’s only Friday! You see, you see, Sunday’s a comin’! Friday? Oh Friday, them forces had oppressed the poor, keep people down! Them forces have destroyed lives and forces that are in control and think they’re gonna rule, but they don’t know, uh-uh, they don’t know. That it’s only Friday! Friday, oh my people, don’t you know? Sunday’s a comin’! Darkness is gonna rule, sadness is gonna be everywhere, but they don’t know it’s only Friday, they don’t know. Sunday’s a comin’. (pause) FRIIIIDDDDAAAAYYYY!!!!!!”
(and the church yelled back)
“SUNDAY’S A COMIN’!!!!!”
*pastorpaulkim – OIL2006
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal No Comments | add a comment
Passion Week: (Good) Friday
- April 14, 2006 -
Luke 23:32-34, 39-43
“Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals – one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divded up his clothes by casting lots…
…One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!’
But the other criminal rebuked him, ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’
Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’
Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’”
Good Friday consists of Jesus’ trial, his flogging, his mocking, the walk to Golgotha, and his crucifixion. We see Pilate urging the people not to crucify Jesus because there is no charge against him, and we see Peter denying Christ 3 times. Soldiers beat him and mock him, and Simon is forced to help Jesus carry the cross because, physically, Jesus is so weak and bruised.
As Jesus is being crucified, they put him in the center of two men who ‘deserve’ to die, two men that are getting just punishment. The soldiers continue to mock him, and continue to shout insults and divide his clothing. Yet, even through all of this, Jesus still has a heart of love. As he is being crucified, he cries out on behalf of these lost people, telling God that they don’t know what they are doing. He claims ignorance on our part so that we could be saved.
Jesus is one of the greatest lawyers ever. We are all on trial before God, and we don’t have any excuse. We are guilty of every charge that is brought against us. God is actually watching us as we commit each one of these sins. And then God calls us and asks us what do we plea, and before we have a chance to respond, Jesus stands up and screams, “IGNORANCE! These people don’t understand the truth. They have been blinded and taught lies, so they don’t realize the magnitude of their actions. Forgive them.” Now, I’ve watched my share of Law&Order, and I’ve seen many people use the insanity plea in order to help out their client. And many times, it worked. But ignorance was never a good excuse. And I’m sure God looked at Jesus and said, “I’m sorry. They deserve to be punished for their actions, and they deserve death.” And any other lawyer would be like, “That sucks. Well, I did what I could, I fought my hardest. I pulled out everything I knew to try to help you, but it just didn’t work.” But Jesus went a different route. He said, “You love these people too much to let them simply die with no hope. I will take the punishment so that they can live. Let my blood be spilled so that everyone who believes can be forgiven. After this, ignorance will no longer be the plea.” And so Jesus went up on that cross on our behalf.
Sometimes, I feel the only people experiencing great emotional distress during the judgment time was the Judge and our Lawyer. Here we are declared guilty, and given the punishment of eternal death. Then out of nowhere, the Lawyer, the Judge’s one and only Son, shouts out that He will take the punishment for us. And we have that initial sense of relief, and then turn away and forget it all. And here we have our Lawyer being beaten and mocked, going down the road we should have traveled, and we don’t see it. And the Judge is watching His Son go through all this pain and torture for us, because they love us. He looks at Christ in His pain and suffering, and then looks at us, and we have our backs turned, living our lives. What disrespect we show both Jesus Christ and God. Yet, even with this, when God looks at us He thinks, “I love them so much, that this is worth it.”
The last verses show one of the criminals realizing his sin and recognizing Christ, and desiring to be with Jesus. and Jesus told him “…today you will be with me in paradise.” I’ve been a skeptic when it comes to people receiving Christ on their deathbeds. Obviously, I personally won’t know until my time comes whether these people truly accepted Jesus. But it makes complete sense as to why they would. With your last breaths, you realize that everything you’ve been living for is coming to an end. You see that whatever you put value to, you aren’t going to have any more. For people being executed, the only hope you have no would be to put your hope in God. Why wouldn’t you accept Christ? And we see that God accepts these “last minute” acceptances. Over and over we read that God doesn’t want anyone to perish, and He chases them to the very end. Nobody who still has breath in them is hopeless.
