PHILIPPIANS is awesome. PAUL is awesome. i wanna marry someone with paul's character. do you think that's too much to ask for? (= i've been studying Philippians for the past week. the book of JOY. joy through suffering, giving, serving, etc.... His words have been the source of my comfort the past week. Praise God. (=

let's hang out! feels like it's been a while. (=

real quick, once again, today i was challenged with just obeying God. this is our greatest act of love to Him... yeah.. just reaffirming that this year is going to be about obedience...yippee. :) why does obedience always have to sound sooo... painful? :)

Hey guys, just wanted to mention two quick things:
1. Apparently the Dead Sea now is in the area that used to be the Jordan Valley where Sodom and all the other neighboring (probably wicked) cities dwelled, and in which God rained down fire and burning sulfur. Travelers say that the Dead Sea is literally what it is--dead. There is nothing living in it. Nothing really sinks in it. The wind doesn't move it. And there's this offensive smell about the area. Interesting huh? I wonder if then the stone of Lot's wife still stands at the bottom--I think "salt" is like a crystalline monument, but it could have dissolved in the water...?

2. This was a while back, where God led Joseph to Egypt to escape Herod coming after baby Jesus. Afterwards, God gave Joseph instructions to leave Egypt and go back to Israel, but then Joseph found out Herod's (wicked) son was ruling in place of his father now. And then God led him to Nazareth, away from the Jerusalem area. It just struck me that that's how God's been working so far in the Bible--one direction, one step at a time. He doesn't tell the person the whole story--He just tells them one direction at a time even if conditions around them doesn't seem to make sense. Even when He knows all, He tells them things one step at a time. It just makes me think about what it means to trust God, and how faithful He is to our good/protection and how He knows what He's doing.

thus proves my ability to communicate. :) sorry. i guess i didn't really state correctly what i was trying to say... i didn't mean that the awesomeness of God is based on the four men mentioned that left to follow him... what i meant to say was that Christ is pretty awesome to have that effect... the fact that His nature was so... Divine...He can go up to people, say few words and have people drop all and follow Him. That His presence was so overwhelming and captivating that they didn't hesitate to fully follow. i'm not denying that there is a lack of some sort of presence from other leaders...after all, i think part of a good leader has to be that aura of attractiveness and trustworthiness (is that a word?) that causes people to follow (see any speeches given by the late UAW president, stephen yokich). but even so, i don't think, and by all means, please correct me if i am wrong... that any other leader has said the words "i am the way, the truth, and the life" and has led a life to fully back that up.

(if lost, see comment under sept 17th)

how come our comments aren't working?

abraham lied about sarah being his wife...a second time. my first initial reaction was," hello! does this guy not remember what happened last time?" and then i remember that i myself have, plenty of times, made the EXACT SAME MISTAKE... yeah... that was humbling.

my friend was cross referencing the phrasing "i have done this with a clear conscious and clean hands." (gen 20:5)...she remembered something that was stated the same way... 1 corinthians 4:3-5. basically paul was writing how the only thing we should be accountable to is God. and this really challenged me... to live with the mindset that the only thing that matters is God's judgement. to put away the concerns of man, even the concerns of self and be solely focused on the concerns of the LORD. as a people pleaser, this is humbling. as a self-consious being this is humbling... it's challenging because i think to have this mindset...in addition to what i've been saying about solely trusting God, one has to be, essentially, God-centered. cause the trust thing and the aforementioned mindset thing can only be a natural byproduct of being God-centered.

i confess: this past week has been... such a rollar coaster and i was so tired of attempting to follow and obey God. worn out, frustrated, and maxed out on the drama scale, i wanted to leave it all behind and just be a vegetable. after reading these passages, i am encouraged. i don't really know why... power of the Word, i suppose. but it's fuel to my soul. God is good! He will prevail! :)

Three times within the past 24 hours have I encountered a lesson about reproof. First Pastor S last night mentioned in general about how he advises not to reprove people until you've built a relationship with them, so they understand that you do it out of love and concern and do not balk or become bitter at chastisement. No human likes to be chastised. No one likes to be reproved, unless they accept it with the humble heart of God and understand it is done out of the love (assuming that the Reprover is reproving in love).

