Remind the Forgetful

New Poster at Ebenezers Coffeehouse 

Three days ago my friend, who I worked with as a youth teacher at a Bible camp, stopped by at Ebenezers Coffeehouse to see if he could surprise me. He emailed me when he and his daughter, a student at Gallaudet Unviersity, and her friend got there. He said, "Where are you?" I was at my home taking care of a guest and eating a breakfast. When I got his message, I laughed and rushed to meet him. I explained that I'm a full-time volunteer not a staff at NCC and at Gallaudet University, which I was often asked. I explained them about the history of NCC and showed them the performance level where we used to have the church services. I've been there since it begun and ceased, it was held in 2006-2012. When we got into the stairs, I looked up and found the frame blank. I told them that we used to have the poster to advertise the people about NCC and I wished that it was still there.

This morning I walked into the same stairway into 7:14 morning prayer. Viola, it was there! I love the new design. That was until I noticed something amissing. The beautiful thing became the most ugly thing I've ever seen. My mindset had changed. I couldn't pray. Actually, I asked God if I could find a knife and tear down the ugly thing. That was a prayer. I'm waiting to hear "Aye" from my boss.

What was missing? Maybe you could guess, maybe you could not. It is something that most people would forget. It's too common. Mistakes repeated.

"Interpreter Provided"

NCC had been wonderful this year! The weekly bulletin would include "ASL interpretation provided weekly at Barracks Row Sunday AM services." Neat! We also have seats reserved for ASL interpretation. Neat! We also created a new logo symbol for any interpreter provided events. Neat!

If we will grasp and love the reality, then we will become the people of God. We will remind the forgetful. The Old Testament prophets reminded the people about God. Moses reminded God that His people are His people. We remind each other that our people are our people.

National Community Church!

 

Blind-Stuck

He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"  -John 9:25

Several months ago, the right end of the couch had became my home office. My laptop was attached to the short cord of Ethernet after its Wi-Fi ceased to function. I was stuck at the spot. That was until I found a perfect free desk abandoned outside for anybody. I rejoiced over this desk and so I begged a roommate to carry it over and we could share the desk to work. She gave up her 15 minutes. The desk was set in the end of the hallway and I borrowed the extended Ethernet cord from another roommate to create a working space. After everything is set, I realized that sharing the desk would cause a crisis- a scheduling problem! So I made the wisest decision by backing out from sharing the desk, "It's my desk and I have less spaces than you do." I reasoned that since my other roommate have a certain shelves/drawer somewhere in the living room and in the hallway and I don't, so I have the right to this space to this desk. Or it was what I thought, eh?

Yesterday I felt the nudging from the Lord to give away the desk. And so I took it outside past midnight and posted it "FREE". That morning I had a regular morning prayers and in middle of this I got a message from a dad of two kids I babysit. He asked me if I could babysit them at a last minute notice because his friend's kids were sick. I accepted the assignment. In few hours, the toddlers were over and the dad liked the desk and took it home! It was a blessing to him. Wow. But I was back to the right end of the couch. It was backward awkward.

Today was a few extra steps backward. My office at home is not limited to the right end of the couch. Due to the change, I took the effort to see if I could fix the problem with the Wi-Fi. I learned that the problem was not a problem, but overlooked. The Wi-Fi switch was simply somehow turned off. I think that's what happen when you have an adorable toddler in the house! And so I switched it on. Voila! It works. Which means I could work on the dining table, on my bunk bed, at Ebenezers Coffeehouse, or wherever Wi-Fi is available. Well I could also go back to the favorite right end of the couch.

The point of the story is that we are sometimes "blind-stuck". We could overlook a small source of the problem which caused us to become stuck. Yet I felt that God used this "blind-stuck" situation to glorify Himself. I don't know if we have sinned, but I know that God had opened our eyes. Our "eyes" are opened because our "ears" are listening.

The blind man in John 9 was listening, spiritually speaking. If not, then let us say "Ephphatha" to listen.

Listen and Act in Obedience

But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. http://bible.us/Rom3.24.MSG

I was restless all night. All I felt was the condemnation. I criticized myself and others. I was frustrated. I thought of how frustrated Elijah was when he shouted in the wilderness, "I wanna die!" Then God guided him. I told him to direct me. I needed to be convicted by the Holy Spirit of something. I knew that I wasn't a god and that I cannot continue to condemn myself. But what was the conviction? What needed to be changed? And how?

