7 Days of "DO IT" #7 - Associating with those in Low Positions

"Do not be proud, but be wiling to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited." Romans 12:16

In my earlier post this week, I mentioned that one of the guys at the Long Beach Rescue Mission asked to come to Church with us this Sunday. I got to pick up Kai, a Cambodian brother, at the LBRM on Sunday, and man, I was BLASTED with blessing. Absolutely drenched.

Kai shared with me just what he's been through these past 6 months since he was released from State Prison. He's was sentenced to 40 years, but was released after 22 years. The day he got out, he was on the bus, with no where to go and no money to get him there. While on the bus, a tatted up Mexican guy asked him where he was going. Kai said he noticed his tattoos and knew that their two gangs used to shoot at each other back in the day before getting locked up. The Mexican guy told him to follow him off the bus.

Kai thought to himself, "I ain't goin' with him. I'm gonna get killed." But then he thought, "At this point in my life, I have nothing to lose."

So he went with the guy, walking through 8 blocks filled with Hispanics. Talk about walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

But then they reach the Long Beach Rescue Mission, and the Mexican guy rings the door bell for Kai, and then walks away. Kinda like ding-dong ditch.... I guess? Kai's left there at the doorsteps of the LBRM... but they weren't taking people for another 8 hours. Kai waited outside for 8 hrs, and they finally took him in.

Kai shared with me in details how he went from cussing out all the Chaplains whenever they tried to share Christ with him, to how God broke him down and open his eyes to see the truth. I have prayers in my journal from the past months for Kai, that one day he would find the Truth. After spending the day in fellowship with Kai, I am undone by the grace God has shown. Kai is a SOLID follower of Christ. He has such a firm grasp of the Sovereignty of God and the truth of His Word.

Kai LOVED worshiping with us on Sunday. He will be joining us again this Sunday for Church. He said he'd like to come every Sunday if he could find a ride. Pray for me to be able to provide him transportation to Church every Sunday.

I thank God that my pride has never kept me from reaching out to this brother of low position. I thank God even more that "The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position" (James 1:9), for his is the Kingdom of God.

"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."- Jesus (Luke 11:28)

7 Days of "DO IT" #6- Not Speaking on My Own

This has got to be the most difficulty I've ever had on preparing a sermon. I don't know why, but nothing is coming together and I just can't picture how I'm supposed to deliver this message.

In last week's message, I spoke partially about how Jesus says when we speak on our own, we basically seek to honor ourselves.

John 7:18 "He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him."

It's true, when we refuse the help or guidance of another, it usually is because we want to be able to say, "I did it. On my own. No help necessary. Gyeah boy."

Early in our relationship, me and Monica went to Barnes and Nobles to find a book I needed for seminary. The first thing Monica said as we entered the store was, "Should we ask the lady at the counter where to find it?" And of course, because I'm 100% man, I said, "Nah, I got it." But if you think about it, it's really dumb. The lady could tell me where to find the book, if they even have it, how many copies they have, which floor it's on, and on which shelf. But nah, I got it.

Why do I do that? Just so I can say, "Yeah baby, who found the book in Barnes and Nobles? All by himself? WHAT." and so my lady can say to all her girlfriends, "My man knows how to find books on his own at Barnes and Nobles. He doesn't need any help." It really is dumb. But in my heart, I'm convinced it somehow honors myself.

Jesus says we honor the Lord when we refuse to do things on our own understanding or strength, but it honors the Lord when we make it his business and glorify him. We can do this by making sure he's in everything we do. Not just little prayers at the beginning of significant activities, but by declarations of dependence ALL throughout the task.

In response, I really had to spend time yesterday, as I have been all week, just surrendering my sermon preparation to the Lord. I do relapse back into trying to honor myself with clever things I can add or say in the message. But in obedience to Christ, I'm trying to be intentional about making His word about Him and what He has to say.


"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."- Jesus (Luke 11:28)

7 Days of "DO IT" #5 - Friday Night Fellowship

Hebrews 10:25 "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

As usual, on every Friday evening, I spend my time in fellowship with my church. We worship, we mingle, we pray, and we study God's word. I really do believe that an application of Hebrews 10:25 is to regularly and consistently meet together with fellow brothers and sisters with intentional spiritual fellowship, until our Lord comes back!

This past Friday was especially encouraging. Helen shared about her trip to Israel... and it made me salivate. I've been wanting to visit the Holy Land for a while now. I wanted to go to Israel for our honeymoon, but for some reason, the idea was violently thrown out the window. Actually, Monica said she'd be down.... but i'm pretty sure she was just trying to impress me.

It's the one place that i insist on visiting before I die and move on to the real Holy Land. But man, it'd be sweet. I hear from everyone who gets a chance to visit that it's life changing. They also say it adds crazy color to the Scriptures every time you read it after having visited the actual sites.

mmmmmm. yummy.



"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."- Jesus (Luke 11:28)

7 Days of "Do It!": Day #4 - Making Up

So me and the wifey got into a big argument yesterday. To be honest, I haven't felt this heated for a while. I was quite upset... and guess what over? Baby shower. BABY SHOWER! of all things. Basically, she wants me to be there this Saturday with her and all the girl cousins, and I told her that as a man, I'm really not supposed to be there at the baby shower. Ladies, look at your man. back at me. back at your man. now back at me. DO I LOOK LIKE I BELONG IN A BABY SHOWER FULL OF LADIES? maybe. But I have stuff to do on Saturday.

Anyway... it was really difficult for me to bite my tongue. I was angry. I really wanted to say some things that I know would've stung. I wanted to jab her with some things that I know she's sensitive too. I wanted to attack her character...

