Sharing is Caring

A respected person       [Acts 5:33-42]       In South Dakota, USA, there is a landmark called ‘Mount Rushmore.'   It features the faces of former U.S. presidents such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt carved into a massive 18-meter cliff, revered by the American people.   Recently, there was a survey asking, ‘If you were to carve the face of a person you admire on Mount Rushmore, whose face would you choose?’   The top choice among college students was Martin Luther King Jr.   The U.S. annually selects a respected figure through surveys.   Jesus has consistently been the undisputed first choice.   Following Jesus, it used to be Abraham Lincoln.   However, this year, Martin Luther King Jr. has become the second choice after Jesus.   The youth of America have chosen to admire black civil rights activist over Hollywood stars or popular singers.   Why di...

  A man of prayer (2)     [Nehemiah 1:4-11]     A farmer encountered a huge bear in the mountains.   He was terrified and collapsed on the spot.   And he fervently prayed: ‘God, change this bear's heart to meekness.’   The farmer prayed for a while and opened his eyes.   But the bear was also sitting and praying.   The farmer was very moved to think that his prayer had been answered: ‘God answered my prayer so quickly.   My prayer touched the bear's heart.’   Then the bear finished praying and looked at the farmer with a deep expression and said: ‘I have no idea what you are praying for.   I just prayed with food in front of me’ (Internet).   What is the lesson for us in this amusing example of prayer?   There are times when we, like the farmer, think we have received answers to our prayers and are mistaken.   Then, how should we pray to God in order to receive answers to our prayers?  ...

A man of prayer (1)     [Nehemiah 1:1-4]       On the afternoon of Sunday, December 21, 2003, according to God's grace and guidance, I became the senior pastor of Victory Presbyterian Church.   The following year, in January 2004, I chose the Book of Nehemiah among the 66 books of the Bible and began to proclaim the word of God.   The reason I chose the Book of Nehemiah is because I had a heart that longed for the Lord to accomplish the work of rebuilding Victory Presbyterian Church through us while meditating on Nehemiah with the concept of “rebuilding”.   In particular, I wanted the Lord to build a “wall” again while tearing down our “walls” that had foundations but collapsed, or our “walls” that needed to be demolished.   How should we rebuild the “walls” that have been or should be demolished in our church?   Pastor J. I. Packer, in his book “A Passion for Faithfulness: The Wisdom of Nehemiah,” said: ‘Nehemiah bui...

The Word became flesh (8)       [John 1:1-4, 9-14]                       Let me ask the question: When God created Adam and Eve, did God intend for them to be served or to serve? The answer is that God created Adam and Eve for the purpose of serving.   So, Adam and Eve must have served well.   But in Genesis 3, Eve was deceived by the serpent, the most cunning of the wild beasts (Gen. 3:1).   The key to that delusion was “You will be like God”: “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (v. 5).   Why did the serpent, Satan, deceive Eve like this?   The reason is that Satan himself, a fallen angel and an evil angel, wants to be like the Most High God.   Look at Isaiah 14:12-14: “ How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have ...