tims_world

Today is Palm Sunday.

What did Jesus do?
It was his triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

John 12:12-19
The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the King of Israel”

Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
“Do not be afraid, O Daugher of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that all these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

Other References:
Matthew 21:1-11
Mark 11:1-10
Luke 19:29-40

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Every year during Passion Week, our church usually passes out a sheet with the Bible verses describing what Jesus did that day. This year for some reason, they didn’t. Years ago, my friend Aaron would post on his Xanga some passages from the days reading. It became his tradition for a few years. I did it two years ago and so I thought, since there was no hand out, I will do it again this year.

Life Bible, Jesus, Passion Week

Last week, PMilo came back from Thailand and presented his work at our church and talked about his time there. During his talk, he mentioned a friend working in the Himalayas. He was there ministering among the people for 10 years and zero fruit. Zero. 0. Not a single convert let alone a church planted. But in the eleventh and twelfth years, it just exploded. Villages were coming to know Jesus. This man was able to persevere through 10 years and through his faithfulness, God raised a huge harvest.

I have been having a pretty rough 10 months filled with trials, disappointments, heartaches, struggles, and failures. Most of the time, I want to give up, pleading with God for my way because I don’t understand his. In my mind, I have a plan but it looks nothing like the fog that I see in front of me. Then I put myself in this man’s shoes. How could I possibly last 10 years in the Himalayas? Yeah, the story is awesome now. ‘I labored for 10 years with nothing, then God worked mightily and began amazing things. God is good. Amen!’ God is also good in years 9 and 10 when there is no fruit. He is good in years 7 and 8 when it seems hopeless. He is good in years 5 and 6 when you begin to wonder if this was really what God had intended for you to when you made that commitment. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He delights in obedience and faithfulness; not fruit and results.

I realized this man was able to endure 10 years because he was able to endure 10 months. He is able to be faithful for a year because he is able to be faithful each day. The “little” trials that I go through now prepare me for larger trials in the future. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was the Apostle Paul or King David. If you are trustworthy with little, you are trustworthy with much. He was able to persevere through much because he was able to persevere through little.

God, teach me to be faithful every day. Build me up through the little things. Help me to persevere and be faithful in the little things so that I can persevere and be faithful in the big things.

Thoughts character, progression

(Editors Note: I was planning on writing this on 4/7/11 but due to time, I wasn’t able to write it, just think about it. Then Pastor Min showed the video at Large Group stealing my thunder. Oh well. It’s not like I found it myself anyways; I got it from the Resurgence blog. The link is at the end)

I heard this awesome poem. It’s by a lady and talks about how she will wait for the right kind of guy but more than a man, she waits for Jesus. Towards the end, she has an incredible description of the guy she is waiting for:

When you speak I will be reminded of Solomon’s wisdom,
your ability to lead will remind me of Moses,
your faith will remind me of Abraham,
your confidence in God’s word will remind me of Daniel,
your inspiration will remind me of Paul,
your heart for God will remind me of David,
your attention to detail will remind me of Noah,
your integrity will remind of Joseph,
and your ability to abandon your own will remind me of the disciples.
but your ability to love selflessly and unconditionally will remind me of Christ.
but I won’t need to identify you by any special math use or any special marks
cuz his word will be tattered all over your heart

I heard that and it just cut to my heart. I want solid character and I heard this and it just moved the bar into the stratosphere. She takes the best qualities of all the Men of God and combines them into one person. Such a man does not exist; I can never be such a man. Even these men had their own sins. However, . . . however, by the grace of God . . . in his eyes, I do look like such. He sees the character of Christ when he looks at me. I will never obtain the pinnacle of perfection: an impeccable character. But that same grace that justifies me in the eyes of God is also slowly working in me to make me more like Christ each and everyday. In my successes and even in my failures I begin to shine a little more like Jesus. One day. One day I will look like this.