Jesus went up on that cross for sinners: for liars, for thieves, for prostitutes, for pimps, for drunks, for cheaters, for murderers…for every person who broke even the “smallest” rule in the eyes of man, according to the Bible. At our first moment of being sinful, because of the sin of Adam and Eve, there was nothing we could do to stand before God. Our blood was not pure enough to be in His presence. So Christ chose to take His blood, the purest ever, to wash over us and cleanse us. It only took one drop and He covered humanity; past, present, and future. Yet he overflowed on us so that there would be no question in our minds. The blood has been spilled, forgiveness is flowing. The only question is, will you accept it? Be God’s. Get Saved.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal No Comments | add a comment
Passion Week: (Maundy) Thursday
- April 13, 2006 -
Luke 22:39-44
“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
The day before the crucifixion was when Jesus had the last supper with his disciples, gave the warnings of things to come, and then went to pray. The Bible is filled with many prayers, from many different people. But throughout all the ones that I have read, this prayer by Jesus is still one of the most powerful I’ve ever heard.
Jesus is the paradox that was 100% God and 100% man; completely mortal, yet completely divine. Though he had the divinity of God in him, he had self-imposed restrictions of human emotion and physical pain. At this point in his life, he knew that the next day he was going to be flogged and tortured and put on the cross. He knew that the person who would sell him out would be one of the 12 who had been following throughout his ministry. He knew that Peter was going to deny him as he carried the cross, and that all the people who were praising his name one week ago would now be shouting for his death. The few words that were written contain so much power, yet I don’t think it does justice for the agony that Christ was going through at the time.
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” We see the initial cry out to God as his father, as he is seeking the comfort and support that only a father could give. It was the intimate father-son relationship that Christ was clinging to at that moment, the one thing that he needed. Knowing that he would be facing the inevitable in less than 24 hours, he wanted his father. His next cry was for God to “take this cup from me.” Christ’s mortal side was experiencing so much pain both emotionally and physically, that he did not want to go through it. As a man, who would want to put himself through that torture? And as God, he could have easily said the word and the angels would have came down, surrounded him, and taken him back up to heaven. Jesus also said “if you are willing.” Basically seeking his desire to also be the same will as his father in heaven.
His ending prayer is what gets me the most. “Yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus first brought his own request and desire and everything his heart was feeling…he was not ashamed or fearful to bring what he had before God in prayer. But when all was said and done, Jesus’ true desire was to have God’s will complete. Basically, if his desire to remove the pain was not God’s will, then he would face whatever he had to. Now there’s a heart of love, a heart chasing after God. It’s a hard that truly has the kingdom in mind.
Jesus sacrificed his life for us, though his mortal flesh did not desire to go through it. It was purely because he loved us and desired for God’s will to be done. So many times I don’t want to push myself to sacrifice even a little bit for God’s kingdom. I’m so selfish. If there’s opposition or pain or anything, I want to just get up and leave. I cry out, “Lord, take it away! I don’t want it!” And I see nothing wrong with that, because there’s no reason to hide my heart from the one who sees into the depths of my soul. But it is clear that I don’t truly desire the heart of God. It’s so difficult for me to pray “not my will but yours be done.” That’s total surrender. That’s accepting that I know nothing, and God knows everything. That’s giving up complete control. And sometimes, I just can’t do it.
But praise God that Jesus was 100% God. He surrendered himself to the ultimate will of God so that we can have eternal life. He chose God’s will over his own fleshly desires. If Christ were anything like me, the world would still be destined for hell. Praise God that Christ is not like me.
But pray that I learn to be more like Christ.
Torn flesh and spilled blood…poured out for the forgiveness of sins…AMEN.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal No Comments | add a comment
Passion Week: Wednesday
- April 12, 2006 -
The Bible doesn’t specifically mention what happened on this day, but it’s assumed that Jesus probably stayed in Bethany with His disciples. With that being said, I figured I might just do a quick post dealing with Lent again.
In a couple of days the Lenten season will be complete. Everyone will go back to eating meat, watching ESPN, devouring chocolate, and anything else they gave up. The question I ask is was the last 40 days truly a fast or a feast?
