Opportunity Not(s).

Have you experienced a closed door in your life? An opportunity that you thought would be there, but was not?

 Maybe it was a rejection letter, or a promotion you didn’t get, or a romantic relationship that ended. No matter what, it was something you wanted, and the way was blocked.

 Often when you face closed doors in our lives, you tend to get frustrated. You may ask God, “Why did You close that door, Lord?” If you’re anything like me, you may even get angry at God with denied opportunities: “Why are You doing this to me, God?”

 Why does God close doors? Why does He sometimes block us from having things? God closes doors because He has something better in mind.

 In Acts 16:6-10, Paul and his companions learn a very important lesson. As they tried to preach the gospel in Asia Minor andBithynia, they found the doors closed (v.6-7). The Holy Spirit stopped them from preaching. You can just imagine the frustration in the minds of these men. After all, what could be more worthwhile than evangelizing the lost?

 When they reached the port city of Troas, Paul learns why God closed the doors to Asia andBithynia. A man of Macedonia came to Paul in a vision, begging him to go toMacedoniaand help them (v.9)!

 God’s desire was to bring the gospel toEurope, where it had never been before. And because these men set sail forMacedonia, the gospel reached cities like Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth.

 More importantly, because God guided these men westward, the gospel spread throughout Europe. Millions of Christians, including myself, can thank God that the gospel made it to Europe. Do you see why God closed those other doors?

 When God closes doors in your life, it’s because He has something better in mind. It’ll be better for both you and His kingdom. Maybe God wanted you to be in a certain situation because it’ll bring you closer to Him, or further the cause of the gospel somehow. We may never know.

 I am living proof that God has better things in mind. God closed doors in my life, denying me opportunities that I really wanted. But I’m in Texas now, pursuing God’s call to full-time ministry and now happily married with a beautiful baby because God closed those doors. And I should thank Him everyday.

 When God closes doors, it can be very frustrating. But take heart, because God’s plan is much better. Look for the open doors elsewhere. God will bring about what is best.

Farewell, Danny Chen.

The Life and Death of Pvt. Danny Chen — New York Magazine.

Danny Chen’s Family Says He was Abused Almost Daily — Huffington Post

Superiors Failed To Report Manhattan Soldier’s Abuse, Army Officials Say

The story of Pvt. Danny Chen is  such a tragedy. He was a smart and determined kid from Chinatown. All he wanted was to join the Army. Now he is dead:

Nine months later, he was found dead in Afghanistan of what the Army has described as “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.” Since Danny Chen’s death, details of his story have slowly emerged, relayed by Army officials to his family. A group of his superiors allegedly tormented Chen on an almost daily basis over the course of about six weeks in Afghanistan last fall. They singled him out, their only Chinese-American soldier, and spit racial slurs at him: “gook,” “chink,” “dragon lady.” They forced him to do sprints while carrying a sandbag. They ordered him to crawl along gravel-covered ground while they flung rocks at him. And one day, when his unit was assembling a tent, he was forced to wear a green hard-hat and shout out instructions to his fellow soldiers in Chinese.

His story is heartbreaking. It’s moments like this where I am ashamed to be an American.  Pvt. Chen swore to protect his country, yet he wasn’t safe among the men who were supposed to protect him. Those white soldiers didn’t see him as American. They didn’t consider him one of them. Not even in the Army, where brotherhood and loyalty are meant to be staples. They saw him as a laughingstock, and reduced him to subhuman. Simply because of how he looked and his unusual last name. In Afghanistan, Pvt. Chen had an enemy the rest of them didn’t have– his fellow soldiers who sworn to protect him.

Asian-Americans often walk around everyday, very aware that we are different. People often treat us differently just because of the way we look. Ranging from the seemingly innocent “Do you speak English?” to the hurtful racial slurs, we still have that identity of the perpetual foreigners to most white Americans.

Danny Chen’s story can make us wince, but how will we respond? Will we shrink back again, not making any controversy? Will we lash out in anger, resentful? Will we seek to educate others?

The Best Workout.

One of the most difficult things for me is to have the discipline to work out.  And I realize that much of my exercise is limited by my ability. I can only do so much.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could do great workouts, because we’ve already been given the ability? I wish I could go out and dunk a basketball or hit a baseball 400 feet, or swim 2000 meters. I wish I could just have the ability, and then I have to do to is to go out and do it.

In our walks with God, we have a remarkable “workout.” God gives us the ability, the will, the desire, to do what’s pleasing to Him, and all we have to do is go out and do it. God does the work in, we do the work out.

The apostle Paul wrote:

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
Philippians 2:12

In Philippians 2, Paul calls the believers to have the same attitude as Jesus Christ, who humbled himself in obedience to the Father, that even though he was God, he put aside his status and became like a servant.  When Paul says “therefore” in verse 12, we know that somehow what he’s going to write is connected with us having the same obedient attitude as Christ.

Paul goes on, “therefore, just as you’ve always obeyed, not just in my presence but even more in my absence.” Paul is proud of this group of believers because they’ve shown that they have been obedient to God. They’ve lived according to what is pleasing to God, and have done things in accordance to His will and His character. And Paul says that they’ve obeyed not just in his presence but also when he’s been away.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling…
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13

Verse 13 tells us that it is God who is the one who works in us. He’s working in you, he’s working in me. That in the heart of a believer, God the Holy Spirit has changed our hearts. The Bible talks about how part of salvation is God taking our heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh. A heart that wants to obey God, a heart that wants to serve Him and do what’s pleasing to Him. So here it says that God has worked in us. He’s worked inside us. And we have to work out what God’s already worked in us.  God does the work in, and we do the work out.