I kept reciting Eph. 4:26 in my head:

"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry."

I was angry, but I knew that my words could kill. So I fought to keep my tongue down. But the part that especially kept poking at me was the second part about not letting the sun go down on my anger. I knew what the Lord was saying. And I just could not do it. It was so hard to swallow this huge lump of pride and reconcile.

That's why me and Monica make such a fantastic couple. We complement each other quite beautifully. I did the first part of the verse, she came through on the second. :) She was the first to man up and was the first to apologize and initiated reconciliation with me.

This obedience stuff is quite hard. Help me, Lord Jesus!

"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."- Jesus (Luke 11:28)

7 Days of "DO IT!" Day #3- Serving those in Need

In 2003, I trekked through the entire Bible along a 1-year Bible reading plan. As I journeyed through, I COULD NOT escape a reoccurring theme- God's compassion and mercy toward the helpless, the poor, and the needy. COULD NOT ESCAPE IT. It was my conviction that I needed to make myself available to serve the poor.

In my Xanga entry that year (Xanga?! May 1, 2003 entry by the way), I listed many of the passages from the Word that spoke to me. But just one command of hundreds from God's word:

Prov. 14:31 "He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him."

That summer, August of 2003, I preached for the first time at the Long Beach Rescue Mission. It was an AMAZING night as we saw many people come forward to give their lives to Christ!

This Wednesday (Day #3 of the "DO IT!" Challenge), we went again in response to Christ's command, as we have each and every month... for the past 7 years! Can't believe how fast the years have gone by. And God has been SO faithful through our ministry.

I CANNOT overstate how blessed I've been by ministering at the LBRM and building personal relationships with some of these guys.

Just an example from last night:

- Kai: a Cambodian ex-convict who had been locked up for 22 years in the State-Pen, asked if I could pick him for church Sunday. I've been meeting and praying with him every month for the past 5 months. This Sunday is his 6th month in the program, which marks the first day he's allowed to leave the mission. The first place he wants to go is to our church! I'll be picking him up this Sunday for worship!

- Gary: approached me to shake my hand last night and to tell me that he ALWAYS looks forward to our church's visit to the mission. He shared how our worship and our sharing is such a blessing in his life. He got out of prison this past April and has been at LBRM since. He said he used to be a "monster" who would slash a guys throat just for looking at him. He was in prison for attempted murder. He said to me, "I owe everything to this place (LBRM). I'm a solid believer in Jesus Christ, and my life has never been as it is now."

- James and Scott: Been praying and talking with these guys since last year, especially James. Both brothers are men who completed the 1-year New Life program. Hope to continue developing relationships with these guys, now that they're done with the program. We're facebook friends (!), and we've been talking about getting together to surf it up one of these days!

"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."- Jesus (Luke 11:28)

7 Days of "Do It!": Day #2

So I was reading through Proverbs 12, and I came across a passage I have never seen before. Never thought I'd read anything like it in the Bible:

Proverbs 12:10 "A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal,
but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel."

Ouch. I felt convicted. So I took Monica out for a walk.

...with Toby, her family's dog. I'm not much of an animal lover, nor am I a hater. But I notice that Toby doesn't seem to get the love and attention a dog needs. Whenever we come home, he barks and pants at the gate waiting for my gentle touch and my fingers to run through his golden yellow hair.

"Shhhh Toby! Stop barking." And then we go in.

It's interesting that a righteous man even cares for his pets. Totally didn't think God care much for them. But I have to say it was a nice walk. We had just come back from the doctors and he told me that I have to walk with Monica hours a day if we wanted a quicker, smoother delivery with the baby.

At first I was like "DOH! I have SO much stuff I need to do tonight AND throughout this week! I don't have time for walks in the park!"

But then God quickly reminded me of Phil. 2:3-4:

3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

I'm a family man now.

"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."- Jesus (Luke 11:28)

7 Days of "Do It!": Day #1

In my sermon this past Sunday, I challenged my church to 7 Days of Obedience. Jesus says in John 7:17 that "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own." The idea is that Jesus isn't as concerned with how much of the Word of God we can take in as he is with how well we put out what we take in. Do we CHOOSE TO DO what we hear and learn?

So the challenge is to ask at the end of each day this week: "What did I choose to do today in direct response to God's word?"

I think those of us who are serious about God often ask ourselves, "Did I spend time with God today?", or "Did I read my Bible today?" But the challenge challenges us to be intentional in actually putting out the things we take in.

So I'm deciding to blog each of these 7 days, as a report on how I do on this "Do It!" Challenge. Figure it'll keep me accountable. Figure that those reading this will take up the challenge as well.

DAY #1:
This is WAY HARDER than I thought. I realize just after one day how intentional I gotta be in thinking about what I've learned, and remembering what I've read. It's even harder trying to be intentional about living it out.

But at the last hour, God spoke to me. I was writing a response email to a female at my church. It was a very kind email I received, and I typed up a response and was about to send it out. I wrestled within whether or not I should include Monica on the cc. But I thought "It's not a big deal. Plus, she might make a matter out of nothing."

I told Monica previously that I would always include her in any correspondence that I have with any female so that it would NEVER be one-on-one, whether in ministry, in person, in a room, or even via email.

But sometimes I'm tempted to think, "This is seriously no big deal. I don't really need to include Monica in this, do I? It's so innocent".

But yesterday in my Bible reading, Proverbs 11 taught me that: "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity."

In active obedience to God's word spoken to me, I had Monica read the email before sending it out, as well as included her in the cc."

"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."- Jesus (Luke 11:28)