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| "Lord what's it all for? I'm tired and depressed, missing home, dissatisfied with my monotonous routine. My friends are drifting, and I can't run after them. I'm burning out, with nowhere to turn, it forces me to run back into Your arms, forces me to my knees in a desperate search for something, but what, I don't know,
I've forgotten the joy of your presence. My heart has closed up, arrogance has given birth to indifference. I know the truth in my head, but ouch, Lord, it hurts like a knife in my side that You point it out with such blunt clarity. It hasn't penetrated my heart yet. I've forgotten the satisfaction of a broken heart. And I'm afraid to ask for the breaking.
The Psalmist makes You so glorious and fearful and real, so... God. I hate that I can't see You the same way, worship You with the same passion, or love you with the same joy. I'm tired of hiding and faking. Tired of trying and failing. Tired of running away. Bring me back to You.
I'm afraid of the pain and the process. you've been patient, but how much more will You wait? Teach me to fear You. Teach me to Love You. Teach me to live on my knees before You. Running back to You forever. Let Psalms 30 and 40 be the praise of my heart. I want to live the fulles life You intended for me, I need Your strength."
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God vs Science
A
science professor begins his school year with a lecture to the
students, "Let me explain the problem science has with religion." The
atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks
one of his new students to stand.
"You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"
"Yes sir," the student says.
"So you believe in God?"
"Absolutely."
"Is God good?"
"Sure! God's good."
"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"
"Yes."
"Are you good or evil?"
"The Bible says I'm evil."
The
professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment.
"Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you
can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?"
"Yes sir, I would."
"So you're good...!"
"I wouldn't say that."
"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."
The
student does not answer, so the professor continues. "He doesn't, does
he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he
prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you
answer that one?"
The student remains silent.
"No, you
can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a
glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.
"Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"
"Er...yes," the student says.
"Is Satan good?"
The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No."
"Then where does Satan come from?"
The student falters. "From God"
"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"
"Yes, sir."
"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?"
"Yes."
"So
who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything,
then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the
principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."
Again,
the student has no answer. "Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred?
Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?"
The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."
"So who created them?"
The
student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question.
"Who created them?" There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer
breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.
"Tell me," he continues onto another student. "Do you believe in Jesus
Christ, son?"
The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor, I do."
The
old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to
identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?"
"No sir. I've never seen Him."
"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"
"No, sir, I have not."
"Have
you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have
you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that
matter?"
"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."
"Yet you still believe in him?"
"Yes."
"According
to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science
says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"
"Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith."
"Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith."
The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. "Professor, is there such thing as heat?"
"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."
"And is there such a thing as cold?"
"Yes, son, there's cold too."
"No sir, there isn't."
The
professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room
suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. "You can
have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited
heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything
called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no
heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as
cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458
degrees."
"Every body or object is susceptible to study when it
has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have
or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of
heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence
of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units
because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the
absence of it."
Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.
"What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?"
"Yes," the professor replies without hesitation. "What is night if it isn't darkness?"
"You're
wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of
something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing
light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's
called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the
word."
"In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"
The
professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be
a good semester. "So what point are you making, young man?"
"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed."
The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?"
"You
are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You
argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad
God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something
we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought."
"It
uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully
understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be
ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.
Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it."
"Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"
"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."
"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"
The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.
"Since
no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot
even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not
teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a
preacher?"
The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.
"To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean."
The
student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has
ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into laughter.
"Is
there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the
professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one
appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of
empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no
brain, with all due respect, sir."
"So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"
Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.
Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll have to take them on faith."
"Now,
you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,"
the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"
Now
uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it
everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is
in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These
manifestations are nothing else but evil."
To this the student
replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto
itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and
cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God
did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does
not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes
when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no
light."
The professor sat down.
This students statements are true, can you or can you not make night darker?
Is it possible for it to get colder after absolute zero -458 degree's F?
Can you feel,taste,see,hear,or smell your brain?
Someone put this up on myspace. I thought this was kind of interesting, so I posted it up here. Our xanga has been left to much neglect (well hardly anyone seems to go on xanga anymore annnyywaayyy) and I thought if there were any place to start... why not with this? Umm... I guess it'll be updated whenever there's time for someone to update it... So stay tuned brothers and sisters...
