This reminds me of an ancient story about a merchant who prided himself on always knowing the way.

This merchant had traveled the same trade route for twenty years. He knew every rock, every tree, every bend in the path.

One morning, he set out with a caravan of younger merchants who wanted to learn from his navigation expertise. But overnight, a tremendous storm passed through the region. When they reached what should have been a familiar valley, the merchant stopped in confusion. The storm had altered the landscape. The landmarks had shifted or disappeared entirely.

The merchant tried to maintain his composure, choosing path after path, each time declaring, "This is the way." But each chosen route led to dead ends or circled back to where they started. By afternoon, the younger merchants realized what the veteran refused to admit: they were completely lost.

As the sun began to set, panic crept into the merchant's voice. His reputation, his identity, his very sense of self was tied to knowing the way.

Finally, a young girl from a nearby village appeared on a ridge above them. "Are you lost?" she called down.

The merchant's pride flared. "We're not lost. We're just recalculating our route."

The girl laughed gently. "The storm changed everything. Your old paths are gone. But if you stop trying and follow me, I can lead you to where you need to be."

The younger merchants immediately began following the girl, but the veteran merchant hesitated. To follow meant admitting he was lost. To follow meant his decades of experience couldn't save him. To follow meant trusting someone else's knowledge over his own.

With trembling steps, he finally followed. The girl led them through passages he'd never seen, using stars he'd never noticed, to a village he didn't know existed—where warm food and shelter awaited all storm-displaced travelers.

"How did you know we were lost?" the merchant asked the girl.

She smiled. "After every storm, my grandma sends me to search. She says the ones who need finding most are those who don't know they're lost. You weren't lost because you didn't know the old way—you were lost because the old way no longer existed. Being found isn't failure. It's wisdom."

This story captures a deep truth about our current moment. We're not just dealing with occasional recalculations—we're living in a permanent storm season where the landscape constantly shifts beneath our feet.

For example, AI has changed everything. Career paths that existed five years ago have vanished and more will vanish soon. The very assumptions we built our lives upon keep requiring updates. We're exhausted not from the journey, but from the constant recalculating.

But here's the profound comfort hidden in today's scripture: while we're frantically recalculating, trying to find our way, God has already sent out a search party. We're actively being sought by One who knows exactly where we are and exactly how to bring us home. Let’s see how Jesus reveals to us this truth.

The scripture lesson for today is from the Gospel of Luke 15:1-10.

Luke 14:25-33

I used to believe that spiritual maturity meant keeping everyone happy—that if I just worked hard enough, prayed sincerely enough, and organized efficiently enough, I could fulfill every expectation without disappointing anyone. I admired those rare individuals who seemed to glide through life meeting every obligation with grace, never having to utter those uncomfortable words: "I'm sorry, but I can't."

This reminds me of an ancient story about a potter who created the most beautiful vessels in all the land.

The potter's work was so extraordinary that people traveled from distant villages just to own one of his creations. His secret wasn't just skill—it was complete devotion. While other potters worked only during market hours, he would often be found at his wheel by moonlight, lost in the dance between clay and creation.

One day, a wealthy merchant arrived with an irresistible offer: "Become my personal potter. I'll pay you ten times what you make now. You'll create exclusively for my household—the finest bowls for my table, decorative pieces for my halls. You'll have security for life."

The potter thought of his aging parents who needed care, his children who deserved education. The offer was generous, honorable, even wise by any measure.

That same afternoon, a temple priest approached: "We need someone to craft sacred vessels for our ceremonies. The pay is modest, but think of the honor—your hands serving the divine! Surely this is your true calling."

Before sunset, the village elder also came: "Our community needs you. Create simple bowls for the poor, water vessels for the sick. We cannot pay much, but you'll have the gratitude of everyone you serve."

The potter spent sleepless nights trying to devise a way to please them all. Perhaps he could work for the merchant by day, the temple by evening, the village by weekend. He drew up schedules, made calculations, imagined himself meeting every worthy demand.

But one morning, exhausted from planning, he sat at his wheel and let his hands touch the clay. In that moment, he remembered why he became a potter—not for security, not for honor, not even for service, but for this: the sacred moment when formless earth becomes a vessel of possibility. This was his calling, and it demanded everything.

He disappointed the merchant, who called him foolish.

He disappointed the priest, who called him selfish.

He disappointed the elder, who called him heartless.

But his vessels—oh, his vessels began to carry something beyond function or beauty. They carried the integrity of undivided devotion. And paradoxically, though he served no one master, his work ended up blessing merchant, temple, and village alike, because he had the courage to let his calling claim the throne of his life.

This story captures a felt need that haunts so many of us—the exhausting impossibility of trying to be everything to everyone. We live in a world that treats our time, energy, and attention as public property, where saying no feels like moral failure, where boundaries are seen as selfishness. We're drowning in competing claims on our lives, each one legitimate, each one urgent, each one accompanied by someone who will be disappointed if we don't deliver.

But here's the revolutionary truth: your calling—that deep, Providence-ordained purpose that makes you come alive—won't negotiate for partial allegiance. It demands the throne, and everything else, no matter how good or noble, must bow before it. In today's scripture lesson, Jesus doesn't soften this reality. Instead, he confronts us with the shocking arithmetic of authentic discipleship, showing us that the path to true life requires the courage to disappoint even those we love most. Let’s find out how Jesus teaches us on this important topic.

This reminds me of an ancient story about a young scholar who desperately sought wisdom from a renowned master.

The scholar had traveled for months to reach the master's mountain dwelling, his mind heavy with questions that kept him awake at night. When he finally arrived at the master's simple cottage, he found a beautiful garden surrounded by a tall wooden gate. The gate had no handle on the outside, only a small opening at eye level.

"Master!" the scholar called through the opening. "I have come seeking your wisdom! Please, open the gate and teach me!"

From somewhere within the garden came a gentle voice: "Ask, and you shall receive."

The scholar immediately began rattling off his questions—dozens of them, about purpose, about success, about the meaning of suffering. His words tumbled over each other in his urgency.

Silence.

Hours passed. The scholar called out again, this time more desperately: "Master, I'm seeking answers! You said to ask!"

Again, the voice replied: "Seek, and you shall find."

Frustrated, the scholar began searching around the gate, examining every board, every hinge, looking for some hidden mechanism to open it. He pushed and pulled, convinced there must be some trick, some secret technique he was missing.

Days passed. The scholar's food ran low, his clothes grew dirty, but still he remained. On the third morning, exhausted and humbled, he simply sat by the gate and whispered: "Master, I don't know what else to do."

"Knock," came the gentle reply, "and it shall be opened unto you."

The scholar looked at the gate with new eyes. He had been asking with demand, seeking with desperation, but he had never simply... knocked. With trembling hands, he raised his knuckles to the wooden gate and gave three soft knocks.

The gate swung open immediately—it had never been locked.

The master stood there, smiling, holding two cups of tea. "Welcome," he said. "I have been waiting for you to arrive."

"But Master," the scholar stammered, "I've been here for three days!"

"No," the master replied gently, "your questions arrived three days ago. Your searching arrived two days ago. But you... you just arrived now. The gate was always open, but you could only enter when you came not as a demander or desperately seeking customer, but as a humble guest, knocking gently at the door of relationship."

This story captures a felt need that runs deep in our souls—the exhausting experience of feeling spiritually stuck, of wondering if our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling, of questioning whether we're doing something fundamentally wrong when our deepest requests seem to meet only silence.

It's the frustration of people who work hard, pray earnestly, and live responsibly, yet still feel like they're standing outside a locked gate while everyone else seems to have found the secret password for spiritual breakthrough.

But here's the beautiful truth: the gate was never locked, and the Master has been waiting all along.

In today's scripture lesson, Jesus doesn't just acknowledge our struggle with prayer—he transforms it entirely, revealing that what we thought was divine silence was actually an invitation to discover a completely different way of approaching the heart of Providence.

He shows us that our seemingly unanswered prayers aren't signs of spiritual failure, but doorways to deeper relationship than we ever imagined possible. Let’s begin!

But I've noticed something interesting about my stone-collecting habit. What started as picking up one or two beautiful stones has turned into lugging around a collection that's weighing me down.

Sound familiar? Not just with beach stones, but with life itself? Sometimes, we take on unnecessary burdens, making our lives heavy. Let me tell you a story.

A traveler journeyed along a winding mountain path, his back bent nearly double under an enormous burlap sack filled with stones. Each step was labored; sweat poured down his face, and his breathing came in short, gasping breaths.

He did not have time to stop and smell the roses. The beautiful mountain scenery - blooming wildflowers, singing birds, crystal streams - passed by unnoticed as he focused only on not dropping his heavy burden.

An old sage sitting peacefully by the roadside watched him approach. "Friend, why do you carry such a heavy load?"

The traveler paused, wiping his brow. "These are my stones," he panted. "This smooth one is my reputation - I must protect it. This jagged one represents what people expect of me. Here's the stone of my past failures, and this heavy one holds all my worries about tomorrow. This one is my anger at my brother, and this one is my fear of being alone."

"I see," the sage nodded. "And who told you that you must carry them all at once?"

The traveler looked puzzled. "Well... no one, I suppose. But they're mine. I've collected them over the course of many years. If I don't carry them, who will?"

The sage smiled gently. "What if I told you that the mountain path continues just fine whether you carry these stones or not?" (End of the story).

We all have our own collection of stones, don't we? Some of us have been carrying them so long, we've forgotten what it feels like to walk without that weight. We've convinced ourselves that these burdens define us - that we are our worries, our failures, our fears, our endless responsibilities. Do you feel sick and tired of the emotional or mental burdens you carry?

But what if there's another way? What if we don't have to carry it all?

Two thousand years ago, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus encountered a man who was carrying more than stones. He was carrying what the Bible calls 'Legion' - not just one burden, but thousands. His load was so heavy, so overwhelming, that he couldn't even live among other people anymore.

Yet in this encounter, we discover something remarkable about the power of Jesus over every burden we carry—no matter how heavy, how numerous, or how long we've been carrying them.

Today, let’s explore how Jesus can free us from our burdens, based on today’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

A man lived in a flood-prone area, and when the rains came, the waters began rising rapidly around his house. As the water reached his porch, he climbed onto his roof and prayed earnestly, "God, please save me! I have faith that you will rescue me!"

Soon, a neighbor came by in a rowboat and shouted, "Jump in! I'll take you to safety!" But the man waved him off, calling back, "No thanks! I'm waiting for God to save me. I have faith!"

The water kept rising. A little later, an emergency rescue boat arrived, and the crew called out, "Sir, we're here to help! Climb aboard!" Again, the man refused: "I appreciate it, but God is going to save me! I'm trusting in him!"

As the water reached the roof line, a helicopter appeared overhead and dropped a rescue ladder. The pilot's voice boomed through a megaphone: "This is your last chance! Grab the ladder!" But the man waved them away, shouting back, "God will provide! I have complete faith!"

Tragically, the man drowned. When he reached heaven, he approached God with confusion and disappointment. "Lord," he said, "I had such faith in you! Why didn't you save me?"

God looked at him with compassion and replied, "My dear son, I sent you a rowboat, a rescue boat, and a helicopter. What more did you expect?" (End of the story.)

How often do we find ourselves like this man? We pray for God to speak to us, to guide us, and to show us His will – yet we miss His voice because we're expecting something different from how He communicates.

Perhaps it’s because we often discuss how to pray rather than how to listen. Our communication with God has become a one-way ticket—we speak to God without knowing how to hear God’s voice. To have a healthy relationship, we must learn to listen.

Last week, we discussed Philip's request to Jesus to show the heavenly Father to him and his fellow disciples, and that they would be satisfied. Jesus said, after all these years of being with him, why they still had not recognized that Jesus and the Father are one. Jesus is the answer to human desire to see and know God, but they still expect God to show up differently, just like the man on the rooftop.

Now, we live in the time of the Holy Spirit. Instead of appreciating the presence of the Holy Spirit, some might ask to see God or Jesus. God would say, I have given you the Holy Spirit, and you still ask me to show myself to you? The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one!

Not only is God with us today through the Holy Spirit, but Jesus also says He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit today. Let’s develop the ability to hear Jesus’ voice so that we don’t stand on the rooftop wondering why Jesus doesn’t talk to us. Let’s begin!

Here’s one of my favorite childhood folk tales:

A farmer went to town to sell his produce and returned with a large chest of treasures. His family and relatives gathered around him to hear the story of his windfall of fortune. He said, “As I walked through the forest on my way home, I heard someone groaning in a cave. I entered the cave and saw a dying tiger with a massive infected wound on its arm.

“I was about to run away in fear and disgust, but the tiger looked paralyzed. So, out of pity, I reached for my first aid kit to bind its wound and gave it water. Since it was getting dark, I stayed in the cave overnight. The next day, when I woke up, I found it completely recovered, and it thanked me with this chest of treasures.”

Feeling envious, the sister-in-law inquired about the cave’s location and asked her husband to find the place and try his luck. The next day, he went and found the cave. Surprisingly, he heard a tiger groaning inside, so he went in and saw the wounded tiger just like his brother had told them.

Smelling the infected wound, he thought, “Yuck! My brother didn’t tell me that the tiger was so stinky.” He covered his nose and reluctantly bound the tiger’s wound because he wanted the reward. He slept in the cave, dreaming about returning home with a treasure chest bigger than his brother’s.

The next day, the tiger got better and ate him for breakfast. (End of the story).

It’s a wisdom story open to multiple layers of interpretation. On the surface, it teaches people that you cannot copy someone’s success by merely duplicating what they do. At a deeper level, it teaches that nature rewards transformational actions rather than transactional ones.

It’s natural for humans to fear tigers and for tigers to attack humans. It’s our fallen nature. If the elder brother were authentic, he would have stayed away from the tiger out of fear, as he mentioned. However, his sympathy for the suffering animal made him rise above his authenticity. John said,

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (1 Jn 4:18a).

We cannot naturally love our enemies because we authentically hate or fear them. When Jesus asked us to love our enemies, he asked us to rise above our authenticity. When we do, we become transformative. However, we cannot intentionally use love to transform others because that’s fake. Intention matters! Perfect love has no motive.

Today's culture glorifies authenticity. In the name of expressing themselves, people gratify their authentic feelings. They can be rude and say, “I am just being authentic.” Paul said that we are supposed to tell the truth in love. Telling the truth is authentic, but without love, the truth hurts rather than heals.

Since we are fallen beings, our authenticity is also fallen. John Calvin called it “Total Depravity.” If I am authentic, I would rather eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (Sophie is not home anyway!) If we are authentic, we cannot love the unlovable.

The way Jesus wants us to love is transformational and not transactional. It requires us to sacrifice our authenticity and rise above it, taking the high road.

If Jesus were being authentic, he wouldn’t have gone to the cross. He expressed his authenticity to God the night of his arrest, saying:

“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” (Mat 26:39).

His prayer is very authentic; no human would go to the cross to endure that kind of suffering. It was a bitter cup that he would rather pass. You and I would do the same. Yet, he went to the cross to fulfill God’s will, not his own authenticity. Jesus went to the cross to please God by fulfilling God’s will to save us.

Jesus also taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Who would do God’s will on earth? Who are on earth? Us! Since we are on earth, we are to do God’s will on earth. That prayer is to ask God to give us the courage to take the higher road against our fallen nature.

Today, we will explore how to love beyond authenticity and become transformative. We will learn how to let perfect love cast out fear so that we can take the high road and make a difference. Let’s begin!

Zhuangzi once encountered financial hardship. His family didn’t have enough food, so he called on a rich man and asked to borrow some rice.

The rich man smiled and said, “I’ll be getting some money soon from my rental properties, and when it arrives, I’ll lend you three hundred gold coins. Will that be okay?”

That’s a significant amount of money, equivalent to three million dollars. But Zhuangzi didn’t like that answer at all. He frowned and said, “Let me tell you a story.”

“Yesterday, as I was walking here, I heard a little voice calling me. I looked around and saw a fish flopping in a tiny puddle on the side of the road. I asked the fish, ‘Hey, what are you doing here?’

The fish gasped and said, ‘I’m from the huge eastern ocean, but now I’m stuck here! Can you please give me just a small cup of water so I can stay alive?’

I told the fish, ‘Sure! I’m planning to travel south soon to visit some kings. I’ll change the course of a huge river and send all the water you could ever need right to you. How does that sound?’

The fish glared at me and said, ‘Are you joking?! I don’t need a big river someday—I need water now! When you return, come find me at the dried fish market.’” (End of the story.)

Without context, I am sure you would interpret the way most people do. Zhuangzi urgently needed some food, but the rich man said he would give him three million dollars after he collected his rent. In response, Zhuangzi tells a fable to mock the rich man.

He said a fish was stuck in a puddle and asked Zhuangzi for a cup of water to fill the puddle. Zhuangzi said he would redirect an entire river to him later. The fish didn’t believe it would be alive until then.

Naturally, you would think the story teaches us to provide for urgent needs rather than promise something big in the future. However, if you know the context, it is about the tyranny of urgency. Our urgent needs can ensave us, making us shortsighted, focusing only on the immediate needs. We want God to help us now, and we don’t care about what God has in store for us in the future.

You might argue, “Duh! If I am dying of hunger, who cares about eternal life?” However, the story does not discount our urgent needs. It’s about how we become enslaved by urgency and lose the bigger picture. Many people are so preoccupied with their immediate needs that they don’t care about the offer of a holiday at the sea, as C.S. Lewis put it.

Urgency can rob us of happiness, joy, and blessedness. The truth is, after this bowl of rice, Zhuangzi would have to worry about the next meal. After this cup of water, the fish would cry for the next cup. They would forever be caught up in a cycle of urgency and never consider future possibilities.

Then, what’s more important than meeting dire needs? Understanding the tyranny of urgency will help us understand the joy of Paulm Sunday and learn a profound lesson of rejoicing in hardship.

I used to feel Palm Sunday was an oxymoron. It’s a day to celebrate victory, followed by a dark and dreary week of passion, suffering, and crucifixion. Why should anyone celebrate victory knowing what follows it? Palm Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday, but the scripture tells us about Jesus’s triumphant entry to Jerusalem. Where was the triumph if he were about to be crucified?

He was facing the most shameful death of a criminal. Whether we call it Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday, the truth is that Jesus entered Jerusalem like a victorious king, cheered by a crowd of disciples and followers. Why did Jesus do that?

Later, I discovered the profound meaning of Palm Sunday. Jesus wants us to rejoice even in dark times and never surrender to the tyranny of urgency. He doesn’t want us to obsess over a bowl of rice or a cup of water like Zhuangzi and the fish. The disciples knew Jesus was about to be killed. But Jesus didn’t want them to march into Jerusalem like a funeral procession.

So, Jesus prepared a donkey to make his entrance to  Jerusalem celebratory, fulfilling the prophecy of Prophet Zachariah (Zac 9:9). Palm Sunday challenges our resilience against urgency. Can you rejoice in the hardship of life?

For example, this week, the entire world experienced hardship, shaken by the tariffs and trade wars. Anxiety was high worldwide. Many people glued their faces to the TV or cellphone, wondering what would come next. Others worried about their stocks, 401K, or IRA, seeing them take a nosedive.

However, through Palm Sunday, Jesus teaches us to turn every moment into joy, not foolishly or pretentiously, of course. Jesus taught us in his eighth Beatitude that we must rejoice despite hardship. Otherwise, hardship can make us shortsighted and fail to count our blessings. Jesus says,

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mt 5:11–12).

Notice that he commands us to rejoice and be glad. Can you rejoice when you are being persecuted?

Jesus demonstrated this on Palm Sunday and taught his disciples to rejoice and be glad. Jesus wants us to be Prodigal Disciples, expressing extravagant love, joy, and peace. Bible teaches us to rejoice at every moment and every situation. Paul said,

“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.” (Php 4:4).

Paul wrote this in prison, wearing chains on his feet and waiting for execution. Paul used to be an angry man, but Jesus turned him into a Prodigal Disciple. He was able to rejoice even in prison and taught others to rejoice always.

Two weeks ago, we talked about God as the Prodigal Father who showed his extravagant grace to humanity, not even sparing his only Son to die for us. Last week, I discussed the Prodigal Daughter, exemplified by Mary’s extravagant devotion to Jesus Christ.

In today’s scripture lesson, we discover Jesus expects us to become Prodigal Disciples, extravagantly expressing our love for Christ and people even in difficult times. Jesus teaches us to live by the non-anxious presence in this anxious world.

So, let’s learn how to become Prodigal Disciples exuding extravagant love, grace, and jubilance in this anxious and broken world. Let’s begin!

Some experts say the advent of AI is as significant as the invention of electricity. I agree because it permanently changes how we live, move, and have our being. Like it or not, it won’t go away. So, why not make good use of it?

I am sure you have heard in the news about the DeepSeek AI model that rocked the tech stock market. In short, competition benefits consumers like you and me because the application of AI is becoming significantly cheaper.

You might also have heard the concern about job losses due to AI. It depends on how you look at it. AI will surely replace many jobs but also create many new opportunities.

To help you navigate the AI revolution from the spiritual perspective, let me start with an ancient parable on innovation:

Huizi told his friend Zhuangzi that the king bestowed upon him a seed of the legendary giant gourd, which he planted in his garden. Months passed, and the gourd grew to an astonishing size, weighing over a hundred pounds.

Huizi had a hard time making use of the giant gourd. “I tried to use it as a water bottle, but it was too heavy and big to carry. I cut it in half to make a dipper, but it was too wide to scoop into anything. Since it was too big to be useful, I smashed it into pieces and threw it away.”

Zhuangzi smiled and said, “You certainly are too stupid to use big things. The giant gourd held within it a wealth of possibilities, limited only by your imagination.” Then Zhuangzi told him a parable (that the parable wrapped within a parable):

In the enchanting era of the Song Dynasty, there lived a humble man whose livelihood revolved around washing silk by the river's edge. During winter, the icy water bit the hands, threatening to halt the family’s laundry business.

Fortunately, the family had concocted a magical balm, a potion that defied the bitter cold, protecting the hands and faces from the biting frost and the painful chap so their family income would not be cut off during winters.

One day, a visitor approached the family with a tantalizing offer. In exchange for the secret formula of the winter lotion, he offered them a hundred pieces of gold, a sum they could not afford to pass up.

The family decided to take the generous offer and entrusted the secret formula to the visitor. The visitor took it to the capital city and offered it to the emperor for military use. The emperor commissioned him to lead a marine force against the southern invaders through the waterways.

With the advantage of the secret formula, they emerged victorious in the cold winter marine warfare, driving back the invaders and securing the dynasty's future. Upon his triumphant return, the emperor bestowed upon him the prestigious title of a feudal lord.

Zhuangzi then said to his friend Huizi, “See, in the hands of the launderer, the secret balm is nothing more than a tool to make a living. But in the hands of a visionary man, this formula shaped the destiny of a nation.

“Your giant gourd is useless to you because your imagination is too small. You could have put that giant gourd in the lake and ridden on it as a magnificent boat. There are also many other creative ways you could use it for.” (End of the story.)

This parable warns us of the danger of thinking small. Let’s say the giant gourd is the AI of our time. For the short-sighted, AI represents a threat. For the visionary, AI represents immense opportunity. This story is not about belittling the small thinkers but spurring all of us to set our creative imagination free.

Today, we will look at how Jesus transformed a group of fishermen from merely making a living with their skills to transforming the world by teaching them to think deep, aim high, and serve bold, building God’s eternal kingdom instead of just feeding a small family.

What Jesus taught in today’s scripture lesson is applicable to our AI revolution as it was during the dawn of the new era of the first century. If you learn this, nothing in this world can burden you with anxiety, worries, and fear. Instead, you will maintain faith, hope, and love at all times. Let’s begin!

Once upon a time, a group of scientists decided to observe the behavior of monkeys in a unique setting. They placed five monkeys in a large room. At the center of this room stood a tall ladder, and at the very top of the ladder hung something irresistible: a bunch of golden, ripe bananas.

The monkeys, as you can imagine, were thrilled. They chattered excitedly, their eyes fixed on the delicious prize. It didn’t take long for one monkey to make a bold move. It scampered up the ladder, eager to grab the bananas.

But just as the monkey reached for the fruit, an automatic sprinkler sprayed the monkey with icy cold water. The monkey screeched in shock and ran down the ladder immediately, shivering as the water drenched it.

Soon, another monkey tried its luck. It climbed the ladder, determined to succeed where the first had failed. But again, the sprinkler sprayed it with freezing water.

One by one, each monkey attempted to climb, and each time, the hero was drenched. Before long, something remarkable happened: the monkeys stopped trying altogether. Even when tempted by the delicious bananas, they avoided the ladder entirely.

The scientists then removed one of the original monkeys and brought in a new one. This fresh monkey had no idea about the water spray. Spotting the bananas, it immediately started climbing the ladder.

But before it could reach the top, something unexpected happened. The other monkeys sprang into action, pulling the newcomer down, screeching and flailing their arms, as if they didn’t want the new monkey to suffer the water drench!

Shocked and confused, the new monkey quickly learned climbing the ladder was forbidden.

Over time, the scientists replaced another monkey, then another, until none of the original monkeys remained.

Now, the room was filled with monkeys who had never experienced the spray of water. Yet they continued to enforce the unspoken rule. Anytime a new monkey tried to climb the ladder, the group would pull it down and teach it not to try.

The bananas still hung untouched at the top of the ladder, and no monkey questioned why climbing was forbidden. They had simply inherited the behavior. (End of the story.)

This tale isn’t just about monkeys and bananas. It’s a mirror held up to human behavior. I’d call it the “Wet Monkey Syndrome.”

When you aspire to fulfill your dream, you will encounter those wet monkeys trying to tear you down and inject their trauma into you. It’s like misery loves company.

Understanding this human behavior can set you free to live life to the fullest, accomplishing your life mission without obstacles.

So, today, we will look at how Jesus deals with these wet monkeys based on this week’s scripture lesson so that we know when to let go of the losers and how to invest our precious time on earth on the low-hanging fruits and ripe harvests. Let’s begin!

The rich man just had to find out who had created this architectural wonder. He searched high and low until he finally found the carpenter responsible. "You!" he exclaimed, "You must come to my city and build me a second floor just like the one I saw. I'll pay any price you ask!"

The carpenter, a man of few words, simply nodded and set to work. For a whole month, he poured his heart and soul into building the rich man's dream. When the wealthy traveler returned to see the finished product, he couldn't believe his eyes. There was the second floor he'd asked for, but wait... what was that underneath it? A first floor?!

The rich man was furious! He confronted the carpenter, shouting, "I asked for the second floor, not the first! Tear it down, now!"

But the carpenter, calm as can be, replied, "Sir, you can't have the second floor without the first. It's the foundation that holds up all that beauty you admire."

The wealthy man wasn't having it. "I'm not paying for something I didn't ask for!" he huffed. "You'll get your money for the second floor, and that's it!"

The carpenter, a wise man, tried to explain, "The first floor is like the backbone of the whole building. Without it, the second floor would come crashing down. You can't have one without the other." (End of the story).

This story may sound silly, but it’s an ancient fable to enlighten those who want to ignore the foundation to achieve a higher goal. It resembles Jesus’ parable of building a house on the sand.

What is your higher goal? What’s your dream second floor you want to build? What’s your life mission? We all want our life count. What would he say if we asked God what we should do to make our three scores and ten most meaningful? I think Prophet Micah summarized it nicely, short and sweet:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Mic 6:8).

The Lord has told us what makes life good and meaningful. As believers, we are called to follow in Christ's footsteps, proclaiming good news, working for justice, and demonstrating compassion to a world in need.

Those are worthwhile missional goals, but they are our second floor. Many social justice warriors today fail to build the first floor. So, their social justice movement is like a castle in the air.

Without the first floor, social justice can be not only a failure but also destructive to society. For example, communism is a social justice movement without the first floor. As a result, it has brought more destruction than construction.

Today, we will explore Jesus' mission, which is now our mission, and make sure we have the solid first floor as our strong foundation for fulfilling our mission and making our lives good and meaningful. Let’s begin!

She gave her pastor her funeral plan, which included singing her favorite hymns and reading her favorite scriptures. She also wanted to be buried with her favorite Bible next to her.

Then she took out a silver fork and asked the pastor to make sure that she had the fork in her hand when they laid her in the casket.

Surprised by her request, the pastor asked why she wanted to be buried with a fork.  The woman explained, “Each time I was at a dinner party, the servers would come to clear the plates after the meal.  I would give them everything, but every now and then, they would say, ‘Ma’am, please keep your fork.’  I knew right away that they were serving dessert.  The best is yet to come!

“So, I just want people to see me in that casket with a shiny fork in my hand, and I want them to wonder, ‘What’s with the fork?’  I want them to know my life doesn’t end here and now.  The best is yet to come. This will be my final opportunity to share my faith so my friends can join me in the eternal carnival with Christ with never-ending celebration and joy!

“So, pastor, I want you to be my voice.  When they see the fork in my hand and ask a question like the one you asked me.  I want you to tell them that it means my life does not end here and now.  The best is yet to come because of the grace of Christ, and I want them to enjoy the same future as I do.”

Sure enough, as the pastor stood next to the casket, one after another, who came to view her for the final time, asked the same question.  He answered them individually and included the story in his funeral sermon to let everyone know that the fork in her hand meant the best was yet to come.

(End of the story.)

Despite all the ups and downs, tears, and toils, life is still pretty fun! No one wants to die except in extreme cases. Most people fear death because they think the end of life is also the end of fun.

We fear the unknown and the uncertain. Who knows what’s on the other side of death? A few books have been written by those who have died and returned, but we take them with a grain of salt because they are anecdotal.

What if life after death is a never-ending banquet or carnival, where there’s no tear, no pain, no sickness, but eternal love, joy, and peace? If so, is it available for everyone? If not, how do we ensure we will have it? Can we also have a foretaste of it?

Yes, Jesus has given us a foretaste of eternal joy. Based on this week's scripture lesson, you and I will taste it today. Let’s begin!

I admire Einstein, who found the secret of energy and put it into a simple formula: e=mc2. It’s so simple that we all know it, but it solves a complex problem. With that simple formula, scientists have solved many complicated energy issues, built nuclear power plants, and even created shockingly powerful atomic bombs. 

If we can simplify life into a simple formula, I can solve my own life problems and help others solve their problems. Can we make life simple? By simple, I do not mean a minimalist lifestyle. I mean a simple formula to make life easier to navigate.

After decades of scouring the scriptures, I have found the formula. The simple secret of life is revealed in the early story of the wise King Solomon, and also at Jesus’ baptism. Let’s talk about Solomon first. When King Solomon became the king of Israel, he was nervous, feeling inadequate to lead the country. The Bible says,

“Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David.” (1 Ki 3:3).

