SOLI DEO GLORIA

only a few hours left

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 03:54:33 -0400

It’s been a little over a year since God called me to Japan.. in a few hours, I’ll be boarding that plane over to the Kansai International Airport. A bit speechless.. a bit overwhelmed to the extent that I am numb over all of it.

I’ve been hitting plateaus & some falls these last few weeks. I’m praying that through this time of exodus, God will work inside of me. I will be faithful to Him.

This is only the beginning. I cannot wait to see God’s power reveal through my life.

jeff gilbert writes: 5 a mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:53:07 -0400

jeff gilbert writes: 5 a mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee:

jeffgilbertdrums:

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor…

Seattle Cherry Blossom Festival, 4.14.12 (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:51:11 -0400

Seattle Cherry Blossom Festival, 4.14.12 (Taken with instagram)

Hidden Things

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 02:42:26 -0400

Lately, a multitude of hidden sin and blemish have surfaced. Most of these things are aspects of me that I didn’t even know existed. Pride concealed these things. Unawareness covered these things. Lack of introspection and thought dug these things deep. I thank the Lord for gradually opening my eyes to see my defection, seeing the heaviness and gravity of my sin, repenting, and appreciating and honoring Jesus that much more for His work on the cross for my disobedience. I am growing humbled. I am being silenced. The sinful woman in Luke 7 was shown to have loved Jesus more than the Pharisee because of her full acknowledgement of her sin, and thus, the full appreciation of the forgiveness of her sins. God is refining me with a fire to shape me into a warrior and disciple. I’m now in submission and ready to see His work in sanctifying my dirtiness and giving me the power to destroy the sins that were so deeply concealed in my flesh.

“Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

“Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should...

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 03:03:42 -0400

“Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought— “What a fine person that man is!” That is not being a true “friend of the bridegroom”— I am increasing all the time; He is not.” - Utmost

A proverb

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:05:00 -0500

He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.

Proverbs 10:18

Interesting verse. Two things said here:

1. Be honest - don’t hide your hatred.

2. Don’t manifest / express your hatred.

The two points seemingly (on-the surface) presents a circular reasoning. It says don’t “conceal” your hatred (opposite of concealing is exposing or manifesting), and it also says don’t express hatred either. Solution: The hatred has to be gone all together. The solution for hatred is not to hide it. In time, it will accumulate and destroy. And certainly, manifesting it will not make situations at ease either. Anger and hatred in our hearts must be alleviated and completely empty in our hearts. THAT is the point.

He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. Proverbs...

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:04:45 -0500

He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.

Proverbs 10:18

Interesting verse. Two things said here:

1. Be honest - don’t hide your hatred.

2. Don’t manifest / express your hatred.

2/9/2012 - Devotional (Luke 7:38-50)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:48:00 -0500

A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸ As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

⁴¹ “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,^[c] and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

I’ve decided to study Jesus’ teachings (specifically parables and metaphorical teachings) for the next couple of weeks. Parables stir my heart like no other. I thank God for what He has done with these analogies to bring hope and understanding into my life.

Today’s text in Luke 7 finds a woman noted to be sinful, who brings upon quite a dramatic scene. While she is completely weeping, she wets Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipes them with her very own hair, kisses them, and finally anoints them with ointment. Then a pharisee points her out by asserting to Jesus that she has no right to do what she was doing - “for she is a sinner.” (Lk 7:39)

So the first thing we see is some self-righteous religious guy that despite seeing this completely humbled and weeping woman clean Jesus’ feet, blasts her and makes note of her apparently widely known sinfulness. “For she is a sinner.”

Jesus then teaches a parable to him; there was two men in debt, with one man owing much more than the other. The moneylender then cancels both debts. Jesus asks Peter, “who will love him more?” Of course, it’s the man with more debt. He will love the money lender far more; he had much more that was forgiven.

Afterwards, Jesus tells the pharisee that he did not do anything that the sinful woman had done for him. The pharisee did not water his feet, wipe them with hair, kiss them, or had he anointed them with oil.

He finishes with this: “her sins, which are many forgiven - for she loved much (Jesus). But he who is forgiven little, loves little (Jesus).

After reading this, it definitely called for heavy meditation. What does this mean?

