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Finally free from Facebook!

Well, it’s been three days since being of Facebook, and it has been much better!  If you’re wondering how this post is possible, it’s because that I have a Xanga account and my blog is connected to Facebook; whatever notes I write on Xanga will also be copied and posted on Facebook.  Don’t worry – I’m not cheating! XD

So why the immediate unannounced decision?  Here are the main factors:

1.       The Holy Spirit.  This has been something he has been convicting me of – spending too much time on FB.  Even while chatting with friends online, I’ve also found myself wasting time by checking out photos, awaiting the next response from the other person, etc, instead of fulfilling other important responsibilities (like reading stuff for Discipleship!!!).  Even without the below reasons, the Holy Spirit bringing conviction is enough for me to cut off FB.

2.       Jonathan Edwards.  I’m beginning to be more grateful for him.  Ever since listening to his messages on the SermonAudio podcasts (thanks Daniel!), I’ve been listening to his messages about the preciousness of time and the perils of procrastination. 

3.       Mark Driscoll.  I listened to one of his messages from Proverbs about planning, and one point he made was that there needs to be some parts/activities in my life that’s taking up space and needs to be taken away.  God brought conviction that I was using FB.

4.       My season of life.  Right now I have a lot of events that will require more attention, such as discipleship, rotations, prepping for my practicum project, and especially Midyear.  On top of that, doing a deeper New Testament study on the theme of worldliness starting next week!  So looking forward to that!... 

One important qualification/correction – the decision was not “immediate”.  Sadly, I’ve ignored the Spirit’s voice numerous times.  BUT... only because of the cross and the power of the Spirit, it’s been an “eventual” decision, and one I trust will be fruitful down the road! 

Have I lost out?  Sure; I don’t get to see how friends are doing, new photos, event invites, etc.  That’s true… but I’ve gained a whole lot more!  More time to study on worldliness (officially starting next week!), time to work out, time to complete my rotation assignments, more time to prepare for discipleship, more time to invest in the lives of others, more time to evangelize, more time to stay in shape, and many more.  Most importantly, more time to spend with God and pursuing him! 

It’s like that one fast Eric Simmons mentioned in a breakout he gave at New Attitude a couple of years ago.  He mentioned one of the guys in the CG fasting from all forms of entertainment for a month and the CG decided to join him in this as well.  This brought two results:

1.       They realized how much time they really had!

2.       They grew tremendously in the faith!

When filling out the 1-day free personal trainer sheet earlier this morning, they asked what are the three factors outside of health that are important to me; I wrote down these only because of what the cross has made actual:

1.       Glorifying God

2.       Serving others

3.       Making the best use of the time

I pray that this time off would be directed to those three goals and bear some awesome fruit for his glory.  So grateful for his grace and that only the cross has made this actual!  Soli Deo Gloria!

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Saturday's Mishap... another evidence that God DOES have a sense of humor!

So, since all of you enjoy hearing about how much of an idiot I am, I hope and trust this provides entertainment!

It was around 9:30 Saturday morning, and so I hear the two dogs yap upstairs (Bailey and Julie – both are Jack Russels.  For those of you unfamiliar to them, think hyperactive).  And I figured they wanted to go out, so I did.  And I shut the door, then wanted to head back in, and the doorknob was locked (with my keys, wallet, AND cell phone inside).  Ran to my separate entrance, and that was locked.  And, to top it off, Bailey was running away so I grabbed her by her bandana, and put her up on the deck, and moved the gate over so they wouldn’t get out.  I tried fixing the automatic garage door’s PIN, all to my failure.  I went over to my next door neighbor’s house, thinking they would get in contact with the Sheltons (who I live with) or have a spare key – they weren’t home.  And to make this more interesting, I was only wearing my shirt I sleep in and gym shorts… no footgear!  So after many futile attempts to get in, I found a set of keys in Bill’s work van, and tried to get in, but that wouldn’t work.  Fortunately, there was a key to his van, to which I drove over to Josh Holcomb’s house (since I figured he would be home) – in God’s kindness, my assumption was correct!