Fasting in and of itself doesn’t really do much spiritually. If we fast for the sake of fasting, we are simply testing our own will power. It turns into a game of “I really want it, but I’m strong enough to fight it. This is hard, but at least I’m not doing it.” All our focus becomes directed at the things we are fasting from, and we feel proud or accomplished when we overcome those desires. But in reality, the last 40 days are supposed to be a time of feasting. A time when we feast on the Word of God. In every moment when we feel a desire to return to what we fasted from, at every point we feel tempted or compelled to break the fast, we should be fulfilling ourselves with the Lord. Otherwise, there’s really no point in fasting…especially during Easter.
I feel many people “fast” during Lent because that’s just what you’re supposed to do. For most of my life I never fasted during Lent, mainly because I didn’t recognize the importance of fasting. I felt that people never really had the right motives, and it turned into simply a 40 day wait before they could indulge in their guilty pleasures again. Only over the past few years has it hit me that “even though others might have the wrong heart in things, I can redeem my own motives for the glory of God.” And since food has never been a huge issue for me, I’ve been fasting more from items of entertainment, such as ESPN or TV. What I’ve realized is that as time progresses, I simply lose the desire for those things. I recognize they aren’t a necessity for me, and I don’t long for them or desire to partake in it as often. Overall, that sounds good. But the problem is that once I reach that point, since I don’t have that strong desire, I don’t have the “reason” to be fulfilled by the Word of God, since I didn’t really fast from something that left me empty.
There are moments in my life when the Word of God seems so new and alive, and when I feel so much power in it. And there are other times it just looks repetitive and usual. Satan uses the “regularity” of Scripture to pull me away from the Word. And then he uses my personal pride in not being so addicted to worldly things to feel content with my current situation, and not long for anything greater. It’s a struggle and a battle to be consistent in studying the Word and meeting regularly with God. It’s a discipline that I can’t say I truly have together.
Many times, Jesus compared Christian life to that of building a house or growing a tree. He said that it needed a firm foundation or else it would be uprooted or washed away once troubles and torrents hit. And sometimes, the only way to make sure you have that foundation is through repetitive work. Digging a hole might seem very mundane over time, but the deeper you dig, the stronger your foundation will be. In the same way, reading the Word and praying might seem so simple and feel so old at times, but it’s disciplines like that that will keep you standing firm when strong problems arise.
As the Lenten season comes to a close, I know that I did grow closer to God during this time, but I know I didn’t chase Him as I should have. I can say right now that I have a stronger desire and passion to know God more. But once Sunday comes, will I give it up? Does my fast become my feast, and vice versa? Will I put God to the side again and indulge on chocolate, ESPN, meat, etc.? I sure hope not. The cross of Christ was not meant to be remembered just on Easter Sunday. That cross symbolizes my forgiveness for every sin. So with every sin, I need to return to the cross. Even though He’s risen, the blood continues to flow to wash me white as snow. Praise the Lord.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal No Comments | add a comment
Passion Week: Tuesday
- April 11, 2006 -
Mark 12:28-34
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’
‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Isreal, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and wtih all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourlsef.’ There is no commandment greater than these.’
‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’
When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.”
On the third day, Jesus was at the temple, and it was a time of teaching for him. It was also a time of attack from the Pharisees, Sadduccees, and teachers of the law. By now, all of them were already plotting ways to capture Jesus and get rid of him, because he had stirred up so much opposition to them. But they knew that they couldn’t just take Jesus for no reason, because there would be a great revolt and uproar by the people, who were leaning on every word that Jesus spoke. So the basic plan (as it seemed to always be) was to try to trick Jesus into messing up on his words, which would then give them a reason to arrest him.
They questioned the authority that Jesus had, they questioned paying taxes, they questioned theology of marriage vows in heaven. And everytime, Jesus answered them plainly, with words that they could not refute. Jesus quoted Old Testament Scripture for them to prove his point, which the teachers were so skilled in knowing. Jesus used each opportunity of being challenged and questioned as a way to teach the people, and correct the wrong mentality of the the Pharisees.
This last challenge Jesus received was probably one of the most powerful. The teacher of the law basically asked Jesus to set the ultimate foundation of faith, the crux of what believing in God is all about. He asked for the greatest commandment of all. I’m not a person who has a lot of favorites, because I always feel things are situational, and at certain times I’d like one thing more than another. I can never make such a definite claim about anything, because I’d feel that I was lying. By claiming something is a “favorite” or the “best” or “greatest,” you are setting in stone your stance, and will be held to it. If I were Jesus, I would have probably asked them another question that they couldn’t answer, so I could avoid having to answer this one.