Sinful woman = Man with more debt = will love the money lender more = will love Jesus more

Self-Righteous Pharisee = Man with less debt = will love the money lender less = will love Jesus less

So does this justify sin? More sin = more forgiveness? Well we know Romans refutes this - we shall not sin that grace may abound. And if one does, then that person clearly does not understand the gift of grace.

So what does this mean? Who is the person with more debt? On a real-life application-basis. Clearly there it’s not telling us to get an ACTUAL statistic of how many sins we have committed. That is impossible for man to do. There has to be another meaning then.

When the Bible is describing one with less debt vs. one with more debt, it’s dealing with the issue of humility. There is another parable that Jesus taught about a tax collector vs. a pharisee. The pharisee was self-righteous - he tithes, and sees himself as sinless and clean. On the other hand, there is a tax collector who is quite sinful. Yet unlike the pharisee, he in humility, admits that he is depraved and needs forgiveness.

This is exactly what this parable is referring to. One with the more debt is the one who admits their sin - brings for their sin - shows the amount of debt, inequity, and fault there is. The other person with less debt is the one who does not admit fault, claims righteousness, and holds to self-righteousness that does not need outside assistance.

Jesus says the one with more debt will love Him more. This is because the one who admitted fault subsequently admits the need for help. The one who knows they are in dire sin is the one who loves Jesus because He is the only one that can do something about the condition. The one with less debt will undoubtedly love him less. He doesn’t need a savior. He is his OWN savior.

The sinful woman was deemed righteous because she deemed that she was not righteous. The Kingdom of God is for those who deny themselves / but accepts the King himself.

This was an amazing time of reflection for me. I must become lower to raise Him up.

Not too long ago, a great, Japanese-Christian brother of mine apologized to me in behalf of the...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:57:00 -0500

Not too long ago, a great, Japanese-Christian brother of mine apologized to me in behalf of the Japanese people for the events taken place from 1910-1945. It broke me down inside. It was powerful. Of course, it was no apology that I deserved. I don’t deserve anything. I am thankful for the love; but I am one that is fallen as well. I am no different from the ones that abused my people, or my people that abused them. We have all fallen short to the glory of God.

Today was the first time hearing a prayer in Japanese. It was beautiful. It was incredible to hear a prayer in the language of a culture that has been lead into darkness (not contrary to the rest of the world). But Japan in particular is a nation in which idolatrous religion is completely ingrained into its culture and the norm. The people bow down to gods and are played like instruments without the slight consciousness of their actions..

God, mold me and train me.

"Men are like trucks: they drive straighter with a weighted load. Young men are supposed to load themselves up first by being responsible for themselves and not expecting their mom to fill up their sippy cup with beer and push them in a stroller to the unemployment line." - Driscoll

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:39:14 -0500

Growth

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:53:51 -0500

This week has been a lot of wrestling with God - learning new things and growing tremendously through being put in rough / complex situations. Much of the conviction and empowerment has led me to cross lines that held me back - the Spirit is taking me places I don’t want to go, but should and will go. Greatest thing learned so far in this week is the need to trash out human thinking and methodology. It just doesn’t work. Proverbs 3:3-4 is going to drive the missiology that is pounding in my heart. I must yield.

2012 - don't just set resolutions and gaze in awe at how good they sound, but just DO THEM FIRST, and then reflect at the work you did.

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:04:21 -0500

Photo

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:32:09 -0500

この休み (2011)

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:05:25 -0500

This winter break has been hands down, the best winter break that I’ve ever experienced. Starting this winter break off of an intense, yet memorable quarter was a definite plus. Overall, this break was just completely Christ, Church, and Family-centered.

I don’t really like using the term, “break” since it typically rises a connotation of stopping, decreasing, slowing down, or putting your guard down. Rather, this period of time is better termed as a “retreat.” It was simply a step out of the usual, but definitely not a time of getting lazy. Everyday, work had to be done, hands down. Time is precious - we can’t just waste it. Over this time, a tremendous amount of planning and preparing was needed for LIGHT Church’s events (Christmas Eve Bash, FREEDOM 2011), so a lot of the leaders and I did WORK in that. But it was 100% satisfying. It’s work for the Kingdom, which is the most enjoyable. Day and day out, I also made sure to get in a sufficient amount of Japanese practice so that I wouldn’t stop progressing. Language is parallel to any kind of training. Gotta keep it up or you lose it. Practice, practice, practice. I made sure to get physical training in throughout the week.

