Rescued by Jesus. Rebuilt by the Spirit. Responding to God's grace.
The journey towards humility can be excruciating. << Previous Episode Many martial-arts films feature a student seeking to learn from a master, who won’t teach anything until the potential student first demonstrates humility, patience, and obedience; only then will the master work to develop the student’s full potential. Think Daniel-san waxing Mr. Miyagi’s cars, or […]
What does it mean to serve out of love, not fear? << Previous episode Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” (John 21:16 NIV) I’d grown up believing that church staffers were naturally “holy” […]
Hearing God is like GPS: when you don’t get any instructions to turn left or right, you just keep moving forward. << Previous episode Tony and I spent the rest of that summer working on the screenplay that we’d been hired to write. I still wondered how this would jibe with my calling to ministry. […]
I thought God was speaking to me. But was He really? << Previous episode I was on fire for Jesus after returning from Bangkok, telling anyone who’d listen that God is bigger than any of us could comprehend, yet He loves us and is with us in our day-to-day lives, even when we don’t notice […]
It’s not what you think. << Previous Episode Tony and I arrived in Bangkok a little over one week after my mind-blowing “jackpot” answer to prayer. A movie producer had sent us there to do some research for a script that he had commissioned us to write. You’d think I’d be excited to be working […]
<< Previous episode When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. (Acts 16:7-8 NIV) April 16, 2006. It was the day of our big premiere. The network marketing team hustled […]
<< Previous episode It takes a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to help us overcome our bad habits. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. (Rom. 12:1 NIV) I learned […]
<< Previous episode I was a new believer, on fire for Jesus, eager to do something for God. I talked to pastors to get direction. I read the Bible. I prayed. All the while, I’d ask God what I could do for Him, and through it all, I’d receive no clear answer. Frustrated, I decided […]
<< Previous episode What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities […]
<< Previous Episode Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 NIV) It didn’t bother me when I first heard talk of my show […]
<< Previous Episode For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17 NIV) I was going to church, believed in God, and read the Bible, but was I a true believer? For the first time in my life, I seriously began […]
<< Previous Episode The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord…(Jonah 1:1-3a NIV) In the early summer of 2005, a new executive took over the channel that […]
<< Previous Episode Were these voices from God, my imagination, or something more sinister? The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Sam. 3:10 NIV) Things were looking up. Soo and I finally became husband and wife, two-and-a-half years […]
<< Previous Episode I was never into church, but there was something different about this one. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:16-18 NIV) I tried to embrace my newly-single status and distract myself from the misery, diving back into […]
<< Previous Episode If this relationship truly was from God, He’d have to help us overcome major hurdles. How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? (Psalm 13:2a NIV) I didn’t call Soo the next day, as I normally would have done. We had been talking […]
<< Previous Episode Even after I turned away from God, He redeemed a painful situation and corrected my course. Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:8) Martial arts were a source of pride. I was proud of what I could accomplish through hard work, tenacity, and perseverance. I was finding […]
<< Previous Episode Sometimes, a dream is just a dream. But this one was different. …but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these: […]
<< Previous episode Seeking God’s will was the best decision I’d ever made. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:36) I gave up on dating when I was twenty-eight years old. Or, I should say, I gave […]
<< Previous Episode My affinity for violence was rooted in something deeper. In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. (Psalm 10:4) I took a leave of absence from my job in Jakarta and returned to Los Angeles to take some classes in […]
<< Previous Episode But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11 NIV) I was a troubled teen. No need to go into details — all I’ll say is that I used to wear sunglasses and a black trench coat in […]
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV) I fidget with the touch screen at my aisle seat on an airliner bound for Tokyo. There’s plenty of elbow room because no […]
