Broken world, broken lives

(I found this list in a "Gospel Transformation" lesson series from the World Harvest Mission. Goal: to acknowledge more fully the different areas of a fallen world that can pressure us, tempt us, or bring suffering into our lives. Indeed, indeed, yet some are harder to see than others.)

The suffering and pressures of life: a closer look

1. Relationships. Kids misbehaving, boss at work, family upbringing, husband or wife's neglect, anger, or criticism, in-laws, siblings, people in general (their actions, opinions), physical abuse, sexual abuse, bad role models.

2. Possessions. Car, house, computer, washing machine, lawnmower, television: anything that can break, mess up, or damage something! Lack of possessions, not enough money to make ends meet.

3. Biology/genetics. Sickness, food cravings, PMS, menopause, old age, deformity, injury, panic attacks, depression, anxiety, death, rain, snow, humidity.

4. Work/career. Lack of time, exams, lack of sleep, job concerns, cooking, housekeeping, routine, finances, Monday mornings!

5. Fallen world. Death in family, tears, sorrow, depression, pain, thorns and thistles, and meaninglessness.

6. Satan and the world. The world tempts us to conform, either by force or by seduction. Our culture can tempt us according to various things that are "important" for our culture, such as respect, independence, beauty or superiority.

7. Sinful nature. As Christians, we live with two realities, two natures--the old and the new. The old pressures us towards sin. The sinful nature fights against the Spirit.

8. The wilderness. We are a wilderness community who has not yet entered the Promised Land. Like the Israelites, we are faced with lack of water, same food, same schedule, dust, heat, same clothes, and uncertainty.

9. Good things. Blessings, success at job, unexpected gifts, good family life, promotion, increase in salary, better living conditions. It is harder to see these as temptations, but they can be powerful. Consider the prayer in Proverbs 30:8-9: "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."

Nice question!

Whenever my two-year old son finds something delicious, or is satisfied with how he has stacked his blocks, or finds fulfillment in something he thinks he has accomplished, or sees something he thinks is beautiful, he says his classic "nice" or "mama, nice" or "daddy, nice." It might be the incorrect word on many occasions, but I let it be and even I have allowed myself to use the word increasingly.

I find the following question posed by a certain Stephen Covey nice,

"How many on their deathbeds wished they'd spent more time at the office--or watching TV?"

And the answer nice.

"No one. They think about their loved ones, their families, and those they have served."

And if I may add, probably for those who believe in a Heaven and a glorious body, and maybe even for those who don't, they also think on their deathbeds about whether they or their loved ones will go to Heaven or not.

Nice.

Kaizen

On Accountability to Others

Five Building Blocks for Relationship/Fellowship
1. Authenticity - being genuine/real
2. Courtesy - respecting differences, being considerate of each others' feelings and being patient with people
who irritate us
3. Mutuality - mutual encouragement, mutual honoring, mutual accountability
4. Hospitality
5. Unity

"Leadership is influence."

"If you want to impress people, share your success. If you want to influence people, share your failures." - John Maxwell

On Work Ethic and Professionalism

Two major points: Integrity and Excellence

On integrity - wholeness and consistency

Demonstrations of integrity
- honesty
- faithfulness
- impartiality and fairness
- concern for others' interest
- concern for the nation

On excellence
- continue to improve yourself (Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy of 'continuous improvement)
- be proactive
- proactive people focus on 'circle of influence' (things you have control of) not on 'circle of concern' (things
you have no control of)
- be disciplined
- finishing what you start
- focus
- persevere

On Accountability to God

1. Know the Lord.
2. Love the Lord.
2. Obey the Lord.

"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." - Ps. 118:8

(All these are excerpts and quotable quotes during our two-day WE MEAN (work ethic, moral enrichment, accountability and integrity) workshop. Our facilitators are Engr. Sito Silva and wife, and Mr. Inan-che).

Senseless Suffering- - or Pain with a Purpose

(Below is a devotional from www.livingchrist360.com adapted from chapter 7 of Bryan Chapell’s book Holiness By Grace: Delighting in the Joy That is Our Strength (Crossway, 2001).

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

— Hebrews 12:3–6

A pastor once told me of the many challenges he encountered in his first two years of ministry: adulteries among the leaders of his church, multiple terminal illnesses and tragedies of young and old, intense political and generational battles within the congregation. He began to wonder how much more he could take. Then he happened to overhear a young woman in the church say to his wife, “I wonder what God is preparing your husband to do that requires him to face so much so early in his ministry.”

Those simple words changed the pastor’s life. He said, “They reminded me that God lets nothing in our lives go to waste. He was preparing me for more service, both by making me tender in learning to care for those who were suffering, and in making me hard so that I could endure their and my pain. Knowing that there was a purpose in my difficulties enabled me to serve God with more courage and conviction.”

God’s discipline of us can be preparatory as well as corrective. He may use a fiery trial to prepare us for greater usefulness or as a means to turn us from sin, or as a combination of both to make us both more tender and more hard than we have been. When we experience loneliness, disdain, poverty, abuse, unfair accusation, fear, betrayal, heartache, fatigue, and trial, our hearts remain tender toward those facing similar difficulties. Even when there is no direct benefit to us, the discipline we experience enables us to sympathize with those who suffer and, consequently, to maintain a biblical concern for them.

Such discipline also loosens our grasp on the temporary distractions and temptations of this world and gives us a clearer vision of the next world’s priorities and promises. Like our Savior, we learn to walk through life with eyes and energies focused on future glory.

