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Friend, How are you? Hope you’re well. Today, I’d like to start by sharing Eugene Peterson’s writings in his book, Leap over a Wall, which is David story. In a chapter, Sovereign Grace, he wrote about David’s trying to build God a house, but not getting green light from Him. Eugene’s insight hit close to home, and I’d like to share it with you, before sharing my own story: I think that David is just about to cross over a line from being full of God to being full of himself. Outwardly, everything is the same. … Implicit is that comparison (house of cedar/tent) is the judgement that David is now housed better than God, that David has achieved a better standard of living than God, and that from David’s position of strength he can now do something significant for God. If David continues to develop along these lines, he will soon be ruined as God’s king. If any of us develop a self-identity in which God and God’s action are subordinated to us and our action, our kingwork is ruined. These are the moments when we need a friend, a pastor, a prophet to step in and do for us what we’re unlikely to do for ourselves. God speaks to Nathan, and Nathan speaks to David. Nathan stops him in his tracks with God’s message: “No, you won’t build me a house; I’ll make you a house.” Sitting Down …David sat. And he sat before God. By sitting down, David renounced royal initiative, abdicated kingly authority, got himself out of the driver’s seat, and deliberately and reverently placed himself before God his King. Strategic “Not Doing” What we don’t do for God is often far more critical than what we in fact do. God is the beginning, center, and end of the world’s life - of existence itself. But we’re often unaware of God’s action except dimly and peripherally. Especially when we’re in full possession of our powers - our education complete, our careers in full swing, people admiring us and prodding us onward - it’s hard not to imagine that we’re at the beginning, center and end of the world, or at least of that part of the world in which we’re placed. At these moments we need prophetic interference; we need Nathan. We need to quit whatever we’re doing and sit down. When we sit down, the dust raised by our furious activity settles; the noise generated by our building operations goes quiet; we become aware of the real world. God’s world. And what we see leaves us breathless: it’s so much more full of energy and action than our ego-fueled actions, so much clearer and saner than the plans we had projected. Modern Christians are characteristically much afraid of being caught out doing too little for God, let alone nothing. But there are moments, far more frequent than we suppose, when doing nothing is precisely the gospel thing to do. … When David sat down before God, it was the farthest thing from passivity or resignation; it was prayer. It was entering into the presence of God, becoming aware of God’s word, trading in his plans for God’s plans, letting his enthusiasm for being a king with the authority and strength to do something for God be replaced with the willingness to become a king who would represent truly sovereignty of God the high King. … David’s prayer comes to focus in an explicit and radical reversal: “For thou, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, hast made this revelation to thy servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house’; therefore thy servant has found courage to pray this prayer to thee” (2 Sam. 7:27) And courage it does take, immense courage, to relinquish control, to resign our so recently acquired prestigious positions, to ‘quit our jobs’ and simply sit at Jesus’ feet. David sat down; the real action started: not David making God a house but God making David a house. There’s no danger in such inaction that we’ll end up with nothing to do. David did much before he sat down, and he did much afterward: God commanded and we obey; God sends and we go. The Christian life is a gloriously active life as the Holy Spirit does the work of Christ in and through us. No, there’s no danger that as we sit before the Lord our Lord our legs will atrophy and we’ll never be able to get up again. But there is great danger in getting so caught up in our God-plans that we forget all about God. … But when we do good, become pleased with ourselves and receive applause and commendation from our leaders and friends, we easily lose our sense of dependence on God and our always and ever increasingly desperate need for grace, God’s sovereign grace. The last state of that person, as Jesus solemnly warned, is worse than the first (Luke 11:26) I can’t agree with him, enough. Often times, I felt that I had a burden to do something good and do something financially for God. But last year, during my prayer, I felt Him saying, “Do you think I need your money? I’m the Source of everything. What I want is you.” Certainly, He doesn’t need our money. He is Provider and we need His provision. He is our Savior, and we need His grace only. We’re saved by His grace, not by our good works. A few weeks after I felt Him say that, I happened to watch a talk show of a Christian TV. The guest was a Korean American pastor. Before becoming a pastor, he used to work in Wall Street. He became rich at his 20’s, but his life was full of sins, including drugs. With a supernatural encounter with Jesus one day, he became a different