Matthew 7:6 (?): "Don't give what is holy to unholy people. Don't give pearls to swine! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you."
When I first read this a couple of months ago, I was like HUH? And I believe in an unbeliever''s page, they brought this verse up, accusing the Bible of being exclusive and denouncing that God is a God of love. However, I now understand that this follows Jesus' teaching His disciples about judging others and reproving them. First, He teaches them to humble their hearts, and not reprove out of judgemental pride. This is hypocrisy. After that, He teaches them the wise discernment of how and when to use reproving. Reproving in love is a holy ordinance from God meant for the growth and well being of His people and His body--therefore He cautioned them to not use it with those that will not accept it (i.e. do not have the hearts for God). Because it will be taken badly, it will enrage people ("trampling on pearls"), and most likely they will attack and slander you and your name and reputation to other people (i.e. what has happened to Pastor S and Harvest's name in the past).

Then I'm reading the commentary regarding Lot in Sodom when the people ran to his house cuz they wanted to sexually abuse his visitors. And the commentary points out that Lot's attempt and good intentions of counsel were thrown down and against him--he called them brethren and offered them his daughters instead (which is the lesser of two evils, but still not right of him...although a good man, Lot was still human). But the people raged against him and threatened to do worse to him than what they were planning to do to his visitors. How gruesome is this. But basically people who hate God will not understand good counsel, so instead of unwisely trying to counsel them, we ought to learn discernment. I believe this is also goes with evangelizing: Our duty is to witness, not to convert. If people hear our testimonies and still turn against it, it is no longer our business (other than if we seek to pray for them). Justice will be served in the end on Judgment Day, and justice is only handled by God. Sin WILL be punished, but letting God handle justice frees us to love.

Anyhow, I'm racking my brains trying to remember if I have reproved anyone inappropriately (other than stupid attempts last year with P). 3 times in 24 hours. This says something. =p Well if I did to you, let me know. And if in the end, no, then no doubt God is equipping me for the future. Stay tuned to see what happens.

i know that i haven't been commenting a whole lot..i've been busy. one thing that i do want to say... noah's curse...wow! it explains alot. i'm learning alot about history through the old testiment. :) it's nice.

one thing that really challenged me, again in the area of obedience and faith... simon peter, andrew, james and john all immediately stopped, left all, and followed Christ. i mean, how much did they really "know" of Him? how many of us, in this day would just stop, leave EVERYTHING, and just follow someone because they said to. if that ain't the power and awesomeness of God, i don't know what is.

hi guys. (=

so i stopped doing the Bible reading program. why? well, b/c God's been really moving my heart through my studies on Paul...and i just don't have time to do both. it's a lil bit challanging not going to Harvest as well. (= but that's ok. i hope you guys are all doing well!

Hahahah. Hey guys, I just wanted to clear up my point with the whole how us girls seem to be ex bad and how the guys seem to ex bad and how God seems funny for bringing us together. I don't mean in the sense for us to get WITH each other cuz it's what "we want". I meant that with similar experiences and nature, it helps us understand better, edify, and keep each other accountable. Ok, just wanted to clear that up =D Nothing brought it up, it was just something in my mind that said "Hmmm, maybe I should clear it up more."

And it's funny, so I'm looking over the Asian Avenue Hot Cuties pages with Dann last night, and all the Types of guys I used to be attracted to--I wasn't as much anymore. What happened? All the types of faces I used to think were hot (Bad boy Asian Thug, mainly Korean), I glossed over last night. What's happening to me??? Ahhh!