Knowing that God has a purpose for our hardship, that his intention is always to bring an ultimate good even when it requires a temporary hurt, we will “not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him” (Heb. 12:5). May we never lose sight of this essential truth, and may we never despise the God who works so mysteriously—yet so wondrously—in our lives!

(I thank God for His love and discipline. The discipline I myself experienced was both corrective and preparatory. It is the gravity that keeps my feet on the ground and keeps me from being judgmental. It reminds me always about God's amazing love and grace. Wondrous!, wondrous!, indeed. - che)

Kochi Yorokobi Kristo Kyoukai

A Lifetime in Kochi

I will remember Kochi as the place where God allowed me to experience many of life’s major milestones – married life, baby, death of a parent, and this coming March, graduation. I came here in autumn of 2006 to pursue my PhD at Kochi University, but by God’s sovereignty, more things unfolded, and three years, in a way, became a lifetime of experience. Looking back, I could not be more glad and grateful for this place.

It was in Kochi where I experienced the wonder and pains of childbirth. And the efficient care of the Nankoku city health center and my Japanese doctor, and the utmost kindness of a Japanese friend helped us greatly. My son who is now two years old will soon probably find it weird to be writing Nankoku city as his birthplace, yet it will forever remind us of God’s goodness and grace while we were here in Kochi. After all, Kochi is a sister province of Benguet province in the Philippines where I was born and raised.

I remember the kindness and prayers of the Japanese brethren at Kochi Yorokobi Kristo Kyoukai in Asakura. They painstakingly stuck and prayed with me when I got married, when I was pregnant, when I gave birth, while I was doing my research, and writing my dissertation, when I heard the news of my father’s death, when I was having my oral presentation and final examinations all in a span of more than three years. Their faith in Christ, and love encouraged me a lot.

So as I prepare to return to my beloved country, the resilient pearl in the orient, I will remember with joy and thanksgiving the wonders and lessons of this lifetime in Kochi. I thank God for his all-time grace and intelligent design. I thank the Japanese government for granting me a scholarship. I thank my professors at Kochi University who supervised my research. I thank the Japanese volunteers for foreign students at Kochi city and Nankoku city for their many help. And I thank the people in Kochi for maintaining such a laid-back but efficient place that was my home for more than three years.

(This is an account of my stay in Kochi which I wrote for the Kochi-Benguet Newsletter produced by the Kochi International Association [KIA]. I should add that I did not know about this Benguet-Kochi sisterhood relationship when I went there to study. -che)

Testimony of God's Goodness and Grace

Good morning. Thank you very much for this chance to testify before you about how I came to know the true gospel of Christ, and about His amazing grace while I was here in Kochi. My conversion story is not as dramatic as Marlon’s. In my case, it was a gradual process. When I was a child, I attended Sunday school. Sunday after Sunday, I just went with my parents to church. One day in my final year in elementary, after the Pastor’s message, I understood that I am a sinner and that I need Christ to come into my heart.

Later in high school, although I continued going to church and participating in youth activities, it soon just became a routine, and I started to wonder about the real purpose of life. Was life just about going to school and church, getting a job, earning some money, getting married, bearing kids, and then sending them to school, and the cycle will repeat itself again and on and on. In college, while joining a campus Bible study, God made me realize that life is not just the cycle that I thought it was. He made me understand from the Word of God the purpose of my existence, which is well summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith this way: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. God made me understand that real satisfaction in life is not found in being an honor student in school, not in having friends, not in graduating and having a good job, not even in marrying and having successful children. But that real satisfaction, real joy, comes only from understanding His grace through faith.

I really thank God that He allowed me to understand this truth. This truth helped me a lot to rise up whenever I failed Him and whenever I had difficulties since I started working. It is also because of His grace and mercy that I was able to accept His will that I serve him as Marlon’s partner. At that time, I struggled a lot because I feel so unworthy and sinful. I was and am still afraid. But God continues to remind me of His love, that He died for me, has forgiven all my sins and paid all the penalty, and that He is in control.

Here in Japan, I also saw God’s tremendous grace in my life. When I found out I was pregnant and my adviser did not agree that Marlon will come, I struggled. It is natural and understandable that he should be angry, because I came here to study, yet I also knew that a child is a gift from God. By His grace, I did not have many complications in my pregnancy, my adviser accepted my condition, God allowed Marlon to come here, He provided me Inoue-san to help me even if it was painstakingly time-consuming for her. He also provided me this church, Hoshizawa sensei and Naoko sensei, all of you who all have been very kind to me, to us, to Khane, prayed for us, loved us.

Of course, there were difficult and discouraging times. There were times when I wanted to quit my studies and just go back home. When news of my father’s death came, again I struggled. He wanted to see me finish, and encouraged me to do my best and graduate. But why didn’t he wait for me to graduate? In all these, God, through Marlon, would remind me of His sovereignty. That Christ who was without sin suffered a lot more to save me is an encouragement assuring me that Christ is more than able to sympathize with me.

Brethren, I thank and praise God for His grace through His son Jesus Christ. He put faith in my heart, and He is sovereign and in control even when I cannot exercise strong faith or when circumstances are difficult to understand. I believe that God has allowed all these experiences to prepare me and my family for our life ahead in whatever ministry He has called us to do. For this, please continue praying for us. I thank and praise God for all of you. And from my heart, I thank you all very much for your prayers, for your encouragement, for just being my brothers and sisters in Christ, indeed. I sure have many stories to tell Khane about God’s goodness and grace, and about you all. God bless you.

(This is a testimony of God's grace in my life, the Nihongo version I read on March 21, 2010 at the Kochi Yorokobi Kristo Kyoukai. I thank Inoue-san who edited, actually rewrote my struggling Nihongo version. -che)