Last of all, this Christmas was undoubtedly the most God-centered Christmas I’ve ever celebrated. There was not thought of Santa, gifts, sparkles, Christmas trees, whatever. It was submerged and centered around the Messiah, just like it should be. Simple as that.

This time of retreat was a good time to take a good breather and to reassess and reexamine. Now I’m motivated and pumped up to dominate another quarter, and to see exactly what God is going to unfold.

Albert

"Seminary students that make knowledge and dogma their god turn seminary into a cemetery."

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:37:20 -0500

Paraphrased/quoted/reworded from Pastor Steve, 12/30/2011. Good stuff.

"Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly" Proverbs 26:11

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 03:49:53 -0500

everyone else: i'm getting an ipad and a laptop and $300 worth of clothes and...

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 22:58:25 -0500

everyone else: i'm getting an ipad and a laptop and $300 worth of clothes and...
me: MASTER HAS GIVEN DOBBY A SOCK

M6:33

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 02:14:25 -0500

Matthew 6:33 once again manifested today. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” - Matthew 6:33. Keep it Christ-centered, and all things unfold perfectly. That is the true context of “walking by faith, and not by sight -” trusting in the God that holds the world in His very palm.

hangsterr: ktom: shamalamaringdingdong: wordsoftakumi: While...

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:39:11 -0500

hangsterr:

ktom:

shamalamaringdingdong:

wordsoftakumi:

While browsing through the family photo album, Lisa notices that there are no baby pictures of Maggie. Homer explains by recounting the story of Maggie’s birth. In 1993, Homer hated working at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, and had a dream of working at a bowling alley. After he received a paycheck that cleared him of all his debts, he quit his job at the power plant, and went to get a job at the local bowling alley.

When Homer and Marge “snuggled” to celebrate this development, she became pregnant. Marge knew that the news would end Homer’s new lifestyle and affect his happiness, because it meant he could no longer support his family on his bowling alley salary. Marge kept her pregnancy a secret as long as she could, but Patty and Selma, eager to ruin Homer’s life, spread the news quickly around town.

Homer was not happy when he found out about Marge’s pregnancy, and was completely unenthusiastic about the impending birth. Because of the financial problems caused by the pregnancy, Homer was forced to make a sacrifice and go back to the power plant. However, Mr. Burns made Homer beg for his job back, and placed a large plaque in front of Homer’s desk reading: “Don’t forget: you’re here forever”. Homer was once again unhappy at his work, but as with all the Simpson children, when Maggie was born, Homer instantly fell in love with her. Back in the present, Bart and Lisa still do not understand what that has to do with Maggie’s photos. Homer merely mentions that they are in the place where he needs them the most. The scene then cuts to his workplace where all of the photos of Maggie are positioned on the plaque on the wall, which now reads: “Do it for her.”

D’AWWWWWWS

i hate this show but this is too precious

awww

Just some updates

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:38:18 -0500

So far having somewhat of a rough day - got my two bottom wisdom teeth out (dug deep in my gums as they have not even surfaced yet), leaving a ton of stitches, numbness, and pain. So far have been downing liquids like soup, smoothies, and a ton of water. I’m REALLY appreciating those solid foods right about now. :( The more pain I face, the more I kneel down humbled and thankful.

Past few weeks have been rough, with a lot of complications coming up. But of course, nothing works out perfectly. We are called to work in these hardships and come out glorious. With most of our college guys buried in school and work, it’s been tough to plan out and organize a lot of LIGHT Church’s events and all. But again, no excuses, and we gotta do work.

With the first quarter ending a few days back, I’m left very satisfied with the work I put in. Very thankful for getting that 4.0 in my Japanese class. College is a totally different dimension compared to high school. But this is not necessarily a bad thing; actually, I love how college runs. It makes YOU accountable for what you’re going to do with yourself. Training and working hard to bring that fire straight into the next quarter. 2012’s quarters are gonna be a lot different - physical training is going to be mandatory in my schedule, no matter how busy the workload. Glimpsing back, my discipline was always at its peak whenever training (especially during the wrestling season) was hard-on.

Finally, this break has overall been an awesome time bonding with family.. definitely appreciating the close proximity of my school to home.

These closing weeks of break is going to be intense - but I’m looking forward to every single moment. Praying for a lot of people to come to Christ over this break.

Albert