The king went to Gibeon and offered burnt offerings to the Lord. The Lord saw his devotion, and the Bible says,

“At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” (1 Ki 3:5).

What would you ask if God gave you a blank check like that? When God asks them this question, most people might think they won a jackpot. However, Solomon began by praising God for God’s faithfulness to his father, and then he showed his self-awareness, a sign of maturity, knowing his inadequacy for the job. He said,

“And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.” (1 Ki 3:7).

Solomon was only twenty years old when he became king. Yet he seemed mature enough not to become haughty but was fully aware of his age and lack of skill and experience, so he asked,

“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” (1 Ki 3:9).

He asked for wisdom and understanding to govern the people God entrusted in him. The next verse says,

“It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.” (1 Ki 3:10).

This is where the secret of life is: to please God. Then God explained why he was pleased. Solomon didn’t ask for wealth and military might. With consciousness of his situation, he sincerely expresses his desire to serve God’s people effectively with wisdom and understanding.

How do we please God? Serve people! Many people have it backward; they try to please people and serve God instead. God doesn’t need us to serve Him because He has many angels and heavenly beings who can do a better job. But God wants us to serve his people on earth.

King Solomon wasn’t perfect, but he learned this from his father, King David. King David wasn’t perfect either. They are all imperfect human beings. The point is not about perfection but about the secret of life. And they got it. They knew the secret chord that pleases the Lord.

Later God sends a perfect on who pleases the Lord perfectly and we all must emulate. The Bible says, after Jesus received his baptism, God’s voice came from heaven, saying,

“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Lk 3:22b).

Many people don’t understand why God was pleased. They thought God was pleased because Jesus was his Son. When you put it in the context of the entire Bible, it becomes clear why God was pleased. It’s because Jesus came to serve. Jesus said,

“For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45).

God was pleased because Jesus came to serve the people; his service is ultimate because he gave his life. To serve is to give; what more can a person give than his own life? That’s why his service is the ultimate service.

So today, we will review the secret of life revealed in the Bible and ultimately exemplified by God’s own Son, Jesus Christ. Today is the Sunday commemorating The Baptism of the Lord. From Jesus’ baptism, we will explore the simple formula of life. I’ll put it this way:

L = PS2 (Life equals Pleasing God and Serving People Sacrificially. Square means more than mere serving but serving sacrificially like Jesus did). If you follow this simple formula, life becomes meaningful because that’s the Great Commandment in practice. Let’s dive into it and see how we can apply it in our lives based on today’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

Epiphanies can be big or small, subtle or vivid, but each epiphany raises our consciousness to a higher level, enriching our lives with meaning, joy, and hope.

I had an epiphany recently. Sophie and I went for the First Day Hike on Mount Taurus in Cold Spring, New York, on New Year’s Day. This part used to be the estate of the Cornish family, covering about 650 acres of breathtakingly beautiful land on Hudson Highlands.

We stopped by the remains of the impressive stone and brick Cornish mansion overlooking the Hudson River. Later, we arrived at a waterfall, and our guide told us that it was the end of the guided hike. We were free to continue hiking or return with him to the parking lot with the guide.

Sophie and I chose to hike further since we didn’t feel tired yet, and the weather was not bad. It was cloudy, but it didn’t rain until we returned to the car later. On our way, we saw a vast old broken cistern.

Having just seen a waterfall, I remember the Lord’s Word through Jeremiah,

   “My people have committed two evils:     they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water,     and dug out cisterns for themselves,     cracked cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jer 2:13).

We just saw a waterfall and now a cistern, and it was as if this verse had come to life. The natural waterfall still flows like living water, but this manmade cistern is broken. The two images and this verse stayed in my head for the whole week. It was an epiphany for me!

Throughout history, people have kept committing these two evils—forsaking the Lord, the fountain of living water, and digging out cisterns for themselves that cannot hold water. We forsake the eternal for the temporal. It reminds me to embrace the eternal over temporal.

If you are wondering what epiphany means, it’s translated from the Greek “ἐπιφαίνω (epiphaínō),” which is usually translated as “appearance” or “manifestation.” The root word “φαίνω (phaínō)” means “to shine” or “to come to light.” In that case, it also means “enlightenment.”

So, epiphany is something you see that enlightens you and takes you to a higher level of consciousness. Simply put, your epiphany is your “aha” moment due to what you see.

Epiphany of the Lord is a Christian festival after the twelve days of Christmas. I am glad that our faith fathers designated a day and a season of Epiphany to remind us of the importance of epiphany. There are four to nine weeks after Epiphany before Lent.

We should use this season to cultivate the skill to catch epiphanies. An epiphany can be a life-changing experience. If you have frequent epiphanies, life can become very exciting. Life is not worth living without epiphanies.

Epiphany is also known as the Three Kings Day because it commemorates the visit of the three wise men or magi to baby Jesus. Two thousand years ago, a group of wise men from the Far East paid attention to the signs of the divine and noticed that a significant King was born.

It was so significant that they journeyed seven thousand miles to pay homage to this child. So, today, let us learn to capture epiphanies by learning from the story of these wise men so we can also enjoy life with hope, excitement, and wonder. Let’s begin!

Most of you know Tolstoy for his famous book War and Peace. But did you know he had a spiritual awakening when he was around 50 years old? If you read his books written after that point, they will be more meaty, weighty, and highly spiritual.

Why should we take Tolstoy seriously? Here’s why. He is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times and the Nobel Peace Prize three times. That’s incredible! However, he did not get the award despite being nominated so many times, probably because he was critical of the governments and powerful religious institutions of his time.

Tolstoy was also known as a Christian Anarchist, submitting to no human ruler, including religious authority. Christian Anarchists believe Christ alone is their king and no one else. Are you one of them? Are you supposed to be one? Abraham was one. We will talk more about that later.

Tolstoy’s other book, The Kingdom of God is Within You, based on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, was banned in Russia but published in Germany. In that book, Tolstoy presented the idea of “nonviolent resistance,” which fueled the movements of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

By now, I am sure you are convinced that he should not be ignored.

The book Resurrection depicts the corruptive nature of society. If you are rich and powerful, you can be corrupted by your power, procession, and prestige; if you are poor, you might be forced to choose the wrong means to survive. So, whether rich or poor, the human civilization will corrupt you.

That’s why the wise King Solomon asked God not to make him too rich or too poor. He knew that if he were too rich, he could forget God; if he were too poor, he might dishonor God by committing crimes. That doesn’t preclude those in between because rich or poor is relative.

We live in a fallen world—a sea of suffering. What’s worse than suffering is its corruptive nature. It brings out the worst of you.

Tolstoy’s Resurrection takes us on a journey to see the injustice of the legal system, the prejudice of society, the hypocrisy of religious institutions, and, most importantly, the unintentionality of it, making it hard to change. He helps us see that many evils are done unintentionally or even with good intentions.

We often think those who fight for justice are righteous, but they often become a new force of injustice. Communism is an example. It starts out with good intentions but ends up worse than the evil they fight against. We all want to make this world better, but no one knows how to correct the wrongs the right way, except through a personal resurrection. If you want to change the world, change yourself. That change must be thorough; that is resurrection—the old must be gone, and the new must begin.

That community of new lives is called the kingdom of God, and I call it Civilization Next—the civilization of the resurrected people. The Kingdom of God is not just on the other side of death. You can experience the new life right now and right here because you belong to Civilization Next if you have accepted Jesus Christ. As Jesus said, you are in the world but not of the world. You live in the future now.

Based on the scripture lesson on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, we will look at two women in history who brought the Civilization Next to Earth—the 88-year-old Elizabeth and the 14-year-old Mary. Let’s begin!

Let me clarify before I continue. I just want to prepare you for the upcoming year and new administration so you won’t feel tortured for the next four years. We must discern what God wants us to do, whichever side we are on.

I am registered Independent. I don’t vote for the primaries; I don’t vote within a party line; I only vote in the general elections after doing extensive research, contemplative prayers, and spiritual discernment. Paul said,

“Those who are spiritual discern all things.” (1 Co 2:15a).

I believe Christians should make decisions based on discernment rather than party affiliation because that was what Jesus was. The Pharisees and Sadducees were the parties of the first century, equivalent to the Republicans and Democrats of our time. Humans are wired that way—some lean left, and some lean right. Birds of the feather flock together!

As you read in the Bible, Jesus did not belong to any side but was crucified by both sides. Jesus made decisions based on spiritual discernment. If you ask me which party I belong to, I belong to the Spiritual Party because that’s what my Boss belongs to. So, when discussing politicians, I am not endorsing any affiliation.

I know many of us are in the same situation. A late elder told me she registered as a Democrat but voted across the party line based on her discernment. She and her husband were independent, so I said, “Why didn’t you register as Independent.” Then she explained that there was no option to register as an independent in those days. You only have two boxes to check—Democrat or Republican.

So, she and her husband decided to register for each party—she registered as a Democrat, and he registered as a Republican. When elections come, she and her husband pray carefully, research thoroughly, and vote based on their discernment. Sometimes, they vote for the opposite sides.

You have heard that every election is a choice between the lesser of two evils. Those who think they are choosing between an angel and a devil don’t understand humans’ sinful nature.

Now, back to the Time Person of the Year. For the past four years, the media have portrayed Trump as an evil man. But now, after he won, some media personnel rushed to the Mar-a-Lago to kiss his ring; you might have heard that in the news. They were shameless. Of course, they have to look after their bottom line.

On the other hand, many Americans value the country over their egos. As Americans, we root for our team to win, but when victory is decided, we unite and root for the country. Many countries in the world look forward to our failure. If we stay divided, our enemies will win. Our founding fathers named this country “United” States of America with this vision. Jesus said,

“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” (Mt 12:25).

Jesus’ last prayer on earth, in the Garden of Gethsemane, was that his people would live in love, unity, and harmony. As Americans, we should root for the success of our democratically elected leaders so that our nation won’t lay waste but continue to be a beacon of light in the world. The election is done; the advent of Trump is here. Whether you like him or not, it’s time to harmonize for the nation’s sake.

To be in harmony, we must sacrifice our egos and practice grace. Grace is love in action. I know it’s not easy. Looking around the world, you see that egos rule and divide nations. This week, we saw a nation collapse, and the dictator fled. As Christians, we must be different.

The nature of ego is division, and the nature of grace is harmony. As humans, we often give in to our egos, but deep inside, we know that Someone above is watching us. There will come a day of reckoning. But those who have overcome their egos and live in love and harmony have no fear of judgment day because they know God will judge based on love, as we read in Mathew 25.

John the Baptist entered the scene in the first century of Israel to warn people about their ego-driven lives and divisions and inform them about the advent of Jesus the Judge. His proclamation made people reflect on themselves. Some came to him for the baptism of repentance and bear fruits, but some continued their ego-driven and divided lives.

As Christians, we don’t fear the advent of Jesus and his judgment because we are forgiven people living with a clear conscience. So, we celebrate the coming of Christ. Still, we must frequently reevaluate our lives to ensure we live by higher values and bear the fruits of the Spirit, which is actualized by grace. That’s why we attend church every week, to recenter our lives and surrender our egos.

Advent is a season of reflection (which is why we use purple for the season). Based on the scripture lesson on this Third Sunday of Advent, let us prepare our hearts and minds to welcome Jesus the Judge by reflecting on whether we are bearing fruit worthy of repentance. So, let’s begin!

More’s friend came to persuade him to say what the king wanted him to say for survival. More refused because it was against his beliefs. His friends pleaded him, “You don’t have to believe it; you just have to say it.” Thomas More refused to compromise his integrity and paid the price with his head.

What would you do if you were in such situations? Would you compromise your integrity to save your life? Or would you betray your conscience for survival?

Do you know Americans lie on average 11 times a week? That’s according to APA (American Psychology Association). No data shows how many lies people from other countries tell, but I believe Americans are more honest comparatively.

Many immigrants say Americans are pretty naïve. They are so easily deceived. American tourists are the easiest targets for scammers worldwide because we trust people readily. That may be because Christian values govern our way of living. “In God, We Trust” is the slogan on our currencies.

Still, research shows Americans are not 100% honest. Lying seems like part of life, and we often make excuses to justify lying. The Burmese say,

“Without lies, words are not smooth.” (mutha maba, linga machaw). ~Burmese Proverbs

It means that without lies, it’s hard to make your speech interesting, poetic, or persuasive. It also means you need a little lie to get your message across. It seems to glorify lying as an art. No wonder we call scammers “con artists.”

In English, we also have the term “white lies.” It means a type of lie that does not harm anyone. Is it true that a white lie does not hurt anybody?

After some research, I’ve discovered that every fib harms the fibber. Every lie we tell lies to ourselves. According to Akira Kurosawa, the maker of Rashomon,

 “It’s human to lie. Most of the time, we can’t even be honest with ourselves.” ~Akira Kurosawa

A white lie may not harm others, but it does compromise the liar’s well-being. Studies have shown that a person’s integrity can affect their immunity. After the pandemic, we have learned the value of strong immunity—physically, psychologically, or spiritually.

According to biologists, the moment someone lies, their brain releases stress hormones, such as cortisol, weakening their immune system. We often say, “Lier, lier, pants on fire!” Their pants might not be on fire, but their immunity is on fire.

That’s how lie detectors work. The machine can sense the subtle signs of stress on our nerves when lying. Some people can cheat the lie detector, but they cannot cheat their health. So, honesty is truly the best policy not only for our character but also for our well-being.

It proves that we are not created to lie. We are created in God’s image. When we lie, our body resists it, feels uncomfortable with it, and punishes us for it by degrading our health.

There are two kinds of stress—overt and covert. Overt stress is obvious; you know it when you have it. But covert stress is more insidious. We might not feel it, but it silently kills us from the inside. It will eventually show up on our lab reports during a checkup. Sometimes, it could be too late to reverse it.

Lying is just one of many things that compromise our immunity. Anger, grudges, guilt, discord, manipulation, and other things the Bible calls sin can stress our systems and compromise our integrity and immunity.

It seems we don’t even need God to punish us for our sins; our body is punishing us already. If it is human to lie, how do we redeem ourselves? However, Jesus said that what’s not possible with humans is possible with God. He said,

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (Jn 3:17).

The truth is that Jesus did not come to punish us but to save us from our plight. The immunity boost is just a fringe benefit once we take care of our integrity by confessing our sins and receiving forgiveness. Then, our bodies stop rebelling.

We are on the Second Sunday of Advent. Advent means coming. So today, let us explore how to prepare the way for Christ’s coming into our lives by optimizing our integrity and boosting our immunity based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

He had been attending church regularly, volunteering, and giving to charity. He was sure God would welcome him, saying, “Well done, my son. Welcome to heaven!” My friend was disappointed that he did not die because now he had to keep behaving as if good behavior was challenging for him.

I wasn’t sure if he was joking because we all know that our admission to heaven depends not on our deeds but God’s grace. Thank God! However, my friend’s concern is not baseless because Jesus repeatedly says he wants to see us awake and working when he returns. The Lord said,

“Blessed is that servant whom his master will find at work when he arrives.” (Mt 24:46).

If salvation does not depend on our work but on God’s grace alone, why would he expect to see us working? Shouldn’t we all goof to heaven? Does it mean grace is not free? Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that grace is free but not cheap. He said,

“The word of cheap grace has been the ruin of more Christians than any commandment of works.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

How do we understand grace is free but not cheap? Grace requires gratitude to complete, but how do you thank God, who doesn’t need anything from us? I’ve learned that you thank God by gracing forward.

I have discovered that Grace is like electricity with inflow and outflow to complete a circuit. A lightbulb can not lit up by only the inflow of the electric current. It needs two wires—an inflow and an outflow to complete the energy circuit. We are just like lightbulbs. Grace makes us shine when we grace it forward. Jesus said,

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” (Mat 5:8).

That means the outflow makes the inflow possible. Jesus used several parables to teach this profound mystery, such as The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. In that parable, a man owed the king a massive amount of money, equivalent to more than a billion dollars of today’s money, which he could not repay in his lifetime, but the king forgave him out of mercy because he bagged him for more time.

However, on his way home, he met a man who owed him a small amount of money. He sent him to prison for not paying back immediately. The king heard about his mercilessness and revoked his grace.

This story reveals that grace is like electricity; the input doesn’t work without an output. If you receive grace and don’t grace it forward, the grace you receive returns to where it came from. Grace is free but not cheap because it requires you to pay it forward to complete the circuit.

It does not mean grace has strings attached, but it’s just how it flows. On the other hand, Jesus said that the servant who is found goofing would be severely punished.

“He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Mt 24:51).

It sounds scary. I think that’s why my friend was afraid of dying when goofing. He doesn’t want to join the hypocrites. None of us do. The word “hypocrites” comes from the Greek word with a similar pronunciation: ῠ̔ποκρῐτής (hupokritḗs), meaning “stage actor” or “pretender.”

Hypocrites are like weeds that pretend to be like wheat. They look identical until harvest time. When harvest time comes, they stand tall and light because they don’t carry the weight of the grains. They are just pretenders or hypocrites. They don’t grace it forward. They cheapen grace. Jesus said,

“At harvest time, I will tell the reapers, ‘Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Mt 13:30).

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent means coming. It’s a season to think about the coming of Christ, particularly the second coming, which will be the harvest time. He will separate the weeds from the wheat, the hypocrites from the real Christians who grace it forward to complete the circuit of power.

When you grace it forward, your life becomes fruitful. So, today, we will explore how to maintain a fruitful state based on this week’s scripture lesson so that we will not appear as weeds or hypocrites when the Lord comes. Let’s begin!

To be successful or live a good life, we need IQ, EQ, and SQ. Your SQ (Spiritual Quotient) is measured by your ability to love and accept people.

First, we must learn the difference between approval and acceptance. For example, my children may do things I disapprove of, but I must accept them because I love them. Approval is based on law, but acceptance is based on love. Approval is based on the head, but acceptance is based on the heart. That sounds simple enough but not easy to practice.

Jesus wants us to love even our enemies. Many people confuse loving our enemies with approving their actions. No, Jesus wants us to “accept” our enemies without “approving” their behaviors. Otherwise, we could end up demonizing people and justifying violence.

We all have encountered people doing things that we disapprove of. Sometimes, it’s just a minor issue, so we can easily forgive and forget about it, but there are times when people may go above and beyond our tolerance threshold, and we say, “It’s unacceptable.”

In such cases, we muddle the line between approval and acceptance because our strong emotion overrides our ability to see the person apart from their behavior. Jesus wants us to love the person despite their behavior. I know it’s a tall order.

Some people have a lower tolerance threshold than others. They are quick to stick a Scarlet Letter on someone they disapprove of.

Talking about the Scarlet Letter, I am sure most of you have read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s American Classic, “The Scarlet Letter,” or have watched one of the movie adaptations. The story reveals that everyone wears a Scarlet Letter—outwardly or inwardly, legally or secretly—even the holiest man in town has a secret Scarlet Letter beneath his clothes.

The story reveals human nature, keeps us humble, and warns us against hypocrisy. Understanding this human nature would allow us to separate approval from acceptance.

To effectively resolve human conflicts, we must first accept one another. But most people got it backward. They don’t accept others until they approve of their behaviors. Acceptance must be unconditional because that’s what “agape love” is about, the kind of love Jesus taught.

Jesus has shown us the ultimate acceptance on the cross by forgiving and seeing humans as redeemable. He expects us to love one another the way he loves us. That’s a huge challenge, but when you can widen the gap between approval and acceptance, you are on the way to spiritual maturity, as Jesus expected.

Based on this week’s scripture lesson, we will explore Jesus’ teaching on what’s lawful and loveful and how to read the Scarlet Letter A differently. Along the way, we will discover how to raise our SQ—Spiritual Quotient—to live a joyful, meaningful, and fruitful life. Let’s begin!

That was over twenty years ago when the software was convenient to duplicate. In those days, most people in China couldn’t afford to buy Microsoft, so they bought cheap, illegal copies from the black market.

I was curious about his answer, but to my surprise, Bill Gates replied magnanimously, “China is still developing. If they steal technology, I’d rather have them steal mine than others.” He seemed confident that Microsoft would survive the theft and turn the thieves into customers.

Today, his magnanimity pays off. After decades of using bootleg copies, the Chinese have fallen in love with Microsoft and prefer to buy it as they can now afford it. Today, Bill Gates has captured a market four times larger than the United States because of his magnanimity.

Conversely, many good software products have disappeared because of their pettiness. Even if you have the best product or the greatest idea in the world, your attitude can become a stumbling block to your progress.

The dictionary defines magnanimity as “having a noble spirit and being generous and kind, especially towards someone who has wronged you.” It came from the Latin root words “magna,” meaning great or big, and “animus,” soul. So magnanimity means “great soul.”

In the Fruit of the Spirit, the Greek term ἀγαθωσύνη (agathōsynē) is translated as “generosity” in NRSV and “goodness” or “nobility” in others. I discovered the best translation of this word is “magnanimity” because it covers all three meanings—generosity, goodness, and nobility.

Why is magnanimity important? It elevates your life. It prevents you from the pettiness that hinders your success. Dr. Steven R. Covey calls it “scarcity mentality” instead of “abundance mentality.” Magnanimity is an abundance mentality that attracts abundance.

Based on this week’s scripture lesson, we will explore how Jesus taught us to cultivate magnanimity to become salt of the earth rather than a stumbling block to the souls. Let’s begin!

However, times have changed. If you have dealt with some of those “services,” you don’t feel you are being served. For example, do you feel served when you receive a letter from the IRS? “Wow, I am so glad the IRS sent me a letter. It’s so nice of them! They are so good with math!”

Some departments act like authoritarians and dictators. Some officers are outright rude. A few years ago, I took my father to the immigration office in Newark for an appointment. It was a cold and windy winter morning, but we had to stand outside in line for hours to get in.

My father was over seventy at that time and was not very healthy. I was concerned that he might faint. When we eventually got inside, we saw a vast, warm, empty lobby that could hold ten times the people still lining outside. I thought they kept people out because there was no room to wait inside. It reminded me of dictatorship rather than service.

To American standards, it’s fair to say that those immigrants were treated less than animals because we treat animals much better, but they could do that because those people didn’t have a voice. Power corrupts. Maybe it was just Newark. I tweeted a complaint and was surprised to receive many comments saying they agreed with the situation.

I don’t know if my tweet had any effect at all. The good news is that the immigration service at Newark has improved significantly in recent years, but I am glad I don’t have to go there ever again after becoming a citizen. It was a mockery of the term “service.”

As a nation deeply rooted in Christianity, we practice the “servant leadership” exemplified by Jesus. He said,

“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mk 9:35).

He set an example by washing the feet of his disciples. Based on this principle, Government officers are supposed to be civil servants. It’s an excellent concept, but unfortunately, it doesn’t prevent power from corrupting them.

We all know that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” No matter how we name our organization and mission, power can make us forget our service mentality. Authority can be intoxicating. How can we stay humble as we climb the ladder of power?

Sometimes, I am glad I don’t have a job that gives me much power and authority. I don’t know if I could handle it and not be corrupted by it. But we all aim for greatness to make a difference. So, today, let’s explore the secret to attaining greatness without losing your souls based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

Let us be children for a moment because when we were young, we had all kinds of imagination and ambition to make a difference one day. But as we grew up, we gradually felt those dreams became unattainable.

Maybe that is why Jesus wants us to become like children and rekindle those imaginations and ambitions. So, let us momentarily pause our doubts and cynicism and unleash our childlike creativity to entertain the possibility of changing the world.

Jesus did change the world for good and taught his disciples how to make this world a better place to live. The world has never been the same since the moment he was born and it will never be the same unless we stop extending his great commission. To be a Christian means to be a world-changer.

Even Richard Dawkins, the renowned atheist, recently declared that he is a cultural Christian because he can no longer deny the influence of Christianity on the advancement of human civilization. Wherever Christianity thrives, civilization flourishes. History has proven it, and no reasonable person can deny it.

Of course, some religious people have done some damage in history. It’s nothing new. Even the Son of God was crucified by religious people. However, the atheist would like to cherrypick history to excuse their unbelief.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali recently asked Richard Dawkins, what do atheists contribute to the advancement of human civilization? Nothing! They only know how to tear things down, leaving a void in civilization to decay and allowing evil to thrive.

The question is, what role do you play in this world? Do you still maintain your childhood dream of making this world a better place until your last breath, or have you given up those aspirations?

We all want to improve the world, but the question is how. Having good intentions is not enough because people can make things worse with their good intentions. That’s why we need to know how to change the world “the right way.”

In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus revealed his way to change the world, but his disciples didn’t get it and couldn’t accept his method. Like most people, they believe we change the world from the top down, but his way is from the bottom up.

We are two months away from an important election. Most people’s minds are on changing the nation or the world from the top down by electing the right person. However, WWJD (what would Jesus do)? If you get the message from this passage, you will think about this election differently, and you will know your role in changing the world Jesus’ way. Let’s begin!

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Mt 3:66).

The king said, “I know, but the kingdom of God is too far. I don’t have the vehicle to go there.” The sage said, “As a king, if you don’t have the vehicle, who will have it, and who can attain the kingdom of God?” Then the sage added, “The vehicle to the kingdom of God is simple: a humble spirit.” As Jesus said,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3).

Poor in spirit is an Aramaic idiom for a humble heart. The sage implied that the king couldn’t attain the kingdom of God, not because he didn’t have the means to seek it but because he was full of himself.

This reminds me of another parable.

A professor hiked up to the high mountain to ask the sage to impart his wisdom to him. He introduced himself as one of the most accomplished professors in the country’s best university. The sage asked him to slow down and sit at his tea table and began serving him tea.

The cup became full, but the sage continued pouring tea into it, and it began to overflow and spill onto the table. The professor laughed at the sage’s clumsiness,

“Oh, old man, don’t you see the cup is already full? You can’t fill it anymore.”

“You are right,” the sage replied. “When the cup is full, you can’t fill it with anything. Please come back when your cup is empty.” With that, the sage turned away the professor, implying he was not ready to learn because he was full of himself.

I often wonder how often we approach God and ask God to give us what we want without leaving room for God to provide. The king wants to develop his nation without developing himself. The professor wants more wisdom without humility.

In today’s scripture lesson, Mark recorded two incidents Jesus encountered that revealed the secret to answered prayers. It’s an open secret that everyone knows but fails to put into practice. The secret is humility, but it’s easier said than done. Even the great Benjamin Franking admitted that he failed in this aspect.

Today, we will learn how Jesus answered the prayers of two situations so that we can improve our prayer life as well. So, let’s begin!

However, my perception was shaken when I heard about her strained relationship with her in-laws. Given her role as a Bible teacher, I had assumed she was in the right. Yet, when I met her in-laws, I discovered they were devout Christians. I didn’t know who was wrong and who was right, but it disturbed me to see Christians don’t get along with Christians.

One day, someone brought her to our church. Since her church is much farther away in another town, it was much more convenient for her to attend our church. After a communion service, she said we shouldn’t use the normal bread because bread has yeast, which symbolizes sin in the Bible. As Jesus said,

“Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” (Mk 8:15b).

Respecting her age and biblical scholarship, we tried to accommodate her by changing the bread to matzo since it’s even simpler to prepare. However, a few months later, she left the church despite our hospitality. Later, I learned she didn’t just couldn’t get along with her in-laws but almost everyone around her.

I was naïve thinking someone who knows the Bible would be the most gracious person. In fact, in the Bible, we see Pharisees who treated the Bible seriously and taught the Bible to others. They were quite difficult to get along. Their heads were filled with biblical knowledge, but their hearts were rotten. They eventually crucified Christ.

Have you ever wondered how a person can be so religious and so vicious? It serves as a warning to all of us. With all the warnings Jesus gave us, why do some Christians still become like Pharisees? It’s a reminder that we, too, can fall into the trap of righteousness without grace. Jesus said,

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20).

It was a tall order because the Pharisees were strict practitioners of righteousness. The Hebrew term “righteousness” is quite complex because it means fulfilling God’s commandments. But Jesus made it simple with the Great Commandment, covering the Old Testament: Love God and love people—nothing more and nothing less.

In other words, if we don’t have love, nothing matters. Even if we can recite the Bible from cover to cover, we miss the kingdom of heaven. As Paul put it impactfully,

“If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1 Co 13:1–3).

Paul was a recovering Pharisee, and he knew what the Pharisees had missed. Their heads were full of biblical laws, but their hearts were short of divine love. As Jesus said, we cannot enter heaven without love.

Do you know the distance between heaven and hell? It’s just about 18” apart—the distance between your head and your heart. It’s upside down, of course. Heaven is where your heart is, and hell is where your head is. Interestingly, all four of these words start with “h.”

This doesn’t mean biblical knowledge is unimportant. It is vital for our lives but must go beyond our heads and flow to our hearts. When the Bible goes to our heads, it becomes knowledge. When it enters our hearts, it becomes wisdom.

Today’s scripture lesson taught us about Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees, who criticized Jesus’ disciples for breaking the rabbinic law. But Jesus revealed that the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. This story allows us to self-search and evaluate our hearts to see whether our hearts are in the right place according to God’s law. Let’s begin!

It’s a good starting point, but not for leaders because leaders set problem-solving goals. They identify a problem and try to solve it. Sometimes, a problem can be enormous. In that case, the SMART goal strategy doesn’t apply because it requires you to set “Achievable” goals.

We are in an election cycle now. You don’t hear the candidates talking about their SMART goals. Each of them tries to solve some monumental national or regional problems. Whoever has the best policies and capability to solve the issues will get my vote.

What problem are you trying to solve? Last week, I talked about Bob Peirce, who felt called to solve the massive orphanage problem after the war and founded World Vision. Young and penniless, if Bob Pierce had set a SMART goal, he would have concluded that solving the orphanage problem was not SMART because it was beyond his ability to achieve.

However, Bob Pierce knew, it was achievable by relying on God. Jesus wants us to solve significant problems rather than set SMART goals. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus tested Philip by asking him how to feed a crowd of five thousand people following them.

When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” (Jn 6:5–6).

According to Mark, Jesus was training his disciples to become apostles. Disciples are followers, but apostles are leaders. (I mentioned this last week.) Jesus was teaching them to be leaders who solve problems. He wanted them to be scholars rather than students.

How would you solve the problem if you were Philip?

Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” (Jn 6:7).

I checked online, and the average monthly wage in the United States is about $5,000. That means even $30,000 worth of food would not be enough to feed them. Philip used the SMART goal, and he knew it was not achievable. They couldn’t afford it.