And I’ll just leave this here:

And you will know me and you will find me where the boldness of Esther meets the warm closeness of Ruth where the hospitality of Lydia is a line with the submission of Mary which is engulfed in the tears of a praying hannah I will be the one drenched in Proverbs 31 waiting for you.

Resurgence Video Link

Thoughts character, Jesus, marriage

I was walking around SF pondering the question “Where do you see yourself in five years?” which lead me to the question “Who will I be in five years?” From a professional standpoint, I want to be someone of excellence. I began to wonder “What will my spiritual life look like in five years?” Where will I be spiritually? Is it wrong to have spiritual goals? I thought of one of my favorite sermons given by Pastor Michael Shea at OIL a number of years back and I paraphrase “If you memorize 2 verses a day, you can memorize the whole New Testament in 10 years.” (Audience laughs in amazement/disbelief) “Don’t you expect to be a Christian 10 years from now?” By the grace of God I plan on being a Christian in 10 years. I guess it’s not bad to have long term plans and goals. I guess the goal is to become more like Jesus so the question is, how will I be more like Jesus in 5 years? I read this blog somewhere and it talked about one of my favorite verses and the verse after. Proverbs 20:5-6.

The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water,
but a man of understanding will draw it out.
Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,
but a faithful man who can find?”

The article talked about a man of steadfast love and faithfulness. Sounded pretty good. So I said to myself – self – let’s aim to be a man of faithfulness and steadfast love in five years. Whatever that means, whatever that entails – I guess I’ll make that my 5 year goal. Jesus, make me a faithful man with steadfast love. (Yeah, that was pretty much my reasoning for this long term decision. Pretty insightful, huh?)

Life

I met with my director the other day and he asked me an interesting question. It’s not a question I haven’t heard before but a question that made me think. He asked me where do I see myself in 5 years. I honestly told him that I don’t know. To be honest, I haven’t felt really challenged at my job; I felt like a monkey could have done my job. I’ve been thinking lately, the problem isn’t really with my job, it’s more to do with my attitude. So I asked my director, what does it mean to be excellent?

He went on to describe the work and attitude of some excellent people in our department. I realized I was going about it all wrong. It’s not about what I am doing but how I’m doing it. I thought about Joseph, son of Jacob. Even though his circumstances were less than ideal, he was someone who was faithful in his job. Not only was he faithful, he was someone who excelled. He excelled at being a slave and excelled at being a prisoner. Potiphar put him in charge of everything in his household and the prison warden put him in charge of everything in the prison. Joseph was someone who excelled at what he did no matter where he was or what he did.

The question isn’t, What do I see myself doing in 5 years? or Where do I see myself in 5 years? I think the question is Who am I in 5 years? I want to be someone who excels at what he does. No matter where I am and what I am doing, I want an attitude of excellence. My goal is to pursue excellence.

Life

The main joy that kept me serving in small group all these years was seeing my members change. The best was seeing them as freshmen or sophomores grow up into men and women who want to serve the Lord. It’s amazing to see since I know it wasn’t my doing. Sure, I might have a shining moment – maybe, but I know it’s God who works through the small group to change their lives; I’m just along for the ride. I love seeing them become leaders and coleaders of their own small groups. I feel like the circle has been made complete seeing them teach others the things that I tried to teach them.

This year I get the special privilege of actually being a member in a small group led by one of my former freshmen. (She was so cute and innocent as a freshman, but we’ll save that for another day.) I like to keep tabs on my ex-members. Though I don’t usually have the time to meet up with them after small group is over, I still think about them and pray for them. I’ve heard about her ups and downs after her freshmen year. Two years ago I was really excited that I actually got to serve with her. We went through our up and downs together that year but it was a good year. I’m excited to see what this semester will bring. She’ll have her ups and downs but I’m confident that God will work through her just like he has with me the past 5 years.