But Jesus told them, “Love God. Love People. Nothing else matters.” (stolen from MissionYear). And when you sum up the 10 commandments, that’s basically what it says. The first 4 commandments are about loving God (have no other gods before God, do not make idols, don’t misuse the name of the Lord, Keep the sabbath day holy) and the last 6 deal with loving others (honor parents, don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t bear false witness, don’t covet). If you hold the ‘greatest commandment’, everything else would fall into place. If you truly love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, then you wouldn’t murder someone else out of your devotion to God. It seems so simple, yet its so difficult to follow.
With loving God, Jesus set 4 pillars that the love must stand on: heart, soul, mind, strength. This is a total body love of Christ. Internally, externally; emotionally, intellectually, physically; everything within us needs to have true love and utter devotion to Christ. It might be easy for some of us in our minds to think “Yes, I love Jesus” but do not use our strength to fight our sinful desires and show the love physically (i.e. follow his commands: do not let any unwholesome talk come from your mouth, do not fall into drunkeness). Other people might be morally upright, doing everything good and nice. But internally, they don’t believe Christ died for them, and they don’t do good things for the glory of God, but more so for their own reptuation or character growth. Jesus is saying that in order to truly love God, your heart needs to be broken and changed, your soul needs to be saved, your mind needs to believe, and your strength needs to act. If you put all of this together, then you will be constantly loving God.
The second command Jesus gave was very bold. He told them/us to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Do you know what he was saying? He basically said, “You guys are so selfish. You love yourself so much. You love yourselves more than you love God even. The only person that you truly love with all your heart, soul, mind and strength is yourself. If I tell you to love others in a similar manner of loving God, you wouldn’t understand that, because that isn’t where your greatest love lies. But you all love yourselves so much. Love others in that way.” The sad thing is it’s so true. We are selfish beings, always looking out for ourselves first, and others next. Again, the world teaches us to be skeptics of those around us, and make sure you’re taken care of before anyone else. We live in a culture of “do what it takes” to get ahead; it doesn’t matter who you push down as long as you’re pushing yourself up. But Christ came with a revolutionary concept: with the hand you use to lift yourself up, use it to lift someone else up. Again, this all comes from devotion to God, knowing that God loves these people so much, our love for God reflects that. There are many people who I don’t mix well with, but because they are friends of friend’s of mine, I show them love. Because I know of the relationship they hold with people I love, it causes me to love them as well. If we realize that God loves all these people and we love God, then we in turn would love these people.
Jesus’ last statement gave me so much hope for the Pharisees and teachers of the law. He said “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” So many times, I have this mindset that every Pharisee was a sinner destined to hell with no hope. But there were people who knew the truth. And Jesus told this man that He was really close. He had the mental understanding. He knew the information, and believed that Jesus was right in his claims. As always, he was lacking, but he was getting closer to the Kingdom. There was hope. When I look around, there are people who seem hopeless. People who’ve rejected the truth time and time again, people who’ve tried to disprove everything God says. But God hasn’t given up on them, and so I can’t either. I just need to keep praying for them and try to be used as a light around them. If it is God’s will, they will come to Christ. And I want to be celebrating with them when it happens.
To this lost generation, merely a few days before his crucifixion, Jesus went into the temple to continue preaching and teaching. He did not relax because his time was short, but he persevered to the end. He did not give up on any of them, but wanted to keep pressing and serving God until His last breath. In the same way, I want to be faithful to my call until the Lord rips me away from wherever I am at. When all is said and done, I want to say with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Press on. The Lord did.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal No Comments | add a comment
Passion Week: Monday
- April 10, 2006 -
Mark 11:15-17
“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written:
‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?’
But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’
Jesus was a very passionate person. And He desired to see the kingdom of God revealed so much, that He did everything according to the will of God in order for that to happen. And many times, we read of Jesus rebuking the Pharisees and teachers of the law, and sometimes it seems pretty harsh. The parables He used were so blatant about their wrongful lifestyles, and many times He just came out and told people “watch out for the Pharisees.” But this time, not only did Jesus speak words against those opposing Him, but He physically caused a spectacle.