Jesus doesn’t allow his disciples or apostles to have a limited mindset. Have you ever settled for less because of your limited mindset? I am sure we all do, but Jesus wants to stretch our mental limits and think far outside the box.

What problem is God calling you to solve, and what limitation are you encountering? Time, talent, or treasure? Do you have limited time? Limited talent? Or limited finance? Jesus wants us to think outside of those limits.

Jesus doesn’t want us to set SMART goals. He wants us to set Miracle Goals. That’s what godly leaders do. They make miracles by thinking outside of human limits—not just thinking outside of the limits but acting outside of the limits.

When you think and act outside those limits, you discover that they don’t exist at all and realize that you arbitrarily set those limits. When you have a breakthrough like that, you witness a miracle. Jesus wants us to set Miracle Goals.

In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus fed five thousand people using minimal resources. We will learn from this miracle the profound lessons of discipleship leadership to solve insurmountable problems and to move mountains. Let’s begin!

It tells me there is a shortage of physical energy, and many people have become dependent on energy supplements as a quick fix. I heard about people getting extremely rich by selling energy supplements. The market seems ever-expanding.

For example, everyone today knows Red Bull—the energy drink sold over twelve billion cans in 2023, almost two cans for every human. A can of Red Bull costs $0.9 to make but sells at $3 or more. The wholesale price is around $1.80. So they make nearly 20 times the profit.

Why do people lack energy? Can instant energy pills or drinks leave long-term damage down the line? They do, but people would rather risk their health for an instant energy boost. Some drink it for entertainment, and others for productivity.

Today, I would like to introduce a natural energy booster that doesn’t cost anything. It’s part of the Leadership Spirituality I have researched for decades.

Humans are composed of body, mind, and spirit. Our physical energy comes from healthy nutrition, mental energy from sound learning, and spiritual energy from proper devotion. When all three are well integrated, we have wholeness, which gives us the most energetic state without the Red Bull.

Conversely, three things drain our energy: eating wrong, learning wrong, or devoting wrong. Energy supplements cannot replace these mistakes. Supplements should be used as supplements but not as substitutes. Instead of reaching out for a quick fix, we should figure out what is draining our energy.

I’ve discovered that nurturing spiritual energy is crucial because no matter how well you eat or how smart you are, life without devotion is meaningless.

For example, what activity in life requires the most energy? Childbearing. Where do mothers get that amazing life-giving energy to bring a new life into the world? Love and compassion. Love is spiritual.

Some might want to say love is an emotion, but it’s part of the spirit. The Bible says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are spiritual fruits, but they manifest as emotions. A healthy spirit produces healthy emotions.

If you are spiritually nourished, you will feel energetic even if you don’t have time to eat. We read in the Bible that there were times Jesus did not have time to eat because he was busy healing and helping people, yet he appeared energetic as if he had already eaten.

For example, when Jesus reached out to the Samaritan woman at the well while the disciples went into the city to buy food. The disciples returned, and the Bible says,

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” (Jn 4:31–32).

What food did Jesus eat? At the beginning of this story, Jesus was already tired after a long journey, but now he appeared nourished and satisfied without eating physical food. What did he eat that turned him from tired to triumphant? What’s his secret?

The context shows that the secret is love and compassion, but you might wonder how you can consume compassion as nutrition and how it can immediately reenergize an exhausted body. Love and compassion can make supermen and superwomen out of ordinary people.

In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus trained his disciples to become leaders and showed them how to become “energizer bunnies” because leaders on a mission sometimes may not have time to rest. We learn that even the disciples didn’t have time to eat but continued to work long hours energetically.

Today, we will explore compassion as an energy booster through today’s scripture lesson and learn how to naturally and spiritually energize your life without sugar water or Red Bull. Let’s begin.

Suddenly, the angel guarding the river appeared and asked why he was crying. The woodcutter explained his plight, and the angel dived into the river, emerging with a golden axe. “Is this your axe?” asked the angel.

The woodcutter, with tears in his eyes, shook his head. “No, that’s not mine,” he said. The angel dived again and came up with a silver axe. “Is this your axe?” asked the angel.

Again, the woodcutter shook his head. “No, that’s not mine either,” he said. Finally, the angel brought up the woodcutter’s old, worn-out iron axe. “Is this your axe?” asked the angel.

The woodcutter’s face lit up with relief. “Yes, that’s my axe,” he said, his voice filled with gratitude. Impressed by the woodcutter’s integrity, the angel rewarded him with all three axes. (End of the story.)

This allegory might sound childish, but it edifies those seeking wisdom. Integrity may sometimes sound silly in a situation like this, but God rewards those who have it.

First, let’s define integrity because most assume integrity means honesty. Integrity is more than honesty. It means being integrated. It’s similar to wholeness—being whole and complete.

In telecommunication and IT, “system integrity” means every part of the hardware and software functions as intended to complete the tasks.

In humans, integrity represents wholeness, giving us a healthy and harmonious body, mind, and spirit. So, integrity is more than honesty. It’s congruency among our actions, thoughts, and beliefs. A person without integrity acts incongruently from their thoughts and beliefs.

If you were that woodcutter, how would you react when the angel showed you the golden axe? You might say, “It’s not exactly mine, but I don’t mind using it. Better than nothing!” Don’t you think it’s both honest and humble? You don’t want to trouble the angel to dive down the river for you again.

I have seen people like that woodcutter. They are down to earth. They don’t take what’s not rightfully theirs. If you have such people among your friends, you are blessed because they make reliable friends, and you can trust them for life.

Integrity has at least two major benefits:

• It gives you peace, and you will sleep well.
• It gives you the power to influence people.

A Chinese proverb says, “Those who don’t act against their conscience in the daytime will not fear ghosts knocking on the door at night.” (白日不做亏心事，半夜不怕鬼敲门。) Integrity makes you sleep soundly at night because you have a clear conscience.

Secondly, a person with integrity emits subliminal power over people. They influence good people and intimidate bad people. Those who lack integrity fear people with integrity. They are like a bright light shining into the darkness, so the darkness hates them.

We live in a world that promotes compromise. Maintaining integrity in this fallen world is not easy. But we must strive to attain and maintain our highest integrity because it makes you sleep well and gives you the power to influence good people and intimidate bad ones.

Today’s scripture lesson tells the story of a man of integrity, John the Baptist, against dark and violent tyranny. John died with integrity, but he didn’t lose; tyranny lost. Jesus said,

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mk 8:36 ESV).

When someone loses integrity to gain worldly profits, they lose their soul. So, today, we will explore how to protect the power of your integrity and wholeness when the world tries to compromise you. Later, I will also share what it is like to be at the pinnacle of integrity. So, let’s begin!

In 1990, when I was about to leave for the U.S. from Burma, I called my aunt in California, asking her what I should bring to America. She said, “Don’t bring anything; we have everything here. Just bring yourself.”

Still, since the flight allowed two large pieces of luggage, I filled them with the best thing I could get from Burma, thinking my American relatives and friends would love to have them. When I arrived in the U.S., most of them turned out to be useless. It’s a waste of time, money, and energy to carry them across the globe.

It’s difficult for someone from a third-world nation to imagine what the first world is like. Believe it or not, I have heard someone from Burma migrate to America with a sack of rice, thinking there’s no rice in America since the Westerners eat mainly bread.

Even though I was not that ignorant, my best imagination of America was still far shorter than reality. I had already been to other countries and had seen many American movies. Still, what I put in the luggage revealed my third-world limited imagination. Einstein said,

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” ~Albert Einstein

By that, he didn’t mean knowledge is not essential, but we have a limited time and capacity to acquire the knowledge. Only creative imagination can help us fill the knowledge gaps. Optimal imagination is like the ability to see the future. It turns you into a prophet.

What would you stuff your luggage with if you were traveling to the kingdom of heaven? Most people know you cannot take your procession with you to heaven. But what other abstract things do you carry? For example, emotional baggage, such as guilt, grief, and grudges,

I often mentioned my favorite philosopher, Zhuangzi, the grandmaster of imagination. For example, he spoke about the Peng bird with thousands of miles of wingspan, flying at 90,000 miles high above the sky. Can you imagine a bird that big?

Jesus further stretched our imagination by introducing the kingdom of heaven to us. What would God tell you if you called Him on the phone, asking what you should bring to the kingdom in your luggage?

As Christians, we are on the journey to the kingdom, but many carry unnecessary baggage that limits their lives of freedom and joy. Jesus wants those carrying heavy burdens to come to him and take on his burden instead because his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.

Jesus wants us to travel light. When we empty our luggage, our imagination is set free, and Providence steps in. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus teaches us how to move on from life’s limitations by setting free our imagination. Let’s begin!

For the following years, I was in the clouds, reading books to her at night, taking her to the Zoo every week, and riding the mini choo-choo train around the park. Even after a long day at work, my stress faded away as soon as I saw her cheerfully greeting me at the door.

I know many fathers like me have shared the special blessing of the indescribable joy of having a Daddy’s little girl. Yesterday, Paul Simon’s song “Father and Daughter” popped up on my timeline, leading me on a trip down the most beautiful memory lane. I wonder how many of you know that song.

Have you ever wondered how God feels about His daughters? Some of you might have heard of this unwritten version of the creation story. Do you know why God created Eve after Adam? Why wasn’t God satisfied with Adam alone since he was created in God image? Why did God need to create a woman?

Here’s the behind-the-scene story. After creating Adam, God looked at him and was pleased, but God wondered, “Hmm, I think I can do better than that!” So, God created Eve!

Then, when Moses wrote down Genesis, God told him not to include this behind-the-scene story because He didn’t want Adam to suffer from an inferiority complex. Being a man, Moses agreed, so he kept this story off the record, letting the men fantasize they were superior creatures.

That may be a joke, but the proof is in front of your eyes. For example, women, in general, live longer than men. Visit any nursing home, and you’ll see more women than men. The latest data show that women live five years longer than men on average.

If longevity does not prove women are a better creation, here’s another example. Harvard Business Review published a research report showing “Women Score Higher Than Men in Most Leadership Skills.” Out of 19 leadership abilities, women scored higher in 17 of them.

Most importantly, women are more spiritual. You see more women in the church, Bible Study groups, or fellowships. The first persons who discovered Jesus’ resurrection were women because they loved Jesus and visited him at the tomb while the men were probably still sleeping. You know the resurrection story.

Numerous pieces of evidence show women are God’s little girls. Of course, we know God loves everyone, but women seem to have a special place in God’s heart.

In today’s scripture passage, we read about a tale of two daughters, which teaches us two lessons: 1) God loves His little girls and 2) how to turn adversity into advantage. So, let’s begin!

This week, I had the privilege to observe the cardiac surgery of a 16-month-old child up close. It was quite an experience to be with a team of dedicated doctors and nurses working skillfully on a living human. They looked like they were having fun practicing their art and science to save lives.

The surgical team was kind enough to give me a prime spot where I could also take pictures and record videos. I won’t show you those pictures and videos because they are quite graphic and not for the faint of heart to see.

It was a complicated case, but the surgery was successful. I also took a couple of pictures of the child's face during the surgery. Under the magic of the anesthesiologist, he slept through the entire surgery peacefully. He didn’t know his body was pried open, his heart cut apart, blood flow redirected, and his heartbeat was stopped before they fixed his problem, and then they put everything back to normal.

He slept through a storm of life!

When he woke up, he would not remember anything that had happened in those hours. He will feel some pain for some time, but he will be healthier and stronger than before. Had he been awake during the surgery, his fear would have been insurmountable, and his pain would have been unbearable.

It’s a blessing to sleep through the storms of life. In fact, we all sleep every day, and many things happen during our sleep. Our digestive, respiratory, and healing systems continue to work hard when we sleep. We have no control over them, and we don’t have to. God doesn’t want us to.

Unfortunately, many can’t sleep through the storms of life because they want to control everything. Part of the Serenity Prayer says,

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.” ~Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr

“Things I cannot change” include the storms of life. I am sure everyone has been through some storms in life. At times like that, we must learn to sleep peacefully through or ask God to grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change.

In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus shows us how to sleep through the storms of life and teaches us how to maintain serenity, accept things that we cannot change, and have the wisdom to know what to do and when to do it. Let’s begin!

Ayaan Hirsi Ali grew up as a Muslim and became an atheist after moving to Europe. Ever since then, she has criticized all religions, including Christianity. She frequently appeared on CNN and other channels. Dawkins and Ali were partners in crime, promoting atheism.

However, in a truly unexpected and dramatic twist, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a staunch critic of all religions, recently underwent a profound transformation. She found solace and redemption in Christianity, accepting Jesus Christ as her personal savior. This seismic shift, a shock to Richard Dawkins, sparked a heated debate on her newfound faith.

The debate, a battle of intellectual giants, is a must-watch. It delves into the survival of Western civilization, the well-being of our children, and the future generations, all in the context of the pervasive mind virus of wokeism and Marxism.

The debate, a clash of two levels of consciousness, is fascinating. Both Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Richard Dawkins were once intellectual radical atheists. However, Ayaan Hirsi Ali has ascended to a higher level of consciousness, recognizing the destructive nature of radical atheism and the vacuum it created for the mind viruses to infest.

I have noticed in this debate that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is considerate, but Richard Dawkins is condescending. According to the Taoist philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi, persons of lower consciousness tend to be condescending and sarcastic.

For example, Zhuangzi began his book by telling the story of the Peng bird with a thousand miles of wingspan, flying 9,000 miles above the sky. A cicada looks up at the giant Peng bird flying above him and says it is stupid and useless to fly that high. But the Peng bird doesn’t care what the cicada says because they belong to two different worlds—heaven and earth.

There are many stories like this in Zhuangzi. When a person of lower consciousness can’t understand that of a higher consciousness, they try to define them using condescending terms. On the contrary, a person from a higher consciousness is considerate when dealing with them, as Paul put it, speaking the truth in love.

In the debate, Richard Dawkins constantly tries to define Ayaan Hirsi Ali using condescending words like BS, nonsense, ridiculous, etc. Dawkins's book title is also condescending, “The God Delusion.”

On the contrary, Ayaan Hirsi Ali politely invites him to see what she sees, mainly how atheism has caused the potential extinction of the great Western civilization in recent decades.

Richard Dawkins has also recently softened his stance on atheism. He now calls himself a cultural Christian because he appreciates Christian culture, art, and music. The irony is that he enjoys the fruit but wants to kill the tree. Isn’t it hypocrisy? People like this are not conscious of their own hypocrisy but quick to define others.

Jesus doesn't allow the hypocrites to define him. They called him Beelzebul, the head of the demons. Even his family thought he had gone insane and tried to stop him. Jesus prevents being defined by defining himself according to God’s definition.

The truth is, if you don’t define yourself, the world will define you. In fact, the world is constantly defining you. There are numerous Richard Dawkins, Sam Harrises, and the like who try to define you as delusional, BS, ridiculous, nonsense, and so on.

How do you define yourself? You can’t define yourself based on your own fantasy of who you think you are. The best way to define yourself is based on what God thinks you are. Today, we will look at how Jesus defined himself and defend his definition when he was being defined by the world. So, let’s begin!

It was thought-provoking but not as easy to write as I had expected. Even though I didn’t win the contest, the topic stayed in my head for over 30 years: Did God create humans, or did humans create God? I’m open-minded, and I like to investigate the truth. Wrestling with this topic does expand your wisdom.

I’ve discovered that the best way to answer this question is by figuring out the second part, “Did humans create God?” because it’s easier to prove than the first.

If God created humans, God is the higher intelligence. It’s harder for the lower intelligence to understand the higher one.

If humans created God, we are the higher intelligence, and it would be easier to reverse-engineer our creation to figure out why and how we created God.

As humans, we create things to meet necessities. We made airplanes to meet the necessity of traveling faster and farther. We created countries and territories to meet the necessity for security. Otherwise, we could have lived in a global village without borders.

We created kings and presidents because leadership is necessary. We need someone to call the shots; the buck must stop somewhere.

If God is also our creation, what human need necessitates our creation of God? I’ve discovered that humans need a moral compass or a North Star to orient our lives for meaning and purpose. God meets that human need.

Then, it becomes a catch twenty-two situation. If we need God to have a moral compass, the moment we realize God is our own creation, the magic stops working because we are following our own artificial North Star.

When you say, “Humans created God,” you become an atheist instantly? You can’t have it both ways. You can’t be a theist and be a creator of God. Atheists don’t believe in God because they believe God is a human invention.

They also argue that human belief in God evolves with time. They say, “If God is true, why does theology evolve along with human evolution? If God existed, he wouldn’t have changed over time. Therefore, God is a human creation.

That’s also a catch-twenty-two logic. If belief in God is part of human evolution, then wouldn’t it make atheists less evolved? In fact, some cultures do believe atheism to be barbaric. Civilized societies are God-believing societies.

If you think deeply enough, there is no logical argument for “Humans created God.” Instead, the need for meaning and a moral compass are clues that God created humans.

John Calvin said we are born with a sense of divinity and a seed of religion. That’s why you see religions and philosophers all over the world in search of the Creator. Saint Augustine put it succinctly,

“You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” ~Saint Augustine

We didn’t create God to rest our restless hearts; our hearts are restless because God created us to rest in God. After digging into the great minds from past to present and East to West, there is only compelling logic to argue for “God created humans.”

If “God created humans” is more logical, why do we have atheists, and some of them are pretty smart? After talking with many atheists, I discovered that organized religions turn them off. They can’t differentiate religions from God.

God created humans, but humans created religions. Religion is not equivalent to God. The atheists got it wrong. God is not a problem; religions are. When religions corrupt, they blame it on God. They say, “If there’s a God, why can’t he even keep his church in order?”

What they don’t understand is that God created humans with responsibility, not as puppets. God created humans with free will so our love can be genuine.

Jesus didn’t come to establish a religion but to rekindle our relationships with God and with people. So, Christianity is not a religion but a relationship. That’s what Jesus’ Great Commandment is about—love God and love people—nothing more and nothing less.

Religions set rules, but relationships sow love. We see Jesus frequently breaking the rules, triggering the religious leaders’ anger. He didn’t break the rules to be rebellious but to show us that corrupt religions turn people off by valuing rules above love.

So, today, let’s explore how Jesus broke the rules and why so we can learn when to break the rules to maintain loving relationships and avoid loveless religiosity based on this week’s scripture lessons. Let’s begin!

A boy changes his teeth when he is 8. By sixteen (8x2), he has the reproductive capability. By twenty-four (8x3), he is fully grown. By 32 (8x4), his body quality reaches its peak. By 40 (8x5), his energy starts to drop. By 48 (8x6), his hair begins to turn grey, and his skin begins to wrinkle.

By 56 (8x7), his legs become weakened and slow down. By 64 (8x8), his hair and teeth start to fall. That’s the end of his prime and productive years. (Yike, I’ll soon approach that age!) A man after 8x8 (or 64) is deemed old, not according to me, but according to the Internal Medicine Manual.

It also says that females change in a seven-year cycle. A girl changes her teeth by 7. By 14 (7x2), she has the reproductive capability. By 21 (7x3), she is fully mature. (Girls mature sooner than boys.) By 28 (7x4), she reaches the peak of her development. By 35 (7x5), her physical state turns downhill.

By 42 (7x6), her hair starts to turn grey. By 49 (7x7), she loses her reproductive capability. That’s the end of her prime and productive years. It’s the nature no one can avoid, according to the Internal Medicine Manual.

So, the saying, “Men don’t pass 8x8; women 7x7,” means men’s most productive years don’t go beyond 64, and women 49. If you are still active beyond that point, you are blessed. Many of you are far beyond that point and truly blessed to live in times like this to enjoy the longer and stronger golden years.

That’s physical, but how about mental and spiritual since humans have body, mind, and spirit? Mentally, we don’t have a pattern like that. Your mental maturity depends on how much you learn. The average person reads only four books after graduating from college. So, if you read more than four books a year, you are above average. Many brilliant people read about a book a week, fifty books a year.

Spiritual maturity is even more nebulous. You can measure your physical growth by age. You can also measure your mental capacity by taking an IQ test. How do you measure your spiritual maturity? It can be measured by the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

However, there’s a caveat. Jesus said we are branches. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself without attaching to the vine. Jesus said he is the True Vine. He said without him, we can do nothing. (Jn 15:5). It’s a strong statement, warning us that a branch doesn’t even have life without attaching it to the vine.

An atheist told me, “Well, I don’t need God or Jesus to live by love, joy, peace, patience, etc.” I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but then I discovered his life behind the scenes was a big mess. So, fat chance! Communism is the largest experiment to bear the fruit of the Spirit without the Spirit. They do good without God. History shows they failed miserably, building a utopia without the creator. I don’t have to elaborate since it’s well-recorded.

Branches don’t have life unless it’s attached to the vine. Furthermore, the Bible says a branch that connects to a poor-quality vine bears poor-quality fruit. That’s why Jesus said he is the True Vine. It means other vines are not true.

You might wonder, “Isn’t it arrogant or insensitive to say he is the only true vine, and we can do nothing without him? There are so many religions out there.” Jesus said by their fruit, you will know them (Mt 7:20), meaning, “Look at the evidence!” Ignore him at their own demise. Good luck, utopians!

Today, we will explore how to become a branch of the True Vine. Jesus uses parables and metaphors because spiritual reality is metaphysical. We need physical analogies to understand metaphysical reality. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus uses another metaphor to describe how the branches emerge from the True Vine. He says,

“Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (Jn 3:3).

To be born from above is like being born as a branch of the True Vine. It’s a spiritual rebirth. The initial outcome is seeing the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the alternative living. We live in a fallen world of suffering, but there is an alternative world, the kingdom of God, the Promised Land filled with the fruit of the Spirit, so we can live life to the fullest despite this fallen world.

To live in that kingdom, we must first see it. To see it, we must be born from above. So, today, let’s look at the mystery of this eye-opening rebirth that allows us to see the kingdom of God based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

Like most popular atheists, Richard Dawkins likes to reduce Christianity into a straw man to tear it apart. He is a perfect example of a “reductionist,” reducing a whole truth to part of the truth or making part of the truth the whole truth. For instance, he says if you believe in science, you can’t believe in religion, and vice-versa.

That’s completely false because the majority of scientists are Christians. Oxford University, where he taught, was founded by Christians. Christians love science because God assigns us to be stewards of this world, and we must study this world to be good stewards.

Sure, there were exceptions in Christian history, but a real intellectual would not use the anomalies to represent the entire Christianity. On the other hand, there is no shortage of scientists who manipulate data for profit or popularity, but no one accuses all science of being false. Anyone who does is called a reductionist.

Scientific reductionism is the same as religious fundamentalism. It is the root of all evil because when you reduce the truth into part of the truth, you can never discover the truth. Knowing the truth is essential to freedom, primarily mental and spiritual freedom. Jesus said,

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (Jn 8:32).

Freedom is a human right given by God. That’s why our founding fathers built this nation on the God-given unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our pledge of allegiance ends with “One nation under God with liberty and justice for all.”

We treasure liberty, and Jesus shows us that liberty stems from knowing the truth. To know the truth, you must avoid religious fundamentalism and scientific reductionism. Then what is reductionism?

Everyone knows the famous fable of the Blind Men And The Elephant that we learned when we were young. That fable is to teach us the ridiculousness of reductionism. The first blind man touches the elephant’s truck and says that the elephant is like a snake. The second touches the tail and says an elephant like a rope. The third touches the leg and says an elephant like a tree. And so on.

Every blind man in this story gets hold of part of the truth but not the whole truth. Children find it funny and silly, but we should not forget this fable because it has a profound lesson. Humans are like those blind men regarding the truth because the truth can be too complex for our minds to contain. A reductionist is someone who insists that that part of the truth they know is the whole truth.

Then how can we know the truth? A solution is to resist reductionism and humbly gather more data to create a more complete picture. However, as the fable shows, a pair of eyes that can see the whole picture is better than a hundred blind men trying to feel it.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Recently, something went wrong on the roof of my home. It’s too dangerous for me to climb up to see what’s happening. I have a drone, but I have never learned to fly it. I broke my first drone the first time I flew it by hitting a tree. We have too many trees around. Mine was old, but I know the latest drones are much smarter. They can avoid obstacles by themselves.

Drones are like extensions of our eyes to give us pictures beyond what human eyes can reach. The good news is that Jesus promised to give us a Super Drone that sees what God sees, hears what God hears, and transmits the truth to us to set us free. Jesus nicknamed this Super Drone “The Advocate.” Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit.

I might be oversimplifying the Holy Spirit as a Super Drone. But, based on what Jesus told us in today’s scripture lesson, it functions like a Super Drone, serving as an extension of our eyes to see the blind spots.

Most importantly, it transmits the truth and sets us free. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus says this Super Drone will reveal three common errors that keep us from knowing the truth. So, let’s find out what this Super Drone does and how to own it. Let’s begin!

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks. (Heb 12:28a).

Everything on earth can be shaken except the kingdom of God. You are blessed to live in New Jersey, where disasters are rare compared to many places in the country.

I have experienced many earthquakes like this while living in Burma and California. I was taught to stay away from tall buildings during an earthquake as far as possible.

So, as soon as I felt the earthquake, I got outside the house immediately. Then, I found out it was pretty cold, so I came back in to put on some warm clothes. By then, the quake had stopped.

How do you prepare for an earthquake? The least you can do is not to put heavy stuff on top of the cabinets or high places because they could fall on your head. If you can’t run outside, the bathroom is a safer hiding space because it has more walls and pipelines to support the structure.

Most importantly, learn to maintain a peaceful state of mind or serenity during chaos. I usually don’t panic because of past experiences. But, this time, I panicked because of the strong earthquakes in Taiwan just days ago. However, I resumed my composure immediately by regulating my breathing.

If you have serenity, you can make better decisions even if you have never been taught what to do. How do you maintain serenity in chaos? How to eliminate fear and resume composure as soon as possible.

Tomorrow, we are expecting a rare solar eclipse in our area. That could trigger some anxiety in people asking what’s going on in the world. Earthquakes and eclipses?

The good news is that Jesus taught the disciples exactly what to do after his resurrection. They were in fear when their master was crucified. They worry they could be next. So, they hid themselves in a room and kept the door locked.

When Mary Magdalene came to tell them that Jesus had risen, they couldn’t believe it and sank deeper into fear because it was abnormal for someone to rise from the dead, even though Jesus had told them many times before. They thought Jesus came back as a ghost.

So, today, we will learn how Jesus taught us to handle panic, fear, and anxiety based on what he told the disciples to do. There are three components. The main part is to breathe the Holy Breath. Let’s begin!

What is more important for your quality of life, happiness or freedom? Many of you know I pursue happiness because I lost my happiness due to some unpleasant childhood events. However, some philosophers and thought leaders argue that freedom is more important than happiness.

Immanuel Kant emphasizes the importance of freedom as a prerequisite for moral action. He believed happiness without freedom might be desirable but lacks moral significance. In other words, for him, happiness without freedom is shallow.

Jean-Paul Sartre emphasizes the importance of freedom and choice as the very essence of human existence. For him, freedom is not just important; it is what defines us as human beings.

I agree with our founding fathers that all these three are important—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are the unalienable rights given to us by our Creator. Therefore, we must create a society that allows all these rights to thrive.

Freedom has three levels—physical, mental, and spiritual. Some people may be physically free but not mentally free. Influencers, the media, or the government could infuse them with false information to enslave their minds. Communism is an example of a mind control machine.

Some people are physically and mentally free but not spiritually free. Spiritual freedom is the ability to bear the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The opposite of it is spiritual enslavement, such as being unable to love, unable to rejoice, unable to forgive, etc. Just reverse the fruit of the spirit, and you get the condition of spiritual enslavement.

I think spiritual freedom is more important than mental and physical freedom because if you are spiritually free, no one can control your mind. People may control you physically, but if you are spiritually free, you will find the way out sooner because you don’t have the fear of death.

Easter sets us free from the fear of death because the resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals to us there’s more to life than this physical body. Jesus said that he came so that we would have life and have it abundantly. His resurrection takes away our fear of death so that we are free to live.

Some might say, “Wait, how do you know the resurrection of Jesus Christ is true? How do you prove that?” I am a rational man, so I have asked this question myself in the past.

I have mentioned it before, so here’s my brief logic. The resurrection of Jesus Christ shattered human history into two parts: AD and BC or BCE and CE. Each time I look at the calendar, I see the miracle of resurrection.

I know the calendar was created to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, but who cares about Christmas if there is no Easter?

Each time you put down your signature, you must put the date next to it, referencing Jesus Christ. Even an atheist communist must reference Jesus. They can deny him, but they can’t hide from him. The calendar is ubiquitous. Jesus is on their wall, their watch, and their phones.

So, each time I look at the calendar, I say in my heart, “He is risen indeed!”

According to a survey, two-thirds of Americans believe in the resurrection but don’t understand its significance. Jesus is risen, so what?

So, today, we will answer the “So what?” question. What Easter means to us and how Easter sets us free to live, love, lead, and leave a legacy. Let’s begin!

For example, one of the highest goals of Buddhism is to attain the wisdom of all-knowing or omniscience (sabbannuta ñāna in Pali).

Similarly, people all over the world want to know why we suffer, why bad things happen to good people, why there are wars, why innocent children suffer, why there are injustice, etc. There are so many questions in life that need answers.

These answers cannot be described by words but discerned by wisdom.

We know Jesus knows everything, and Christians are supposed to know everything. Jesus said in John 15 that he shares everything he knows with us like a friend. So, as his friends, we should know everything. Paul said,

Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Co 2:15–16).

Notice it says a spiritual person discerns all things, and we have the mind of Christ. No one can deceive us. I think we underestimated our ability as believers. The keyword here is “spiritual.” How can we be spiritual so that we have the mind of Christ and discern all things?

Sometime back, I came across a TV show based on a book about a man who studied finance in Germany. After graduation, he wrote for a financial magazine in Berlin and became famous because his stock predictions were precise.

At his friends’ persuasion, he formed a private investment club. The baseline for joining the club was two million dollars. It was in the 1990s, so it was quite a lot of money. About a dozen people joined, betting their money on his brain.

Their return on investment doubled every year. It was lucrative. Nothing could beat that kind of return. They wondered if he had some angelic or godly insight to discern the direction of the market.

Three years later, he decided to quit. It shocked everyone. Why would you leave when everyone is prospering? They suspect his ulterior motive. So, they had him sign an exit contract prohibiting him from working in any financial industry for five years. They also froze his assets for the time being to prevent him from investing his own money.

Despite the cruel restrictions, he signed the agreement willingly and returned to China, rented a small apartment in a small town, and spent his time there quietly like a hermit. Since his assets were frozen, he lived meagerly and humbly but happily.