Life progression, small group

I read this article about the Baseball Players Union considering to add more wildcard teams to the playoffs. They state that 12/30 teams in the NFL make it to the playoffs (37.5%) and 16/30 teams make it in the NBA and NHL (53.3%). Baseball is at 8/30 for a nice low 26.6%. Theoretically you could be under .500 and make the playoffs in the NBA and NHL though I don’t know if that’s actually happened. I know in football even at 9-7 you have a shot at making it into the playoffs. That’s just 1 game better than .500. To me, this is barely above mediocrity. Yes, in professional sports, there should be parity but the playoffs aren’t for the average, they’re for the best. The whole point of a regular season is to determine who is the best and has a shot at a championship.

Championships are different than the regular season. The “best” teams may not win a championship. The Texas rangers had the lowest win percent of the teams in the postseason for the American League but they’re the ones playing in the World Series while the Rays, Yankees, and Twins watch from their couch. Anything can happen in the postseason especially in the NFL where it is a single do-or-die game. To quote on of my favorite sports movies, Miracle “One game. If we play’em 10 times, they might win 9. But not this game. Not tonight.” I don’t like having underdogs in the postseason; I think the best teams should win it all. Increasing the teams in the postseason increases this likelihood which, I guess, some people would enjoy.

I wonder if the reasoning for this is either financial or so the players (and maybe fans) can feel better about themselves. “Yay! We’re barely .500 and we get to go to the playoffs!” It sucks not making the playoffs for sure but would you want a mediocre team making the playoffs each year only to lose in the first round every year or would you want your mediocre team not to make the playoffs, retool in the offseason, and be better next season? We should strive for excellence in our lives and in our sports teams. Not making the playoffs is a great motivator for competitive teams to get better. What happened when the Yankees didn’t make the postseason in 2008? They came back to win it all in 2009. Letting everyone in dilutes the sport. Imagine if there was no baseball wildcard – the Yankees and the Rays would have had a furious finish to the end of the season with a loser-goes-home ending. Fans would be on their seats cheering their teams like maddogs. Instead, they clinched the wildcard and just waited for the real baseball to begin with the postseason.

Sure, more players can feel better about themselves – Ooo … I’ve been to the postseason. Teams can raise up more banners. “Underdogs” have more of a shot to win the big one. Do we need players with bigger egos? Shouldn’t our teams want to brag about something more valuable instead of a watered-down “everyone gets in” postseason?

Please don’t expand the number of teams in the postseason. I want teams to fight to get in and a regular season that means something.

Life, Thoughts baseball, Yankees

I am a little boy playing in my room. Daddy comes in and gives me a box of Lego’s. It’s one of those big complex boxes with over 2,000 pieces. I rip it open and pour out the contents eager to piece together my new toy. The first 18 pages are easy. The next 5 are a bit tougher but the pieces come together. The steps make sense and they all fit together nicely. Then it gets tough. The pictures are complicated. I can’t seem to find the right pieces. I’m having problems.

There’s a knock at the door. “Tim, may I come in?”

“I’m not done yet Daddy, wait.”

I can’t find the right pieces – it’s like they’re missing or something. It’s like a cruel joke – a puzzle with missing pieces. I’m getting frustated.

Another knock at the door. “Wait, I’m not done yet!”

The other parts aren’t fitting together like the instructions show. I look at the instructions, then at my pieces. They’re not working out. I look at the box – mine looks nothing like the one displayed there – all perfect and done, the kids having fun playing with their completed Lego toys. I look at mine – a quarter done, partially completed portions lying separate. Other pieces strewn on the floor. Frustration turns to anger. Why won’t this fit together! Where’s that missing piece? It’s not fair! Why won’t mine fit all nicely together like everyone else’s? In anger, I grab a fistful of pieces and throw them against the wall.

Daddy walks into the room.

Anger turns to sorrow. I just wanted to finish my Legos. Tears start to stream down my face. It’s not fair – why can’t I find my missing pieces? Why aren’t my pieces connecting like I think they should? My shoulders shake as I sob at my inability to figure this all out.

Daddy picks me up and holds me. I cry on his shoulder. “It’s ok Tim, Daddy loves you.”