People become very angry and emotional when there are attacks on things they love the most. I’ve known people that have had new cars or new shoes, and if someone scratched it a little or got it a little dirty, they would seriously flip out. When a person’s reputation and character are on the line, They do whatever they can to clear up their name, because that image is so important. Here, we see Jesus thoroughly disgusted with what the people were doing in the temple, and He was not going to stand for it. If they weren’t going to listen to His words, He was going to take it one step further. He flipped tables and benches, and physically stopped others from carrying things through the temple. Now that is passion.
I’m reminded of this everytime I see my church have bake sales and food sales and such to raise money. I don’t see anything completely wrong with it, and it’s a great way to raise money to go back into the church, but I have this picture of Jesus running through and flipping everything over. I feel like He thinks to himself, “Today I said was the day I set apart for you to worship me, and here you are sitting in the basement of the temple discussing prices for food!” The church was not meant to be a convenience store, but a house of prayer. The words stemming from our lips should not be about dollars and cents, but rather praises and worship to the God who saved us.
We’ve lost sight of what “the church” is. We don’t give it as much reverence, we don’t treat it with as much respect. There was so much preparation in the Old Testament before people would enter into the temple, and only high priests after many rituals would be allowed on the altar. Yet here, people walk into the church talking on cell phones, throwing around balls, running through the aisles. Do we realize that this is a place of worship, a sanctuary for God? Total disrespect. We’ve become so relaxed with our preparation so as to not become legalistic or something, and we’ve lessened the power of the presence of God. We need to get back the same reverence for the church of God. We need to see it as a place where the spirit dwells. We need to enter it with awe, with humility, and with gratefulness.
It’s been said that our bodies are a temple of God. Is God in your heart? And if so, is He so disgusted with what He sees that He wants to start flipping tables and benches? Our hearts cannot be divided between God and things of this world. We cannot serve to masters…It’s not God and Money, God and Education, God and Status, God and Relationship…it’s just God. Once we cleanse ourselves of the filth that we’ve turned our hearts into, we’ll be able to truly have a place that we are proud to call a sanctuary of God. Let’s clean up this temple. Let’s build an altar and give praise to God. Always.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal No Comments | add a comment
Passion Week: (Palm) Sunday
- April 9, 2006 -
Today starts the first day of Passion Week, the week prior to Easter Sunday, when we celebrate Jesus’ ressurection from the dead. It’s a time to reflect on Christ’s life and death, the price he paid, the journey he traveled, all for our sake. Though we are undeserving, he went through so much, not because of anything we are, but because of everything that He is. God is good.
Luke19:28-40
After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs. it.’”
Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
It’s hard to imagine that one week after this big fanfare, all these people would be calling for Christ’s crucifixion. The same people who were chanting his praises and laying down palm leaves and cloaks for Jesus would become the people who chanted to free Barabbas and put Jesus up on the cross. What’s even more amazing is that Christ knew about all of that the whole time. He had the vision of things to come, yet continued to make the journey.
Jesus looked into the eyes of hypocrites and 2-faced people. He crossed paths with people who patted him on the back with one hand, and were preparing to stab him in the back with the other. While he knew this, what was Jesus’ response? Love. Pity. Passion. He knew they were weak and sinful, and it broke his heart. He knew that he would be put to death, but because it was for these people, he chose to continue on.
And Jesus looks down on us in the same way. Many times, we lift up praises to God, claiming He’s so great and so powerful and so wonderful and we are so thankful. And then later we turn away from everything he commands us…we seek to please our selfish desire, we push God to the side, we fall to drunkeness and unwholesome talk and self gratification. And we don’t see anything wrong with it. But Christ looks at us amazed…amazed at how out of one mouth can come great praises and great condemnation. How out of one being there can be such devout following of certain commands, yet blatant disregard to others. And through this amazement, Christ thinks, “Man, these people cannot save themselves. No matter what they do, they are so sinful. They cannot stand in the presence of the Almighty God because of their sin. But I love them. I will take the punishment, cover them with my blood, and they will be redeemed and capable of joining My Father in His glorious kingdom.” Such love. The pain and torture, the mockery and shame, Christ did it all for our sake.