I show up at Josh’s place, sharing how I know it’s awkward that I’m showing up at his place at 10:20 on a Saturday morning without any footgear and means of communication, and I can’t get in touch with the Sheltons.  Thankfully (and because Josh has a servant’s heart), he allowed me in.  I called Bill and Leisa, and only left messages.  In the meantime, I hung around his house, made some cookies, cleaned dishes, and played some Wii.  Then this thought… what about the dogs?!  And to make things more interesting, Josh has a cat.  So I explained that I didn’t want to leave the dogs alone, outside in the heat and everything.  Back I went in the van, and I successfully retrieved the dogs and stuffed them in the van.  I think that as I was on my way over I had Julie in a headlock and made sure Bailey wouldn’t do anything funny.  Success, the dogs were placed in the Holcomb’s garage, and off Josh and I went to play Wii along with Daniel.  Eventually, their dad got in touch with Bill, and he gave me the pin number, and off I went to get the car!  But when I was about to go home (also passed two Mormon brothers…), there were police cars before I turned left onto Route 9 (and no Mike, I didn’t yell).  They asked for my license and registration.  Uhmm… all I could tell them was my absurd (yet true) story that I locked myself out of my own house, this isn’t my van, and I’m going to get my license (and that I’m from New Jersey and that I’m down here finishing up my last year of pharmacy school).  10 minutes pass, and they couldn’t find me after I gave them my name, DOB, and social security number; eventually he let me go.  So I got back to my place, and got my phone, wallet, and keys!  I returned back to the Holcomb’s, after showing the same cop that my story was true (I knew he believed me, but I wanted to reassure him I was serious!), retrieved the dogs, thanked Josh for serving me, got the dogs back, gave them a biscuit, and told ‘em both to SHUT UP!!!!!!!!  Then went back to laundry and filling out some forms.

God has a great sense of humor, doesn’t he?!  J

Leviticus and the Gospel

Well, summer usually is the time where libraries encourage everyone (especially kids) to begin reading even more; by God’s grace I’ve found a LOT of grace in doing just that.  The book I recently finished has had an immediate effect (and by God’s grace an enduring one) about grasping the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for sinners like you and me.  And ironically, this is the book that most Christians “find it easy to fall asleep to”.  It’s the book where God’s laws about cleanliness is vividly described, about what is “clean” and “unclean”, the prescribed actions to take for testing leprosy, what to do in cases of bodily discharges, and many other laws.  Yes, I’m talking about Leviticus.

But the book of Leviticus doesn’t open up with a list of do’s and don’ts.  Rather, the book opens up with different types of offerings: burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings.  Moses goes on in detail about what is required for the worshipper in terms of what to bring to the priest, maintaining a state of cleanliness, and the procedure of handling these offerings.  Very bloody was it in the tabernacle, and eventually the temple!  Think about it – a priest would go home smelling like the carcass of a bull, goat, bird, sheep, and/or a ram!  They would be informed by the Holy One about how many were animals needed to be killed and in what way, if hands were to be laid on them, how its blood was to be used, and if they were allowed to eat any portions!  This is what God requires for a burnt offering for birds (to which I almost gagged in disgust, thinking about what that must have looked like!):

“If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or pigeons. And the priest shall bring it to the altar and wring off its head and burn it on the altar. Its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. He shall remove its crop with its contents and cast it beside the altar on the east side, in the place for ashes. He shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (Leviticus 1:14-17, emphasis added).

What must it be like to witness such gruesomeness?  Grain offerings weren’t so bad as far as blood goes, but the requirements God places upon the priests!  But the longest “offering guidelines” the Lord talks about is the sin offering, what to do if anyone sins unintentionally (4:2), if the whole congregation sins unintentionally (4:13), when a leader sins unintentionally (4:22), if a common person sins unintentionally (4:32), and if anyone sins deliberately (5:1)!  Listen, we need an atoning sacrifice, without which no one can be in right relationship with the Lord, the Holy One who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16).  And the book goes on!  Talking about how the priest is to handle these offerings!  Sadly, Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron’s sons, offer unauthorized fire in the tent before the Lord, and pay for such a costly mistake with their very lives consumed by the fire they offer (10:1-2).  As concerned as God is with sin, so he is more concerned about what we try to do with it.  There is no offering we can make in our own ability to assuage God’s holy wrath towards our sin.  Only God can provide that remedy!  And that’s what God has helped me to see and glory in through this obscure book of the Bible.  No human can offer anything that would for all time satisfy God’s holiness; only God can do that, and he did.  Leviticus is all about how a holy God and sinful man can live in right relationship – through a substitutionary sacrifice that would satisfy God’s holiness and also display God’s incredible love!  Leviticus is all about Jesus Christ; the one who would be the priest offering the sacrifice, the tent where the sacrifice was made, and the sacrifice itself!