And I missed yesterday's Passages too. But I definitely am making it up today. I never thought I would love reading the Bible so much =p ^_^

i confess...i missed yesterday. :( but!! praise God i had alot of time today, so... :) i was able to catch up on ALL my reading. praise God!!! i just am so filled with joy right now!! can i just say, GOD IS GOOD!! today, reading noah's story made me know more of God's grace and mercy in combination with His justice. it's all just hitting me how much God loves me!!! with all the crap that i've done and with my evil heart... and still He loves me. wow!

again, the theme for me this year: obedience. and i'm so thankful that Jesus was so obedient. He never gave into temptation. obedience..walking with God... it's all challenging to me. it's sounds so easy, but it's SO not. it sounds so simple... the flesh is so weak.

jess, you have no comments, so i will post my comments to your blogspot here. hee hee hee. (=

funny how God is working in all of us. (= andri commented on one of our millions of pages that it's funny how God brought us all together. and what a blessing it has been for me to see how God is using us to build each other up. i've been thinking a lot about guys as well. and i also made the decision to remain single for one more semester. i've known all along that i needed to do that, but i've been so reluctant to give it all up to God again. but he reminded me of the commitments i made for this year: leading CCF, finishing up my last semester, outreaching with christina. a relationship would simply not survive under those conditions. (= it would be totally unfair for the guy i was with b/c i know i would not be able to give him the time/attention he deserves. no more of that business for me. i screwed up majorly in the past with that, but i have finally learned. (= so jess, i am right there beside you...at least for this semester. and then i guess i will see what happens. (= maybe another commitment, maybe not. (=

so to anybody who reads this page, you are entitled to keep me accountable. then again, all i really need is dri. =P everytime i crush and i tell her, she just responds with NO! (= still love you though....

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Way past my bedtime! Yet all this Scripture dwelving and sharing about God is so edifying and satisfying....but I gotta start to learn to budget my time cuz starting to lag a bit on schoolwork. But don't want to miss out on people time as well, and definitely not skimp on QT.

So I'm just going to post Pastor S's answers today instead of sharing my personal questions/observations. (BUT THERE'S SO MANY QUESTIONS! I wish we could have ALL the time in the world to dwelve and receive answers):

(Me): Matthew 1:1-17: Supposedly 14 generations from Abraham to David, then from after exile to Babylon to Jesus. But I only count 12 listed in the Bible. What happened?
I am guessing for vv. 12-17 right? In Mt 1:12-16 (after the exile to Babylon) we notice:

Jeconiah (he can be seen as part of the 2nd 14 generations)

1) Shealtiel
2) Zerubbabel
3) Abiud
4) Eliakim
5) Azor
6) Zadok
7) Akim
8) Eliud
9) Eleazar
10) Matthan
11) Jacob
12) Joseph
13) Christ

The significance of 14 here in this passage is that the the numerical value of the name "David" in Hebrew is 14 (they have a system of doing this...each Hebrew alphabet would be given a number value... it is kind of like "a"=1, "b"=2). Therefore Matthew (being a Jew) is using a lot of symbolism here. Since they were waiting for the Messiah what seems like a shorten of the generations is really God's merciful act of shortening the period from the Exile to Jesus.When you look carefully from the exile to Jesus it seems like there are only 13 generation and the best explanation is that God was desiring to shorten the period to bring forth the Messiah graciously.

(I did Pastor S's way of listing out the people with Abraham to King David. Originally what seemed like 12 generations turned into 14. I brought this up cuz a site a nonChristian friend pointed me to had a Hebrew guy who investigated the Bible and brought up all of what he thought were inconsistences by outward appearance. This was one of them

He also said the "formless mass" was indeed water.

And here are a bunch of resources and references he suggested, so if you guys have questions, check them out:

http://bible.crosswalk.com/

Also, if there are more apologetical questions then you can refer to these websites:

1) Leadership University (www.leaderu.com)
2) Reasons to Believe (www.reason.org)
3) Answers in Action (www.answers.org)
4) Ravi Zacharias - he has a good apologetic link (www.rzim.org)
5) Probe Ministries (www.probe.org)
6) Stand to reason (www.str.org)

God Bless =)

Gen 3:19 - 5:5

1) "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." (v. 3:22) Once they could see, they could not return. Remember our talked yesterday, Mace? How after we experienced that closeness with God...how we can never go back to what it was like before...b/c we've seen so much more? This verse made me wonder if it is the same. Adam and Eve were no longer innocent...they thrown out of the garden, and they could never return. When we experience God in such an intimate way...we can never take it a notch down without that lacking feeling anymore. though opposite situations...i wonder if it is the same concept.