Jesus told the Pharisees, “If they keep quiet the stones will cry out.” I believe the day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (hopefully out of a joyful, willing choice). But I don’t think that anything will be able to withstand giving praises to God. The wind, the waves, the trees, the rocks…everything will erupt in praise to God. How sad would it be if the stones outside shout more praises to God than I do. They don’t even have a soul to be saved, the rocks are mere objects. And here I am, forgiven and redeemed, given mercy and grace for eternity, and I try to send up shy whispers? I don’t want to lose a praising contest to a rock. With every breath I am going to praise His name. My God is great. I exalt Him. Hosanna. Praise the Lord. Amen.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal No Comments | add a comment
Immature 21
- April 4, 2006 -
Alexis just started to learn how to crawl. After years (9 months) of my coaxing and encouraging her, she finally started. And I’m all the way out at U of I when it happened. Sadness. But at least I know I’m one of the main reasons why she’s able to crawl now. (I’m so vital in her life…)
Even before she started crawling, we had to always keep an eye on her (obviously). Anything within arms reach she would reach out and grab, and many times tried to put it in her mouth and shove it down her throat (i.e., her hand and foot). And you would have to grab her hand and pull it out of her mouth and say in a very stern voice, “Alexis, No. We don’t put our foot in our mouths.” Even still, she continues to try to put more things in her mouth, or throw things at people, no matter how many times you tell her no.
And now that she’s mobile, its become time for the parents to go crazy. Baby-proof the entire house. No open outlets, gates up everywhere, safety hinges on cabinets, foam padding on table corners…you’d think you were in an insane asylum or something. But they do what they have to do in order to keep her safe. They’re going to have to keep telling her not to do things, and pulling herself away from stuff that can hurt her.
Now, instead of almost 1 year old, what if she was 21 years old? What if I was telling you these same stories? What if I was like, “Alexis keeps trying to put scissors in sockets” or “she’s always shutting off the TV when people are watching something” or “when there’s a conversation and she’s not getting attention, she throws a tantrum and starts throwing things”? What if we constantly had to sit her down and say “Alexis, we don’t put scissors in the electrical socket”, everytime she did that? And what if after awhile, she starts putting knives in the electrical socket and then tells you “you told me not to put scissors in there; why didn’t you tell me not to put knives?”
For one, I’d think she was a huge brat. I think we’d also consider her very immature, too. When people are little babies and just growing up, it’s understandable that you need to repeat directions over and over to them, and physically pull them from things and such, because they just don’t know any better. Ignorance is a valid claim, because they don’t have the experiences or training to know right from wrong many times, good from bad, or how to transfer knowledge from one situation to help a decision in another. But when you get older, you start to take the foundational lessons that you learned and build on it. By understanding the basis behind everything, you start to see clearly other areas where similar things occur. You realize that you don’t put a pair of scissors in the elctrical socket not just because the two don’t go together, but because the scissors are metal and electricity travels very easily through it and will produce a shock. And with that knowledge, you know that you shouldn’t put any sort of metal object in a scket that’s not made specifically to go there. You don’t need someone to tell you this…you figure it out on your own.
Spiritually, we continue living like we are 2. We cry out that we are infants and newborns and don’t know better. And in one sense, we are. We are all very young in our faith, very new to everything, and have a whole lot to learn. But for many of us, we’re living like 22 year olds, who look like they are two. When we first became Christians, God made things clear for us. He made things somewhat easy for us…bringing us great joy in His Word, giving us strength to pray, loving to worship. We felt like insights about our lives and such were just hitting us left and right.
And then over time, it stopped being so easy. We try planning for a future, and we cry out, “Lord, give me a sign, just tell me what you want me to do.” And if I were God, I’d be thinking, “What!?!? You’re grown up now. I’m not going to make all the decisions for you. My joy is not in telling you what to do, but seeing that you’ve grown to be able to make right decisions on your own.” We want the easy life. We want everything laid out very clearly. And anywhere there is question or doubt, we want God to simply tell us where to go, what to do, when to do it. We are so immature. We’ve had so much training…so many experiences. Now it’s up to us to take that training and use it for our lives. We need to stop being immature babies. We need to grow up. The hands of protection aren’t going to always pull us away at the first sight of danger: we need to learn from our mistakes and no not to touch the hot stove again, and push that farther to know not to touch anything hot like that. Now that’s discernment. We can’t claim ignorance after all these years…now, it’s just immaturity.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal No Comments | add a comment