By God’s grace, two years ago I memorized the book of Hebrews, which is an incredible book about the superiority of Christ!  Though I’m light years away from Luther’s brilliant mind, I hope that I can say that to some degree, Hebrews is my “Katherine” (Luther’s wife’s name).  I love it – no other book has captured my heart more than Hebrews.  “So why make that side note?  Big deal!” you may be thinking.  True, but I hope to bridge the gap and be used by God to encourage you to worship Jesus!

As I read Leviticus about the sacrifices, the tent, and the priest that would offer these sacrifices, the phrase that would keep ringing in my ears is this: once for all.  Nowhere in Leviticus do you find it, for “the Law (and thereby the sacrifices) made nothing perfect” (Hebrews 7:19).  The theme of “once for all” is communicated several times in Hebrews, and I hope and want you to leave this post more aware of the supremacy of Christ, leaving you to worship the One who satisfied the Father’s wrath in your place!  Here’s a small bit of the “once for all” concept in Hebrews (emphasis added); please as you read those words, let those three words sink in!

·         “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself” (7:27)

·         “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (9:11-12)

·         “Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (9:25-26)

·         When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (10:8-10)

·         One of my favorites: “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (10:11-14)

And the best news about this new covenant relationship with God is this in a closing summary: “where there is forgiveness of these (sins that you and I have committed against God), there is no longer any offering for sin” (10:18)!  That’s it; it is FINISHED!  We don’t have to bring anything because Jesus Christ brought EVERYTHING in himself!  The blood of animals offered symbolizes its life, which God has given to make atonement for our souls; it is its blood that makes atonement by its life (Lev. 17:11)!  And as Hebrews 10:4 says, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins!  But the blood of Christ, his perfect blood, makes perfect atonement for us.  God has indeed provided the remedy for our depravity!  Jesus Christ offered the sacrifice; indeed, he was the sacrifice! 

So what are we to do because of what this great High Priest has done for us?  I’ll leave you with Hebrews 10:19-25, then by God’s grace apply what his word says (emphasis added)! 

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Now step away from the computer and let's worship Jesus Christ for his subsitutionary life and death on the cross for sinners like you and me!

The Greatest Miracle of All

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 - John 1:14

As we embark another year of celebrating the Savior’s birth, let us stand in awe of such a miraculous act from the Divine.  The Word which, existed from eternity past with the Father and the Spirit, the Word who knew perfect relationship with the Trinitarian Godhead (being a part himself), the Word who was worshipped by myriads and myriads of angels, the Word who was perfect, sinless, and eternal; this Word became flesh!  Let us marvel at his humiliation, “who though he was in the form of God… made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7).  Let us marvel at his compassion and how he broke the power of sin and death for those who call on the name of the Lord– “since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death… and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14-15).  Let us marvel at how much he suffered for us – “in the days of his flesh Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cryings and tears, to him who was able to save him from death… although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:7-8).  This Word became flesh!  As if that wasn’t enough, the next part should blow us away – HE DWELT AMONG US!!!

Literally, “dwelt among us” is the word “tabernacled”.  He set up his camp among vile sinners like us!  In the Old Testament, the tabernacle signified God’s very presence, and that God was with them (Exodus 25:8; 2 Samuel 7:9)!  Wherever God commanded Israel to go, God was right there with them!  Even in the midst of Israel’s flagrant sins, God was still among them!  When it says “the Word… dwelt among us,” God took the initiative to set up camp and to dwell among sheep that had no shepherd!  In our depravity, we would have never wanted God to come down and dwell among us; we would never desire a way to get right with God, nor would we comply with his terms.  We were ungodly in every sense of the word, we were “foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another” (Titus 3:3).  We were “dead in our trespasses and sins… children of wrath like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:1, 3).  We were “weak… [and] still sinners… alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds” (Romans 5:6, 8; Colossians 1:21).  This is who we once were, and it was those whom Jesus set his infinite, eternal, boundless love upon!  And in eternity past, the Son of God was fully aware of that, and still desired to do the Father’s will and go to endless lengths to reconcile the Holy God and vile sinners through becoming a man, taking on flesh, and dying on that cross for our sins!