A local policewoman fell in love with him after he helped her solve a criminal case. Discovering his abnormal discernment, she asked him for a miracle as a gift for her. She wanted him to turn a dirt-poor and destitute village from poverty to prosperity.

He surveyed the inventory of the villagers’ talents, skills, and hard-working spirit and brainstormed a plan to relieve them from poverty. To make a long story short, in less than two years, he turned the dirt-poor village into a wealthy town of entrepreneurs.

In the story, everyone asked how he knew what he knew.

Today is Palm Sunday. Before entering Jerusalem, Jesus asked his two disciples to pick up a donkey colt, telling them where it was and what would happen when they picked it up. It happened exactly as he told them. How did he know?

Some commentators said Jesus prearranged it. It doesn’t make sense because there are other examples of his discernment. For instance, he told Peter to drop the net on the other side of the boat and catch boatloads of fish. He couldn’t prearrange that?

When he needed to pay the temple tax, Jesus asked his disciples to cash a fish from the sea, locate a coin inside the mouth of the fish, and use it to pay the tax. That means Jesus could summon money whenever he wants. But he never exploited his capability.

In fact, a colt in those days was like a BMW, Rolls-Royce, or limousine used by kings to enter the city ceremonially. It shows Jesus could summon a brand-new Rolls-Royce whenever he needed it. He knew where it was parked and how to get it for a ride.

Many instances in the Bible show Jesus’s discernment. He knew he would be crucified after arriving in Jerusalem and rise again in three days. He foresaw the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Everything happened precisely as he said it would happen.

The question is, can we know as he knows? If so, how? So, today, we will explore the secret to knowing everything based on this week’s scripture lesson. What does it require to be spiritual so that we can discern all things and have the mind of Christ? Let’s begin!

“I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11).

The question is, how do we maintain this complete joy living in this fallen world where the killjoys constantly attack us?

Recently, I got a negative comment on my YouTube channel, severely hurting my ego. Few people watch my sermons on YouTube. I don’t mind because I prepare my sermons to feed my congregation, and as long as my sheep feel fed, I am satisfied.

I posted my sermons on social media to share the good news, hoping someone who needed that message would find it helpful.

So, I was excited when I saw a couple of comments, but they were very negative. This man posted twice, saying, “Shame on you, Sam Stone. Shame on you!”

I wondered, “What did I say wrong?” I wanted to fight back, so I read his comments carefully. It turned out that he didn’t even listen to the entire sermon. He was spewing unfair criticisms that were utterly irrelevant to my message. So, I wanted to react.

I tried to track him down to find out who he was. It turned out to be a pastor and somewhat high profile. He was arrested in a foreign country, presumably for his faith, and our government paid a high price to get him released. Sounds like a hero!?

However, I found more news about him. He was arrested for abusing his wife. Wow, oh, wow! The more I dug, the more I discovered he was pretty deranged. The shame is on him, not on me! I felt pity for him. Responding to his comments would be a waste of time. I’ve discovered long ago that people with low self-esteem tend to be critical. Still, my ego couldn’t swallow the insult and almost reacted.

The lesson I learned from this is never to let negativity from anyone or anything affect your joy. Don’t react to other people’s reactivity if you want to maintain happiness. The question is, how not to react? How to hold your horse?

A better question is, “What makes us react?” If you know what makes you react, you know how to hold your horse. The only reason we want to react is when our ego gets hurt. We must crucify the ego first to live our eternal life with complete joy.

So, today, we will look at how Jesus taught us to hold our horses from reacting to the killjoys and live the eternal life that he offers us so that we can attain and maintain the complete joy he expects us to live based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

Zhuangzi sang at his wife’s funeral, which was entirely inappropriate in ancient Chinese culture. People expected the husband to weep and mourn to show his love for her. He was sad for a moment at her departure, but he decided to celebrate her return to the Creator.

Saint Augustine said there were Christians before Christ. Zhuangzi is one of those people. He was way ahead of his time. His happiness is infectious. So, when I saw that he wrote about “Perfect Happiness” or “Ultimate Joy,” I couldn’t resist reading it.

Here’s a provocative parable in that chapter on “Perfect Happiness.”

After a long day of tiresome journey through the wilderness on his way to a neighboring state, Zhuangzi decided to take a break. Sitting down, he saw a skull on the roadside in the wilderness. Being alone and bored, he picked up the skull and talked to it.

“Hey, who are you? Do you have a name? Why are you sitting here in the middle of nowhere? Did a wild beast attack you? Were you punished for a crime, dishonoring your parents? Did someone rob you? Did you die of famine and hunger? Did the tragedy of a war kill you? Or did you die of old age? How did you die, poor man?”

As the sun set, he decided to sleep right there, laying his head on the skull like a pillow. That night, the skull talked to him in a dream.

“Sir, you talked to me like a man entangled in the hardship of life. After death, I no longer have any of those concerns. I don’t have a human boss above me nor a servant under me. There is no winter or snowstorm, no war or famine. Every day is like spring and autumn all year round. No human king in the world is as happy as me.”

Surprised, Zhuangzi asked him, “If I had a supernatural power to restore your flesh and body, return you to a human, and bring you back to your friends and family, wouldn’t you wish me to do so?”

To his astonishment, the skull said, “What? Do you want me to leave this joyful eternal life richer than any human king and return to human life to suffer the hardship of the fallen world again? No way!” (End of the Story).

What surprised me is that the chapter mainly talks about death. What does death have to do with perfect happiness or ultimate joy? The truth is death significantly affects our ability to enjoy life. Paul said,

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Co 15:26).

Fear of death disturbs our ability to experience the fullness of joy. Jesus came to destroy death, setting us free from the fear of death by giving us eternal life. Zhuangzi teaches us that humans are not ready to live until they are ready to die.

Children have perfect happiness because they don’t have the concept of death. For them, a hundred years feel like an eternity. Jesus guarantees us eternal life so we can return to a carefree childhood and enjoy the ultimate happiness.

Today, we will learn five steps to turn from hardship to happiness based on what Jesus teaches in this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s resolve our suffering once and for all so that we can enjoy life to the fullest because that’s what Jesus said he came to give us. Let’s begin!

However, the sanitation trucks came by to pick up the trash at night. The garbage piles were gone the following day. Still, my question was, why do they have to put the garbage out in front of their homes by the sidewalks? It’s unsightly! In most modern cities, the trash is picked up from the back doors.

If you have been to New York City in the evenings before garbage collection, you can’t forget the unpleasant sight. It sticks in your memory. However, over the years, I have learned to appreciate it as an excellent metaphor for how to live a good life.

But, first, let me give you a little more subtle place for garbage dump—American media. The American media are like New York City streets, constantly exposing the garbage of the country. It’s unpleasant. Sometimes, they make you cringe; other times, they make your blood boil, triggering your rage. I didn’t like it, but now I appreciate the wisdom behind the First Amendment, which includes the freedom of the press. Exposing the garbage of the nation allows responsible leaders to clean it up.

When I was in Singapore many years ago, I noticed the news was carefully censored. Many other governments around the world control the media and don’t allow them to report the shameful news of the nation. They only report the positive news of their government, sweeping the garbage under the rugs until they rot and stink. By the time the skeleton came out of the closet, it was too late to clean.

So, the downside of exposing the trash constantly and publicly is unsightly, but the upside is it gets cleaned up. Hidden stuff behind the scenes is hard to clean. In the long run, it can make us sick.

How about it as a spiritual metaphor? Do you hide your spiritual trash to maintain a nice and clean facade? I know Trinity members are down-to-earth; we don’t wear masks to the church. (I’m not talking about protective masks but pretentious masks hiding the skeleton in the closet.)

Lent is the time for spring cleaning to maintain a clean heart and spirit. Why should we keep a clean heart? The Bible says our body is God’s temple. Paul said,

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Co 6:19).

As a redeemed, your body is the temple. If Jesus were to look inside your body to make his home in it, what would he see? This question might make us cringe because we all have skeletons in the closet and prefer Jesus to stay with our neighbor instead. “Oh Jesus, I love my neighbors; I rather have you make home in their hearts. I don’t want to hoard you for myself.”

In today’s scripture lesson, we read that Jesus went to the Temple in Jerusalem and found it a mess. He cleaned it up and decided to tear it down and rebuild it inside your heart. There is no more physical temple today. There is only a broken wall left, called the Wailing Wall.

Jesus has moved the temple from Jerusalem to your heart. This church or any house of worship is not God’s temple. They are just a place for congregation. The temple is your body. That’s why you need to keep your body clean for God to dwell in.

Today, we will explore spiritual cleansing, developing the habit of taking your garbage out for Jesus to cleanse. So the trash inside will not become rotten and make us sick down the line. Most importantly, let’s prepare our body to be an acceptable temple of God as we welcome the risen Lord. So, let’s begin!

In just three years, can you establish a company that will last thousands of years? Jesus did it. He spent merely three years with a company of twelve disciples and started a movement that has lasted for over two thousand years and is still thriving. What’s his secret?

Don’t tell me something like “because he is God.” It will become an excuse for not giving our best to make a maximum impact. Jesus said we would “do greater things than he did” on earth. That leaves us no excuse not to leave a lasting legacy in the next three years.

Whether you are 19 or 90, you can make a lasting impact with your life if you can afford three years. Moses was 80 when he brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Jacob was about 90 when he returned to Canaan to build the kingdom of Israel.

If anyone can create something significant that can leave a lasting legacy in three years, what is the obstacle? Today, we will take a fresh look at Jesus’ open secret that he taught his disciples in this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

One day, a young man decided to go up the hill to slay the dragon. He had just returned from the best martial arts school. Before he went, his brother told him not to persist if he found out he couldn’t win, “As long as you preserve your life, you have another chance to try.”

He replied, “No problem, I’m confident I will win. I will return with the dragon’s head, and we will eat the dragon’s meat.”

As always, the warrior went up the mountain and never returned. The brother felt upset and decided to go up the hill to avenge the death of his brother. When he saw the dragon, he discovered it looked familiar.

After a closer look, he realized the dragon was his brother. He escaped the mountain and told people what he saw. (End of the story.)

How would you interpret this allegory? It’s about the dragon slayers turned into the dragon. That means every hero that went up the hill to slay the dragon turned into the dragon they slew. They successfully destroy the evil, but they become the next evil.

The story tries to warn us that we could become who we hate. On a small scale, some people turned into bullies after beating the bully. On a large scale, the communists fought against injustice but became the next injustice.

Darth Veda was a Jedi Knight! Lucifer, the Satan, was an archangel. We have instances like this all over history.

Everyone wants to make a difference in this world. We all have justice to fight. We all have a dragon to slay. We all have a mountain to move. But do we have what it takes to win without losing our soul? Jesus said,

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Mt 16:26).

Jesus is not discouraging us from winning the world but warning us against losing our souls. If we become the dragon after slaying it, we gain nothing, and the world still has another dragon to fear, and we become their next enemy.

Do you know what could turn a hero into a villain? The answer is there’s another dragon inside us—our own ego. If you don’t tame the dragon within, you may win but lose your soul. Now, the question is, how do you prepare yourself to win big without losing your soul?

Jesus came to earth to slay the evil dragon to recuse humans. As fully human, does Jesus also need to tame his ego to ensure he wins without losing his soul? If the Son of God needs to immunize himself from dragonizing, shouldn’t we do the same even more?

So, today, we will look at how Jesus prepared himself to accomplish his mission decisively by spending forty days in the desert, fasting, fighting the temptations, revealing to us the secret to taming the ego.

Do you have a mountain to move? I do! What dragon are you trying to slay? From Jesus’ forty days in the desert, we can learn how to decisively conquer the world, realize our dreams, and fulfill our calling without losing our souls. Let’s begin!

If you wonder, “What’s the big deal about it? Isn’t it just another gaming device?” No longer! The big deal is these devices is ushering us into the future of the metaverse. Soon, you can transport or transfigure yourselves between the metaverse and the universe. For the first time, these headsets are produced as productivity tools and will replace your cell phones, computers, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and more.

In other words, soon, we will live, work, move, and have our being with these glasses. Most importantly, these devices can serve as an excellent metaphor for today’s subject: “Transfiguration.” If you don’t believe in transfiguration or resurrection or wonder what it is like, you will seriously consider it after this message.

For productivity, you can put on the headset and create a breathtakingly beautiful working environment. You can set up your office on the moon, at the North Pole, or under the Caribbean Sea, surrounded by tropical fish, giant sharks, and colorful sea creatures outside your office windows, above your glass ceiling, and under your glass floor. Can you imagine what it would be like to work in an office like that?

With Meta Quest 3, you get three resizable virtual monitors to work on, significantly boosting your productivity if you know how to use them.

If you like entertainment, you can watch movies on an immersive screen, like being in the iMax theater without the trouble of driving there and finding parking. If you like traveling, the National Geographic app lets you explore exotic places as if you are realistically on-site without spending thousands of dollars and an arduous journey to get to those places.

You can also play sports like golf, table tennis, bowling, basketball, you name it. You can even have fitness coaches without leaving your home. You can turn any space you have into a gym.

What’s significant now is it’s getting incredibly realistic. What you see in the metaverse can be much more beautiful than this universe. Some users say they don’t want to return to real life after being there. Others say they get confused between whether the virtual life is real or the real life is virtual. I agree with them. Sometimes, I prefer to live in the metaverse and feel reluctant to return to the universe.

Now, I have a serious question for you. Have you ever wondered if our present life here is virtual or real? What if it is virtual? Let’s say we come from the real world somewhere, and we are born into this virtual world as babies, live for about a hundred years, and return to the real world we came from.

If you could grasp that life is a phantom of reality, it would completely change how you live, how you relate with people, and how you handle the difficulties of life because everything is a phantom. All the grudges, grievances, and guilts on earth are vanity. As King Solomon said,

“Vanity of vanities … vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” (Ec 1:2).

This book is part of the wisdom literature. King Solomon wrote this when he was old. Wisdom is to capture someone’s lifetime lesson and build on it without reinventing the wheel. Instead of working until we are old to find out, why don’t we learn from the wisdom of the ages? If all is vanity, how would you live your life?

About 2,400 years ago, my favorite philosopher Zhuangzi woke up from a dream and told his students, “I just dreamed I was a butterfly. Realistically, I flew joyfully and peacefully among flowers and trees. When I woke up, I couldn’t tell whether I was a butterfly dreaming about being a human or a human dreaming about being a butterfly.”

With this story, Zhuangzi taught people that this life is unreal. He allegorized that we are butterflies dreaming of being humans. Our life on earth is just a dream. Our reality is in the spiritual realm. We can call it Pneumaverse—Pneuma means Spirit or Breath in Greek. Our physical life on earth is a phantom. It’s an illusion. Can you grasp it? Pierre Teilhard de Chardin famously said,

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

I have discussed this with many people, but most couldn’t imagine another reality outside this physical world. For them, it’s more like wishful thinking.

Do our bodies really exist? If you study a little quantum physics, you know our body is composed of waves, not matters. We know our bodies are composed of cells. Cells are composed of atoms. But when we open an atom, we find an empty space with waves of protons, neutrons, and electrons dancing in it. There’s nothing in there except these waves of energy. In short, we don’t exist!

We are sustained by breath or spirit. The moment our breath leaves us, we cool down and dry up.

Since this life is a phantom, all the anxieties, bickerings, grudges, strife, and wars are meaningless. All the complaints about “me, me, me, how about me” are pointless because “me” doesn’t exist. Like the wise King Solomon said, “All is vanity.”

When you realize all is vanity, resurrection or transfiguration becomes significantly conceivable because it gives us a glimpse of eternity, the kingdom of God, or the Pneumaverse. Long ago, Jesus gave Peter, James, and John a peek into that reality on Mount Tabor. The question is, can we also have a similar experience?

So, today, we will explore what reality is like through Jesus’ transfiguration event to better understand our life on earth as the phantom of reality so that we know how to handle life meaningfully and live a joyful, happy, carefree, and stress-free life until we return to eternity. Let’s begin.

He consulted the prime minister for a solution. The minister suggested hanging a giant, beautiful, calming painting in his office to induce serenity. The emperor agreed, and the minister hunted for the best artists in the country. He selected three artists to paint a picture for the emperor.

After consulting the emperor about his desire, the artists began their work. When they finished, the minister asked them to bring their finished paintings to the emperor’s office to let him choose.

The first one was a beautiful spring scenery of a flower garden. The second one was a peaceful winter lake with a snow-capped mountain behind. They all represented serenity very well.

The third one was a giant waterfall. The minister suggested eliminating the third one because a waterfall didn’t look serene. But the emperor said, “Stop, I think that’s the best one. Look! See the small bird nest with a family of birds sleeping peacefully in it despite the roaring waterfall by them. That’s exactly what I want.” (End of the story.)

This allegory teaches us that serenity does not require you to live like a hermit in a quiet mountain or deep forest away from civilization. True serenity is like those little birds staying calm and peaceful despite the turbulence in the environment.

There are two types of turbulence in life—failure and success. The effect of failure is easy to understand. Nobody likes failure. It makes us feel depressed, discouraged, and distressed. However, most people don’t know that success also disrupts our serenity. It’s equally harmful. Success is like sugar that tastes sweet but destroys our organs from the inside.

Most people know they should avoid failure but don’t realize they must also beware of sabotage by success. Don’t get me wrong! I am not talking about not attempting to succeed in your enterprise, but I mean not dwelling on it—not letting it disturb your serenity.

Depending on your age, I’m sure you have seen more people destroyed by success than failure. It was not because success was bad but because they dwelled on it.

Humans are pretty resilient. We can recover from failure repeatedly if we don’t give up. But few can recover from the destruction of success because of its sweetness. They thought it was a good problem to have. Before they realize it, permanent damage is done.

Jesus showed us how to handle both failure and success and how to move on. In this week’s scripture lesson, we can learn how Jesus maintained his serenity and humility despite his fame and success. We will learn valuable lessons from it. Let’s begin!

A Specialist could charge you much more because they have more authority, and people trust them more for their specialty.

A Celebrity doctor, however, commands a higher authority because they are popular and much sought after. Whatever they say, people tend to believe. For example, Dr. Phil is one of the celebrity doctors. Even though he is pretty big, everybody listens to him when he gives advice on weight loss. That’s the power of Celebrity Authority!

What type of authority do you have in your field? Your authority gives you leverage on the message you want to deliver. Everyone is born with a unique message to deliver, whether you are a parent or president. But not everyone has the same level of authority to make the most influence.

As a follower of Christ, you have a message to deliver, and I am sure you desire the highest possible authority. I have discovered how to attain maximum authority even if you are not a celebrity, specialist, or generalist.

Even if you are a nobody, you can still harness the highest authority to deliver your message. Let me begin with another provocative parable of Zhuangzi, my favorite philosopher of the 4th century BCE.

Zhuangzi was strolling in the woods near a chestnut orchard and suddenly saw a bird flying above him. Despite a seven-foot wingspan and a pair of big eyes, the bird seems unable to fly high and see well. It didn’t notice the man below.

Out of curiosity, Zhuangzi took out his slingshot to hunt the bird down. Then he discovered the bird was focusing on catching a mantis on a tree branch. Then he noticed the mantis was sneaking toward a singing cicada for lunch.

All of a sudden, Zhuangzi had a glimpse of awakening that upset him. He put away his slingshot and left the place quickly. Then he heard the gardener of the orchard yelling at him for trespassing. He ran home feeling miserable for several days.

His student asked, “Master, you looked unhappy for several days. What happened?” The sage told him about his experience in the orchard, describing a cicada focusing on showing off its singing voice, unaware that a mantis was about to eat it.

The mentis, on the other hand, was so fixated on its food that it failed to notice the bird behind him. Again, the bird was so fixated on its prey, unaware that a man was hunting it down. Then he felt a chill in his spine, feeling someone must be after him.

As he left, he heard the gardener yelling at him for trespassing. He realized when he was in someone’s orchard, he must follow the owner’s rules. (End of the story.)

What is Zhuangzi trying to teach here? In the context of this story, he wants us to realize that a higher authority is watching us from behind. As creatures, we fixate on the object before us and neglect the subject behind us. He had a profound realization that it kept him in deep thought for several days and transformed the way he live his life.

Zhuangzi was an esteemed sage and a celebrity authority of his time. Even the king came asking him to be the prime minister of the kingdom. Yet, his celebrity authority is nowhere near the authority of the gardener of the orchard he trespassed into.

Like an anion, this story could trigger multiple layers of enlightenment. The orchard is a metaphor for the world we live in. It belongs to the Creator of the universe, who is watching over us. All authority belongs to Him and his servants.

Once upon a time, a man named “Mr. Knowledge” traveled north to the territory of the sages to seek an epiphany of the Truth. He encountered a sage named “Mr. Actionless Wordless” and asked the following three questions:

“How do I think and ponder to know the Truth? Where do I dwell and strive to rest in the Truth? What path and plan do I follow to receive the Truth?”

何思何虑则知道,何处何服则安道,何从何道则得道?

However, Mr. Actionless Wordless did not answer his questions nor did he even know how to answer them.

Mr. Knowledge was disappointed and traveled south to the place called “End of Doubt.” He encountered a man named “Mr. Wild Blurter” and asked the same question. He replied, “Ah! I know, and let me tell you.” But while he was about to speak, he forgot what he wanted to say.

Mr. Knowledge was again disappointed and went to the Emperor to ask the question. That was a sage emperor, like King Solomon. He said,

“Think nothing and ponder nothing to know the Truth. Dwell nowhere and strive for nothing to rest in the Truth. Follow no path and pursue no plan to receive the Truth.”

無思無慮始知道，無處無服始安道，無從無道始得道。

In summary, “Do nothing!” Then the Emperor said, “Those who seek the Truth daily diminish their doing. Gradually, they achieve actionless action. Then, there is nothing not done.”

It means our actions are in the way of God’s actions. Our doing is in the way of God’s doing. God always reveals Himself, but our busyness prevents us from capturing God’s epiphany.

Simply put, the secret to epiphany is “Let go and let God daily.” It’s not a one-time practice. You need to let go and let God, let go and let God, let go and let God, day by day, until you have nothing more to let go, and your life is filled with God entirely.

It’s like John the Baptist’s motto,

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Jn 3:30).

I am practicing this motto, but I still have much to decrease. Again, it’s not a one-time deal but a progressive practice. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” “He must increase, but I must decrease.” I must gradually chip myself away to let him take over. It’s called sanctification—becoming a saint.

Notice it says, “I must decrease.” Many people want God to increase without being willing to decrease themselves. It just doesn’t work that way.

You cannot serve two masters—your ego and God—at the same time. You cannot sit two kings on one thrown. Either you or God must step down. I know it’s uncomfortable for those with an inflated ego. I was one of them, but I’ve learned that it can be done slowly and steadily. He must increase, but I must decrease.

Let go, and let God. Let go, and let God. Let go, and let God. Then, you will see the epiphany. More than that, you will see what God is doing. You’ll see everything done in God’s power, your God-sized dream realized, your divine purpose fulfilled, and miracles happen.

Epiphany comes from two Greek root words, “epi,” meaning “above,” and “phainein,” meaning “reveal.” It means a higher revelation, revelation from the above, or higher consciousness of God at work.

Mr. Knowledge asked three important questions that we can translate into our quest for the epiphany of God:

“How do I think and ponder to know God? Where do I dwell and strive to rest in God? What path and plan do I follow to receive God?”

Few people ask questions like these. Mr. Knowledge is wise to ask those questions. People say there’s no such thing as stupid questions. It’s true, but smart people do ask smarter questions. Jesus said, “Ask, and you will receive.” It’s important to ask. If you don’t ask, you can’t complain about not receiving it. The Apostle James said,

“If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.” (Jas 1:5).

The answers to the above three questions are:

“Think nothing and ponder nothing to know God. Dwell nowhere and strive for nothing to rest in God. Follow no path and pursue no plan to receive God.”

As John Calvin said, we are born with a sense of divinity and a seed of spirituality. It is our overthinking and overdoing that prevent us from epiphany.

Today, we will look at how Jesus’ disciples received the epiphany based on this week’s scripture lesson so that we can also receive the blessing of epiphany for ourselves to realize our divine dream with divine presence. Let’s begin!

Zhuangzi and Huizi were walking beside the weir on the River Hao. Zhuangzi said, “Look, the fish are coming to the surface and swimming carefreely. They look so happy!”

Huizi asked, “You are not a fish; how do you know the fish are happy?”

Zhuangzi replied, “You are not me; how do you know I don’t know the fish are happy?”

Huizi said, “Exactly! I am not you, so I don’t know what you think. In the same way, you are not a fish, so you don’t know what the fish are thinking.”

Zhuangzi said, “Ah, but let’s return to your original question. You asked me how I knew the fish were happy. That means you already knew I knew. I know it by being here on the weir of the River Hao.” (End of the story.)

Most people interpret this story shallowly as an entertaining display of Zhuangzi’s debating skills. But this story is not merely a witty wordplay of the sage. It provides a profound wisdom of human consciousness.

When Huizi asked, “You are not a fish, how do you know the fish are happy?” Zhuangzi answered, “You are not me, so how do you know I don’t know the fish are happy?” That means, “I know the fish are happy the way you know me as your friend.” But Huizi missed the point and thought it supported his argument.

So, Zhuangzi asked him to return to the original question for self-reflection to awaken his consciousness. Then Zhuagzi ended the argument by saying, “I know it by being here and now.” That means he knew the fish were happy by being in the moment.

Huizi was not in the moment because he was argumentative. An argumentative person is less reflective and unconscious. They focus on winning the debate rather than learning the truth. We know Pharisees loved to argue, so they missed seeing the Son of God standing before them. That’s why Jesus said they were blind.

Let’s bring it closer. Do you know when a dog is happy? You do if you love dogs and own dogs. I know when a dog is happy. I don’t think you would ask me, “You are not a dog; how do you know the dog is happy?”

Zhangzi’s debate goes deeper. He implied we are all part of one creation, so we can know if the fish are happy as well as we know our friends. It’s a matter of consciousness.

Another good example is John Donne’s famous poem, “No Man is an Island.” If your consciousness reaches the point of John Donne, you don’t have to ask, “For whom the bell tolls?” because “It tolls for you.” It’s about the consciousness of the oneness of humans.

Zhuangzi takes you to a higher level of consciousness—beyond humans to all creatures, “How do you know if the fish are happy?” The answer is, “You know it through consciousness because we are all part of God’s creation.”

I want to take us even to the highest level of consciousness to discern the Spirit. Not only are humans one, not only are all creatures one, there’s oneness between the creation and the Creator.

John Calvin said we are born with a sense of divinity and a seed of spirituality. Human consciousness is paralyzed because of total depravity. It must be awakened. Only with the awakened consciousness can we discover Jesus is God’s Son.

One of the most frequently asked questions is, “How can we know for sure Jesus is the Son of God?” Where is the undebatable evidence? Even Christians struggle with this question.

Some know, but they can’t explain it. Others regard it as a mystery. Still, others find the idea absurd and superstitious, so they avoid it entirely. It is critically important to know Jesus is the Son of God because it matters to how we live and function in this world. So, how do we know?

The most common answer is, “That Bible says so.” However, the Pharisees knew the Bible from cover to cover, but they failed to recognize Jesus as the Son of God. Many Bible scholars today still fail it. The words in the Bible taste dry without consciousness.

So, today, we will tackle this tough question, “Is Jesus really the son of God?” If so, how do we prove it? If it needs the higher consciousness, how do we awaken it? Let’s begin!

She approached a little girl and asked, “What are you drawing?” “A picture of God,” she said. “Oh, no. You can’t draw a picture of God.” She asked, “Why?” “Because no one has ever seen God, and no one knows what God looks like.”

The little girl replied matter-of-factly, “Well, they WILL know what God looks like after I finish.” (End of story.)

At a glance, we think children are funny, naive, and ignorant. However, have you ever wondered if the other way around may be more accurate? Children may be much closer to God than adults are.

Some might think it’s because they have been taught about God, but evidence shows that even children born of atheist parents have some knowledge of God.

The child prodigy Akiane Kramarik is a good example. I know many of you have heard about her in the news.

If children don’t have the innate capacity to know God, they won’t understand even if you teach them about God. Sunday School teachers would be frustrated.

It seems we lose that spiritual acuity as we grow up. It reminds me of Thomas Hood’s famous poem, “I Remember, I Remember.” The last stanza speaks to me profoundly,

I remember, I remember, The fir trees dark and high; I used to think their slender tops Were close against the sky: It was a childish ignorance, But now ’tis little joy To know I’m farther off from heav’n Than when I was a boy.

(Thomas Hood, I Remember, I Remember).

Maybe Thomas Hood is right; the older we grow, the further we are from heaven. We all want to grow up and become more mature, but in the process, we lose what matters most—our keenness to God.

The question is, can we rekindle that capacity to know God? What does it take to see God again? Jesus says,

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18:3).

He says you must “change” and “become.” Isn’t it ironic that after all these years on earth striving to become adults, Jesus wants us to turn around and become children?

The outcome is entering the kingdom of heaven, the place of ultimate joy and happiness. If becoming children is what it takes to enter the kingdom of heaven and see the face of God, I believe it’s worth it.

Today is the last day of 2023 and also the last Sunday of the year. Most of you may already have your New Year’s resolution. As for me, I resolve to become like children. Would you join me?

We don’t know what 2024 will bring. It’s a critical year. Do you know that 64 countries worldwide will have elections in 2024, including the United States, Taiwan, Russia, and the European Union? Half of the world population will head to the polls in 2024.

There’s a lot of uncertainty ahead of us, but there’s one certainty that we all know. As Paul said,

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Ro 8:31b).

2024 is uncharted water, and the world will be confused by the storms of news that constantly preach uncertainty. But nothing can confuse us if we walk closely with God, the Rock of Ages.

So, today, we will explore how wise people see God in times of chaos based on Jesus’ baby dedication ceremony and learn how to see the presence of God ourselves. Let’s begin!

Some of us may be thinking, “I’m getting old and useless.” It’s not true. Usefulness can be both active and passive. If you are young and strong, you can be actively useful. If you are old and feeble, you can be passively useful—such as praying frequently for the church, family, community, and the world. The power of prayer is highly underrated.

So, don’t be discouraged by diminishing physical ability. There are many creative ways to serve.

A more important question is, who would you rather serve? It reminds me of a thought-provoking story told by Zhuangzi, the great philosopher.

Zhuangzi and his disciples traveled through a forested hill and passed by a huge tree. He was surprised to see the loggers ignore such a majestic tree. So, he asked a logger why they did not cut this beefy tree down and made a lot of money. They told him that the tree was useless. You couldn’t make anything out of it. No carpenter or builder would buy it.