person. His mother began to go to church, when he asked her to go together. She followed him, as she saw her son transformed. Yet, in his heart, he said to himself, “I would serve God, as a rich elder, making a lot of money. I wouldn’t want to be a pastor.” But, God’s plan was different, and He said to him, “I don’t need your money, but I want you.” When he shared this in the talk show, he became emotional. So did I. I wept, knowing it was the Father’s confirmation to me, through his testimony. I knew I didn’t hear Him wrong. I do not mean that we live idle or indifferent to others’ needs. But like Eugene wrote, strategic “Not Doing” but sitting at Jesus’ feet is needed the most. Then, from that secret place, He would let us know what to do, and we obey Him. Only then are we able to see fruits from our work, which is initiated by Him, not by us. Earlier this year, I watched a testimony of a Korean pastor’s wife. She seemed to be an intercessor, communing with Him in the secret place. One night, when she prayed, she had a strong sense of urgency to go to a certain sister in her church. It was almost midnight, but she felt strongly that she should go to the sister’s place as soon as possible, not just call her. She knew the strong sense was not from her, but from the Lord. So, she called another sister to ask her to join her, and they went to the sister’s place. They found the door was left open, and the sister in the house was unconscious, after taking a lot of pills, to kill herself. They called 911 and she was saved finally. The pastor’s wife said that the sister’s life depended on her obeying His voice in the middle of the night. After learning how important it is, she became even more attentive and obedient. I noticed that she spent much time, sitting in front of Jesus. Her work was not initiated by herself, but when she sat down before God, God worked through her. I learned from Pastor John Fenn that in traditional churches, three things are important: attendance, giving, voluntary. By these, the leadership of churches kind of evaluate how faithful saints are. But, I think many can be in fact distracted by those seemingly good Christian works. Just like Eugene wrote, we might cross over a line from being full of God to being full of ourselves. I even think devils would want us to be simply busy with those seemingly good & religious works, but to be insensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Eugene Peterson also wrote: “When confronted by God, Eve gave the excuse “The serpent tricked me” (Gen. 1:13, NRSV), suggesting the serpent had not yet been cursed to be a snake that slithers in the grass. It is interesting to me that Saint Paul wrote to Christians in Corinth warning that sometimes Satan comes disguised as ‘an angel of light’ (2 Cor. 11:14). Maybe this Genesis serpent was more like impressive ‘angel of light’ or something equivalent, certainly nothing that appeared threatening like a python or a cobra. More often than not, evil doesn’t look like evil. At any rate, Jesus is not seduced, not, in Eve’s word, ‘tricked.’” (From “As Kingfishers Catch Fire”) I think there are many seemingly good things that distract us from the intimate fellowship with the Father and our Lord, and they often look like an angel of light. While I was writing the draft of this blog, I was reminded of Lana Vawser’s prophecy back in 2019, titled “THOSE THAT BUILD THE NEW THINGS I AM BUILDING IN IN THIS NEW ERA, WILL BE THOSE WHO LIVE IN MY HOUSE AS MY FRIENDS”: In this new era, there is a temptation and will be a temptation to do more and more and more as opportunities arise and doors open but not every door and opportunity, is God. Wisdom (James 1:5) is needed more than ever in this new era. God is pouring out heavenly wisdom and discernment to those who will ask. Don’t get busy “doing things for God” in this new era. It is IMPERATIVE to PRIORITISE lingering with Him and putting your hands to what He is building and HOW He is building, not what is “man made” building. GUARD YOUR “YES” IN THIS NEW ERA I heard the Lord say “Guard your YES” in this new era”. Do not be careless with your YES and what you commit to. For the Lord showed me there is a warning He is releasing to not be overcommitted in this new era for the enemy will seek to keep God’s people busy building where God is not building so they don’t build where God is building. It’s so crucial in this new era to live as friends of God like never before to discern what He’s doing and building and place our YES where the Lord is placing HIS YES. It’s not out of the place of fear or an orphan spirit, it’s out of the place of desiring to build where He is building and those places will see your dreams and desires come alive and new dreams and desires awaken that you never knew you had. Friend, Our Father want you and me, not our money nor our talent. Are we willing to sit in front of Jesus, choosing strategic not doing, but do only what He tells us to do? I actually found out sitting in front of Him is more difficult than doing something apparently good. It needs our commitment to focus on Him, but the enemy would do its best to distract us by many things. I pray that you and I know His sovereign grace and choose the one good thing that no one will take from us: sitting in front of Jesus. Amen. Have a bliss! Julie One thing I have desired of the Lord, Dear Friend, How are you? Hope you are well. I wrote a few years