That is why the Son of God took upon another nature – humanity!  He actually took pity upon our helpless state!  See what kind of love that the Eternal One has shown.  The agent of carrying out Creation becomes created himself!  The eternal one enters into the limitations of time and space!  The omniscient one becomes a baby and grows up as a man (while still being God).  The invisible one has appeared – HE APPEARED (Titus 2:11)!  The one who was the prophesied Immanuel (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14) becomes a real man – God with us!  Jesus came to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8b), bring us near with his own blood, and we have seen him! 

For those who have trusted in Christ to save them from their sin and death, we have seen him!  John actually beheld the Savior in his transfiguration (Mark 9), his crucifixion (John 19); the Spirit was the one who opened our blinded eyes to see the Savior for who he really is (Ephesians 1:18)!  We now see Jesus as the source of God’s wisdom (Colossians 2:2; 1 Corinthians 1:30), and we now love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19)!  We now confess Jesus as the Son of God, the One who is full of grace and truth, indeed the One who is the truth (John 14:6)!  We confess Jesus as the Messiah, the One who was prophesied to be the eternal King and rule over the spiritual Israel (Micah 5:2), the prophet who would tell us about the Father (Deuteronomy 18:15).  And most importantly, we confess Jesus as our Substitute (Isaiah 53:4-6), the only One who perfectly bore our sins in his body on that tree (1 Peter 2:24), and the Lamb of God who has completely satisfied God’s righteous and furious wrath for our sins (John 1:29; Romans 3:25-26), and the One who made purification for sins (Hebrews 1:3)!  He offered up himself as the only acceptable sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 7:27, 10:12), so that for those who would trust in Christ, our sins are completely forgiven, we are justified by his grace, and are set free from the fear of future wrath!

Let us marvel that the greatest gift of all comes from God himself, who sent his Son (Galatians 4:4; John 4:34, 12:44; 1 John 4:10).  More than sending his Son, God “so loved the world, that he gave up his only Son, that whoever believes in him (including you unbeliever!  Whoever!) should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  Indeed, Jesus is eternal life (John 17:3; 1 John 5:20)!  And the miracle is that what we could not do (save ourselves), God did by condemning our sin in Christ (Romans 8:3), and Jesus was the One who knew no sin and yet became sin for us, substituting himself in our helpless state, so that in Christ we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).  And the greatest gift of all, is that “Christ also suffered once for sins (not many times, but once), the righteous (Jesus) for the unrighteous (us)”… all for this purpose: “that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18)! 

In closing, let us shout with joyful acclamation because of his redeeming work by becoming a man, taking upon himself flesh, dying on the cross for our sins, freely imputing his perfect life in us, and justified us by his grace; let us shout this from our very hearts:

THANKS BE TO GOD FOR HIS INEXPRESSIBLE GIFT (2 Corinthians 9:15)! 

HALLELUJAH!  HOPE HAS COME!

Review of this past semester!

Whoo!  One more semester down, and one more semester left until ROTATIONS?!  WOW what happened?!  Well, unlike last year, this semester had plenty of its challenges – difficult ICARE lectures (and very relevant ones!), the uncertainty of how this lecture would play itself out, what the relationship would look like, if I would wallow in the sin of self-pity, who knows?  But as I saw over tidbits of time, God has proved himself to remain faithful and true, even when I haven’t!  And that’s sweet news!  Like the second generation of Israelites, another milestone will be laid down to hopefully serve as a memorial and testimony of God’s faithfulness (see Joshua 4:6-7).  Here are some tidbits and examples of how that was played out over the semester:

1.       The Endo/Repro midterm.  Most of it was on Diabetes which is a dense topic alone and is worthy of having 80% of the exam being tested on it!  Keep in mind that the day before was Sunday and my wonderful godly lady was down visiting me; I honestly put in the effort to study and was trusting God in the midst of it, yet I still felt this sense that I was inadequately prepared for the exam (oh, and the exam was worth 40% of my final grade!).  Not that I was fretting; I wanted to have a right handling of the material before taking the exam!  So up came the exam, and in the midst of taking the test I knew and trusted that God was going to work this out for my good, as he had promised in Romans 8:28 (what a relief that exams are part of God’s sanctifying, redemptive plan!); upon submitting the online exam, lo and behold, an 85!  I was so stunned and was praising God in the midst of the results!  Now came the ID (Infectious Disease) exam 10 days later…