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| Hey guys! It's Cho...for my last entry on this xanga...I will pass this password down to Mina soon. I just wanted to say that it has been such a pleasure working you guys. I love you guys so much that words cannot express. All the times we've shared getting to know each other better and praying for each other will always be in my memory forever. I WILL NOT forget you guys! I thank you guys so much for letting me lead you guys in praise, in worship, in serving God. I thank you guys so much for giving me the chance of being Elim Youth's president. Thanks so much for saving me. That's right, you guys saved me! You guys always told me that I was an inspiration to you and I wanted you guys to know, that every single one of you guys inspired me just as much. Inspiration works both ways you know  I wonder where I'd be without you guys. I wish that I've spent so much more time with you guys before I left. I'm sorry that I didn't lead you guys to my full potential all the time, but I hope that God helped me make an impact. I also wish that I left after the senior night...so taht I could have said everything I wanted to each and every one of you like my brother did. But I want everyone to know how special each and every one of you is to me. I remember that we were supposed to have that new youth group building two years ago, but we still didnt' get it. But it's all God's plan! Keep praying and keep having faith! Pray for each other so you may grow! And be each other's brothers and sisters in Christ! Please don't let gossip ruin your relationship with each other. And please treat everyone with love. Show them the meaning of being in Christ Jesus! If you live your life for Jesus, then people will notice and they will want to know. You guys have the power to make people wonder! To help them know the love of God that we all know, so please pass it on! Make fun of no one at church! Instead show each other love! Don't let each other fall away! Become leaders and show Sin City what a Holy City looks like...become the Jesus Generation. With new leaders and more bible studies, you guys have a lot to look forward to and learn, so keep focus. Don't ever forget that we cannot take our relationship with Jesus for granted. I love you guys very much and I will try to check in on you guys as much as possible! I don't know why, but my mind is not flowing now and I cannot think. There's so much more I want to say. Maybe I will update this again when I know what God wants me to say. But mostly, I just wanted to say that I love you guys so much - I cannot say it enough. Love...love...love...I tell you guys...it does miracles...so use your love to reach out  God Bless | | |
| How will you use your God given talents? How will you help change the world? Do you have the power to make someone wonder? Do you have the power to change one life? To show someone what it means to truly live? Can you make someone who feels invisible feel like they exist? Do you have the power? Even if you just show one person the power of Christ, don't you think it will be worth it? When no one else cared, Jesus did. When no one else cares, YOU can. | | |
| Pastor Jim Bob Park said we need to do 4 things
1) Have a vision/purpose
2) Start working towards that vision with small simple things - it starts small and grows big
3) Do it today - don't procrastinate
4) Need help? Get help from the Holy Spirit
I have had a purpose/vision for something at Elim I guess. I've been procrastinating because I thought it would start too small. But I have to do it today. And I have to start small and simple having faith God will make it big. Therefore...I want to start a Youth Group library at Elim! So...that means documents, christian books, christian CDs that you guys dont' use anymore, a praise binder full of praise chords, pictures from since existance, CDs of sermons collected. Let's do it! So if anyone is willing to spare some of their Christian books, CDs, pictures, sermons, bring them in! We'll start small and go big! It can help people when they are down. They can turn to this library to listen to sermons, to read about why they go to troubles and how to face it, to study for the baptism test...in ENGLISH!
With that said. I signed onto my old SN: Cho The Panda. It's incredible who remembers you from church a long time ago. It's incredible how they remember how you inspired them, how you made an impact on their lives. It's also incredibly touching when they tell you how they don't go to church anymore, and ask you about it again. When they don't know anything about church anymore and ask you the funniest things with all seriousness. I laughed and thought, how innocently childish this now to be high schooler is when it comes to church. I really pray that his dad will let him come one day. Sometimes it takes risk to save someone's soul. With that said, I want to say to you all, make a difference! If all the Christians in this world really started to be passionate and started to make impacts, imagine how beautiful a family we could create. A body of Christ stronger than even titanium! Get a vision/purose! Start small! Do it today! Get help from the Holy Spirit! You've got all the talents and power you need! | | |
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