Zhuangzi remarked to his students, “This is the value of uselessness. People only understand the value of usefulness but not the value of uselessness. See, just because it’s useless, this tree gets to live to the full extent of its life.” His disciples took note of that observation.

They stopped to visit a friend on the other side of the hill. As a lifelong admirer, the host family welcomed the sage warmly and enthusiastically asked them to stay for dinner. Immediately, the host asked the servant boy to kill a goose to treat the guests.

The boy asked, “Sir, which one should I kill—the one that honks or doesn’t.” (In case you don’t know, just like dogs, house geese can guard the property by honking when strangers or thieves approach. Like dogs, they even attack suspicious strangers.) The host said, “Kill the one that doesn’t honk.”

The smart students of Zhuangzi heard it and noticed it contradicted what their master had taught them on the way. The next day, the disciples challenged their master, “Master, you told us back on the hill that the tree gets to live long because it’s useless, but why then did the useless goose get killed?”

Zhuangzi said he didn’t say uselessness is always good. You need to know the situation. There are times you better be useless and times you better be useful. Then, he gave them a long lecture on knowing when, where, and how to be useful and useless and, most importantly, how to be useful for a higher purpose.

This story stimulates a self-searching on who you want to be useful to. Do you want to be a useful employee to be exploited by a cunning company—like a useful tree getting chopped off by the loggers? Or do you want to be a good steward, guarding a good owner’s property like the honking goose? Who do you want to serve?

When our son asked me what I thought about him joining the army years ago, I told him if you wanted to be a soldier, it would be a great honor to serve a country like the U.S.

On the contrary, you would rather be useless if you live in a totalitarian nation that goes to war for vanity, exploiting its soldiers. We have two major wars going on right now. If you were in any of those countries, would you rather be useful or useless?

We are born to be useful. When we are young, we seek to be useful to our parents, siblings, friends, and teachers. As we grow older, we seek to be useful to society by pursuing a meaningful career. As we grow more mature, we want to be useful for a greater purpose, such as to be useful to God and fulfill a divine dream, because that gives us the ultimate joy and happiness.

Confucious said people discover their divine purpose when they are 50. I think it’s sad that we have to live half of our lives before we discover our divine purpose.

But there are instances in the Bible where people discovered their calling when they were young. For example, Joseph in the Old Testament knew his divine dream since he was seventeen. Mary received her divine calling when she was only about fifteen. Jesus wants us to seek our divine purpose as our top priority. He said,

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Mt 6:33).

Everything falls together when you do this one thing. If being useful to God gives you the greatest meaning and highest joy in life, how do we become useful to God?

Since it’s Advent season, we can explore this question by looking at Mary, who made herself available to God to carry “God in human form” to earth as a baby and accompany him all the way to the cross and become the greatest woman in human history. So, let’s begin!

In his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Viktor Frankl discourages people from pursuing happiness, but if you pursue the meaning and purpose of life, you will find happiness. I would argue that if happiness is the ultimate outcome of meaning, then the pursuit of meaning is equivalent to the pursuit of happiness. However, knowing that the pursuit of meaning is the path to happiness is helpful.

What’s the meaning of life, then? Initially, the meaning of life comes from usefulness. The Burmese describe an unuseful person as someone who “consumes rice and cumbers earth.” ဆန်ကုန်မြေလေး (San Gong Myay Lay). It means a person who knows only about eating and pooping is useless to society. To be called a person who “consumes rice and cumbers earth” is probably the biggest insult in the Burmese language.  

We notice even children want to be useful. They want to help their parents, siblings, friends, and teachers. They feel proud each time they find themselves useful. As we grow up, we want to be more useful. Some want to become doctors because helping people to stay healthy is the most meaningful profession. Some become teachers to develop leaders for the future. Some want to be firefighters to save lives.

As we grow mature, our search for meaning becomes deeper. We begin to question our destiny. Why am I here on earth? Is there a divine purpose? Is there more to life than what we have achieved trying to achieve? Is there more to life than accumulating possessions, pleasure, power, and prestige? Jesus said,

“For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” (Mk 8:36).

That’s a good question. Are we climbing a ladder only when we get to the top to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall? Maybe we should lean the ladder against the right wall before it’s too late.

Dr. Edwin Friedman said the meaning of life comes from knowing what you want to die for. If you know what you want to die for, you know what to live for.

In fact, from the moment we are born, we are headed to the grave. As Benjamin Franklin said, there are only two certainties in life, “death and taxes.” Since we know we are dying for sure, why don’t we die meaningfully? That is our destiny. In fact, our destiny is predestined from the foundation of the earth.

John the Baptist is one of those who is clear about his destiny and is willing to risk his life to fulfill it. Jesus’ disciples also discovered their destiny and gave their lives for it.

So, today, we will explore the meaning of life by studying the life and mission of John the Baptist. Let’s begin!

The pastor asked, “How did you feel when you stole in the past before you became a Christian?” The man said, “I felt great. It’s like an achievement. The more difficult the heist, the more excitement I got. The greater the value, the higher the thrill.”

The pastor asked, “How did you feel when you stole this time?” He said, “I felt terrible. I feel extremely guilty. That’s why I came to ask you for help.”

“Well, isn’t that the sign that you are a new creation? You used to be proud of stealing, but now you feel uncomfortable doing it. From now on, you just need to listen to that nudge to actualize your new life,” the pastor concluded.

This story may sound simplistic, but it’s a succinct allegory of sanctification. It can apply to many areas of life. Your old habits, whatever they may be, no longer fit your new life. His conscience is reborn and being refined. God is pruning him to become fruitful. The change may not be overnight, but it has surely begun.

There are three stages of salvation: Justification, sanctification, and Glorification. Justification is when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and receive baptism as your public declaration of your repentance. Repentance (μετανοέω) in Greek means “changing of mind.”

Unfortunately, many Christians stop there. They had a change of mind (repentance) and received the baptism but didn’t progress to the next stage of sanctification. It’s like a baby that never matures after birth. It’s like a tree that never becomes fruitful. They stop at justification but miss sanctification. That’s why John the Baptist said,

“Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” (Mt 3:8).

Sanctification is the process of becoming fruitful. The word “sanctification” came from the Latin “sanctus,” meaning being set apart, becoming holy, or becoming a saint.

However, sanctification is not an attainment but a surrender. You don’t ascend to holiness but descend to holiness. You do not strive for sanctification but allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify you from the inside out. You just need to “let go and let God prune you to bear more fruit. That’s a profound process of baptism of the Holy Spirit.

There are two baptisms: by water and by the Holy Spirit. Maybe that’s why Jesus never baptized people with water because his specific job is to baptize people in the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist says,

“I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mk 1:8).

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is sanctification, making you become a saint.

The thief in the story is being sanctified. That’s why he begins to feel stealing disgusting. He no longer belongs to that old sinful behavior. That’s a sign of immersion in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is demanding holiness from him from the inside out.

The outcome is a fruitful life filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It’s a dream life we all long for from deep inside.

So, today, we will explore the baptism of the Holy Spirit based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

What’s more incredible is that this fish suddenly turns into a bird named Peng. With a flap of his wings, he rises up to 3,000 miles above the ocean. Then, riding a whirlwind, he ascends to 90,000 miles above. Its wing span is thousands of miles wide. When it flies, it covers the sky.

The Peng bird travels to the southern darkness known as the Pool of Heaven. It flies without resting for six months.

Seeing the Peng bird in the sky, a cicada makes fun of it by telling a pigeon, “Each time I try to fly up an elm tree, I fall back to the ground. What chance does that bird fly up to 90,000 miles high? Ridiculous!”

A quail also laughs at the Peng bird, “Hey, where are you traveling to? I can hardly leap up to a few feet. What’s the point of flying up to 90,000 miles high? Meaningless!”

However, the Peng bird at 90,000 miles up there doesn’t react to the ridicule of those small creatures. He enjoys the breathtaking vision of the earth’s grandeur from up high. The noises down there don’t bother him at all.

This book was written by Zhuangzi over two thousand years ago. So, it was before Christ. The entire book is filled with profound parables and rich imagination. I encourage everyone to read it.

The question is, what does this story mean? According to some scholars, the Kun fish (鯤: 魚子也) is actually a tiny fish or baby fish. The author is describing the size of its mental capacity or spiritual maturity. It means this fish is physically tiny but spiritually vast.

Its ambition is to fly to the Pool of Heaven, meaning its vision is the kingdom of God. Since it seeks first the kingdom of God, the criticisms, ridicules, and condemnations of other creatures don’t bother him.

Allegorically, this fish represents spiritual seekers like us. Our vision is eternal life, and our destination is the kingdom of God. The cicadas, the quails, and other creatures don’t understand us. They often ridicule us for believing in God, reading the Bible, and singing hymns.

Like the Peng bird, flying 90,000 miles above, we see what God sees. So, we don’t care what those small creatures are chattering about. They are making fun of what they don’t understand. But if we pay attention to the naysayers, we will become one of them and lose our pursuit of the kingdom.

Let’s look at a real-life example. When Elon Musk was building Tesla, initially, I thought he was crazy because I was like one of those cicadas and quails who believed he would fail, but I was wrong. Then he went on to do other things even crazier, building Space X, Neuralink, Boring Company, etc., flying higher and higher.

Observing him, I discovered that the higher he climbed, the nosier the small creatures became. He got ridiculed, criticized, and slandered for trying to fulfill his vision that those with arrogant small minds could not comprehend. As you hear in the news, those who don’t see what he sees mock him constantly like those noisy cicadas. That’s an excellent contemporary allegory.

For us Christians, on our journey to the kingdom of heaven, we see what God sees. We are like the Peng bird flying at 90,000 miles above the sea and look ridiculous to those who don’t see what we see. Sometimes, we do feel the noisy cicadas to be annoying.

Jesus says his followers will encounter misunderstanding, ridicule, and even persecution by worldly-minded people. Paul said,

Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Co 2:14).

He says our discernment is foolishness to the unspiritual because they don’t have the gifts of God’s Spirit, so they can’t comprehend what we see. Then Paul said,

Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Co 2:15–16).

We have the mind of Christ to discern all things. That’s an incredible gift. We must treasure that. We should not be bothered by those who don’t have the mind of Christ. They are just noises.

Jesus wants us to “keep awake,” meaning not to let those noises take away what we see. The word “keep awake” is translated from Greek “ἄγρυπνος (ágrupnos), which also means “to be watchful.” To keep awake is stewardship of vision or discernment. Don’t let the noisy cicadas blind us.

Do you see what God sees? It’s essential to see what God sees at trying times like this, or you can be swallowed alive by the noises of the fallen world. So, today, we will explore Jesus’ teaching from this week’s scripture lesson to discover what Jesus wants us to see at these end times. Let’s begin!

A man from a small village took his handicrafts to sell in a distant town, passing a deep forest. A few days later, he returned home with a sack of treasures on his shoulder. Surprised, The family asked how he got so rich selling his crafts. He said that a tiger he saved gave those treasures to him.

He said he passed by a cave in the forest on his way back and heard someone groaning. He went inside the cave to check and saw a dying tiger with a big infected wound on his arm. He knew the tiger wouldn’t live without intervention.

Out of pity, he took out his first aid kit, treated the wound with the medicine he traveled with, and bandaged it carefully. The tiger was shaking with fever and pain, so he put his blanket on the tiger and slept in that cave, accompanying the tiger for the night.

The next day, the tiger recovered and thanked him by giving him a sack of treasures to take home. “That’s how I got these treasures,” he concluded.

His brother asked him about the location of the cave, and the next day, he went into the forest and looked for the cave. To his surprise, he heard a tiger groaning inside a cave. He was afraid to go in, unsure whether the tiger would harm him. But, remembering the treasures he could get, he went in cautiously.

Just as his brother said, he saw a wounded tiger. But the wound smelled so disgusting that he almost threw up. However, considering the reward, he reluctantly treated the tiger and stayed in the smelly cave for the night.

The next day, the tiger woke up, grabbed him, and ate him. (End of the story.)

As a child, I vaguely understood the meaning of this allegory. Both brothers saved the tiger’s life, but why did the tiger reward one brother and punish the other? The ancient people may not have known God, but they had discovered nature rewards sincere love.

The first brother’s love was transformational, but the second was transactional. One is unpretentious, but the other is pretentious. One serves without a motive, but the other has a motive. Most importantly, one’s love is unconscious, but the other is conscious. Only the unconscious love is the ultimate love. Confucious said,

“When one does evil deeds and fears recognition,   there’s a good seed in their evil heart.   When one does good deeds and desires recognition,   there’s an evil root in their good heart.” ~Confucius

Pharisees loved to do good deeds in front of people to show off their piety. Jesus repeatedly warned us against showing off our good deeds. Jesus doesn’t even want our left hand to know the charity done with our right hand. He said,

“But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Mt 6:3–4).

Can you do that? It means you make a charitable contribution without a motive. The information from your right hand doesn’t even reach your brain to pass down to the left hand. That means you don’t dwell on your good deed, not even for a split second. It’s a sign of genuine love. Love doesn’t count the good deeds because it’s reflexive.

That’s how Jesus loves us. When he was hanging on the cross, he didn’t say see what I have done for you. Instead, he asked God to forgive us. Jesus’ love is pure, unconscious, and reflexive. That’s the ultimate love. There are four levels of love:

1. Unconscious hatred
2. Conscious hatred
3. Conscious love
4. Unconscious love

Some people have hatred without knowing. That’s the worst state of love. Some people reach the next level and become conscious of their evil. That’s better than unconscious hatred. Then, they consciously try to love. That’s good, but still not good enough. Then, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you become able to love unconsciously. When love becomes a reflex, you have the ultimate love.

Most importantly, Jesus said the single criterion of the final judgment is unconscious love. The only qualification for you to go to heaven is reflexive love—the kind of love that you do without doing.

Today, we will look at the scene of the final judgment as Jesus depicts it. You will find out it’s both simple and profound. In other words, Jesus reveals the question of our final exam. Will you pass the exam? Let’s find out!

“Pop, what are you talking about?” the son screams. “Well, we can’t stand the sight of each other any longer,” the father says. “We’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her.”

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. “Like heck, they’re getting divorced?” she shouts, “No, I’ll take care of this!”

She calls Phoenix immediately and screams at her father, “You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?” and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. “Okay, darling,” he says, “they’re coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way.”

---

You’ve learned a trick to get your family together for Thanksgiving. Are you ready for your Thanksgiving? As for me, Sophie and I have officially become empty-nesters this year since our youngest has graduated and found a job away from home. Thanksgiving gatherings have become less convenient as our three children live in three different states.

How about you? Are all your children coming home to celebrate? I hope so. A friend told me yesterday that they were expecting fifty family members this Thanksgiving. That’s becoming rare nowadays.

What do you do during Thanksgiving other than eating and shopping? What do you give thanks to? Some families have a tradition of going around the table with each person, sharing what they are thankful for. I thank for my mom; I thank for my home; I thank for my car; I thank for my jobs, etc.

I wonder why not many people talk about thanking God for God. It seems God is worthy of giving thanks only for the good things we get from God. Can we thank God for unanswered prayers? Can we thank God for just being God?

Some people cannot thank God for God because they have become cynical. If there’s a God, why is there so much suffering on earth? Why are there wars, injustice, and disasters around the world? Why do bad things happen to good people? Etc.

Can we believe that God is all good and evil happens apart from God? The truth is God is all good. Realizing God is all good can make a significant difference in your life. You will discover an attitude of gratitude beyond words. You will want to thank God for God, not just for what God has given you. Your life will be more fruitful as a result.

We will explore this subject based on Jesus’ Parable of the Talents, one of the last parables he told before he went to the cross. This parable is important because it teaches us how to cultivate a fruitful life through the attitude of gratitude. Let’s begin!

However, he still showed up on the following Saturday for breakfast with bandages around his head and arms. He said, “When I was hit, I thought I would die. My motorcycle was completely crushed under the car.” He described the accident vividly to us.

Then he said, “I wish I died because I have been a good boy all these days. If I died in that accident, I know I would go straight to heaven. That was the perfect moment. But now I have to continue to be good. I don’t know when I might stumble. It’s not easy to be good all the time. You know!”

Of course, he was half joking, but it gave us some food for thought. Do we really go to heaven if we die when we are being good? Can we really maintain our goodness all the time in order to go to heaven? Is it possible at all since humans are sinners?

As Christians, we know we are saved by grace, not by work. However, repeatedly in the Bible, we read Jesus said he expects to see our good work when he returns. Jesus died for us on the cross to redeem us from our sins. If we have to depend on our own goodness to be saved, then why would Jesus need to die for us?

Believers have been debating on this subject for two thousand years. Some early Christians thought they could go wild and live promiscuously since Jesus had already paid for the price of their sins. Peter, Paul, and other disciples had to write letters to those Christians to watch their behavior. For example, Paul said,

“What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Ro 6:15).

Under the law, we pay the price for our sins. Paul was not talking about the civil law but the law of God, such as the Ten Commandments. However, because of what Jesus has done for us, we no longer live under the law but under God’s grace. That doesn’t mean we are freed to live a sinful life, assuming we are forgiven by grace.

Paul said that to sin is to be a slave to sin. Now, since we are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to God, we should behave like God, living in righteousness. Paul said,

“But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life.” (Ro 6:22).

Sanctification, in a nutshell, means becoming a saint. It’s a process of becoming righteous and holy. It doesn’t mean every Christian can become purely righteous and holy, but being in the process itself is a sign that you are heading to eternal life. How do you know you are in the process of sanctification? You would feel repulsive at sin, to start with. Paul then said,

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ro 6:23).

Notice it says “free gift.” If it is a free gift, why must we work for it? Every promise of God comes with a premise. To live wisely, we must understand both the promises and premises.

Today, we will gain this wisdom through Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids.

One of the most important questions in life is, “If I died today, would I go to heaven?” If you can answer “Yes!” confidently, you have a joyful life. Great sages say, “You are not ready to live until you are ready to die.” If you want happiness, you must first solve the death problem and make sure you have a free ticket to eternal life. Let’s begin!

Again, do you know what they were called before they adopted the term Christian? They were called—or we were called—the “followers of the Way,” with the capital “W,” just like the “Word.” Paul says,

“I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets.” (Ac 24:14 NIV).

Paul was arrested by the Jews, accused of starting riots, and brought to Governor Felix for a hearing. He said that, as a “Follower of the Way,” he believed everything in the Law and the Prophets—meaning, as Christians, we believe everything the Jews believed. They were the ones that called us a sect, meaning they were being divisive.

Several times in the Book of Acts, Christians were called the “Followers of the Way,” or those who “belong to the Way.” This term began with Thomas asking Jesus to show him the way. Jesus said,

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn 14:6).

I think the term “Followers of the Way” is fascinating because the Way indicates a journey. Unlike “Christians,” which reveals who we are, “Follower of the Way” shows where we go. Since the Chinese philosophy of the Dao also means the Way, it gives us more material for Christology—the study of the person, nature, and role of Christ.

Laozi said the Dao is like water. He says in chapter 8 of Dao De Jing:

Supreme good is like water. Water greatly benefits all things without contention. It flows through places that people loathe. Therefore, it is close to the Way. (Dao De Jing #8a)

Water perfectly describes Jesus’ way of life. Jesus brings salvation to the world through grace. Jesus goes to places people don’t want to go, especially the cross. Water follows to the lowest places, representing humility. Water is soft and gentle, just as Jesus says, “I am gentle and humble in heart.”

So, if we are the Followers of the Way, we must learn to be like water. Bruce Lee made this philosophy famous by saying, “Be water, my friend!” asking people to be fluid, flexible, humble, and adaptable. If you become water, you have no contention. Contention disrupts our peace and joy. The water state is the Way to happiness.

Today, we will learn from Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, how to be the Followers of the Way and live like water to benefit all things without contention, living in heaven on earth. Let’s begin!

To his friend’s surprise, the sage said, “What are you complaining about? Think on behalf of this tree. Just because it’s useless, it’s still alive. If it is useful, people would have cut it down long ago and made something out of it. Now, because it’s still here, travelers like us can rest under its shade. Don’t you think it’s useful for that purpose? Don’t look at things only for their utility. Think harmoniously.”

Some days later, Zhuangzu visited a friend who enthusiastically welcomed the sage, asking his son to kill a rooster for dinner to entertain the guest. His son asked, “Dad, which one should I kill—the one that crow or the one that doesn’t?” Dad said, “Of course, the one that doesn’t crow.” (In ancient days, rooster crow at sunrise, so they were the organic alarm clocks for the family.)

Hearing the host’s order, Zhuangzi’s students said to the sage, “Teacher, didn’t you say that being useless is good when you talked about the huge useless tree? Now, they killed the useless rooster for dinner. Are you wrong?”

The sage replied, “Did I tell you being useless is always good? No! There are times when being useless is not good and times when being useless is good. You need to think harmoniously with time and situation. If you were a tree, you would rather be a useless tree so that you would survive. If you were a rooster, it’s another matter.” (End of the story.)

The point of the story is that there are times when we should reveal our gifts and times when we should be humble and keep a low profile. There are times to speak up and times to shut up. If you show off your talent at the wrong time and space, you will be cut down like a tree. If you keep silent when you are in a role as a rooster, you will become dinner. Just as King Solomon said,

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; (Ec 3:1–2).

Last year, I transplanted a few redbud trees in my yard around late fall because that was the time I was motivated to do. But they all died off in winter. The action you take should be harmonious with time and space. Sometimes harmony is easier said than done. There are two verses in the Proverbs that sound contradictory:

Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool yourself. Answer fools according to their folly, or they will be wise in their own eyes. (Pr 26:4–5).

Don’t you think these two verses are contradictory? The first asks you not to answer fools lest you become like them, but immediately, the second asks you to answer. These two verses are a great example of knowing when to respond and when not based on time and space.

The first verse tells us not to argue with fools when your argument makes you appear like a fool. The second verse tells us we should argue with fools when keeping silent would make them arrogant—thinking of themselves as wise people. You have to pick the right action at the right time and space.

These verses explain why Jesus sometimes stayed silent and other times engaged in a debate with the religious leaders. They were fools, but sometimes, Jesus chose to answer them to teach the audience or keep them from thinking too highly of themselves.

You need to choose the right time and space to apply those two proverbs. Just like Kenny Roger’s song says,

“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em Know when to fold ’em Know when to walk away And know when to run” (~The Gambler)

This song treats life as a gamble, making decisions by looking at people’s eyes. However, Jesus taught us how to read the will of God to know when to hold and when to fold. It’s straightforward because there are only two rules to live a harmonious life.

So, today, we will explore how to live in harmony with heaven and earth based on what Jesus taught us in this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

They could see the mist from the fall reaching miles away. As they approached the fall, they knew the powerful current would not allow even fish or turtles to survive. But suddenly, they saw a man dive into the water. Confucius thought he might have fallen accidentally into the water, so he asked his students to try to save him.

The man disappeared in the water and reappeared about a hundred feet away. He jumped back on the shore and sang aloud with joy as if he just had a great exercise. As he walked by, Confucius stopped him, saying,

“Gentleman, I thought you were a ghost because I didn’t think a man could swim under this waterfall. How did you do that?”

The man answered, “Oh, it was a piece of cake because I followed the current. As I jumped into the water, I sensed the spinning torrent pulling me down to the bottom of the river. I didn’t resist it. Instead, I went with the current, knowing it would turn the other way around when it reached the riverbed, pushing me back to the surface.”

Confucius asked, “How do you know the nature of the current? Can you teach us?”

The man said, “I grew up near this fall and have been playing and swimming under here since I was young. I discovered that, by resisting the current, I would run out of breath and strength to swim. It naturally takes me to the other side when I don’t manipulate the current. I can’t tell you more than that because I learned by experience.”

(End of the story.)

That is an allegory by Zhuangzi, depicting the core Taoist philosophy of “Do Nothing” (无为). It’s counter-intuitive to our overworked society. We believe we must strive and scrape to achieve success. So, the concept of “Do Nothing” is often misunderstood, ridiculed, and ignored by most people.

According to the story, “Doing nothing” doesn’t mean doing nothing at all, but it means not manipulating or disobeying the Tao. What is the Tao? (I mentioned it last week.) The Tao in Chinese means the Word, or the Logos, in Greek.

The Chinese translation of John’s Gospel says,

“In the beginning was the Tao, and the Tao was with God, and the Tao was God.” (Jn 1:1).  

In verse 14, John said that Jesus is the Tao became flesh, or Jesus embodies of the Tao.

In the story above, “the current” symbolizes the Tao, the Word, or God. In the Bible, we notice that Jesus doesn’t go against the current but goes along with the current and accomplishes his mission on earth—to save humanity from sin.

Please note that by current, I am not talking about the popular trends of society, but God’s Current or God’s Word. It’s like surfing the wave, not the wave of the world, but of God. Jesus frequently mentions that everything he says or does is guided by God.

The only time he wanted to go against God’s current was when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking God to let him pass the bitter cup, meaning he would rather not go to the cross if it was God’s will, but he went to the cross with obedience.

Today, we will learn from Jesus how to obey the current of God and swim to the other side, accomplishing our mission and having a great deal of fun doing it. Let’s begin!

“If Satan cannot make you bad, he will make you busy!”

I used to take it lightly because I thought it was just a cute little joke. After years of observing busy people and personal experience, I discovered that saying is profoundly true. The truth is that busyness can be as bad as bad. Busyness can be a distraction from what matters most and our higher calling.

Bad people are likelier to hit a wall one day, wake up, repent, and change. But busy people are less likely to wake up because they think they are busy doing important things, so they don’t see the need to change. Maybe that’s why God hates lukewarmness. Lukewarmness is not bad—not cold, but not good enough—not hot enough.

When you ask people, “How are you doing?” They used to answer, “I’m fine.” But nowadays, more people like to answer, “I’m busy!” It makes them sound important and productive. However, busyness is not productivity. In fact, busyness could be an obstacle to real productivity that fulfills our calling.

A horrible war broke out between Israel and Palestine this week. I think wars are the ultimate example of busyness. What’s more important than defending your country? Laozi said,

“When the world lacks the Tao, Warhorses give birth on the battlefield.” ~Laozi

With a simple sentence, the sage describes the horror of war. Imagine pregnant mares are taken to fight the battle and have to give birth on the battlefield. Animals cannot talk, but reasonable people can feel their pain. He pinpointed the cause for war—the lack of the Tao.

What is the Tao? The Tao in Chinese means “the Word” or “the Logos.” So, the Chinese translation of the Gospel of John says,

“In the beginning was the Tao, and the Tao was with God, and the Tao was God.” (Jn 1:1).

In other words, Laozi was saying that horrible wars break out when people don’t have God. Being religious doesn’t necessarily mean they have God. Jesus dealt with many religious people who didn’t have God. He was eventually crucified by religious leaders. So, religious people are not equivalent to godly people. John said later in verse 14.

“And the Tao became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1:14).

That means Jesus Christ is the Tao in human form, who reveals God as full of grace and truth. There is no grace in a war. So, there is no God in a war. Wars don’t resolve the root of the problem. It will make us busy and distract us from solving the root of the problem. War is a shortcut that masks the symptoms but doesn’t cure the disease. The disease is,

“When the world lacks the Tao (or God), Warhorses give birth on the battlefield.” ~Laozi

What a busy scene in a sentence! If Satan cannot make you bad, he will make you busy! Busyness blinds us from seeing God and makes us resolve to violence and warfare because we think we are important. By busyness, I am also talking about mental busyness. I have ADHD. H is for Hyperactivity. While I don’t appear hyperactive physically, I am hyperactive in my mind. My mind is always busy.

So, this topic is not only for those who are physically busy but also mentally or emotionally busy. Jesus came to open our eyes to God’s grace, teaching us how to relax and be immensely fruitful by fulfilling our higher calling.

So, today, we will look at the danger of busyness that blinds us from fulfilling the divine calling based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

However, the light on the other end did not comply but responded with a similar signal, “Starboard, starboard; you must turn 20 degrees south to avoid a collision.” The captain was furious at the response, so he sent another signal saying, “Listen, I am the mighty USS Montana, the battleship. You must move out of my way.”

The light on the other end replied, “I am the lighthouse!” (End of the Story).

There are many lighthouses around the world guiding ships to avoid dangerous territories. In the same way, there are guiding principles in life that we must follow to live a good life. The lighthouses are lifesavers, not our enemies. However, some people ignore the lighthouses to their own detriment.

Jesus uses a different metaphor. He compares himself to the cornerstone. He says,

“The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” (Mt 21:44).

He is saying ignore him at your own risk. We cannot destroy a lighthouse or cornerstone by crashing against it. We can only crush ourselves by ignoring it. Of course, Jesus does not want to see us destroyed. He said he came so that we may have life and have it abundantly.

He has given us some important life principles to live an abundant life. One of them is to recognize that life is borrowed, not owned. If we can maintain that attitude, we will live a joyful life. We don’t possess our life; it is a rental unit. We must pay rent, but it is worth it.

For some people, it might be hard to accept the paradigm that life is borrowed but not owned. But this paradigm shift is so important that it is like the light from the lighthouse or the cornerstone upon which to build our lives. It will make your life much happier if you adopt this guiding principle.

Today, we will explore Jesus’ teaching from this week’s scripture lesson about the truth that life is borrowed, not owned, and how this attitude can help us live an abundant life free from stress and anxiety but filled with purpose and meaning. Let’s begin!

The next morning, he returned to the city, and on his way, he felt hungry. He passed by a fig tree and looked for fruit to eat, but he found no fruit at all. He was more than disappointed. As we know, Jesus hates fruitlessness. The Bible says,

Then he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. (Mt 21:19b).

This is an opposite version of a miracle. Jesus’ miracle usually restores health or life, but this is the reverse. It killed a life. The disciples were impressed to see the tree withered in front of their eyes and asked how it happened.

Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” (Mt 21:21–22).

This brief moment with the fig tree precedes a profound teaching at the temple a moment later. There are three important messages revealed here.

First, Jesus hates fruitlessness. The fig tree was supposed to bear fruit according to its season. The fact that Jesus looked for its fruit means it was time for it to bear fruit. Jesus had told another parable about a fruitless fig tree in a vineyard, which the owner ordered the gardener to cut down for not bearing fruit.

The second important message is about Jesus’ authority. When he cursed the tree, it withered. It shows nature is under his authority. That is profound! That means He did not need to come to earth to save humanity. Since humans did not bear fruit as they were supposed to, he could just scrap the earth and start over, like he did with Noah’s time. But God promised Noah never to do it again.

