Sharing is Caring

  ‘My circumstances have turned out …’   “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel”  (Philippians 1:12).     How do I look at the situation I am facing now?  Is this the situation I expected?  Perhaps the situation that I face now is a situation that I didn’t want or expected.  So now I am dissatisfied with my situation.  And now I am struggling because of my dissatisfied situation.  It is painful and I am distressed.  I wonder how long I have to stay in this hard and painful situation.  So when I look at my situation, I become discouraged and even despair.  There is no hope.  What should I do?   Today I read Bible Philippians 1:12.  In reading, I came to think about Apostle Paul saying “my circumstances have turned out ….”  First, I thought about the Paul’s circumstances. ...

  God who strengthens me     [Psalms 89:19-52]   I heard the news about a former baseball player in South Korea who murdered 4 people and took his own life.  I was wondering how a person could be so cruel and evil.  I was surprised to see that human cruelty is this much.  According to the news, this former baseball player has paid the money to others before committing suicide.  Maybe he killed those four people in order to steal their money.  In the end, I think that it was murder because of financial pressure.  I hear from people and in the news that not only America but also Europe and Asia as a whole are doing bad economically.  As a result, I think that this kind of sinful thing caused by financial pressure is being expressed.  Many people are depressed and frustrated, and feel desperate in despair.   Indeed, this world is full of sorrow and hardship.  It is a world fil...

  God who helps me     [Psalms 121]     Do you know that you need help?  If so, what do you do when you need help?  Who are you asking for help?  When I personally need help, I tend to sing the hymn “Jesus, My Lord to Thee I Cry”.  In particular, I like the words of verse three: “No preparation can I make, My best resolves I only break, Yet save me for Thine own name’s sake, And take me as I am” (Internet).  When I fall because my strength and determination are weak and when I feel like I need help urgently, I pray God and sing this hymn “Jesus, My Lord to Thee I Cry.”  And often the bible verse that comes to my mind is Psalms 121:1-2: “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?  My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.”  I want to meditate on the whole of Psalms 121 under the title of "God who helps me" and to receive the lessons God gives...

  Grace after disaster     “Thus says the LORD, "The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness-- Israel, when it went to find its rest” (Jeremiah 31:2).     God's thoughts toward us are peace (Jer. 29:11).  God's thoughts toward us are the future and hope (v. 11).  But our thoughts are different from God's thoughts (Isa. 55:8).  We have evil thoughts in our hearts (Mt. 9:4).  What comes out of our heart is an evil thought, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness (Mk. 7:21-22).  So our thoughts are sin (Prov. 24: 9).  God sees that every intent of the thoughts of our hearts is only evil continually (Gen. 6:5) and disciplines us only with justice (Jer. 30:11).  God disciplines us and bring disaster on us so that we may realize our sins and repent of our sins.  Even...

The testing of your faith     "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:2-3).     How do we react when trials come?  How do we react, especially when the trials are not one or two, but many?  Isn’t it so hard and painful that we aren’t only discouraged, but even in despair?  But the Bible James 1:2 says “Consider it all joy”.  How is this possible?  How can we consider it all joy when we encounter various trials?   The reason we should consider it all joy when we are subjected to various trials is because the testing of our faith produces endurance (Jam. 1:3).  And when we are patience to the end, we will be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (v. 4).  In fact, when we are faced with various trials, we sometimes realize our shortcomings.  For example, when we face trials we realize th...

Persecution is an opportunity! ”So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone” (Acts 11:19).           “Faith of our fathers! Living still In spite of dungeon, fire and sword; O how our hearts beat high with joy Whenever we hear God’s glorious Word … Faith of our fathers! We will love Both friend and foe in all our strife; And preach thee, too, as love knows how By kindly words and virtuous life” (Hymn “Faith our fathers”, verses 1 and 3).           We cannot but admit that it is God’s grace and love that we Christians are able to keep our faith even in persecution because we cannot do so with our own strength and power. That’s why we cannot help but be glad when we think about our faith that God has kept. Furthermore, when the believers love even their enemies and preach with kindly ...

  Wisdom that shines in crisis     “Go now, make more sure, and investigate and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning” (1 Samuel 23:22).     When I was little, my favorite TV comic program was "Tom & Jerry".  And now my three young children (especially the youngest one in elementary school) love “Tom & Jerry”.  The reason I liked that cartoon was because it was so funny that Jerry, the rat, wins a cat called Tom who is much bigger than Jerry.  In particular, I liked the scene in which Tom used all means to capture Jerry but clever Jerry not only escape the crisis but made Tom be in that crisis.  When I think of this comic, I remember the battle of David and Goliath in the Bible.  Perhaps because David was like Jerry and Goliath was like Tom.  As we already know, David wins the battle against the Philistine Goliath.  So King ...