Rescued by Jesus. Rebuilt by the Spirit. Responding to God's grace.
I wasn’t too crazy about the movie the first time I saw it, but I loved it the second time. Why I flipped after reflecting on disappointment. Warning: spoilers ahead. “It was like a roller coaster ride: there were about five truly exhilarating moments, but it took some tedious climbing to get to them, and […]
What good is faith if it doesn’t inform the way you live? I collect toys. I used to collect so many, it was pathetic. Or awesome, depending on how you look at it. My old room at my parent’s house looked like a booth at Comic-Con, stocked floor-to-ceiling with action figures, vehicles, and playsets, mostly […]
What motivates you to do what you do in the name of Jesus? << Continued from the previous episode No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:12 NIV) May 2015. It was my last tai chi […]
<< Previous episode What do you do when you’re stripped of your abilities? Upon completing our training in Chicago, we were commissioned as short-term missionaries in a service at our denomination’s annual meeting. The missionary who would eventually become our supervisor in Japan had been in contact with me throughout the missionary application and orientation […]
<< Previous episode Catching a glimpse of the Father’s joy. Traveling with young children is not in my top 10 list of favorite things. It’s enough of a hassle traveling alone: checking in, going through security, boarding the plane and trying to situate yourself while irate passengers brush past in a huff. The stress level […]
<< Previous episode God provides and redeems one of my failures. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the […]
You can’t serve well unless you first know who you are (and aren’t). << Previous episode After receiving my ministry license, I was required to complete four orientation courses, each one a week long, usually in Chicago or Denver. These were not easy for me to pull off at the time, as Soo just had […]
When I was faithful with a little, God gave me more– way more than I ever imagined. << Previous episode That night, I went to work at the weekly prayer meeting we held every Friday. My job title was “director of prayer ministries,” but I felt more like the “prayer team gopher.” On a typical […]
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” […]
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 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 […]
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God is with us”). Matthew 1:23 NIV I took a break from blogging for several weeks last December. One of the reasons was the San Bernardino attack of December 2, 2015. I didn’t feel that posting about […]
<< 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 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 […]