back about my new hobby, making dolls. But, after a few weeks or so, God stopped me from having that hobby, as I went overboard. Some might think, “How would God stop you from having the hobby? Isn’t it that you spiritualize too many?” But, after I obeyed Him, I learned why, and I got even more grateful to the Father. One night in 2022, after I stopped the hobby of making dolls, I happened to watch a YouTube video of a Korean mom’s singing worship songs, playing keyboards, surrounded by her little kids. Listening to her beautiful voice and watching her playing piano, I really wanted to learn how to play piano. I had years of desire deep in my heart that I’d like to play piano. But, my sister used to make fun of me, since young, saying I have no talent in music. (Only recently in my life did I learn it’s the devil’s lie, using her words. Devils use people and their words to make us believe lies such as “you will amount to nothing,” and so on.) I learned cello for more than a year when I worked for a pharmaceutical company in Seoul. I enjoyed it for a while, but I was a bit discouraged and frustrated when reading sheet music. In a decade, I watched a video of the minister who visited Heaven. Before the visitation, he never played any musical instrument, but he learned 9 different musical instruments there. When I watched him playing instruments, I thought to myself, “OK, when I finally meet my Lord in Heaven and live in eternity, I would learn playing piano and other instruments. Will wait.” But, after watching the Korean mom’s singing worship songs, playing keyboards, I mustered up my courage and found out some helpful videos and online classes for beginners to play accompaniment using chords, not reading sheet music. Everyday, I was thankful for His kindness to lead me to good teachers online. And I practiced easy chord progression for worship songs. Later, I even tried to play some easy versions of classical music, reading sheet music and watching YouTube tutorials. It really was a leap in my piano journey. I couldn’t thank the Father, enough, saying “Father, You had every reason to stop me from making dolls. What if I disobeyed You, but continued to make dolls? I’d not have had this opportunity to make my dream come true.” I didn’t have to wait until I live in Heaven. Lol Yet, one year after I started to learn piano, I felt a bit bored with playing simple chords for accompaniment, and wanted to play jazz. I also wanted to improvise rather than be stuck in reading sheet music and end up forgetting what I played after being out of practice. And I like light and soft jazz instrumental music as background music in cafes and even at home. One of the reasons I went to my favorite cafe was music. They played out jazz without lyrics. I don’t want to go to cafes with loud music with lyrics in background, even if they have comfy chairs or have nice coffee or tea. When it comes to playing instruments, though, jazz seems to be more difficult than contemporary pop music or even classical music. Major 7th chord, minor 7th chord, dominant 7th chord, etc. What a gibberish they were talking, I thought. And I also had a concern on playing jazz, as I sometimes saw pictures and paintings of jazz musicians’ having cigarette and jazz is also often played at bars. I’ve been very careful in music, as Lucifer was in charge of music before its fall. So even now, through music like rock, heavy metals, new age or even some pop music, the evil spirits come into people and ruin their lives. So, I must keep my ear gate as well as eye gate, not taking music & shows lightly. Then, one day, I thought to myself, “Jazz seems to be originated from black people’s labor in the time of slavery. If God forbade jazz, wouldn’t He be a Racist?” Yet I still didn’t know what was His will for me, with regard to jazz. One day, listening to Pastor John Fenn’s teaching, I heard him mention Nancy Honeytree’s song “I am a servant,” and recommend his audience may search her songs. So I did. Among a few albums of her, I played out an album titled “Melodies in Me” and found the first song of the album, “The Broadmoor Song” is jazz. Lol A few days later, I came to listen to the well-known worship song, Great is the Lord by Morris Chapman, a black American. When I googled him, I learned he was a janitor of a high school until he started to work as a musician in his 40’s. I was encouraged to know his story, though I’m not talented to become a musician, but at least, I can still enjoy learning music instruments in my age. While I played out other songs he made, to my amazement, I found out he made many gospel songs which have some bluesy and jazzy feel. Again, I felt that the Father spoke to me through his music, after Nancy Honeytree’s song. Then, in a week or two, I was praying and singing in tongues on the sofa in the living room, after dinner. I didn’t know how long I prayed and sang, but quite soon, I felt Him saying, “Now, go to your room and watch the video.” I still had kind of my own standard on worship time, though it was not about how long, but our heart. So, I said, “Oh, this soon?” He said, “You wanted to watch it.” I knew what He meant by the video. It was one episode of a Christian talk show. I saw a thumbnail of a man with his name, etc. He seemed to be a member of an old music band. I thought the name of the band sounded a bit familiar, but I didn’t think I ever saw him before. I was curious