“But I’m not done.” I protest between sobs.

“It’s ok. It’s not about the Lego’s. Daddy loves you.”

We walked out of the room leaving behind a half finished Lego toy, pieces scattered on the floor, emotions of anger, frustration, and sorry hanging in the air. We walked out of the room my Daddy carrying me in his loving arms. We walked out of the room.

My Daddy Loves Me.

Thoughts Jesus, Revival

Last week I played the board game “Puerto Rico” for the first time. After my roommate explained the rules to me, I was pretty overwhelmed. There were plantations and buildings you had to build. There were colonists that needed to populate your plantations and buildings. There were resources you needed to craft that you sell for money or ship for victory points. Lots of different things going on and lots of “resources” you needed to acquire. I decided I would lean on my Settlers of Catan game theory to aid me here.

I’ve played probably 100 or more games of Settlers. At one point I was playing Settlers competitively on a ladder and would keep stats from all my games to find the commonality in my victories. Was it the kind of resources I was collecting, was it building placements, was it numbers? The one thing I noticed in 95% of my wins was that I had collected the most resources. Didn’t matter necessarily what resources (though some are clearly better than others), just that I had the most in the game. From this insight I developed a few principles: when picking start locations (the most important part of the game): pick the best numbers available, pick city resources (wheat and ore), pick a variety of numbers – pretty much in that order. The reason – the best numbers gives you the best chances at collecting resources. Having lots of different numbers will get you resources and remove the luck factor since you’ll collect more often. The other principle when playing – cities build cities. The best numbers are taken at the start so expanding with a settlement gets you mediocre to poor numbers. Cities make your best numbers better – getting you more resources. If you build a city on resources that gets you cities, your 2nd city will come faster. It’s reinvesting your resources to get you more resources.

I took this principle and applied it to Puerto Rico – I took my money and invested in gaining more plantations and colonists who would produce me products to sell and give me money – or at least so I thought. While I was doing excellent on this front, I wasn’t building as fast as some of the other players. I realized I needed to take my income and invest in buildings that get me more money – there are more ways to get money than by selling goods. By this time it was too late as I was already behind but I learned for the next game. All the articles online reinforced this key principle. Invest your money in means that will make you more money.

Isn’t this how we do it in real life too? We take our money and invest it in vehicles that give us a good Return On Investment. Money gets you more money – that’s why the rich just keep getting richer. Of course in life – it’s about getting that seed money to get the ball rolling. I guess common principles that work in life also work in board games.

Life board games, investing, money, Puerto Rico, Settlers of Catan

The other day I met up with a friend and she mentioned how she was finally beginning to understand what it meant by the phrase “a privilege to serve”. She was telling me how she felt so privileged to be able to wash the dishes for our senior pastor. I have much to learn from her attitude and heart of service. Then I asked her if she feels the same privilege to wash her roommates dishes.

I think it’s good that we serve our pastors. We are their means of support. We are called by God to support them – financially, physically, prayerfully as they serve us. But are we to exalt their profession above any other profession? Is being a Pastor or a Missionary a “higher” calling than a doctor, lawyer, engineer, teacher, musician, garbage man, or tax collector? I think it’s good that we serve our pastors so that they can serve others but does that lie exclusively with them? Ought we also to help wash the dishes for a mother of four children so that she can spend more time with them? Should we also help a teacher grade her exams so she can spend time lesson planning on how best to educate her students? Is it not also a privilege to cook dinner for a software engineer who has been working overtime for two weeks so that he could be faithful in his job? It’s a privilege to serve pastors and it is also a privilege to serve people; we are all children of God and what you do unto the least of these, you do for God.

Even small factors like these lead people towards the idea of the dichotomy between the sacred and secular, that one is more deserving of our service than another. We ought to cheerfully and joyfully serve all people. After all this, I went home and joyfully washed my roommates’ dishes. What a privilege!

Thoughts ministry