"Give away your desk," was all what He said. I argue at first. It was crazy. I needed to finish preparing for the workshop I was going to teach. I needed it to work effectively. I wasn't supposed to feel guilty for taking up such a small space when it seemed fair according to my measurement. Afterall, my roommates had their portions of space.

"Do you trust me?" I suddenly realized that I was trying to work for Him myself rather than obeying. I was a "working dog" titled in Ecclesiastes 4 (MSG), indeed. Thus I responded by getting off my bed at midnight to get my stuff out and carry my desk out quickly. Firstly, I knew that I couldn't sleep without acting. Secondly, I knew that I may hesitate again in the morning.

The disciples also had to give up their homes and careers to follow Jesus without understanding why they had to. Mary poured the expensive perfume on Jesus' feet, she probably had no clue about His death or how soon it will be. Judas is the exceptional, he criticized Mary for giving away her perfume. He later clinged to the money bag, which led him to betray Jesus. I believe that somewhere along the way, he heard the conviction but he reasoned with himself because that conviction didn't make sense to him. He forgot why he was following Jesus in the first place.

We may either cling to something or give something away to cling to Jesus.

Developing the Mindsight

"Mindsight" is a term used to describe our capacity to see the mind in ourselves and in others. A focused attention enables us to see the internal workings of our minds. It's like seeing our minds through the Holy Spirit lens before we may form the conclusion of our relationships with the others.

Jesus had the greatest mindsight. In John 8, men carried the adulterous woman to Jesus and demanded him to respond by pressuring. Instead Jesus lingered for some time as he wrote something on the ground. Then with his mindsight, he told them, "You may stone her if you haven't sinned." A simple statement comes from him without an offensive attitude, "Do you know what a grace is? Duh!" Nor with a passivity, "Uh... Okay. You may stone her according to the law." Nor with an awkward silence, "..." But he responded with the mindsight.

He wasn't offended nor does he offended either the adulterous woman nor the teachers and the Pharisees because he saw how their minds work. The adulterous woman- the condemned- was hurt and condemned, she was obviously awared of her sin. The teachers of law and the Pharisees- the narcissists- were self-consumed that they didn't see their own sins. So Jesus repsonded intectually. Jesus created the leverage to convince them of their sins by telling them to stone her if they hadn't sinned. They left convicted. Then Jesus leveraged the woman by telling asking her if no one condemned her and then told her to go and sin no more. She left uncondemned and convicted.

'Conversations and interactions are all about the other person, not about you or the two of you as a "we." Mindsight is the perceptual ability that narcissists often have not developed well in their lives.'
                                                                   -Disarming the Narcissist, Wendy T. Behary, LCSW

Jesus didn't let them change him, but he changed them. Throughout the Bible, his conversations and interactions are all about the people not himself.

Be the power of influence!

Jumpstart the Inner Bookworm

"From Bookworm to Social Butterfly" certification was handed to me by my coach in the end of my first year of college basketball. In the end of my senior year, I felt like I had a senioritis and graduation is probably the sole cure for it and that I was ready for graduate school. Today I felt like one of those former days- a social butterfly. What's a social butterfly supposed to do if it missed being a bookworm?

Find a motivation.

"All women are called to be teachers, to live and speak the truth to those around us. When we are lackadaisical toward theology, too busy, too tired, or too fearful to wrestle with what the Bible says about God, we not only hurt ourselves and retard our relationship with Christ but we weaken other Christians who depend on us to be strong for them.
It may take a stern warning like this to shake us up and get us going. But higher motives will soon take over: the prospects of a DEEPER delight in Christ, along with improved strength and courage."

I'm not sure how I will jumpstart my inner bookworm, but I definitely needed to start with something! I believe that my readings and my writings don't impact the many as my words and actions do. It's as if a social butterfly had to be a beautiful caterpillar first before it could be a beautiful social butterfly. I need to jumpstart my readings and writings- my inner bookworm. My precious.

"Guard your heart [your calling and your time with God] for its wellspring of life." Proverb 4:23