about him, but didn’t watch the talk show yet. So, getting free from my religious thought on worship/prayer time, I jumped into my bed and watched the video. I learned that the guest in the talk show used to be a guitarist in the band a few decades ago, and now teaches in a music colleague. When I watched him sing a few songs live in the talk show, I grinned. He sang jazzy feel of gospel songs. And he even shared a story that he happened to meet Eddie Brown, a musician who worked with Stevie Wonder and Michale Jackson for their album. Very talented keyboardist and musician. Eddie visited Korea, as her mom felt the Lord want to send him here. Divine connection. So they met here and worked together and had a concert for Christmas. Watching the show, I became 100% certain that the Father gave me green-light to learn to play jazz. I was overjoyed. I was amused by His sense of humor and thankful for His kindness. And I felt so free. In the beginning when I wanted to learn piano, I thought I would play worship song accompaniment. So, I felt I was kind of distracted, when I wanted to learn jazz. But, the Father gave me some impression in my heart that He wants me to enjoy music with Him. It wasn’t my doing something for Him (like worship music), but doing with Him (no matter what genre of music I play). He wants communion and friendship. And His kindness didn’t end there. As I signed up in an online jazz piano class with an annual membership and learned and practiced jazz, I got to know about Oscar Peterson, the Canadian jazz pianist. I watched documentaries on him, and learned he was a Christian. I said to the Father, “Father, when I get there, I would like to learn jazz from him. It must be fun. I believe he is well there with You.” “…” A few days later, I searched some jazz books in kindle. Lo and behold, an Oscar Peterson’s book popped up. I never thought he wrote a book. And I was so thankful for the Father’s kindness. He knew my heart and my lack of knowledge. So, He let me know Oscar’s book for practice is available. Not only that, but in one morning, when I was half-awake on my bed, He taught me how to play do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti in all 12 keys. I was confused often in playing those 7 in 12 different keys, but His revelation was simply easy, an eye-opener and a game-changer. On that day, the first thing I did after having breakfast with mom was to sit in front of my keyboards, to try to play that, according to His teaching. I couldn’t thank Him, enough. He cares about everything in our lives. It doesn’t have to be religious or church subject. He cares about our everydayness, i.e. our mundane lives and our daily needs. No matter whether it’s work, study, raising kids, marriage relationship, hobbies, or finances, He cares about us. And He wants to be our Friend and He wants us to be His friend. Just like Eugene Peterson wrote, “Friendship is not a way of accomplishing something but a way of being with one another in which we become more authentically ourselves.” Friend, well, ever since I learned jazz piano, I didn’t progress much. I’m still a beginner. I was very enthusiastic in the beginning, but I excused myself daily, “I’m so tired. I’d lie on the sofa and just read the book.” I was out of practice for about half a year, though I wanted to practice my all time favorite jazz, Christmas songs. Now I should practice all over again before Christmas is coming. :) In my heart, though, I know no matter when I would practice it, He wants me to enjoy it with Him. Just like He enjoys my reading His words or my worshiping Him, He enjoys my playing music with Him, writing with Him and washing dishes with Him. (Remember Brother Laurence was a dish washer!) Friend, I hope this blesses and encourages you even more in your mundane life, your journey as God’s friend. Have a bliss! Julie And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. (Exodus 33:9~11a) Dear Friend, How are you? Hope you are well. Today, I’d like to write my favorite subject, Friends of God! I was very glad to find out Eugene Peterson wrote in As Kingfishers Catch Fire, which is a collection of his sermons: “In the culture we have grown up in, all of us have been exposed to a good deal of concern that we develop a healthy self-esteem so we can live whole and satisfying lives. In the process the term identity crisis has entered our vocabulary as a key element in self-understanding. Who am I? What does it mean to be me? I understand that and appreciate the concern. But I want to replace the jargon of educators and psychiatrists and psychologists with a simple but far more accurate and comprehensive designation. And I want you to consider well the answer ‘friend of God’ and take seriously the good news wrapped up in those three words. … Abraham was not called the friend of God because he was signed out for special benevolent attention by God, a kind of teacher’s pet. He did not live a charmed life. He was called the friend of God because he experienced God accurately and truly. He lived as God’s friend. He responded as God’s friend. He believed that God was on his side, and he lived like it. To be a friend of God does not mean everything is cozy between you and the Almighty. To be a friend to someone does not mean you pamper or indulge him or her. Friendship also involves struggle and loss, tension and turbulence. One of my favorite proverbs is “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Proverbs 27:6) A friend, if honest and true, will tell you things you don’t want to hear. A friend, if deeply serious about you, will do things that feel painful. Friends do that because they respect your dignity and honor our uniqueness. … Here is another element contained in the word friend. Friend is totally about a relationship, not a function. There is an everyday, ordinary quality to it. We find ourselves friends with people not for what they can do for us but simply for who they are. … Abraham’s friendship with God was not sentimentally tied to one spot. … It was daily, regular, and frequent, using whatever stones he found there on the ground to mark the spot. That is how friendship works. Friends remember one another in both common and uncommon ways. They call one another on the spur of the moment. They remember special days. They visit simply for the pleasure of the other’s company. Things don’t have to get done in a friendship. Friendship is not a way of accomplishing something but a way of being with one another in which we become more authentically ourselves. As we get a feel for the qualities of friendship, I think this also is important: Abraham’s life seems curiously empty of accomplishment. With the exception of his intercession for Sodom, he doesn’t seem to have asked his friend God for anything. … And get this: being God’s friend didn’t mean that Abraham was heroically good or above average in virtue or untainted by sin. Abraham is not conspicuous in the human qualities that we usually admire. He lied to protect his own skin in exchange for the sacrifice of his wife’s reputation. He laughed at God when the divine promises sounded absurd to him. He played the coward with Abimelech. What friendship means is that two persons are in touch with each other and share important interests. And that is what the friendship of God and Abraham is all about. Abraham was in touch with the God who was in touch with him. He accepted God’s concern for him as the reality of his life, and he returned it by making God the center of his life. He obeyed, he journeyed, he prayed, he believed, and he built altars. He did none of this perfectly. … With persons we talk of response, growth, listening, and acting. Abraham did all of that in relation with God, whom he was convinced was determined to be a good friend to him. … What we do know of Abraham is his quite ordinary friendship with God and God’s friendship with Abraham, using the everyday stuff of the culture - hospitality, altar building, family relationships, famine, sacrifice - but using it sacramentally, using the visible circumstances and people and things as witnesses and occasions for being in faith present to God as friend. In this he marks the very beginning of the biblical process. It is only right that Jesus gets the last word: ‘I have called you friends’ (John 15:15, NRSV). Amen.” Friend, are you encouraged by this? I am. I’m convinced that I am His friend, not because I did something spectacular for God. Again, it was not our doing something for God. From the outset, He doesn’t lack anything. He doesn’t need our work from our self-righteousness. But He wants relationship. He wants friendship. Just like Abraham made mistakes, we also make mistakes and we are not perfect. But, it doesn’t matter in making friends with God. In our daily life, we make Him center of our lives and we become true friends. In that everydayness, mundane life, we get to know Him more. It is not knowing about Him intellectually, but we get to know Him more as a Person, as a Friend. So, we would totally trust Him, as Abraham believed that he would become a father of many, and God would revive Issac even if he killed his precious son on the altar. Friend, I pray that you and I walk with Him daily and live as friend of God, just like Abraham, our father in faith. Amen! Today, I didn’t write my story much, but excerpt from Eugene Peterson’s As Kingfishers Catch Fire. I thought this would encourage us, though. Next week, I would write about my friendship with God. Till then, have a bliss! Julie Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. (John 15:13~15) Dear Friend, How are you? Hope you had a good day or are having a good day, today? A few weeks ago, I wrote about short Me time with the Father that I resumed outdoors earlier this year. I still recall the first day in the Christian school. It has been quite a long time till I resumed short Me time with the Father. Sitting on the bench of the campus, I was busy in my mind for the first few minutes. I thought to myself, “Shall I pick up my small note in my bag and read what I wrote there long ago? Or shall I read a Scripture or two in the Bible application of my mobile phone? But, I only have 30 minutes and I don’t want to look at the phone at least for this moment. But what shall I do?” Then, I felt some impression in my heart, as if the Father said to me, “Just relax. Lovers don’t talk to one another all the time. Stay quiet. It’s ok not to read the Bible nor try to meditate on it right now. Simply enjoy the time with Me.” Immediately, I had peace. It wasn’t religion, but relationship. He reminded me of it. So, even without trying to say something to Him in my heart, I simply enjoyed watching sky, clouds, trees, butterflies, and so on, and enjoyed birds’ singing. And Me time with the Father is simply enjoying His beautiful works in silence. In