2.       If the Endo/Repro midterm was tough, the ID exam makes the previous midterm look like a walk in the park!  Covering different types of antibiotics, spectrum of activity, mechanisms of action, adverse effects, drug interactions (overwhelming yet?) – I felt even more inadequate taking this exam!  So I did what I could: trust God, and study!  Took the exam, trusted God, and 88?! 

3.       Endo/Repro FINAL only 8 days after!  Same thing, except one major problem.  I say this to my shame: the problem was that I refused to believe God’s promises and bought the lie that he cannot control the Endo/Repro final (even if they are legitimate justifications, namely how professing Christians abuse God’s promises to satisfy their wants).  By God’s grace though he pulled me out of that mess and helped me to stand back up on the solid rock of Christ, take the exam, get an 80, walk out with a B for the module, and surprise Joce by coming home earlier than expected!

4.       Celebrating 4 years of grace on Halloween!

5.       The “November storm”… or so I thought!  November was a busy month, averaging about 2 major assignments (papers, exams, presentations) starting in November and rolling over into the first week of December.  One of them, the Patient Encounter for SPA (Standardized Patient Assessment), I saw as a clear marker of God’s faithfulness… and why I didn’t see that at first!!?  Anyway, I thought I felt prepared, and during the encounter I could bring in a 3 x 5 inch note card with anything I wanted to put on it.  One problem… I LEFT IT OUTSIDE IN THE HALL!  God did get me through that, and I figured that I was going to take a major hit on that (as if my tone couldn’t give it away!?), but I tried to remedy that by thinking that in reality I won’t have note cards to help me out in interacting with patients and counseling them on their therapy (which is true, but Christ was absent in that sentimental realistic perspective).  But then this thought hit after recovering from the “anticipated damage”: Does our Master control the storms the same way he does with the sun?  And the answer to that is a resounding YES!  

So back came the grade sheet, and I was expecting a C (if that!); much to my surprise, and another evidence of God’s faithfulness, I scored a 33.6 out of 40!  And there’s more: some folks got 3 points added onto their grade to curve, so I walked out with a 92!  You have no idea how huge of a relief that brought; praise God that was done and over with!   The rest of the exams were okay, and God was faithful in them all as he was with the above!

6.       The last one was the ID final.  Coming from one of the toughest professors, 400+ slides he covered (no joke!), and I missed out on one of those lectures that were about 100 slides long!  The lies were circulating and I definitely entertained them – what if I failed?  What if I have to repeat this course?  What will my Joce and my parents think?  FAILURE… You blew it!  One more year you both must wait!  And plus, why am I here studying?  Why am I not having fun like everyone else?  This isn’t FAIR!!!  Where’s my bonus from Walgreens when others are receiving bonuses?  God is good… to them!  Now how about to me?! 

I bought the lies of self-pity, and much to my shame, along comes Jocelyn, and through my words, I essentially say “Wanna know what’s up?  HERE YOU GO!!!!”  Thankfully, because she’s godlier than I am (which is true!), she didn’t respond back sinfully!  She was able to help me see that I wanted ease and comfort way too much, and that I let a legitimate desire to relax after a hard semester turn into an idolatrous craving; at the same time, encourage that this is only a season and that I won’t have to worry about exams two years later (which is good news!)!  By God’s grace, he gave me grace to repent, and came equipped with swords for the exam.  God allowed the weather to be favorable, and I finished the exam with a 68; the most important mark of success was the grace God gave me to put to death sinful thoughts and desires with the truth of his word.

So the final results for the semester?  2 A’s, 4 B’s, and 2 C’s!  I’m thankful that God provided the grace to get through this semester, as well as endure.  One of the major goals I have next semester is to grow in trusting God in the midst of the trials, and to be able to see things from an eternal perspective, that God is working this out for my good, that he is success, and will prove himself to be faithful yesterday, today, and forever.