2) "But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (v. 4:7). reading this verse this time painted such a vivid picture this time. for some reason, the image in my mind before was [walking with God] - [neutral] - [not walking with God]. point is, i always imagined this neutral zone. btw...this applies to Christians. when i say "not walking with God" i don't mean non-Christians. anyway, but that is clearly not the case. sin is just WAITING for you to turn your back. it attracts you...it's ALIVE. it's like the boogie man in your closet just waiting to scare you when you open the door. ironically, if you are scared of the boogie man, you never want to open that door. and yet, we are so willing to sin. "but you must master it." not, "why don't you try." not, "i would suggest." no...JUST DO IT. granted, only through the work of the Holy Spirit.

why does blogging take so looooooong

For today's passages (Gen 2:7-3:18):
1. The origin keeps reaffirming the importance of naming things, of "What's in a Name". I have yet to listen to most of PS's message on that, but I think it will give me a new perspective on the power behind the name of Jesus and LORD God.

2. God made Adam a companion. After talking with a friend today, I think it is ok for us to desire a companion in marriage. To want to be married. But where our motives for that desire comes from is something God knows and will provide or will not provide. If it's to better glorify God together, and for each person to be able to worship God more because of the union, then I think it is good. It makes me think also about how the "common way" is to fall in love, there are also many times in the Bible where marriages occur not out of love at first, but doing God's bidding. He had a purpose for the marriages He brought about. I think love will always come in those situations, but it's hard to want to be married without that romance in the first place. I guess it's something I will have to lift up. I hope to fall in love, leading to marriage. But I don't know what God's best will for me is. Also makes me think about the command for husbands to love their wives as their own bodies...literally. For Eve was made out of a part of Adam's body, and he literally loved her as his own body.
But consequences of sin fell upon Eve with man: She would desire him, but he would rule over her. I think this explains the crazy attachment girls can't help but develop for the guys they put their focus on. I experienced a little of that strong bind, and it was frighteningly to understand even just a little how some women literally cannot leave their husbands/boyfriends that physically abuse them, sexually abuse them, verbally and emotionally abuse them. Guys--be SO careful with girls. Women react to words, I think similar ways to how guys react to seeing.

3. Is there significance to the snake being enemies with the woman instead of man that pans out in the world today? Is the enmity with women passed down through her because she bears the offsprings?

P.S. But wow, to think of it all being a quivering mass of water-like substance in the beginning covered by darkness...I will never look at a pool of water the same way again. =)

wow...okay, so i'm reread gen. 1 again just cause i was thinking about stuff... creation, evolution, science...and i decided to nit-pick a little more...

summary, cause i always get lost:
day 1: light was created and separated from dark.
day 2: sky was created...separated from the water on the earth.
day 3: land appeared to separate the waters... establish oceans, seas, rivers, etc. also, grass/fruits/trees/herbs were created.
day 4: sky gets more work... sun, starts, moon... day and night more established...
day 5: sea creatures and birds created
day 6: land creatures...livestock and other land animals... and man created. verses go indepth into the fact that man is put in charge of all the earth.
day 7: REST

dri, so i was thinking..you know how we had kind of agreed that the second chapter summarized the creation, cause it was a lot to cover. i think the whole rain thing that you were talking about (question number 8) was just another way to explain day 2. i think the separation of the water in the sky (clouds) and such was maybe the cycle of rain clouds and stuff. and you know about your "formless mass" being water theory. i think you're right...and i'm not sure what your version says, but in nkjv, at the end of verse 2 it says: "and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters".

i can't help but to think about all the evolution theories that i've heard about (and not fully investigated on my own)... i'm beginning to really agree with harold's theory that evolution and creation together explain the beginning of the universe... and that the only thing that is wrong about evolution is that it all happened by chance. that belief i will never bend to. and i remember someone who read straight from darwin's book saying that he is often misquoted... that he proved microevolution...not macro...or something. i need to read more. i'm so interested in this and want to learn more. maybe i'll go to the grad tonight or something... i'm also beginning to believe that science and God mix very very well. and that they help understand the other. science helps us to understand perhaps the process of how things were created and put into place... like for example, in 1:30 "... i have gven every green herb for food"... i can't help but to think of the food chain and how it all starts with the plants. for me, this verse supports the food chain and helps explain herbivores... and all that stuff.

i like this bible reading stuff...:)

just a brief comment... about the pangea thing. i've always wanted to know about that too...i wonder what other biblically based books are out there that give theories to the beginning of the world...like the pangea theory. sometimes when i look at the globe i think: wow, the land masses do look like they'd fit. i think it makes sense..but i want to do more investigation... i want to hang out at borders more...

will no one else join us dri? maybe we should invite your brother...