Still, the crucial point here is that he had the authority to curse the world to death like that fig tree and recreate a new world. But he did not, keeping his promise to Noah, and now he came to save humanity through grace. Remember, we live and survive due to Jesus’ grace. He expects us to grace it forward, as we mentioned last week.

The third important message is that this authority has been given to the believers. He said, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” This is huge!

Most people interpret this passage as a matter of faith. When you put it in context, it’s not about empty faith but faith that bears fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Faith without fruit is futile. Jesus emphasized this point repeatedly on many occasions.

We can talk about faith all day, but if we don’t have fruit to prove it, we are just like that fig tree, which contributes nothing to society. Jesus’ brother James said, “Faith without work is dead.” He said,

“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.” (Jas 2:26).

He said faith without work is just like the body without the spirit—a zombie. Faith is futile without fruit.

Jesus nailed this point in this week’s scripture lesson. After studying this scripture lesson, you will never talk about faith without thinking about fruit. So, let’s begin!

He was only four feet tall due to deformity, but people called him the “Little Giant” because of his outstanding inventions and scientific contributions to electrical engineering. He could listen to the sound of a complex machine and pinpoint the malfunctioning part. The story goes like this:

Henry Ford’s automobile manufacturing plant in Dearborn, Michigan, had a problem with its gigantic generator, but its engineers couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. Henry Ford reached out to Charles Steinmetz at GE for help. Steinmetz came and asked for a notepad, a pen, and a cot to sleep on. He listened to the generator for two days and nights and scribbled computations on the notepad.

On the second night, he asked for a ladder, climbed up, made a chalk mark, and left a note asking the engineers to open the plate at the mark and replace sixteen windings from the field coil. They did, and the generator performed to perfection.

Henry Ford was thrilled because his factory could resume production and stop losing money. However, he was stunned when he received an invoice from GE for $10,000. You know, $10,000 in the early 1900s is a significant amount. I checked it out and found it could equal $500,000.

How could a simple chalk mark on the machine cost so much money? Ford admired Steinmetz’s talent but balked at the figure. He asked for an itemized bill.

Steinmetz itemized the bill the following:

Making chalk mark on generator: $1.

Knowing where to make the mark: $9,999.

Ford paid the bill. (End of the story.)

Even though $10,000 was significant, it’s nothing compared to the loss each day the factory was not running.

Would it be nice if someone could put the chalk mark in this broken world and show us exactly one thing we need to fix to restore a harmonious world? How about our own life? Would it be nice if someone could put a chalk mark on our life to show us one simple change we can make to make our life run smoothly?

The good news is that Jesus has put a chalk mark on our lives and shown us one thing we must change to find inner peace and joy. It’s a very simple change, but it may not be easy. Simple doesn’t mean easy, but it’s always good to know that we don’t have to make a complicated effort to find peace and joy.

Today, we will explore Jesus’ teaching of the top secret to inner peace and joy based on this week’s scripture lesson and discover how to live in heaven on earth. Let’s begin!

If you have seen the TV show “Lie To Me,” you know what I mean. She could read your mind through a twitch on your face and a twinkle in your eyes. You cannot lie to her. She also could ask you to draw a picture and interpret the state of your mind by looking at the picture you draw. She told me it took her over a decade of training to develop those skills.

Can you imagine talking to someone who can read your mind? It’s like standing naked in front of her. As you may guess, one day, during the class, she told me what I was struggling deep inside. I didn’t know I had that problem until she revealed it. The healing process began from there on.

Over the years, I have discovered that many people unknowingly carry a heavy burden in their hearts. Two of those heaviest burdens are guilt and grudges. It’s like carrying a sack of rotten potatoes wherever you go. Even though you don’t notice it, others can.

Let me tell you a story about the rotten potatoes.

One day, a sage gave his disciple an empty sack and a basket of potatoes and asked him to carve the names of the people he was angry with on each potato. He said,

“Think of all the people who have offended you, especially those you cannot forgive. Take one potato to represent each of them, carve their name on it, and put it in the sack.”

The disciple came up with a few names, and soon after, his sack was heavy with potatoes.

“Carry the sack with you wherever you go for seven days,” said the sage. “Then we shall meet again.”

At first, the disciple thought it was not a big deal. After some time, however, it became more of a burden. It seemed to require more effort as time passed, even though its weight remained the same.

After a few days, the sack began to smell; the carved potatoes gave off a ripe odor. Not only were they increasingly inconvenient to carry around, they were also becoming rather unpleasant.

He noticed he began to get used to the smell, but other people avoided him because he stunk.

Finally, the week was over, and the disciple went to the sage.

“Any thoughts about all this?” the sage asked.

“Yes, Sir,” the disciple replied. “When we are unable to forgive others, we carry negative feelings with us everywhere, much like these potatoes. That negativity becomes a burden to us and, after a while, it festers.”

“Yes, that is exactly what happens when you hold a grudge. So, how can you lighten the load?”

“I must strive to forgive.”

“Forgiving someone is the equivalent of removing the corresponding potato from the sack. How many of your transgressors are you able to forgive?”

“I’ve thought about it quite a bit,” the disciple said. “It required much effort, but I have decided to forgive all of them.”

(End of story.)

Forgiveness is easier said than done. Sometimes, we don’t even realize the grudges we are keeping, especially after years of carrying it on our backs. We might get used to it, but people around us can smell it, especially someone like my professor with decades of training.

We live in a fallen world and must deal with fallen people. You can never live a happy life if you don’t know how to forgive. If you want to travel light in your life journey, you must learn to keep the potatoes from weighing you down.

Jesus teaches his disciples to travel light by teaching them how to remove their grudges from their backs. Forgiveness is not easy, especially when someone hurt you deeply and left a permanent scar, but Jesus has taught us a secret to forgive everyone.

Forgiveness is a feature of social intelligence. It lightens the weight of your heart and allows you to be socially savvy—win friends and influence people. Most importantly, God promises to answer your prayers and accompany you when you maintain harmony with others.

There is a mystery about forgiveness. So, today, we will learn this vital teaching of Jesus Christ from this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

The chief looked at him carefully to find out who this young man was, “Oh, I remember who you are. You are the young man who was almost killed by the wolf a while back. Am I right?” He said, “Yes.”

“Please tell me about the incident,” the chief asked. “Well, I returned to the village from work and discovered a vicious wolf followed me. So, I ran and quickly climbed up a tree. I had to stay up on the tree all night until the wolf eventually left in the morning.”

“Really?” the chief exclaimed, “What did you do to the wolf after that? Did you try to hunt for and kill it?” the chief asked. “No, I didn’t do anything. I’m just glad that it didn’t kill me.”

“Interesting,” the chief thought, “The wolf tried to kill you, but you don’t seem to be as angry as when your brother offended you.”

The man stayed silent for a moment and felt enlightened and left. (End of the story.)

That is another parable by Zhuagzi. The story doesn’t reveal the conclusion because it is for you to figure out the hidden wisdom. What would you do if you were in that situation?

The truth is sometimes we treat animals better than humans. We seem more patient with wild animals than our brothers and sisters, maybe because we expect more from humans.

The story stimulates a realization that we have better choices than revenge. With some effort, we can tame the wildest animals, even huge elephants. In the same way, with some social intelligence, God expects us to create harmony with fellow humans.

We live in a fallen world and must deal with fallen people. Human relationship is always messy. But God wants us to bring harmony out of the mess, just as God brought order from the chaos as described in Genesis. It’s called social intelligence or relational intelligence.

God created us in His image. When we bring order out of chaos, we exercise in God’s image and make God happy. The human mission is to create order out of chaos, and God promises to reward us abundantly when we attain and maintain harmony with one another. King David wrote:

See how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in harmony! 

That is where the LORD promised the blessing of eternal life. (Ps 133:1,3b GW).

Jesus also said,

Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Mt 18:19–20).

That means if you can figure out how to live in harmony with fellow human beings, you will be blessed with a ticket to eternity, your prayers will be answered, and you will experience the presence of God. In other words, you will find fulfillment if you exercise social intelligence.

So, today, we will look at how to develop social intelligence through Jesus’ teaching based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

He felt unnatural to wake up as a human, wondering whether he was a butterfly dreaming of a human or a human dreaming of a butterfly. Zhuangzi told this experience to his students, asserting that he was unsure which one was real—whether he was a human or a butterfly.

What do you think? Sometimes we say, “Life is like a dream.” Is our life on earth just a dream? Will we all one day wake up to our reality? The French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said,

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” ~Pierre Teilard de Chardin

If that is true, our human experience is just a dream. Like King Solomon said, “All is vanity.” If true, all the strife and bickering about life become meaningless. If you can attain that perspective, you will discover that most of life’s problems are but struggling against the storms in a teacup.

You are listening to this message because you believe life is more than a human experience. You feel there’s more to life than swimming in this little stormy teacup of this fallen world. That’s the story of Job. With all his suffering in the awful fate of his life, he was liberated at the end when he realized his experience was but a storm in a tiny teacup compared to God’s grand scheme of things.

We can strive for two things in this world—to maximize our human experience or to magnify our spiritual experience. However, there is a quantum paradox. Jesus said if we maximize our human life, we will lose it, but we will find it when we lose it for his sake. He said,

“For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 16:25).

What does it mean? Putting it in the context of Jesus’ entire teaching, to lose your life for his sake means to seek the kingdom first. He said when you find the kingdom, everything else is given to you as well (Mt 6:33). You actually have both. Your spiritual enlightenment will enrich your human experience.

It’s simple but not easy. You still need to let go and let God. Letting go is the cross we must carry daily because, again, it’s simple but not easy. So, today, we will explore how to find life by losing it based on Jesus’ teaching in this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

The Roman Catholic church was the closest, so the priest got in first and came out carrying the crucifix with him. As he ran away from the fire, he stopped by the synagogue to see if the Rabi was fine. When he arrived, he saw the rabbi running out carrying a giant menorah with him.

Further down on their way was the Presbyterian Church, and the two friends stopped by the church to see if the pastor had saved what was essential for him. The church was engulfed in flames, but the pastor still hadn’t left the building. They began to worry and wondered what was taking him so long.

After a while, they saw the pastor’s back backing up toward the door pulling something heavy with him. When he came out, they discovered he was pulling the copier—the Xerox machine—with him. (End of story).

This story makes me think about the most important thing for me. What would you carry out if our lives were on fire and we had time to save one thing with you? Or, if a war broke out and we had time to grab only one thing before escaping, what would you take with you?

Each of us has different things that we deem most important. What’s the item in your life you treasure most, something that you will give up everything else to get or keep?

We all know life is not a bed of roses but more like a mixture of roses and thorns. But you can still make the most out of life if you know how to smell the roses without touching the thorns. Life can be very joyful if you know how to dance with the devil on your back.

In fact, the devil on your back may not be the devil. That reminds me of a story of the Desert Fathers that goes like this:

Going to town one day to sell some of his handicrafts, Abba Agathon (a Desert Father) met a crippled man on the roadside, paralyzed in his legs, who asked him where he was going. (By the way, this is a different story from what I told you in my message two weeks ago.)

Agathon replied, “I am going to town to sell some of my crafts.” The paralyzed man said, “Do me the favor of carrying me there.” So he carried him to town. The man told him, “Put me down where you sell your items.” He did so.

When he had sold an article, the man asked, “What did you sell it for?” and he told him the price. The crippled man said, “Buy me a cake,” and Abba Agathon bought it for him. When Agathon had sold a second article, the sick man asked, “How much did you sell it for?” and he told him the price of it. Then the paralyzed man said, “Buy me this,” and he bought it.

Having sold all his items, Agathon was ready to leave. The man said, “Are you going back?” and Agathon replied, “Yes.” Then the man said, “Do me the favor of carrying me back to the place where you found me.” Once more, he picked him up and returned to that place.

Then the disabled man said, “Agathon, you are filled with divine blessings, in heaven and on earth.” Raising his eyes, Agathon saw no man; it was an angel of the Lord. (End of story).

This story humbles me and makes me reflect on my spiritual status—the fruit of the spirit I have. Abba Agathon personified a fruitful life. His love and patience are admirable. He didn’t question whether the man was worth carrying. He didn’t feel taken advantage of when the man kept asking him to buy things for him with his hard-earned money. I doubt I have that level of patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, and self-control. Stories like this make me strive for a more fruitful life.

Until the end of the story, we feel Abba Agathon had the devil on his back, but the story surprised us when it revealed that he entertained an angel. What if Agathon stopped fulfilling the man’s request at some point? (This story contrasts with the one I have told you previously, in which the hermit lost his patience to help the old man who asked him to carry him to town.)

We live in a fallen world and have to deal with fallen people. How do we know whether we are being taken advantage of or entertaining angles? How do we know we are dancing with the devil on our back or an angel on our back? How do we know whether God is testing us or the devil is abusing us?

The good news is Jesus came on earth and showed us how to dance with the devil on our backs and still make a difference in this fallen world. Today, we will explore this subject based on Jesus’ Parable of the Weeds.

Can we take the devil off our backs? If not, how do we enjoy life to the fullest despite the devil on our backs? Let’s begin!

“Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Co 2:15–16).

Would you like to be able to “discern all things,” see the world through God’s eyes, and have the mind of Christ? You have heard of the concept of WWJD (What Would Jesus Do), but it’s more important to know WWJT (What Would Jesus Think) because actions start from thoughts.

To develop the mind of Christ, we need an environment for deep learning. Deep learning is like growing Chinese bamboo.

After sowing the bamboo seeds in the ground, the farmer has to water the ground and fertilize the soil regularly without seeing any bamboo for four years. Can you imagine working on an empty farm for four years? It talks a lot of faith to believe the bamboo will eventually shoot up from the ground.

If it were me, after the first year, I still have the patience; the second year, I might begin to wonder if I planted the seeds correctly; the third year, I might wonder if the seeds are dead in the ground; the fourth year, I would want to dig into the ground to make sure the seeds are still there. I might wonder, “What if I have wasted four years of water, fertilizer, and labor for nothing?” It seems a risky business.

In the fifth year, you will suddenly see the bamboo shoots sprouting. The miracle is once they break through the ground, they will grow 90 feet tall within five weeks. All of a sudden, your farm becomes a bamboo forest. And it keeps propagating year after year. You wait for four years but will harvest for a lifetime.

Bamboo farming is a very fruitful business, but the first four years could be nerve-wracking. Because Chinese bamboo can be about 100 feet tall, they require deep and firm roots underneath. That’s what they do in the first four years, growing a deep and robust network of roots to prepare for massive growth and be able to stand against the winds.

It’s a perfect analogy for deep learning to yield the fruit of discernment, the God-like brain, or the mind of Christ. Life will be entirely different if you can discern all things because you will have less anxiety and confusion living in this fallen world. You will also know what actions to take for your future.

Today, we will learn from Jesus about what could prevent us from deep learning and how to prepare ourselves for a fruitful life based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

Some people overthink because they are perfectionists; some because they are people-pleasers—they want to impress people. Still, some people overthink because they want to please God—in fact, they misunderstand what really pleases God.

Let me tell you a parable to start with.

There once was a farmer who discovered his horse disappeared one day. The neighbors helped him search for it, but they couldn’t find it anywhere. It must have run away into the forest far away. So, they expressed their sympathy, “Old man, we are so sorry for your loss. What did you do to deserve that misfortune? Without a horse, how can you make a living? You are cursed.”

In those days, owning a horse was essential to making a living as a farmer. A horse helps till the soil, plow the field, and carry the produce to the market. So, losing the horse was a big blow to the family’s livelihood. However, the old man responded to the neighbors, “Don’t worry! It may not be as bad as you think.” To which the neighbors thought the old man was crazy not to worry about it.

A few days later, the old man woke up and saw a bunch of horses standing in front of his barn. This horse had returned, bringing ten more wild horses with her. The neighbors came praising the old man, “Old man, you are so lucky, and now you are wealthy with eleven horses. You will be the richest man in the village.” The old man replied, “Well, it may not be as good as you think.”

The next day, the old man’s son tried to tame the wild horses. He fell from the horse and broke his leg. The neighbors came and said, “Old man, you are cursed. Since your only son is crippled, who will work the farm and feed the family when you are old? Now, you have to take care of him instead.”

In those days, parents depended on their sons to secure their later life. But the old man said as usual. “Don’t worry! It may not be as bad as you think.” The neighbors again thought the old man was crazy. How could anyone be so optimistic about not having anyone to depend on in their old age?

A few weeks later, a war broke out with a neighboring country. The government came to draft young men to go to war. The old man’s son was spared because he was disabled. The neighbors came crying, “Old man, you are so lucky. Even though your son is crippled, he is at least with you. Now, we don’t know if our sons will return from the war.” The old man replied, “It may not be as bad as you think.” The neighbors ignored him. (End of story.)

This simple parable depicts human nature. It describes the wisdom of the old man among the overthinking villagers. Today, we will look at how Jesus teaches us to stop overthinking. Do you overthink? If so, today’s scripture lesson will help you. If you don’t overthink, you can use this lesson to help others not to overthink because many people around you suffer from overthinking. So, let’s begin!

In the final season that was just released, Jack Ryan tries to take down a Burmese drug cartel based in Shan State in Burma. Tom Clancy knows how to draw his audience’s attention with exotic locations.

Shan State in Burma is known for its hospitality. Shans are one of the largest tribal groups in Burma. Just as we often talk about Southern hospitality in the U.S., people there like to mention Shan hospitality.

However, there’s a quirk about their hospitality. If you travel to Shan State, you’ll see most homes have their front door open, especially in small villages. You can enter any home without an invitation. In the living room, there’s always a tea table with a pot and cups ready to serve the guests.

They will serve you a cup of tea as soon as you enter the house. If you know the culture, you just sit down and start sipping the tea. The host will also sip his tea. No words are needed. You commune with the host in a realm beyond speech. Then you start talking about the reason for your visit.

The problem is, you must drink the tea they offer, at least take a sip. If you don’t drink their tea, they will treat you as an enemy. In their mind, they think, “Why don’t you drink our tea? You think we’ll poison you?” So, they take offense for not accepting their hospitality. That’s the quirk I’m talking about.

As society progresses, hospitality also erodes. In big cities, most people keep their doors locked and protect their privacy. Of course, one of the reasons is the fear of crime. Robbers and thieves keep us suspicious of strangers. Sometimes, we don’t want people to see the skeletons in our closet.

Nowadays, even most church doors are tightly locked. It used to be that we could walk into any church and sit down to pray. When we were in Paramus, every now and then, people would stop by to pray in the sanctuary. After some churches and synagogues shooting, some churches began to have armed ushers.

How do we provide hospitality in an age of hostility? Maybe we should put a tea table at the door. If you drink my tea, you are my friend; come in. If you don’t drink my tea, leave! Just a thought.

The Bible reveals that hospitality is one of God’s hidden commandments because it is not listed in the Big Ten but shows up everywhere, both in the Old and New Testaments. Stories and after stories indicate that God takes hospitality seriously.

Jesus also talks about how God generously rewards those who are hospitable as well as severely punishes those who don’t. I know some people love to throw a party anytime there’s a reason, but others stress out thinking about entertaining guests.

Jesus wants us to regard hospitality as a ministry. He is not talking about randomly throwing a party but purposefully using hospitality to fulfill his mission. Since God takes hospitality seriously, we should develop it as one of our values. Today, we will look at how Jesus reveals this hidden commandment. Let’s begin!

Anyway, this proverb indicates that there is more than one solution to a problem or more than one way to achieve a goal. It teaches us to be resourceful and open our minds to think outside the box.

That reminds me of an ancient Chinese story. There once was a farmer who lived next to a hunter. The farmer made his living by raising sheep. The hunter next door had two hunting dogs. One night, the dogs discovered a hole in the sheep barn and went inside to attack the sheep.

The farmer went to the hunter to complain, and the hunter apologized and promised to ask his two sons to lock the dogs in at night. A couple of days later, the dogs managed to leave the home and come to make a mess in the sheep barn again.

The farmer knocked on the hunter’s house, and the hunter said the dogs jumped out of the windows. He promised to ask the kids to keep the windows shut at night. However, the problem persisted, and the farmer decided to go to the judge to complain. He told the judge, “I don’t want to make this public, but it’s getting intolerable.”

The judge said, “I have two solutions. The first is to punish your neighbor for his carelessness, and he will hate you. Do you want to live next door to an enemy? Otherwise, you have a second option. You must do as I say.” The farmer asked, “What must I do?” The judge’s idea didn’t make sense to him, but he decided to give it a try.

The next day, the farmer took two lambs and knocked on the hunter’s door. The hunter looked annoyed, but the farmer said, “Sorry to bother you all these days. I want to apologize by offering you these lambs as a gift for your children.” The two boys loved it because the lambs were cute and fluffy.

Suddenly, the hunter’s family built a nice fence to secure the lambs and kept the dogs inside the house at night to prevent them from harming the lambs at night. The farmer stayed awake at night, expecting the dogs to come again. But, to his surprise, the dogs never intrude on his barn from then on.

A few days later, the hunter showed up at his door and offered him fresh kills, reciprocating the gift the farmer gave their children. They became good neighbors. The farmer thanked the judge for his wisdom. There was indeed more than one way and better ways to win the fight.

Jesus said,

“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Mt 10:16).

Previously, we discussed how Jesus had greatness thrust upon us. This greatness is to proclaim the good news of the kingdom to reconcile the world. However, this fallen resists change and is hostile to the good news, so Jesus describes our mission as being sent out like sheep into the midst of wolves and advising us to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

Most people think Jesus is teaching us to be innocent and nothing more, but we need more than innocence because we are sheep among wolves. We are fighting spiritual warfare, and our enemy is formidable. We need to learn the art of war.

Like Sun Tzu’s Art of War, Jesus teaches us how to win the war without a fight. Today, we will look at Jesus’ art of war and learn how we can make a difference in this world victoriously. Let’s begin!

“Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.”

Do you know who said it? It was by Robert Pierce, the founder of World Vision, which has helped millions of children and orphans out of poverty over the years.

On a visit to an island in Korea after the war, in 1949, Bob Pierce saw many suffering children running on the streets without proper clothes because their fathers died in the war and their mothers were missing. Touched by the plight of those children, he wrote this famous prayer inside the cover of his Bible:

“Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” ~Bob Pierce

Soon, he founded World Vision in 1950, which has fed and educated 3.5 million children around the world to date. It has assisted 20.1 million disaster survivors, refugees, and internally displaced people. A small prayer of compassion ends up touching millions of lives.

Previously, I spoke about the importance of having a God-sized dream. Having a God-sized dream cures many mental and emotional problems because you have a sense of mission and focus away from your personal problems. When we don’t have a purpose greater than ourselves, we become anxious, depressed, and unfocused. You can review that message online, named “Dream a God-sized Dream.”

So, this week we want to explore how to find that God-sized dream. If you don’t have a God-sized dream, begin with this prayer, “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God,” asking God to help you see a real problem in the world that you are called to solve.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the ability or resources to solve the problem. If you shed a God-sized tear, God will provide you with God-sized resources. So, don’t worry about whether you have the capability to solve the problem. Worry about what breaks your heart that also breaks God’s heart.

When Bob Pierce wrote down that prayer on the flyleaf of his Bible, he had no money as a young missionary. He just saw a big problem. But that little prayer changed millions of lives.

The Bible revealed that Jesus’ heart broke when he saw the crowd like sheep without a shepherd.

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt 9:36).

So, today, let’s look at what breaks Jesus’ heart that also breaks our hearts that also breaks your heart and how he teaches us to solve that problem. Let’s begin!

“When it rises in the air, its wings are like the clouds of Heaven. When the seas move, this bird too travels to the south darkness, the darkness known as the Pool of Heaven.” ~Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu).

It didn’t make sense to me, and I wondered what the author was trying to say. After years of study, I realized the author talks about a person with a higher purpose. He encourages the reader not just to have a purpose but an immense purpose to live a meaningful life. It’s aboud dreaming a God-sized dream.

Many people have a purpose in life, but they are too small. Most have a purpose only for their personal possessions, prestige, and power. In other words, most people have an ego-driven purpose. To live a meaningful life, we must have a purpose above and beyond ourselves—or our ego.

Carl Jung, one of the greatest psychologists, said over a third of the patients he had seen did not suffer from any clinical neurosis but lack of meaning and purpose in their lives. Victor Frankl, the Jewish psychiatrist who survived the Auschwitz death camp, said that as soon as one of his fellow inmates lost their purpose, they died within a day or two.

Purpose makes us healthier and gives us meaning to live. Without purpose, we drift through life and become anxious. Fulton Sheen called this “the anxiety of life.” Victor Frankl said that finding purpose leads to happiness. You can eliminate many health issues if you have a purpose. According to Carl Jung, you could eliminate a third of your health problems.

How do you find your life purpose that is big enough to give you the vitality of life?

On the other hand, you don’t want to have an unreasonable purpose like a daydream. The Chinese call those with unpractical dreams “Dragon Slayers.” It’s based on an ancient story about a young man whose life purpose is to become a dragon slayer. It’s a metaphor for solving a problem that doesn’t exist—a vanity purpose.

A significant purpose tries to solve a problem that does exist.

The famous Canadian Psychologist, Jorden Peterson, wants to meet Elon Musk to determine why Musk is developing SpaceX. Peterson seems to feel that Musk is solving a problem that doesn’t exist. At least not yet. It is a very costly endeavor. That money could solve other immediate problems we are facing in this world. We know most of Musk’s projects do solve practical problems, but is SpaceX a dragon slayer’s dream? Only time will tell.

The point is we must have a purpose significant enough to live a meaningful and happier life. We are born to dream a God-sized dream. At the same time, we must not daydream like a dragon slayer to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.

The good news is that Jesus left us with a significant purpose to fulfill. He not only wipes away our past sins but also gives us a great purpose for the future. Previously, I’ve mentioned that Jesus has greatness thrust upon us. Today, we deal with Jesus’ last word, in which he spells out our enormous purpose, known as the Great Commission. His purpose is also practical because it solves a clear and present danger.

Most importantly, his purpose gives us meaning to live a happy and fruitful life. Let’s take a look at it today.

It was time to run for his second term, but President Shepherd was too busy to campaign. The polls showed the opposition candidate was gaining ground. Lewis was concerned and had an intense verbal dispute with the President, saying,

“People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they’ll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They’re so thirsty for it that they’ll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there’s no water, they’ll drink the sand.” (Movie: The American President).

This concern is universal, not just specific to the movie. When we look at the world today, we wonder if we are not in an epidemic of thirst—thirst for leadership, meaning, money, knowledge, purpose, possessions, prestige, power, and you name it.

According to Jesus, our real thirst is not for those things. If we search deep inside, our real thirst is for living water to quench our thirsty hearts. Once we drink it, we will never be thirsty again. In the movie, Lewis was talking about leadership, but I see it as a good metaphor for the living water.

This metaphor warns us that people would drink sand when they don’t have water. Based on this quote, we can ask a few questions: Am I thirsty? Have I found the water? Am I drinking sand because there’s no water? If I already have the living water, am I sharing it so that others don’t have to drink sand?

Those who have living water have the responsibility to distribute it. However, Presiden Shepherd’s reply triggers another layer of thought. He said,

“Lewis, we’ve had presidents who were beloved, who couldn’t find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. People don’t drink the sand because they’re thirsty. They drink the sand because they don’t know the difference.” (Movie: The American President).

As we enter another cycle of presidential elections, this reply makes us question our ability to choose the right president. If a good candidate doesn’t know how to campaign effectively, people will choose a lesser candidate who is good at campaigning. However, our focus is not on the presidential election but on this human reality: people drink sand because they don’t know the difference between water and sand.

That’s a good metaphor for a profound spiritual reality. It illustrates John Calvin’s concept of “Total Depravity,” indicating we are too blinded by sin to differentiate the truth from the half-truth. It also explains why Jesus had compassion for us:

“When he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (John 9:36).

The good news is that Jesus came to provide the leadership we long for, like a good Shepherd, and quench our thirst with living water so we don’t end up drinking sand. What’s more impressive is that not only does he quench our thirst, but he also makes the living water flow like rivers in our hearts.

What does it mean? Let’s say living water represents the true happiness we seek. Instead of looking for happiness from the outside, it flows within our hearts. That is significant because it’s like, instead of looking for another president, partner, or people to quench our thirst, we can satisfy our own thirst if we have the living water Jesus provides.

Jesus made this happen on the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. As we celebrate Pentecost today, we will explore how Jesus quenches our thirst with living water and how he makes this living water flow inside our hearts based on what Jesus taught us in today’s scriptures lesson. So, let’s begin!

1) Dopamine

2) Endorphin

3) Serotonin

4) Oxytocin

Dopamine is released when you accomplish something, making you feel happy. It’s known as the success hormone. For example, you feel happy when you achieve a goal or finish a task because your brain secretes dopamine. The problem is dopamine can be addictive.

Addictive drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine, induce dopamine to make you happy like a highly successful person. Maybe that’s why they call them “dope.” Some companies reward their employees for achieving escalating goals to make them addicted to success so that they would slave for the company. So, when you are happy, make sure what’s causing it. You don’t want to become a dopamine addict because you will keep asking for more.

Endorphin is released when we engage in physical activities—walking, running, swimming, etc. Endorphin makes you happy and numbs the pain during workouts so you can push your limits and feel the pain later. It makes you happy first; cry later! But not as harmful as dopamine, but if you achieve goals for your activities, then you are motivated by both endorphins and dopamine.

Serotonin is released during a social gathering. You are happy when you are with people because your brain releases serotonin. Social connection is vital for your happiness. Have a community you trust, such as a church or small group, and meet regularly to enjoy the happy serotonin boost. Serotonin also helps increase your melatonin and enables you to sleep well.

The fourth hormone, oxytocin, is the most potent happy hormone. Oxytocin is not addictive. Instead, it can heal addiction and emotional wounds. Many of you know my father used to run a rehab center in Burma for drug addicts using spirituality. It was exceptionally successful because the addicts could replace their happiness from the drug-induced dopamine with non-addictive healing oxytocin.

Out of these four happy hormones, oxytocin is preferable because it’s healthy, healing, and holistic. The question is, how do we get it? Unlike dopamine, which comes from achievements, endorphins from activities, and serotonin from social gatherings, oxytocin comes from love. It’s a spiritual hormone.

That’s why oxytocin is known as the love hormone. For example, when a mother gives birth to a child, she releases a great deal of oxytocin. The moment she holds the newborn baby in her hand, she forgets all her birth pain, and her emotional and physical wounds heal quickly. Jesus said,

“When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:21-22).

Jesus is comparing the chemistry of childbearing with the chemistry of spirituality. He implies that the disciples must suffer the pain of seeing his crucifixion like a mother in labor, but they will be filled with joy like a mother after the delivery when they see the risen Lord. The kind of joy that no one can take from them.

