Well, a little bit of ice, snow, and rain and I get 2 days off.  I got bored at home so I took pictures of my dog named Winston Churchill.  He is a four year old pug whom I adopted from an animal rescue organization. 

Today, I watched a Fox Faith movie called Thr3e.  I don't want to say much about the movie or I will give it away, but the movie centered on a seminary student who received a mysterious phone call beckoning him to confess his worst sin or else the caller will blow things and kill people.  The basic theme in the movie is about good and evil and human nature.  The acting was a little below par (ok...maybe more...way cheesy)...but I love the storyline and the novel (orginally written by Ted Dekker).  So, Erin Baliad, you read the novel and ask Mr. Baliad to take you to the movie.

Concerning human nature and free will, a classmate of mine in seminary said this from St. Augustine.  We do not really have a free will in Christ.  Free Will implies total freedom to chose either good or evil (like sushi or steak).  Christians only have one choice...to disobey God.  Being in the Spirit, we do what is natural and that is to obey God and do what is right.  We do have the temptation to disobey.  So, ultimately, Augustine teaches that Christians do not have free will.  We do what Christians are called and enabled to do...follow Christ joyfully.  So, before I thought we had a choice of either good or evil.  We do not have choices...we only follow Christ!

So, the good news for today is that I don't have the pressure of "making the right choice" according to free will,  but to always be in Christ...living for Christ...and the Holy Spirit will guide me to glorify the Father and expand the kingdom. 

Week of Youth Ministry Training

I have just went to a training/conference on youth ministries and have been truly blessed and fed.  I took this really cool class about learning styles and how research have discovered in the past 2 decades that everyone has a unique learning style.  Teachers would tend to teach based on their learning style and what they are comfortable with.  My learning style is existential (which means philosophical/religious) and intrapersonal (good in big groups, social learning/teaching).

Anywho, a message really spoke to me when the preacher was saying how it was revealed to him one time that Jesus was huffing and puffing behind him.  He looked back and asked Jesus why was he tired.  Jesus said that he was tired because he had to keep up with the fast pace the preacher was going.  Sometimes i work at a fast pace and do too much that i need to slow down and walk with the same pace as Jesus is walking. 

Another cool thing was when we had tennis balls to pray over.  Another speaker was saying that youth ministers get caught up in the doing and stresses of work that he/she forgets why they are doing it and forgets the first passion of doing ministry.  So, we should always have the joy of the Lord and do things in a more playful manner.  Hence, tennis balls represents play (living and playing with God).  We then wrote on our tennis ball what is keeping us from the joy of the Lord and from "playing."  At the end we laid the our tennis balls on the altar and grabbed someone else's ball so that we can pray for them.  The goal of the week is trade our balls 250 times so that each person can pray for everyone at the conference.  It was really cool to see the youth ministers bouncing the balls around in the halls and passing them it to others. 

It's been a long time since I post a b-b-blog.  Here's an article I wrote in my church's newsletter.  It was a continuation of my sermon from the second sunday in advent.  God has been laying on my heart the concept of community, church, and the kingdom of God.  If John the Baptizer and Bonhoeffer were alive today, how would they preach to our communities.  How would they envision the kingdom of God coming to our neighborhoods.

Transformative Community  by David To

"Not all can wait—certainly not those who are satisfied, contented, and feel that they live in the best of all possible worlds!  Those who learn to wait are uneasy about their way of life, but yet have seen a vision of greatness in the world of the future and are patiently expecting its fulfillment.  The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.  For these, it is enough to wait in humble fear until the Holy One himself comes down to us, God in the child in the manger.  God comes.  The Lord Jesus comes.  Christmas comes.  Christians rejoice!"

--Dietrich Bonhoeffer from his Advent Sermon, December 2, 1928.

As we heard from the lectionary text last Sunday, John the Baptizer, filled with God's Spirit and called by God's Word, demanded the people in his country to make straight paths, fill the valleys, level the mountains and hills, straighten the crooked roads, and smoothen the rough ways.  He stirred the hearts of his listeners to prepare the way for salvation so that it can arrive perfectly to all people.  The surroundings of society and people must be transformed before, during, and after salvation comes.  Christ is the salvation that comes. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a local pastor who was martyred for helping the Jewish people in Germany during the reign of Hitler, was also a voice crying out in the wilderness.  Bonhoeffer was a special man who had a passion for people, an unrest for preaching the gospel, and a determination for social justice.  Like John the Baptizer, he demanded transformation in society.  How can his home country of Germany experience Christ and Advent when they are harming innocent people?  Until the German leaders and citizens repent and ask for the forgiveness, Bonhoeffer was going to keep preaching until he was killed. 

This advent season, let us look at our community and see if we are continually changing and growing in Christ.  Are we being constantly transformed in the likeness of Christ?  Are we, the church, like John the Baptizer and Bonhoeffer who cries out in the wilderness asking all communities to be transformed?  What types of outreach, social justice, and evangelism can we do to prepare for Christ's Second Coming?  Advent is a time of preparation and transformation.  Let us do all we can to prepare the way for salvation to come to all people. 

All In

Last night as I prayed and was with God, I realized that something.  Just like how a poker player plays all his chips at the right time, God is calling me to put my complete trust and faith in this hand -- His hand.  If I leave a chip back for security reasons, then I do not have my full trust in God.  It has it be all in.