What is God challenging you to obey Him with? Maybe God’s been telling you to forgive someone who has really hurt you. If so, would you work out your salvation, what God’s already done in you, so that you can forgive that person? Maybe God’s been challenging you to step up in ministry. If so, would you work out your salvation, what God has already done in you, so that you can serve Him and do it well? Maybe God’s been moving you to get rid of a sinful habit: maybe gossip, maybe laziness, or maybe pornography. Would you work out your salvation, what God has already done in you, and put in some good habits instead?

Remember, this is not working hard without God. God does the work in, we do the work out. God does the work in, we do the work out. And God has already given us the desire and the will to do what is pleasing to him. Because of this, in the end, we wont’ be saying “look how faithful we are for working hard” but we’ll be saying “Look how great God is for working in us.” We just need to work it out. Will you join me for the best workout?

Quench.

He had no business talking with her. In fact, Jesus had no business going through Samaria. No self-respecting Jew would ever associate with Samaritans. On top of that, she was a woman, and public interacting with a woman would raise too many questions.

Now he had to go through Samaria.
So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
John 4:4-6

She came to the well during the sixth hour, in the heat of the day, long after the women of the village were gone. She couldn’t face them, not after the scornful looks and the silent treatment they would give her. She knew she deserved it, with her promiscuous lifestyle–having lover after lover. And now she was living with a man who wasn’t even her husband.

At the well, two figures who should have never interacted, yet their connection exemplifies the mission of Christ, and the love that God has for us. Jesus reached out to the lonesome woman:

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
John 4:7

He offered her living water, so that she would never thirst again. The woman marveled at this. What the woman didn’t understand was that Jesus was not offering her something physical, but something spiritual.

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:13-14

Jesus was offering her salvation–a relationship with God. Forgiveness of her sins, yes, but more importantly, peace with God and eternal life. A chance to be connected with the Father.

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
John 4:23

The Father is seeking worshipers. He’s looking for people who will trust Him, bring Him glory, and know the truth.

Like this woman, we look for fulfillment in things other than God. She was trying to quench her thirst. For her, it was romance. There was a void in her that she was trying to fill. Sometimes we try to fill that void with success, popularity, academics, money, influence, or distractions. Like the woman, who was at least on her sixth lover, none of them satisfied.

Yet only God can satisfy that need forever. That void can be filled with a relationship with God. He can quench that thirst. That’s what Jesus was offering the woman at the well. God can quench your thirst forever. Will you trust Him, receive His gift of salvation through His Son, and fill that void?

 

 

 

Why Another Chance? A Journey with Simon Peter.

Simon was a regular guy. A fisherman. Not educated much. Not much to offer. Yet Jesus called him to be one of his disciples.

It’s remarkable that Jesus renamed Simon “Peter.” The rock. Something immovable, something unshakable, something reliable. But in many ways, Peter wasn’t a rock. He wasn’t reliable when he thought Jesus needed him to be.

In Caesarea Philippi, Peter got Jesus’ identity right. He nailed it:

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:13-19

Peter probably felt pretty good about himself after that. But soon after, Peter seems to lose the favor of Jesus:

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Matthew 16:21-23

Peter was not the rock he thought he was. I could just imagine Peter vowing to himself that he would never let Jesus down again.

At the Last Supper, after Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and predicts his betrayal, Peter tries to vow his allegiance to Jesus:

Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
John 13:36-38

After dinner, Jesus went to the garden to pray, and brought Peter and two other disciples with him. At the garden, Jesus gave them one simple task:

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Mark 14:32-42

Three times Jesus asked them to stay awake and keep watch, and the three disciples, led by Peter, let him down in his time of need. Peter was not a rock. Yet Jesus gave him another chance.

When Jesus was being arrested, Peter tried to protect him, but Jesus rebukes him again:

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
John 18:10-11

How embarrassing for Peter. Maybe he wasn’t as favored as he thought he was. But he was probably determined not to let Jesus down again.

Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:54-62

A dark time for Peter. He had betrayed his master. What Judas did was bad, but what Peter did was just as bad. He was not a rock. He was not reliable.

Jesus was arrested, mocked, interrogated, tortured, beaten, and nailed to a cross of wood. And Peter was nowhere to be found. Jesus was innocent, yet he was suffering the worst death anyone could ever experience. And Peter was not solid and reliable.

Jesus died and was buried. I could imagine that all Peter could think about was how much he had hurt, betrayed, and disappointed his master.

Many of you know the rest of the story of Jesus. The miracle of the resurrection! God had conquered death. Easter Sunday is the defining event of our faith!

After Jesus resurrected, he appeared to his disciples several times. One time, he appeared to them at the sea. A miraculous catch of fish. Peter jumped into the water and swam back to shore to see Jesus:

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
John 21:15-19

Why did Jesus give Peter another chance?

Why did Jesus give Peter another chance to be his disciple?

Why did Jesus give Peter another chance to serve him?

Why did Jesus forgive Peter?

Jesus gave Peter yet another chance–chance after chance after chance–because of his death and resurrection.

Jesus took the sin of the world–including Peter’s, and including mine and yours–and died the death we should have died. All we have to do is place our trust in Him, to believe, and we can be forgiven. Jesus rose from the grave, showing that he is God, showing that his words are reliable, and to show that we have new life.

Why does God give us another chance? Because of the death and resurrection of Christ. We are forgiven, justified, redeemed, because of Jesus. And this time, there is no fear of failure.

He is risen!