Can anyone take away the joy of a mother? Our kids are big now. Sophie can never forget the joy and satisfaction of bringing them into this world, no matter how much suffering she went through.

A mother’s love is spiritual, beyond human reasoning and rationality. So oxytocin is not just a love hormone but a spiritual hormone.

A group of researchers at Harvard University conducted an extensive study on why some people could handle highly stressful situations and live long and healthy while others die sooner. They held the same high-stress jobs without developing stress-related diseases like cardiovascular problems.

To make the long story short, they discovered those who live longer had a high level of oxytocin, which came from their belief system. It reinforces the statistics that show people who attend church live much longer comparatively.

Based on what Jesus said above, your belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ lets you experience the love that secretes oxytocin and gives you the kind of joy and happiness that no one can steal from you. So, based on today’s scripture lesson, let us look at what Jesus taught us about this love that keeps us thriving in this stressful and fallen world. Let’s begin!

Now is the time for us to heal the wounds and strengthen our spirits to handle any future challenges that may be on the way. We must rejoice for the relief, but we cannot coast because life is a series of peaks and valleys. When we are at a peak, prepare for the valley; when we are in a valley, be ready for the peak. That’s the wise way to live in this fallen world.

One thing we can learn from this past pandemic is how fragile human lives can be despite our amazing inventions and incredible evolution in science, medicine, technology, and education. People used to think our growth in knowledge would save us from evil. But this pandemic reveals how little we know.

A Chinese proverb says, “When morality grows a foot, evil grows a yard.” (道高一尺魔高一丈). It means evil evolves faster than morality, warning us not to believe that we will outgrow evil, not on this side of eternity. We must grasp this harsh reality without letting our hearts be troubled.

The good news is Jesus has taught us how to handle hardship. The first century Israel was not better, but maybe worse, than our society today. His disciples thought since they had found the Messiah, they had secured their future, including the future of their nation. However, things were about to get worse before getting better.

When their master told them that even the Son of God was about to suffer crucifixion by the evil power, they were extremely discouraged. Their hearts were troubled when their only hope was about to explode.

How many of you have experienced the feeling of losing your last hope? We live in a fallen world, and the only thing that keeps us going is hope. We need hope to cope. When we lose hope, we suffer from all kinds of problems—depression, distress, desperation, despair, disorder, and you name it. Our hearts are troubled during hardship.

The good news is that Jesus taught us a secret that will keep our hope alive during trying times and turn us into instruments of hope for others. He began by saying, “Do not let your heart be troubled,” then revealed the secret to maintain hope to cope. Let’s begin!

Even though the data are based on England and Wales, it gives us a ballpark perspective of the human survival rate. It shows a growing percentage of people are living longer. Half of the population born around 1930 live up to 80 years old; half of those born around 1960 will live up to 90.

However, they all eventually die around 120 years old. That means even though our survival rate is getting better, the human lifespan stays the same—about 120.

The oldest person on record is Jeanne Calment of France, who lived to the age of 122 (1875–1997). She was the only person who exceeded 120. The oldest man is Jiroemon Kimura of Japan, who lived to the age of 116 (1897–2013). Women live longer than men.

According to Genesis, our maximum lifespan on earth is 120, even though this verse is open to interpretation.

Then the LORD said, “My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.” (Gen 6:3).

Even though it was written about 5,000 years ago and didn’t preclude exceptions, human lifespan data to date prove it is still valid.

I love science and have closely followed research on longevity for over a decade. Many researchers predicted that by around 2025 to 2030, a scientific breakthrough would allow us to live forever. I am open-minded and have been looking forward to this day to come.

Now we are in 2023, and this chart convinced me that breaking the maximum lifespan of 120 is more like an illusion. In 200 B.C., the emperor of the Qin Dynasty searched for an elixir to live forever, but he died before discovering it. In the 20th century, Chairman Mao said that we didn’t need religion because science would give us eternal life, but he died before science discovered eternal life.

Even if science did give us eternal life, it would not change my trust in the core message of the Bible, mainly about human sins, salvation, and the significance of life. So far, science cannot solve human sins. Crimes, corruption, wars, and genocides continue despite our knowledge and education. As someone said, an educated devil is worse than an uneducated one.

Jesus doesn’t promise to extend our lifespan on this side of eternity, but he does promise us the quality of life. He said,

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (Jn 10:10).

The word “abundantly” is translated from Greek, “περισσόν (perisson),” meaning “overflowingly, fully, abundantly, advantageously.”

NIV translates,

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV).

The living Bible says,

“My purpose is to give life in all its fullest.” (John 10:10 TLB).

Jesus’ purpose is to give you life in all its fullest. I think our deepest desire is not longevity but the quality of life. Whether we live up to 80 or 800, God wants us to live to the fullest. From today’s scripture lesson, we will examine how Jesus expects us to live life to the fullest. So, let’s begin!

The last time I asked ChatGPT to write a sermon for me, it couldn’t do that. Since the release of a new version, I tried it out again and discovered it could write a pretty nice sermon for me; even though it’s not my style because it’s a little touchy-feely and fuzzy-wuzzy, it’s quite usable.

I don’t preach fuzzy-wuzzy sermons; I like to push the envelope and challenge people. However, AI is getting smarter every day. Soon, you will be able to ask AI to write a sermon in Sam Stone’s style, John Piper’s style, or Rick Warren’s style. Furthermore, it will be able to preach in my voice and might do an even better job impersonating me.

My avatar will be able to preach better than I do. I am glad I am approaching retirement age. Actually, that’s the good part of AI. The world can always use many good sermons.

The downside is that people could use AI to impersonate your relative and scam you. They will appear on your video chat, such as Facetime, looking and sounding precisely like your son or daughter asking you to transfer a thousand dollars to their bank urgently.

That’s scary, you might say. That’s right, and that’s why Elon Musk and a bunch of technology leaders ask Congress to halt the development of AI and come up with regulations. Whenever we have a breakthrough in science and technology, we encounter a confusing and chaotic moment.

Our world is changing faster than ever. How do you navigate the chaotic world? The answer is discernment. Discernment is the number one leadership skill. Every one of you is a leader in this world because Jesus trained his followers to be leaders in this world.

Whether you are a parent or president, you are a leader; you either lead a family, a company, a community, or a country. Leaders have to make many decisions. The more decision you make, the more mistakes you make. Some mistakes could be extremely costly. The only way to make better decisions is through discernment.

I have discovered that every leader rises and falls on discernment. The dictionary definition of discernment is “the ability to judge well.” In Christianity, it’s the wisdom of knowing God’s will. Charles Spergeon said,

“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” ~C.H. Spurgeon

It’s easy to know what’s right or wrong, but it’s not easy to know what’s right and what’s almost right. Good leaders have this ability. You can lead a good life in this chaotic world if you have it. The good news is Jesus has taught us repeatedly.

There are three levels of discernment: personal, social, and spiritual.

Personal discernment is knowing why you do what you do—why did I make this choice; what do I crave sugar; why I am angry, etc. Knowing yourself is a giant leap in discernment because most people don’t know themselves.

Social discernment is the ability to read people—who is a good friend; who is a bad influence; who is being honest; what is their motive; etc. Our success and failure depend significantly on how well we can read people. We often read about Jesus’ outstanding ability to read people.

Spiritual discernment is the ability to know God’s will. In fact, if you have spiritual discernment, you know yourself better and people better. If you know the Creator, you understand how the creation functions. So, if you cultivate spiritual discernment, you hit three birds with one stone. Paul said,

“Those who are spiritual discern all things.” (1 Co 2:15).

That means you can make better decisions. Then how do we develop this spiritual discernment? Paul said by having the mind of Christ. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus imparts his discernment process to us. Instead of making decisions for us, Jesus taught us how to make decisions through discernment. It’s like teaching us how to fish instead of giving us fish. So, now let’s go fishing!

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18:3).

Whenever Jesus begins his statement using “Truly I tell you,” he wants us to take this statement seriously. It means we must put it into practice and never take it lightly. I am also intrigued by the words “change and become,” as if childlikeness is a state of maturity for us to attain. That’s very profound and ironic.

When we were young, we couldn’t wait to grow up, but after growing up, we lost our childhood simplicity because we made life complicated. So Jesus wants us to change and become like children again. Otherwise, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

So, what takes away our innocence? That reminds me of a story about a group of scientists experimenting on monkeys. They put five monkeys in a room with a ladder in the middle. Then they hung a bunch of bananas above the top of the ladder.

As soon as the monkeys saw the bananas, they climbed the ladder to get the bananas to eat. But before they reached the top, a sprinkler would get triggered and spray water on them. So, they rushed down, and the sprinkler stopped spraying on them. They went up again and got wet again before reaching the bananas.

After several failed attempts, they stopped climbing the ladder. Then the scientists swapped one of the five monkeys with a new one. The new monkey would immediately climb the ladder to obtain the banana, but to his surprise, the other four would pull him down. The new monkey couldn’t understand because he had never experienced getting sprinkled. After a while, he also stopped trying to climb.

The scientists then swap another monkey with an old one. As always, the new monkey would rush up the ladder, but the other four would pull her down. Remember, one of the four had never experienced getting wet, but he joined the original three to pull the new monkey down.

The scientists then swapped the monkeys one by one until all five monkeys were new. None of them had experienced getting hosed. But none of them ever tried to climb the ladder to reach for the bananas. None of them knew why. It became a tradition.

That experiment tells us about life from multiple dimensions. From one perspective, it tells us that those who had failed in life would discourage you from trying to fulfill your dreams. From another perspective, the new monkeys are like innocent children, but society passes its baggage on them and complicates their lives.

Everyone is carrying a heavy burden and has lost their childhood innocence. We have lost our childhood dream of reaching for the stars. Heaven becomes so far away. Jesus tells us that heaven is still attainable if we change and become like children again.

In other words, we have made life complicated, but Jesus is telling us that life is simple, don’t complicate it. Based on today’s scripture lesson, we will examine how to change and become like children—how to make life simple and keep it from getting complicated. Let’s begin!

Someone sent me this story about three men that died and are at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter tells them that they can enter the gates if they can answer one simple question. St. Peter asks the first person, “What is Easter?” He replies, “Oh, that’s easy! It’s the holiday in November when people get together, eat turkey, and are thankful...” “Wrong!” replies St. Peter, and he doesn’t let him in.

St. Peter asks the second guy, “What is Easter?” The second one replies, “Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice tree, exchange presents, and celebrate the birth of Jesus.” St. Peter looks at the second guy, shakes his head in disgust, tells him he’s wrong, and sends him away.

Then he peers over his glasses at the third guy and asks, “What is Easter?” The third guy smiles confidently and looks St. Peter in the eyes, “I know what Easter is.” “Oh?” says St. Peter incredulously.

“Easter is the Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating the last supper, and Jesus was later deceived and turned over to the Romans by one of his disciples.

“The Romans took him to be crucified. They made him wear a crown of thorns and hung him on a cross with nails through his hands. He was buried in a nearby cave sealed off by a large boulder.”

St. Peter smiles broadly with delight. Then the third man continues, “Every year the boulder is moved aside so that Jesus can come out...and, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.”

A miss is as good as a mile! I wonder if this could happen. Do we have any human on earth that doesn’t know what Easter is about?

There are two parts to Easter: historical fact and present reality. Joe Rogan asked one of his interviewees, “How could you even know if Jesus existed since it was 2,000 years ago?” My answer is simple; the calendar we use begins with the birth of Christ, but who cares about the birth of Christ if there is no resurrection of Christ?

The resurrection of Jesus Christ divided human history into two parts—B.C. and A.D. (or, to be politically correct, BCE and C.E.) Everyone on earth makes reference to Jesus Christ when they put down their signature. Christian or not, when you sign a document, you must put the date next to it, referencing the Anno Domini—the Year of the Lord.

So, when I look at the calendar, I see the evidence of Easter. However, Easter is not just a fascinating historical event but has an equal impact on our present reality. We believe not because Jesus changed our history but because he changed our lives by adding meaning to our lives. Easter empowers us to do great things. Jesus said,

“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” (Jn 14:12).

Christians are not supposed to be pew potatoes but commissioned to do greater works than Jesus did. Don’t ask who am I to do such things, but ask how Jesus has empowered us to accomplish greatness. Last week, when I talked about the Last Supper, I quoted Shakespeare. I want to remind you again because Easter completes this same theme.

“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” ― William Shakespeare

Which category do you belong to? Are you born great? Have you achieved greatness? Most of us belong to the third category—we have greatness thrust upon us because Jesus left us with a Great Commission to reconcile the world.

Easter empowers you to rise above yourself and fulfill the greatness thrust upon you, reminding you not to settle for less. As Shakespeare said, “Be not afraid of greatness.”

So, as we celebrate Easter, let’s renew our faith, courage, and commitment to RISE and shine! And live our greatness. Let’s look at how we can make it happen based on Jesus’ last words before he returned to the Father. Let’s begin!

For example, who am I to be the pastor of the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Bergen County, New Jersey, in this great nation of the United States? I’m just a hillbilly from the highlands of Southeast Asia. If I feel like an imposter or a fraud to hold my position, that’s called the imposter syndrome.

I was surprised that 70% of Americans suffer from imposter syndrome. It’s not a mental disorder and not part of the DSM5, but many people feel they have it. If you search “imposter syndrome” on Google, you get about 10 million results. That’s a lot!

Many students in Ivy League schools thought they were admitted by mistake. So, they worked extra hard to fit in until they discovered other students were in the same condition.

Many CEOs and top leaders also have that syndrome, fearing people might find out they don’t have the leadership qualities to hold the position, worrying people might someday discover they are frauds. Even Maya Angelou once admitted,

“I have written eleven books, but each time I think, “Uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.” ~Maya Angelou

Albert Einstein also said he considered himself an “involuntary swindler.” So, if you feel you have imposter syndrome, you are not alone. You might wonder, “Who am I to be an Elder of the church?” If you ask that question, you are just normal.

On the other hand, narcissists would believe they rightfully deserve their position. That could be more destructive than imposter syndrome because those with imposter syndrome at least have some sense of humility.

Then, how do we walk the fine line between narcissism and imposter syndrome? Narcissism could sabotage your success, but imposter syndrome could make you anxious and settle for less.

The good news is Jesus has a solution for us in today’s scripture lesson. Jesus has a massive mission for you to accomplish, and he cannot leave his world-changing mission to people with imposter syndrome. He said,

“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” (Jn 14:12).

That’s a huge responsibility, especially at times like this, as we are a much smaller congregation. We might be suffering from the imposter syndrome, thinking, who are we for Jesus to expect us to do greater works than he did? He must be talking about other more capable Christians or bigger churches.

However, we can’t hide behind imposter syndrome to avoid this calling unless we want to disappoint the Lord. Like it or not, we have greatness thrust upon us. As William Shakespeare wrote,

“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” ~William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

How many of you can say you are born great? How many achieved greatness? I am quite sure most of us belong to the third category. We have greatness thrust upon us.

We are near the end of Lent and in the Holy Week. Just as Jesus left the responsibility to reform the world to the twelve disciples, it’s time to think about the great mission he thrust on us.

It has nothing to do with whether we have the capability, but it has everything to do with our response to his calling to greatness. It’s not an option. Jesus doesn’t call us to stay caterpillars but to be butterflies. We have no time and reasons to settle for less.

Today, we must decide to end the imposter syndrome once and for all. So, let’s begin!

It worsened after the pandemic because many psychiatrists, psychologists, and nurses in the field left their practice, citing burnout. I was surprised to hear that because I thought they were supposed to be experts in handling burnout. If the experts on burnout could burn out, what about you and me?

According to the 2022 State of Mental Health in America statistic report, one out of five Americans experienced a mental illness, but less than half of them received treatments. According to NIH, that number is based on diagnosable mental illness. That means many other mental disorders are undiagnosable. That makes me wonder how deep is the rabbit hole.

After crunching some data from various sources, it seems as much as 75% of the population worldwide today have some sort of mental health problem, more or less, like a spectrum. I named the most common ones BAD (Burnout, Anxiety, Disturbance). You may have it without knowing it until its adverse effects appear on your medical checkup report. You have heard, “Healthy mind, healthy body.” Then how do you keep a healthy mind, and how does a healthy spirit contribute to a healthy mind?

So, I asked my friend, the mental health professional, if the church could help with people’s mental well-being. Since he is running at capacity, I wonder if we could be helpful. He said, “Absolutely!” Fewer people would end up at his mental health clinic if more people went to church and developed their spiritual health. Body, mind, and spirit intertwined. But it’s against the law for him to recommend his patients attend church.

I wondered why some people are more resilient to BAD (Burnout, Anxiety, Disturbance). Last week, I mentioned Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who survived eleven years in the concentration camp because he developed a solid spiritual anchor to maintain his sanity. I’ve also discovered many like him who preserved their sanity despite profound tragedy.

Jesus describes this kind of life as building your house on the rock so it will not collapse under severe storms. Storms are coming for sure because we live in a fallen world.

It reminds me of the story of The Three Little Pigs. One built his house with straws, the second with sticks, and the third with bricks. When the Big Bad Wolf comes, he will huff, puff, and blow the house down. In the children’s version of the story, the first two pigs are described as lazy, but as a real-life allegory, they just don’t know better.

I have discovered that many people today have lost the wisdom to build their spiritual house with bricks—or on the rock. Two reasons: today’s culture often cast doubts on traditional values, teaching people they can build their life on anything they “feel” right. So, they end up building their life on sinking sands. When the Big Bad Wolf comes, their lives crumble.

The other reason is that many churches have watered down the solid ground, thinking we are one of the ways instead of The Way, fear of persecution, unlike Jesus, who risks his life to deliver the cornerstone.

In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus risked his life to deliver himself as the cornerstone to build our life on. It will prevent your life from collapsing under stress and gives you indescribable joy and peace as you journey through life. Let’s take a look!

“One man who stopped lying could bring down a tyranny.” ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

That stimulates my thoughts significantly because it’s so true. We have seen these people in our recent history, such as Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Aung San Suu Kyi—unfortunately, Burma regressed. Solzhenitsyn himself triggered the collapse of the Soviet Union with his book.

It doesn’t have to be about bringing down a government but any form of tyranny. Martin Luther King, Jr. toppled the tyranny against civil rights. Abraham Lincoln toppled the tyranny of slavery. He achieved it through honesty and integrity, so people called him “Honest Abe.”

I read some Palms lately depicting we live in a world of liars. At first, I thought that sounded too cynical, but as I observed people around me, I discovered almost everyone lies. The longer they talk, the more lies they speak. Some tend to talk boldly and intimidatingly to cover up their deceit.

A Burmese proverb says, “Without lies, words are not smooth.” It means your words sound crude or boring without lies; you need a little lie to spice up your words. In English, we have “white lies.” These traditions hint at permission to lie, but gradually it becomes a habit, and we cross the fine line between what’s acceptable and what’s not.

I remember I felt particularly irritated when my children lied to me. Guess who they learned from?

Then I reflected on my words and found I tell no fewer lies than anyone else. You would expect someone in my position should tell fewer lies, if not none. It reminds me of Paul saying he was “the chief of all sinners.” Like Paul, I am the chief of all liars. Confession is the starting point of the road to recovery. Now, I am a recovering liar.

It all began with discovering Solzhenitsyn’s statement, “One man who stopped lying could bring down a tyranny.” Honest people are intimidating to tyrants. That’s why they imprison or eliminate them. Tyranny is sustained by people who join the lie for survival. If stopping lying can make you so powerful, what does it take to stop lying?

Solzhenitsyn received his enlightenment in the concentration camp, where starvation was one of the systematic tortures. Maybe the fasting state raised his consciousness. Similarly, Viktor Frankl also received his wisdom in the concentration camp and wrote his seminal book Men Search for Meaning.

I have been fasting for Lent, and I can see that fasting is like a self-imposed concentration camp. I hope something good can come out of it for me instead of starving to death. Let me tell you a story ...

“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block before I start my work. It is already there. I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.” ~Michalangelo

I always wonder how the great artist knew the sculpture was in the marble block. I have discovered that art is the language of God. Michelangelo spoke the language of God.

My favorite sculpture of Michelangelo is The Pieta (Picture), Mary carrying Jesus’ body on her lap after the crucifixion. I can gaze at the picture of it for a long time and feel taken away in amazement, as if I see God’s fingerprints on it.

Sometimes people ask me to prove God’s existence. Art is evidence of God’s presence. All these great artists, Michelangelo, Leonardo DaVinci, Beethoven, Mozart, William Wordsworth, Robert Frost, and you name it, not to mention King David and Solomon, showed us God’s existence through art. They speak God’s language and give me a thirst to speak the language of God.

In fact, the entire Bible is a piece of art written by those who understood the language of God. That’s why it’s filled with poetry, psalms, parables, prophecies, proverbs, profiles, and philosophy. Art needs interpretation, and that’s why some parts of the Bible are hard to understand until we are fluent in the language of God.

One day I discovered a story in a book written 2,400 years ago by the Taoist sage Zhuangzi which reveals a secret to speaking the language of God.

The Woodcarver Qing received an assignment from the king to carve a bell stand for the courtyard (Picture). He did a marvelous job, and people everywhere came to admire the bell stand at the palace.

They said, “This bell stand is so stunningly beautiful. It looks like the work of God.” They visited the woodcarver’s home to interview him about his secret to reaching the pinnacle of artistry. Qing said, “I am a mere woodcarver, far from an artist. If you want to know how I carved it, here is what I did.

“Since this project was for the king, I realized I must concentrate my energy to get the job done well. So, I fasted for seven days. After three days of fasting, I stopped caring about my compensation; after five days, I could ignore my reputation; and after seven days, I had even forgotten my reservation—my ego had disappeared.

“By that time, I had lost all my distractions and became one with the Holy Spirit. Then I went up to the forest hill to look for the tree for the bell stand. I look for the one with the bell stand in it. When I found it, I cut it down and carved it out. The outcome was what you call the work of God.” (End of story.)

The woodcarver stayed humble and didn’t even think of himself as an artist because, like Michelangelo, he felt his art already existed in the tree. He just revealed it by chipping away the excess. His secret of seeing the sculpture in the raw material is setting aside his ego. He did it through fasting. Michelangelo did not disclose how he achieved that state, but this story gives us a clue,

Jesus fasted for forty days to set his ego aside even though he was the Son of God. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus gives us more clues to speak the language of God. Let’s find out!

History teaches us that dictators are symptoms but not the root cause because when a dictator is removed, the situation worsens, and the world could become more dangerous. Who knows what would replace the tyrant? A recent example would be that we removed Sadam Husein, but the country is still unstable after over a decade of effort, thousands of deaths, and billions of dollars.

In 1988, the democratic movement in Burma removed three presidents within a few months. After the last president resigned, the country went into chaos. The military junta stepped over and killed thousands of citizens in the name of enforcing law and order. It seems easier to fight for freedom but much harder to maintain it.

Dictators serve a purpose. They stabilize a weak society—repeat: a weak society. In other words, we have a government we deserve. It’s a hard pill to swallow. We might ask, “Can the United States fall into the hands of a dictatorship? How do we prevent it? What lesson have we learned from the history of dictatorships? Most importantly, what does the Bible reveal to us about handling tyrants?

The answer is that we need more butterflies than caterpillars. They are the same creature but have two different ways of life. Humans are born as caterpillars, but some of us metamorphose into butterflies, but some don’t. A country with more butterflies than caterpillars will sustain freedom. Otherwise, she is in trouble.

Two weeks ago, I shared a message titled “Listen to the Butterflies.” You can find it online. Today I would like to apply that truth in a real-life situation.

As Benjamin Franklin walked out of Independence Hall after the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, a lady asked, “Doctor Franklin, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin answered, “A republic, if you can keep it!” The wisdom is in that clause. “if you can keep it.”

It means the quality of the citizens determines the quality of the government. Many countries want to copy America without considering the quality of the Americans. I’m not saying we are superior humans, but we have more butterflies than caterpillars. If we have more caterpillars than butterflies one day, we will lose the republic.

Our founding fathers designed this republic that requires more citizens of butterflies to keep it. Butterflies have eyes and wings, but caterpillars are blind, so they must creep. A proverb says, “Among the blind, the one-eyed man becomes king.” Dictators can lead the caterpillars, but not the butterflies.

We see in the Bible that Jesus didn’t come to topple the dictators but to open our eyes so that the one-eyed man cannot become our king. In other words, Jesus came to show us the metamorphosis and turn us from blind caterpillars to seeing and flying butterflies so that no one could enslave us.

It applies to all situations, not just government. What enslaves you today—poverty, debts, relationships, employment, money, emotions, fear, or anger, you name it? Nothing can rule over you when you metamorphose into a butterfly life. Jesus calls it “being born of the spirit,” which gives us a strong ethos.

In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus reveals what is required for us to be born of the Spirit. Let’s begin!

I love reading books written by old people because they are packed with the wisdom of a lifetime. When I heard the 99-year-old Henry Kissinger published a new book, “Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy,” I immediately grabbed it and started reading it. If you think you are too old to contribute to the world, consider Kissinger writing his 20th book at 99. He will be 100 years old in May.

Whether you like him or not, his achievement is undeniable. A laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize, he has advised John F. Kennedy and every president after that except Joe Biden. Biden has not yet invited him to the White House. Kissinger is concerned about how our leaders have been handling the Ukraine war.   

The book is not just relevant to global leadership. The wisdom can apply to everyone. Whether you are a parent or president, you are called to lead your children, company, community, or country. Your leadership is seriously needed, especially at times like this.

Kissinger describes how the leaders led the world through times of transition. We are going through a similar transition today, not only in politics but also in more innovative machines with artificial intelligence. But we see no leaders today equal to those mentioned in Kissinger’s book.

In an interview, Kissinger was asked whether great leaders are born or made. To my surprise, his answer was, “They made themselves.” That means institutions cannot produce great leaders. Most of the great leaders are from ordinary families, so they are not born with a leadership silver spoon. “They made themselves” implies a personal spiritual formation that needs to develop from within.

I have discovered that leaders today lack the spiritual component that made great leaders like those in human history. We have lost the art of leadership spirituality that made us highly effective. Today we will learn from the greatest of all who led the world through a crisis.

First-century Israel and the world was going through a similar leadership crisis. King Herod was corrupt, and the religious leaders kowtow to the Roman occupation. A carpenter’s son named Jesus of Nazareth led the change and launched a tidal wave of leadership reflection and reformation not only in Israel and the Roman Empire but also all over the world for over 2000 years.

If you say, “Of course, Jesus could do it because he is the Son of God,” then you are wrong. He is also fully human, and most importantly, he came on earth not only to lead change but also to train leaders. When he left the earth, he had only 11 disciples and about 500 followers that continued his mission to lead the world through leadership evolution. But it seems to have stopped today. It’s time for us to reflect and renew what he has taught us.

Last week, we talked about Jesus calling us to change—metamorphosis. He also calls you to lead others to change and reconcile the world. I believe you can lead change by applying what Jesus taught us, whether you are a parent, president, or parish.

Today is the First Sunday in Lent, and we are given a scripture lesson that lays the spiritual foundation of great leadership. Let’s begin!

However, our attitude toward caterpillars changed when we discovered their metamorphosis into beautiful butterflies. The potential of these creepy creatures earns our respect. They expand our imagination and demonstrate our own potential. If you believe God talks to us through nature, caterpillars and butterflies communicate who we are and what we can become—spiritually.

Caterpillars don’t have eyes. They use small antennas to feel their way on the trees and eat the leaves. It illustrates our spiritual blindness before salvation. Caterpillars crawl slowly, but the butterflies fly swiftly, representing two entirely different ways of living.

According to zoologists, all a caterpillar does is eat and secrete—very egocentric. But a butterfly beautifies the earth and pollinates plants to nurture nature. We can say caterpillars are takers, but butterflies are givers. The difference is heaven and earth.

It would be a shame if we lived all our lives as caterpillars and never experienced a butterfly life. Jesus calls the butterfly life “the kingdom of heaven,” and he wants us to strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness and promises all things to be given to us as well. He wants us to prioritize our spiritual metamorphosis. The entire teaching of Jesus Christ is revealed in his initial message,

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt 4:17 ESV).

If you understand this verse, you have cracked the code of the entire Bible. John the Baptist preached the same message, and Jesus continued proclaiming it. Many scholars and theologians have tried to summarize the Bible. Some say that the entire message of the Bible is “Love” or “God is love.” Some say the Great Commandment summarizes the Bible, “Love God and love people.”

I agreed with them in the past, but after twenty-seven years of preaching, teaching, and studying the Bible, I have discovered this verse the be the most accurate representation of Jesus’ message because it has the keyword “repent.” Both in Hebrew and Greek, “repent” means “change.” It’s changing from living like a caterpillar to flying like a butterfly. In other words, “repent” means “metamorphose.”

In the entire Old Testament, we read about God asking the Israelites to change. In the New Testament, Jesus shows us the way to change. The only thing consistent on earth is change. If you are not changing for the better, you are changing for the worse. Jesus shows us how to change for the best. God loves you the way you are, but God loves you too much to leave you the way you are.

Without change, the gospel is incomplete. The Bible is the book of change, the alchemy of the spirit. From that perspective, studying the Bible is super exciting and ultra important because you will fly through life like a butterfly instead of crawling like a caterpillar.

One of the problems with the Reformed Protestants is that we over-emphasize grace and under-emphasize change to the point that it becomes cheap grace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned us that grace is free but not cheap. The costly part of grace is that we must change—from a caterpillar to a butterfly, from a pheasant to a phoenix.

God’s grace compels you to change instead of keeping complacent. How do we change? The way to change begins by appreciating the butterfly life. Until you appreciate the value of the butterfly life, you will continue to crawl like a caterpillar. In one of his parables, Jesus wants you to be like a smart pearl merchant who knows the value of a top-quality pearl and is willing to sell everything we own to get it. He said,

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Mt 13:45–46).

Can you imagine what it is like to discover something so valuable that you would give up everything to get it? That’s what the kingdom of heaven is like. Just as a caterpillar would give up everything to become a butterfly, Jesus wants us to risk everything for our metamorphosis.

Today is Transfiguration Sunday. A more precise translation from Greek would be “Metamorphosis Sunday.” On this day in history, Jesus showed three of his disciples a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven—a glimpse of the butterfly life in the caterpillars’ world. The passage also reveals what we must do to live in heaven on earth. Let’s begin!