one Sunday morning in early July, when mom and I went out for our cafe walk, I came to see a crow walking to a big plastic bag of rubbish and trying to take out something to eat, using its beak. It was very near from us and I found its way of walking so cute that I took its video. Later in the morning, I went to the Christian school campus for Me time. On the bench, drinking the coffee in my tumbler, I watched the sky. Lo and behold, there were five crows. Many times, when I watched birds flying in the sky, I thought of Psalm 29: The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!” (Verse 3~9) I still think the birds I happened to see must have heard the voice of the Lord and they flied or walked just at that moment. Nothing was coincident. In His kindness, He showed me those beautiful birds fly or walk around me, by His voice, I think. Then, later in that afternoon, I opened a new chapter “The Beauty of Holiness” of Eugene Peterson’s “As Kingfishers Catch Fire.” To my amazement and amusement, I came to read: “Ten years ago Jan and I decided we wanted to become bird watchers. So much grace and melody and color - beauty - was swirling around us, and we were oblivious to it. We decided to be oblivious no longer. Early in our enthusiasm a young friend who was an accomplished bird watcher visited us for a few days. We made him pay for his supper by teaching us what we needed to know. …. He was a patient teacher. He kept reminding us of what to look for: flight patterns, silhouettes, habitat. Gradually through the years, we see more. We’re not experts by any means, but we do see birds where we never did before. The change has come about because we were taught to look, notice, be attentive. And when we don’t see any birds, we know better than to complain that we live in a part of the country that is deficient in birds. Rather, our eyes have become lazy, our attention spans atrophied. Our self-preoccupation had reduced us to tunnel vision.” I smiled and grinned as I read this. I knew God spoke to me through Eugene’s book as well as His beautiful creatures, including birds. I felt that He orchestrated the crows I had seen earlier that day, as He already knew what chapter I would read later on that day. And my short Me time and walk with the Father indeed was to relax and enjoy His wonderful artworks in nature. I got free from religiosity. I didn’t have to try to do something, but enjoyed silent communion with Him, listening to the beautiful songs of birds. Just like Eugene and Jan, his wife, I also tried to be attentive to birds. To my amazement, I found out that in the downtown where I live, there seems to be more than 7 different birds. There is joy in trying to be more sensitive and attentive to His beauty through His handwork. And it becomes worship: Wow, Father, they are so awesome. Thank You, Father! I’d like to share more from Eugene Peterson’s writing in the chapter, The Beauty of Holiness: “Beauty is the outside and holiness the inside of what is essentially the same thing: life full and vibrant, life God created and God blessed, life here and now. … When we sense the pulse and surge of life within and around us, our spontaneous response is to worship. Worship is the most soul-involving, reality-assimilating act available to human beings. We are most ourselves, most our image-of-God creaturely selves, when we worship: “O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” … Beauty. It arrives through a sustained and adorational attentiveness to what is there: a rock, a flower, a face, a rustle in the trees, a storm crashing through the mountains. When our senses dull and our attention wavers, writers and singers and artists grab us by the ears and say, “Look, listen, feel. Embrace and respond to Life within and around you!” That is what the praying poet of Psalm 29 is doing. … Friends, this is going on all the time. Mostly all we need to do is look and listen, touch and taste, Not infrequently our senses dull; we get distracted and need apostolic help. If we are lucky, an artist or writer or singer or child or pastor shows up with the image or word or song that connects us with the life right before us. If we’re very lucky, this apostle will be at home with both the outside and inside of life, the beauty and the holiness, and before we know it, we are again in on it, worshipping - worshipping the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” While I was writing the draft of this blog and reading it on the sofa in the living room, I frequently watched the window and enjoyed beautiful clouds with a hint of crimson color before sunset. Lo and behold, a couple of cute birds were flying very high in the air. :) Absolute delight to them and to me. I imagine the Father was smiling at me, after His voice made them fly just at this moment. Yup, He watches over us. Friend, would you like to take some moments today or tomorrow to enjoy the beauty of holiness and worship our Creator and our King? Hope this blesses you. Have a bliss! Julie Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, Dear Friend, How are you? Hope you’re well. On September 11th, my sister in California FaceTimed me. She has been worried about a certain matter, related to our doggie girl named Honey in her house. She said that too much worry even made her hands and feet swollen overnight. She asked me what she should do and what I would do, when worry overwhelmed me. “You