Incredible. I've never really dug into Scripture before (too lazy to dig, I just used to read) and already, within the FIRST chapter of the FIRST book, there were a gazillion questions and info and stuff. Wowio. (Jess, I ended up marking my common English Bible, cuz it was just easier. And it actually helped me understand. I'm glad it's marked up now hahahah)

1. SO--in the beginning, was the "formless mass" something like water? It never said that God created water after He made light and dark. It just said on the 2nd day, He separated ground water from heaven water with an expanse called "Sky". Was gonna be like, I can't fathom "emptiness". Where earth was a "void"..."formless mass"...so if this is the case, from water sprung everything else. Water = earth's life. Look at us, look at plants, look at this atmosphere, weather -- without water we are nothing. we die. the earth dies. Jesus said to go to Him, and He will quench our thirst with His eternal water of life. Water seems like it is the basis of the life God created.

2. So then, if the seas were gathered in one place, and land sprung up--does this support the theory of Pangea? Does Pangea fit in with Biblical history even?

3. Sun and moon: Greather light and less light. How come God made a greater light and lesser light, where the only light source is still the Sun? What was His purpose? Did He have one? Or it was just something random He did as He pleased? Regardless, makes me think of how He separated light and dark, and issued the lights to govern the passing of day and night. In the night, although it is dark, there is still the light of the moon and starts to guide travelers: "Weeping may endureth for the night, but joy comes in the morning". The sun and moon are talked about from earth's perspective and point of view. Interesting cuz back in the old days, when the Greeks (?) thought earth was the center of all things, until it was found that the earth revolved around the sun. Don't know how that was supposed to work in God's purpose and plan, but maybe one of those mysteries I won't know until I'm in Heaven.

4. Speaking of which, in the NIV version: the days are described as "And there was EVENING, then there was MORNING". Evening came first, rather than the other way around how we interpret a day. Purpose? I don't know, but it does remind me again, "Weeping may endureth for the night, but joy comes in the morning."

5. The way God is first described as SPIRIT of God hovered over the "surface of the deep" (NIV). Why is SPIRIT purposely mentioned? I don't know, but it makes me think of the essence of who God is, the nature, the being of who God is.

6. Also when He was about to form man, He speaks in plural: "Let US make people in OUR image, to be like OURSELVES." The Trinity. I'm like picturing TV depictions of higher powers, where you see like multiple beings, but they all speak at the same time with the same voice. =P It's the closest I can come to trying to understand it right now. Still hard for me to grasp the concept of the trinity, one Spirit in 3 forms.

7. Is there a purpose behind distinction of livestock and wild animals? Reminds me of Narnia #1 (The Magician and His Nephew) where Aslan made beasts, then chose some of them to talk. Talking beasts, mute beasts. Actually not entirely parallel, but yeah.

8. Does anyone know anything about the what seems like conflict between Gen 1 and Gen 2? Gen 1: Plants came first, then man 2 days later. Gen 2: It SEEMS like God made man when "there were no plants or grains growin on the earth"...but the more I read this again and again, it just seems like Moses was going into more detail, that in the beginning, the first plants were not watered by rain. But rather by water that came up from the ground (mist?) And then he moves on--God created man's from from dust. My commentary said it was probably dust mixed with the mist--mud. Clay! Hahah. Our body is of the earth. But our soul and mind and spirit is breathed in straight from God's breath. WOW.

9. Matthew 1:1-17: It says there were 14 generations from Abraham to King David, but I only count 12. Ditto from after the exile of Babylon to Jesus. Does anyone know anything about this?

Maybe someone who's been enlightened by the Spirit reads the Bible differently than someone who hasn't.