As beautiful as they are, they are still far from the status of a phoenix in the Chinese mind because a pheasant is, after all, a hillbilly bird, unlike the divine phoenix. Pheasants love fighting with one another to show who’s the boss; they have huge egos. That’s why they are regarded as rustic despite their beauty.

A Chinese metaphor describes a spiritual person or a person of high intellectual and moral status as a “phoenix.” Like the resurrection of Christ, a phoenix can rise from ashes. They are immune to adversity and are symbols of peace and resilience.

That gives us a good allegory for living our new identity as risen people. The Bible says,

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Co 5:17).

Many similar verses in the Bible tell us that we used to be pheasants, but now we are phoenixes. The pheasant life represents a life of ego, full of greed, anger, and ignorance, but the phoenix is a life of love, joy, and peace.

In other words, to cultivate inner peace, you need an identity shift—from a pheasant to a phoenix, from being worldly to being divine. The Bible repeatedly encourages us to shift our identity—from the old self to the new self, from a barren life to a fruitful life, from being born of the flesh to that of the spirit, from living under the law to living under grace, and so on.

That’s what “repentance” means, as we discussed previously.

According to psychology, some people cannot quit smoking because they identify themselves as smokers consciously or unconsciously. The moment they shift their identity, they are set free from the old habits. If I say I have a sweet tooth, I will never recover from sugar addiction.

Many years ago, after I was diagnosed with depression, a friend told me to join his support group for depressive personality. I refused to join because I didn’t like the name of the group, “depressive personality support group.” It made me depressed just to hear the name. How could I ever recover from depression if I identified myself as a depressive personality?

I struggled with the decision for a while because he kept inviting me. Later I realized I made the right decision by refusing to claim that identity. It makes me understand why Jesus keeps calling us positive names: you are the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the children of God, the children of light, born of the spirit, not of the flesh, etc.

Jesus gives us a new identity to live a new way of life. Today, I want to remind you that you are no longer pheasants but phoenixes. It’s essential to claim that new identity, and you will find it easier to quit the old habits and have peace within.

This fallen world is a world of fighting pheasants, and we will never find peace living like pheasants. It’s their nature to fight, just as it’s human nature to sin. You may be trying hard to brace yourself against the temptations of the flesh, but it doesn’t last.

Why? It’s because you still hold the pheasant identity. Pheasants do what pheasants do. Resisting your nature is stressful, and you will give in sooner or later. The only solution is to shift your identity from the earthly pheasant to the heavenly phoenix. Then peace becomes you!

For the past four weeks, we have been studying Cultivating PEACE Within. I have identified five pillars of peace forming the acrostic PEACE. Previously we have talked about,

P – Presence: Protect God’s Presence in Us

E – Emptiness: Empty Myself (as Jesus Did)

A – Atonement: Atone with Forgiveness (nothing else works)

C – Community: Concert with the Community

E – Entertainment: Entertain Beauty

So, today we are on the fifth pillar of cultivating peace: Entertainment. The Bible reveals that the quality of our entertainment can enforce our identity and enrich our lives. With that, the God of peace and the peace of God is with us. Let’s find out!

On the other hand, we cannot just cut ourselves off from society and expect to have peace. We all know being alone is unhealthy mentally, emotionally, and spiritually because we are social creatures. Then how do we solve this human problem? How do we be part of a community and not get hurt? I have discovered the secret based on what Jesus taught.

The secret is that “life is not a journey.” If life is a journey, the destination is the focus, and the faster we get there, the better. We want to get on the fastest vehicle in the fastest lane and rush to the end. If you treat life as a journey, your mind will concentrate on “tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow,” and you will not be able to enjoy the present moment. You cannot rush life because it has to be lived one day at a time. Jesus taught us to live for today in his Sermon on the Mount.

If life is not a journey, what is it? Life is a piece of music. Unlike a journey, you cannot rush to the end of the music, or it won’t sound pleasant. Just like living one day at a time, you must play every beat and every bar with proper timing and rhythm. There are high notes and low notes, happy moments and sad moments, but when you play it right, they all work together to make your life a masterpiece. Paul said,

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28).

Life is a series of peaks and valleys, high seasons and low ones. A friend said that he loves New Jersey because he loves the four distinct seasons—spring, summer, fall, and winter. They all are beautiful in their own ways because one season makes us appreciate another. We are in the middle of a cold winter right now, but it will make spring taste so delicious when it comes. It’s like a change of movements in a concerto.

I have also discovered that life is not solo music but an orchestra with God as our Conductor. As Paul said, “God makes all things work together for good,” like a magnificent concerto. I call it “life is a masterpeace,” (PEACE). So, your life is most peaceful when you play with a community that focuses on the same Conductor.

Notice the word “play.” You play through life like playing music. If life is a journey, you compete with people to get ahead. Since life is music, you play with people. When you compete with people, someone will lose, but when you play with people, everyone wins.

To cultivate peace within, you must learn to play with people. For the past three weeks, we have focused on cultivating PEACE within. We all have been through some rough three years, and we don’t know what the future holds, but if we have peace within, we can handle whatever comes ahead and make the rest of our lives the best of our lives.

There are five pillars of peace based on what the Bible teaches us, and I have put them together into an acrostic using the word PEACE. Previously we talked about,

P – Presence: Protect God’s Presence in Us

E – Emptiness: Empty Myself (as Jesus Did)

A – Atonement: Atone with Forgiveness

C – Community: Concert with the Community

E –

Today we will learn how to concert with the community to cultivate peace within based on Jesus’ word in today’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

To err is human. However, some mistakes were not laughing matters because they caused permanent damage. We could brush off the small mistakes, but some big ones leave permanent scars and make us feel guilty for life, consciously or unconsciously. Even the small ones could accumulate and weigh our hearts down. The older we grow, the bigger burden of guilt we carry.

Even though we believe in a forgiving God, we just can’t seem to forgive ourselves for some regrettable issues in life. Have you wondered why it is? Even though we confess our sins to God frequently, some guilt still haunts us. You might say it’s because God has forgiven us, but we haven’t forgiven ourselves. If so, what does it take to forgive ourselves?

We cannot maintain peace within unless we resolve the guilt issue. The worse way to deal with guilt is denial—sweeping it under the rug and ignoring the role it plays in our daily life. Guilt doesn’t just disappear if we pretend it does not exist.

Guilt is an obstacle to peace. Internally guilt makes us depressed and stirs up anxiety. Externally it ruins relationships because guilty people tend to be angry. You feel like walking on eggshells around them. Guilt makes us defensive because we fear making more mistakes that might worsen our weight. We think the anger comes from the desire for justice, but the underlying guilt also triggers anger.

So, one of the ways to deal with an unreasonably angry person is to realize that it’s not you that they are attacking but the baggage of guilt they carry. Otherwise, you might retaliate and make things worse. Then you feel guilty and become an angry person—a domino effect.

Remember, “hurt people, hurt people.” This concept turns on our empathy. If someone tries to hurt you, you realize that person could be hurting inside.

Conversely, each time we get angry or snap at others, it reveals that we have something hurting inside us. All over the world, most people walk with hunched back, weighed down by the burden of guilt. Guilt triggers discords and even wars.

Throughout history, people invented many ways to atone for their sins. There’s an ethnic tribe in Western Burma nicked named “Headhunters” because they hunt for human heads seasonally to offer to their gods as a sacrifice. That’s a primitive way of atonement.

Nowadays, people go to temples to burn incents and offer alms for atonement. Some cultures sacrifice a lamb, a goat, or a calf for atonement. Some rich people give away their money for charity to atone for their guilt. A rich man in Thailand has a garden of statues, including Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, and all kinds of gods imaginable. He waters them every morning and prays to them, hoping that at least one of them will save him.

Humans do the weirdest things to cleanse their conscience. Guilt is a universal problem in this fallen world, but none of the solutions above work because they are more like bandages than cures. It’s like Lady Macbeth washing her hands. The spot never goes away.

The good news is God knows our plights and has provided a solution through Jesus Christ. John the Baptist said,

“Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29b).

The Lamb of God is true atonement, so today, let’s examine how the Lamb of God takes away our sins and why some Christians still feel guilty and cannot have peace. This is the third message in the series of Cultivating PEACE Within. There are five pillars of peace forming a mnemonic acrostic PEACE. Previously, we talked about,

P – Presence: Protect God’s Presence in You

E – Emptiness: Empty My Ego

A – Atonement: Atone with Forgiveness

C –

E –

As I said above, guilt is a big obstacle in cultivating PEACE. It’s at the center of it and not so easy to get rid of because it keeps accumulating, but Jesus has revealed the secret. So, let’s look at how the Lamb of God teaches us to rid our guilt and cultivate peace.

My son told me that AI could probably write my sermons for me, but I doubt it because I write my sermon based on my personal enlightenment from the scriptures. I get the message directly from the Head Office. But if what he said were true, AI could replace me, and I will be out of my job soon. You have heard that AI will soon replace many jobs, including drivers and even doctors.

AI will affect everybody’s life, and your life will never be the same. The next car you buy might drive by itself. You get in the car, maybe in the back seat without a driver in the front seat, tell it where you want to go, “Hey Google, take me to the church,” and just sit and read your book or chat with someone on the phone, and soon you are at your destination. Would that make you nervous or give you peace?

For peace of mind, I decided to try it out to see if AI could really write a sermon for me. So, this week, I typed in the subject of my sermon on OpenAI, “How to empty yourself.” Immediately, a blinking cursor appeared as if it was thinking and researching from millions of sources on the Internet. I was extremely excited to see the outcome.

Unfortunately, it stopped and spat out a question saying, “I’m not sure what you mean by ‘empty yourself.’ Could you provide more context or clarify your question?” I was both disappointed and relieved. Disappointed because I thought it could assist me with my sermon research and save me some time. Relieved because I realized I am still not replaceable by AI. It has no access to the Head Office.

Now, I have peace! You know I am kidding! Actually, I have no worries at all because AI can assist us with thinking but cannot replace our wisdom. It can think for us but cannot attain enlightenment on our behalf because it has a brain but not a spirit. Peace comes from the Holy Spirit, as we discussed last week.

Today, I am sharing with you the second secret to inner peace. I began this new sermon series on “How to Cultivate PEACE Within” starting last week. There are five pillars of inner peace, and I am using the word PEACE as the mnemonic acronym to help you easily remember them. I hope this will kick off our new year on the right foot and probably make the rest of your life the best of your life.

P – Protect God’s Presence in You

E – Empty Myself

A

C

E

Last week, we shared that the first pillar of inner peace is “Presence,” by which I mean “God’s Presence” and that we must “Protect God’s Presence in Us at all costs.” If you have God’s presence, you have peace. We looked at how Joseph protected little Jesus from getting murdered by the tyrant Herod as an allegory for defending God’s presence in us.

Today, we will learn the second pillar of inner peace from Jesus. The Bible reveals that Jesus maintained his peace by “emptying himself.” (Philippians 2:7). What does it mean, and how does it help you maintain your inner peace? AI doesn’t have the answer, but the Bible does. So, let’s discover the secret.

Don’t be discouraged by the phrase “the end of the year.” At least we know the light is at the end of the tunnel. All’s well that ends well. All you need to do is to brace for the first part of the year. Life is full of ups and downs, peaks and valleys. We should always hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.

Having had some rough years recently, we may find it hard to have a positive outlook. However, history shows that tough times are the best times to build character, develop spiritual maturity, and cultivate enlightenment.

Peace within is the most significant spiritual state we must cultivate because whatever the future holds, you can navigate through life with a smile in your heart if you know how to maintain peace within. The good news is Jesus came to give us this peace. He is known as the Prince of Peace. He said,

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14:27).

Peace is inner happiness that nothing in life can disturb. Peace is when your heart smiles even when your face can’t smile. Notice he says that the peace he gives us is different from what the world gives us because the world can only offer temporary and superficial peace. Jesus offers profound peace that can navigate the most severe storms of life.

His peace allowed him to forgive the perpetrators while suffering on the cross. That is the kind of peace we all need, and only he can give us.

Starting today, for the next five weeks, we will make this year the best year ever by cultivating peace within. In fact, if you have true inner peace, you can make the rest of your life the best of your life.

There are five pillars of peace, and I put together a mnemonic acronym using the word PEACE to help you easily remember these five pillars. This week, we will start with the first letter of PEACE:

P is for Presence, meaning the presence of God. If you have God’s presence, you have peace in the present.

As you know, Jesus’ middle name is “Emmanuel,” meaning “God is with us.” That means his presence is God’s presence. The problem is you must not only nurture his presence but also defend his presence in you because this fallen world love to sabotage God’s presence in you.

So, today we will learn how to effectively nurture God’s presence so that you have peace within, your hearts will never be troubled, and you have no fear for whatever the future brings. Let’s begin!

After 14, they may go astray and explore dangerous territories like most teenagers. You will feel frustrated as parents as they stop listening to you, but rest assured because they will turn around later and build their life on the foundation they received before 14.

The spiritual journey of humans is somewhat like salmon fish. Young salmons leave home and travel all over the oceans, but no matter how far they go, they still find their way to their birthplace to spawn. They don’t waste time looking for another habitat.

Therefore, do everything you can to nurture your children, grandchildren, or any children under your care before they are 14, and don’t worry after that because you cannot do anything about them anyway. You can only give them non-anxious nudges, pray for them, and leave the rest to God.

If we review our own childhood, we will find this pattern pretty accurate. We all meander through life after 14, but our spiritual anchor stays in the same place, with few exceptions.

I wonder how God arranged a perfect habitat to raise his Son on earth. If God chose Mary because she was the perfect mother for Jesus, God must have chosen Joseph because he was the ideal father for Jesus’ forming years.

I hardly talked about Joseph because, during the Christmas season, we mainly focused on Mary—her faith, courage, and sacrifice to be the mother of Jesus. During this season, we are also busy with special music and celebrations that often crowd out our attention on Joseph as if he was just a minor role in the Christmas pageant.

However, the role of the father is almost equally important to provide stability in raising a healthy child physically, mentally, and spiritually. According to psychologists, a child growing up without a father could be devastating, even though not as devastating as without a mother. I grew up without both during those years, so I know what they mean.

Some might argue that Jesus doesn’t need an earthly father since he is God’s Son. So they treat Joseph as a non-essential figure in Jesus’ life. However, since Jesus was also “fully human,” as he is fully God, he also needed a normal family to grow up healthily.

Even though the Bible doesn’t give us much information about Joseph, we discover he could be a model of a loving husband and a great father based on what we know about him. The last time we read about Joseph in the Bible is when Jesus was about 12 or 13.

Some historians discovered Joseph died in a construction accident. The Bible says he was a carpenter, but he could also be equivalent to today’s architect because the term “architect” came from Greek, ἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn), from the root, τέκτων (téktōn), which means “carpenter,” “builder,” or “master of art and engineering.”

As a man from the Davidic lineage, he was likely to be well-educated in the Scriptures and responsible for teaching his children. We know Jesus also learned carpentry from him as well as the scriptures.

Even though we don’t know how Joseph disappeared, at least we know he was there for Jesus’ forming years and played an essential role in Jesus’ physical, mental, and spiritual upbringing. He was chosen to bring up Emmanuel—God’s presence—on earth.

Since the Scripture lesson for today, the Fourth Sunday in Advent, focuses on Joseph, let’s learn why God chose him as an earthly father to raise Jesus. Along the way, we will learn how to be a person chosen by God to fulfill God’s purpose on earth. Let’s begin!

When it came to John Lennon’s turn, he said, “I want to be happy!”  The teacher said, “John, that’s not my question. What do you want to BE when you grow up?” Lennon said, “I want to BE happy!”

“John, you don’t understand my question,” the teacher said disappointingly, but Lennon replied, “Yes, I do, but YOU just don’t understand my ANSWER.” (End quote).

One important thing we need to learn from children is their confidence and lack of doubt. Doubt is a big killjoy and takes away our sense of humor and creativity. Doubt also hinders our potential. The Bible says,

“For the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:7-8).

See, that’s serious! Doubt can deny us our wishes from God. Doubt is not unbelief but between belief and unbelief. That’s why James said they are double-minded and unstable, wasting mental energy on ambivalence. Jesus wants us to pray with faith, not with doubt.

Children are happier because they don’t have doubt, but as we grow older, after encountering disappointments, setbacks, and tragedies, we begin to doubt the possibility of the pursuit of happiness. I wonder how many people have developed crippling doubt after the prolonged pandemic.

Now and then, you hear people say, “You cannot pursue happiness. Chasing happiness is vanity.” I was curious about why they came up with such a conclusion. Our national motto includes the God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, distinguishing us from the rest of the world.

After some research, I discovered that those who discourage you from pursuing happiness are mostly unhappy. Misery loves company, so they don’t want you to have what they don’t have. They cast doubt on you, putting a stumbling block on your pursuit of happiness. Ignore them.

The Scriptures reveal that God wants you to be happy. Over and over again, the Bible says, “Rejoice always, and again I say rejoice.” Christianity is the only religion that sings at the funeral. Nowadays, some other religions try to copy us, but they are just copies.

When our children are unhappy, we parents feel like a failure. It’s the same with our heavenly Father. Jesus came to rescue us from this sea of suffering to the place of true happiness called heaven. He also teaches us how to live in heaven on earth. Jesus said,

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”  (John 15:11). 

Jesus has joy despite persecution and wants us to have the same joy to the fullest.

Today is the third Sunday of Advent, and we light the candle of joy and sing “Joy to the Word.” If you want to live with joy, you must eliminate doubt. Maybe that’s why Jesus wants us to be like children to enter the kingdom because they don’t have doubts but are full of joy.

We doubt when tragedy strikes or when we hit a setback. When he was in prison, John the Baptist began to doubt whether Jesus was the Messiah at all. That was a big deal because you would expect, out of all people, John must be the last one to doubt Jesus’ identity.

The good news is, based on Jesus’ answer to John’s doubt, we can discover four ways to overcome doubts. So, let’s begin!

Some want to quit a bad habit, and some want to develop a good practice. Gym memberships usually increase at the beginning of the New Year. Whether we can keep our resolution is another matter, but it tells us something about the human desire to change for the better.

It’s a paradox. We all want to change for the better, but at the same time, we also fear change because we don’t want to leave our comfort zone. Some people buy a smartphone because dumbphones are no longer available. As for me, I don’t like to wear new shoes because old shoes are the most comfortable. I liked to wear them until my wife secretly threw them away.

Here’s the paradox: people desire and fear change at the same time. As a result, people don’t change until the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change. We often call it hitting rock bottom. For those who resist change, hitting rock bottom is a good thing.

The question is, do we have to really wait until we hit rock bottom to change? What if it turns out to be too late when we hit rock bottom?

In 1988, when the entire nation of Burma rose up in protest for human rights and democracy, I told people with excitement that we had finally hit rock bottom, and the only way from then on was up. But a friend told me, “No, no, no! We will dig a hole under rock bottom and keep going down the abyss.” He was joking, but sadly it turned out to be true.

The lesson is we can’t rely on hitting rock bottom. For those who resist change, there is no bottom! My counselor gave me a word of wisdom on change, “If not now, when?” The “when” will never come; now is the only time to change. If you have something to change in your life, do it now. Don’t wait until the New Year. Figure out a way to overcome resistance right now.

Do you know the spiritual term for change is “repentance?” We often think repentance means regret, but it’s more than regret. The Hebrew word for repentance, “naham” means “regret and change.” Coincidently, the Chinese word for “repentance” is composed of two words, “悔改” (huigai), meaning “regret and change.”

Furthermore, the Greek word for repentance, “μετάνοια” (metanoia), also means “changing of heart and mind.” So, in conclusion, regret without change is not repentance.

The human desire to make New Year’s resolution reveals a deep spiritual longing for repentance—“regret  and change.” In today’s scripture lesson for the Second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist, the greatest man ever born of women according to Jesus, said,

“Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” (Mt 3:8).

It means fruitfulness is evidence of repentance. Don’t you want your New Year’s resolution to bear fruit? We all want change to live our divine dreams. Your desire for a New Year’s resolution is God’s whisper to you to live a fruitful life. Let’s nail it once and for all so we don’t have to make the same resolution over and over again year after year. Let’s begin!

In that village, every home collected rainwater for drinking. So, he announced his forecast and warned people not to collect the upcoming rainwater and never drink from it, or they would become mentally sick. However, they ignored his warning and went ahead to drink it like they always did. As a result, the entire village lost its sanity.

He was very upset to see everyone go crazy and wished they had listened to his warning. The problem is, now everyone thought he was insane. Of course, when you are the only lucid person among loonies, you are the one that appears lunatic because you behave differently.

His anxiety intensified as everyone pointed their finger at him every day, laughed at him, and called him a fool. After a while, he became lonely and felt if he didn’t join them, he would lose his mind. So, he drank a cup of the bitter rain and joined the party.

So, when you hear your Burmese friends say, “I drank the bitter rain,” they mean, “I went with the flow,” or more precisely, “I surrendered to the peer pressure,” or “I drank the Koolaid.” The subtle difference is that they gave in, knowing it was harmful.

Would you drink the bitter rain? I am sure you wouldn’t, but when the pressure is high, will you give in? What’s your threshold for drinking the bitter rain? I think this fable speaks to our times.

Before Jesus left for the cross, he warned his disciples that the world was heading to insanity and his followers would face a great deal of pressure and temptations to give in to drink the bitter rain. Otherwise, they wouldn’t fit in. Jesus said,

And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (Mat 24:12–13).

It’s easy to talk about love, but your love can grow cold when you see too much lovelessness and lawlessness around you. You will appear insane to practice love in a ruthless society. Just watch the news, and all you see is a dog-eat-dog world.

It becomes worse when they take advantage of you. You would be tempted to retaliate by becoming like them.

Jesus wants you to endure to the end. That means not giving in to drinking the bitter rain even if the whole world ridicules you. He said things would become worse as we approach the day of his return. He teaches us to be alert but not alarmed at times like this.

So, today, we will learn from Jesus how to resist drinking the bitter rain and keep our body, mind, and spirit awake and endure the trying times with light, love, and lucidity until he comes. Let’s begin!

Let’s analyze this case from a spiritual perspective on this Reign of Christ Sunday because there’s a life lesson for all of us to learn. Rember no one is an island. One man’s fall is everyone’s shame. So, let’s be humble and not judgemental because we gain wisdom only in humility.

When I was young, my grandma said it was bad luck to become wealthy before 30. I didn’t understand what she meant, but now, half a century later, I have seen enough young people ruined by their windfalls of fortune—with few exceptions.

Confucious said that people become established by 30 and unwavering by 40. Maybe that’s why people say life begins at 40. A friend told me that life begins when children move out and pets die. Well, it depends on what they mean by “life begins.”

Each time one of my children move out, I felt a part of my life has left. Each of them took a piece of me with them. You have heard of the empty nest syndrome. But I understand they need to learn to fly by themselves.

However, we are not talking about when life begins but about when people become mature enough to handle prosperity, power, and prestige. As my grandma said, it is a curse, not a blessing, to wield prosperity before maturity.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned the Eight Winds of life constantly blowing at us, representing the eight stressors of life. In case you missed it, here’s the slide I have presented. There are four sour stresses and four sweet stresses.

The four sour stresses are Scorn, Slander, Setback, and Suffering. I call them “overt stresses” because you know when they hit you, and you feel the pain, but at least you can deal with them since they are overt.

The four sweet stresses are insidious. They are Praise, Prestige, Profit, and Pleasure. Everyone loves these sweet stresses, but they kill you covertly from the inside, like eating sugar and processed carbs that taste yummy but slowly ruin your internal organs. When the symptoms surface, it’s usually too late to reverse.

Sam Bankman-Fried has been knocked out by a massive sweet storm. His parents are law professors at Standford University, and he graduated from MIT. People trusted him and invested in him because of his impressive background. It was a perfect context for an ignorant young man to invite a perfect storm.

Remember Bill Clinton’s famous line, “… just because I could”? If you are unfamiliar with his case, Clinton confesses on CBS News that he cheated because “he could.” That is a profound confession because it reveals a major flaw in humans.

Given a perfect opportunity, everyone could do the unthinkable. Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptations,” because he knows we are too ignorant when facing temptations. So, it’s better to ask to stay away from them than to resist them.

Jesus prayed on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” He says ignorance is not innocence. The crucifixion is a scene of utter injustice done by human ignorance. They did it because they could—with the power they wielded.

So, let’s use this opportunity to reflect on our tendency to commit injustice out of ignorance and how to avoid it. I am not talking about you; of course, you are not ignorant; I am talking about the one sitting next to you or your next-door neighbor! Let’s begin!

I am sure all of you have used Zoom for family chats, business meetings, church gatherings, and global conferences. Many school classes went on Zoom, and even many couples married on Zoom during the pandemic. It grew from 2,000 employees to 6,000 in 18 months. Now, it’s worth $25 billion.

When Eric Yuan looked for investment as a startup company,  no one wanted to invest in it, saying it was a competitive field. We already had established companies like Skype, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. But Yuan wanted to prove them wrong, and he succeeded beyond anyone’s expectation.

Eric Yuan is a Christian, and his company culture is simple: “Delivering Happiness.” He said every employee is encouraged to maintain happiness within themselves so that they can deliver happiness to the world. Their company value is also in one simple word: “Care”—caring about Community, Customers, Company, Teammates, and Selves. You can see his focus on simplicity.

The mission of the company is to “Make communications frictionless and secure.” That’s why Zoom has won worldwide usage over competitors because it removes the friction of the video conferencing process. Zoom simplifies people’s lives.

Yuan says he treats every problem as an opportunity to grow. The Chinese word for “crisis” has two characters: “Danger and Opportunity” (危机 wei-ji). Leaders sense the opportunity when most people only see the danger during a crisis. In fact, Jesus wants you to focus on the opportunity during a crisis.

Jesus says when you hear the news that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, don’t panic, but turn it into an opportunity for expansion. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus teaches us how to turn a crisis into an opportunity. So, let’s learn from the greatest servant leader in human history, the Son of God himself, how to take advantage of a crisis for a fruitful future. Let’s begin!

Seeing I was trapped, they laughed at me. If I said, “Yes, He can,” they would say, “Then, your God is not able to create a rock that he cannot lift, so he is not almighty.” If I said, “No.” Then, he is not almighty at all. Since then, I have been thinking about how to solve this puzzle. Do you know the answer?

Later, I thought the problem was not in the answer but in the question itself. How could you ask someone to create something they cannot lift and then ask them to lift it? The question itself is illogical and unfair. But they said if God is almighty, God should be able to do everything. I was pretty dense to get trapped.

Then one day, it dawned on me that if God is almighty, then the answer is simply “yes” to both questions. Can God create a rock He cannot lift? Yes, He can. Can He then lift it? Yes, He can. It’s not contradictory because God is almighty and transcends limiting human logic. Jesus said,

“What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.” (Luke 18:27).

He said it after saying, “Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:25). So, people asked, “In that case, who can enter the kingdom of God? How do camels enter the eye of a needle?” Jesus answered, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”

The entire teaching of Jesus is about making the impossible possible. Jesus said,

“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Mat 17:20b).

That answers the trick question above. Is a mountain heavier than you can lift? Yes. Then can you lift it? Yes, with only a mustard seed size faith. Can humans fly? No. Can people fly today? Yes. We have airplanes. Amazing things happen because of those people who have risen above limiting beliefs.

Most importantly, our limiting beliefs make us suffer more in this fallen world. Every day we face the reality of this sea of suffering. Just turn on the TV, and you’ll see crimes, wars, diseases, depression, family feuds, media lies, corporate corruption, murder, rape, terrorism, disasters, and you name it.

The only way for us to survive, thrive, and not become part of the statistic in this suffering world is to rise above our limiting beliefs. I’m not talking about wishful thinking but about possibility thinking. Angel Gabriel told Mary about her pregnancy. Mary asked, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Lk 1:34). The angel said,

“For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37).

Jesus came to liberate us from our limiting beliefs. Everything about Jesus was beyond plausible but possible. His life on earth began with the virgin birth and ended with resurrection. Some Christians don’t believe in virgin birth because it is unscientific, illogical, and embarrassing. It was their limiting belief.

Anyone is free to deny the virgin birth but to their own detriment because their limiting beliefs would make them suffer deeper in this fallen world. Suffering is inevitable here, but you need hope to cope. When you rise above your limiting beliefs, you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Those who deny virgin birth cannot genuinely believe in the resurrection either. There is a group of people in the first century Israel known as the Sadducees. They didn’t believe in the resurrection. They thought it was absurd, illogical, and unbiblical.

They had limiting beliefs and tried to make fun of Jesus by asking a logical questions, but Jesus answered them gracefully. Today, we will learn how to liberate ourselves from our limiting beliefs and enjoy life to the fullest with unlimited possibilities based on Jesus’ response to the Sadducees. So, let’s begin!

He bought Twitter for 44 billion, but many experts believe he had overpaid—at least about 20 billion. His purpose is to allow Twitter to be the global town square for free speech. As someone who came from a country that controls free speech, I appreciate his intention. It’s seriously needed in a divisive time like this.

Some people think he is naïve because it’s an impossible dream. But we must remember this is not the first impossible mission Elon Musk has attempted—for example, Tesler, SpaceX, Starlink, and the Boring Company.

Most importantly, his Starlink satellite internet service has saved Ukraine from getting cut off from communication. Can you imagine how Ukraine could survive and resist for so long without the Internet? I know some ideologues hate him, but what’s new—the Pharisees have been around since Jesus’ time.

The main problems of the Pharisees are a lack of humility, humor, and hospitality. They are so uptight and critical of everything and eventually crucified Jesus. A lack of humor can make a person heinous. Do you know the words “human, humility, and humor” came from the same Latin root word, “humus,” which means “earth?” A person without humility and humor is not a human—not down-to-earth.

After buying Twitter, Elon Musk changed his Twitter profile to “Chief Twit.” We all know a twit is a silly or foolish person. That means he is making fun of himself. You need humility to make fun of yourself. Maybe from now on, the word “twit” will have a new meaning. Humility is also a source of creativity.

We know children are creative because they are humble. Maybe that’s why Jesus wants us to become like children to maintain our humility, humor, and hospitality. Never grow up and become like the humorless Pharisees.

Today, we will look at another billionaire in the Bible who was humble, humorous, and hospitable. His name was Zacchaeus. What’s amazing is that, within a glance, Jesus connected with him, and they became buddies despite the grumbling and sneering of the ideologues.

I am sure Jesus was drawn to him because they share similar personality traits reflecting God’s image. As we know, Jesus personifies humility, humor, and hospitality. Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house.” He reveals that humility, humor, and hospitality signify salvation.

So, today, we will learn from this lighthearted story about how to live a life that attracts divine attention and draws eternal blessings. Let’s begin!