should command in Jesus’ name the worry to be cut off.” But I felt somehow it wouldn’t help her, though it has truth in it. I went on to say, “When I worried, I repented and then, I stopped worrying. Worrying is from our lack of trust. Not trusting the Father’s goodness, His faithfulness. Try to remember how good and how kind He was in your life. And He will continue to be the same. He’s faithful.” Actually a few days ago, I was frustrated and a bit irritated by my sister during our conversation. In all honesty, she is not a good listener, and she cuts in when I’m still saying. But, on that day when she asked me what I would do, she listened to me, as if she were really willing to find an answer from my sharing. She was quietly and attentively listening to me. And I went on to share some of my recent stories about the Father’s kindness. I shared the Father’s kindness, telling the story about the return shipment, Burger King time, etc. that I posted here last week. And I shared another story with her. “A month ago or so, I received a text from the management office. It said that an outsourcing vendor would check safety related to fire in the accommodation building, but it didn’t say that the vendor would visit each individual’s house in the building. After mom & I had lunch and I finished dish-washing, I was surprised to hear the bell ring. I didn’t expect anyone to visit us. Then, I found out it was the vendor for safety check. Two men came in and checked the fire alarms in the rooms. God’s timing was perfect. What if they came in when we were in the middle of eating lunch? He was simply kind and He arranged their visit only after I finished dish-washing after lunch. In every single detail, even when it looks like a small thing, He cares.” She listened carefully and nodded. So I went on to say, “God loves Honey more than you do. He created Honey. How much more would He care for her? We know the story from the Bible, something like ‘Even the evil can give something good to their children, how much more would He give to us? When we ask Him to give us fish, would He give us snakes?’ No, it’s not His character.” Just using the momentum of my sister’s attentively listening, I went on: “Even when the difficult time comes like the economic depression, etc., those who live in the secret place would have peace. People would notice their peace, and wonder where their peace comes from. Unbelievers might ask them where their peace comes from. Then, they would share with meekness and fear that it’s from the secret place. No need to share tracts to evangelize. If we would live in the secret place, people would notice it. So, just know the Father. I learned that we use the words, “believe” for His power and “trust” for His characters. We both believe His almighty power and trust His faithfulness. He is both almighty and faithful. So good and so kind. Remember the day when He miraculously protected you from the car accident. He is the same. He doesn’t change.” Actually most of what I shared with her was not from me, but I used what I learned from Pastor John Fenn’s teaching & the late Pastor David Wilkerson’s, and my sister seemed to be comforted. Being a good listener, she responded to me, saying her own experiences. (From Pastor John Fenn’s Weekly Thoughts: If the Father can time our lives in such a way now to provide for us, He will again when another crisis hits the world. Start looking back over the course of your life to remember and acknowledge His guidance and provision, and you won’t be afraid of the future. He never changes. He hasn’t brought you this far to fail you now. Take peace in His record of faithfulness in your life, and you will know peace now, and then. As holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom so famously said: “It’s never wrong to trust an unknown future to a known God.”) Friend, are you worried sometimes? In all honesty, I am sometimes. Actually in August this year, my mind was very busy on a certain matter. And my stomach was uncomfortable for more than 2 weeks. Finally I decided to go to an oriental medicine doctor that my hairdresser introduced to me. I said to him that I drank iced caffe latte during the whole summer time, while cold foods are not good to me, according to the oriental medicine. And recently, I ate wheat flour meals too often, which is also not good to me. But, the doctor’s comment was an eye-opener. He said that my stomach is full of gas now so that it’s very hard. It is mainly from stress or too much thought or worry. It stroke a bell. Ding~ I knew that over the past few weeks, my mind was way too busy. Even to be obsessed with one thought, though it was actually related to something good. I was thinking too much well in advance. So, at the end of the day, it became a stress and resulted in the digestion problems for weeks. I repented, and thought how good and how kind the Father was in every step of my life. There are countless cases that I could think of. And He will be the same, and I don’t have to be worried about anything. Friend, I’m sure that you also have many testimonies as to how He faithfully helped you, provided and protected you. He satisfied your heart’s desires. I pray that we think of His faithfulness and walk in peace, knowing He would continue to be faithful. Have a bliss! Julie Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3:20~21) |
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