A Happy Day ...

Wow, thanks again to everyone for making my birthday a happy one =) After being surrounded by love and blessings from my church family throughout the day ... the evening ended with a nice dinner with Hyun at a new Italian place in Chatswood. I put up some pictures in our "Pix of Me and Hyun" section ---> "Pix of our Travels" [aka. Where the Road of Life Took Us]. Did you know that this restaurant is only in Rome and Sydney? So I really wanted to try it out .

And as a gift for all you blogspot bloggers out there, I created a new "Blogger Tutorial" page in my "Inklings" section on the right. I don't know much, but the little I do know, I wanted to share =)

The first thing I put up was how to remove the "Blogger Navigation" bar on the top of all our pages ... and if you have other questions, let me know and I'll see if I can help you find the answer ... but most common answers should be available through the Blogger Help section of Blogger ... and the things that aren't, I'll try and address when I can ... =)

And thanks again ... my heart was filled with joy ... because through you, I felt loved ...

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone for your blessings upon my birthday ... my cherished family and friends ... thanks for all your email letters, SMS messages, e-cards, gifts, and other expressions of love these past several hours. I greatly appreciated them all and I'm humbled and honored to be a part of your lives. I too thank God each time I remember you =)

And to loved ones who are overseas (US, Canada, Korea, China, NZ, Uzbek and Thailand), thank you for remembering me even though I haven't seen some of you for quite awhile; I was extremely touched with each remembrance.

And to my family of faith here in Australia, I am amazed each time I step back and realize how much God has been good to us these past few years. It is one of the highest privileges in my life to be a shepherd here and to have the honor of sharing in God's ministry with you.

Your thoughtfulness has been a huge blessing to me and I'm so glad that we are part of a family that will spend eternity together. I will "dry" each flower that God sent to me today through each one of you, so thank you.

And the greatest gift that I cherish from you has been and always will be your prayers of love and support ... and I ask that you would continue to lift me up in your prayers and into His presence ... "pray for me that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador ... pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." [Ephesians 6:19-20]

And please pray that one of my favorite verses would be a reflection of my life ...

"However I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me ... the task of testifying to the Gospel of God's grace."

Acts 20:24

My love and prayers are always with you ...

Sex Education - First A.I.D.S.

We concluded our "Sex Education" series today, taking a look at AIDS and what the Church can do to help this crisis of our generation. AIDS victims have become the "lepors" of our day, and we need to respond to them the way that Jesus did. Instead of judging them or casting them out of our lives, we need to find ways to embrace them with the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

You can listen to the messages from this series at our previous sermon site (until our new site is fixed and downloads are ready). And I listed some helpful websites and books on this topic as well. You can find those resource recommendations in the "Favorite Books" section on the right.

We'll be having our missions prep meetings soon, so please pray for strength and joy for all of us as we get ready for our trip in the midst of our busy schedules! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you had a wonderful day of worship ... in His presence ...

Currently Reading The aWAKE Project, Second Edition : Uniting Against the African AIDS Crisis By Various Contributors

MP3 Makeover ...

Just for fun, I've been experimenting with some new designs for my blogs ... starting with the Bible: MP3 (Memory Verses) site ...

You can control the graphics to either move or stay still with the icon the left. You can also click the black box on the top right for the download links. Enjoy! =)

One Hope ... One Life ... One Love

In preparation for our Sunday message on AIDS, plus with our mission team going to Africa, here are some websites that I've been keeping up with for awhile that will help raise better awareness of the crisis at hand:

1. The ONE Campaign to help fight world poverty.

2. DATA: Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa ... seeking to help the nations of Africa find hope.

For those in the US, you can sign the petition and help influence the government to continue increasing the aid and resources for these countries in Africa. These organizations have already made a difference in the increase of financial giving from the wealthy world during this past G8 meeting. So we are making a difference!

And with one of our mission teams heading to Guinea, Africa this year, may the things that happen "over there" hit closer to home for our ministry and closer to our hearts as disciples. Please pray for our Sunday service that it will be a time where we will gain more of the heart of Christ for those who are suffering from this deadly disease of AIDS ... and may our congregation become the hands, feet, and heart of Christ for these nations who are need of the hope and life that only God can give.

We only have one life to live ... let's live it well and invest it wisely ... by living wholly for interests of Christ and His Kingdom ... all for Him and only for Him ...

[I've added several more verses in the Bible: MP3 Memory Verse section and our 2005 Mission Teams now have their pretty faces online as well =) Stop by and leave some encouragement and prayers for our 2005 teams.]

Currently Listening Achtung Baby By U2 One

Healer ... Heal Me

Today was the final day for the Inner Healing Conference and God continued to do some wonderful ministry in the hearts of His shepherds.

Several pastors and their wives received some much needed comfort and encouragement that only His Truth, His Church, and His Spirit could do.

I realized that as much as these pastors appear so strong sometimes, we’re all hurting people … and God wants to heal us to become wounded healers to others … and that through our brokenness His Spirit can work through us.

And it was another reminder for me today how much we need to encourage each other … because life is hard … and life hurts … but God heals.

“Let us encourage one another – and all the more as we see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:25 NIV

Speaking of healing, a lot of people are sick these days. Would you please pray for Hyun and Eddie Bang? Both of them are very sick right now. We need the healing that only Jehovah Rapha, our God who heals, can bring.

And still on the subject of sickness, I got my final shots for Africa today. I think I was supposed to get them a couple months back, but … what can you do! I’ll be trusting God to protect me and YOU to pray for me =)

Currently Listening Much By Ten Shekel Shirt Healer

The Healing Power of the Cross

I've been attending the Inner Healing Conference with Chris Harrison the past couple of days and it's been an wonderful time of learning and healing. Even the title ministered to me: "God Delights in His Shepherds". The majority of the people who are attending this conference are pastors, their wives, and some missionary candidates for Come Mission.

I think there is a huge need in the Church today on all levels for this kind of healing and restoration. So many church leaders, esp. in the Korean church today are the 'walking wounded', and it was beautiful to see some pastors today receive much ministry and mercy through the Spirit of God during times of prayer.

"Time doesn't heal. Time doesn't restore. Only Jesus heals. Only Jesus restores." Amen!

Another thing that encouraged me was the reminder to keep our eyes of Jesus, not other people. If we just look at people, we'll always be disappointed ... because no one is perfect. Therefore we need to look always to Christ and focus on Him. [Hebrews 12:2-3] If our eyes are on Christ there will be strength, but if our eyes are on people, we will grow tired.

God, keep my eyes on You. Be my strength, my joy, my security. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Sex Education - The Reality of Homosexuality

"Our hatred (for homosexuality) is so loud that they can't hear the gospel today." Today's message was Part 3 in our current sermon series: Sex Education - The Reality of Homosexuality. We looked at the condition, the cause, the consequences and the cure for this issue that is definately becoming mainstream in all areas of life. They need Christ and healing from the Church, but the Church is the one place/people they would rather avoid. And we talked about ways we can change in order to become Christ for them. You can listen to current and past messages from this series here.

God continues to bring precious old friends back into my life thanks to the world of blogging and the internet. I'm so thankful to hear from them and "see" their faces again ... a few times this week just when I needed some encouragement ... so for that, thank You God ...

I also had a great lunch [woolamsam] on Saturday with some wonderful friends (and their family members) who have changed so much the past couple of years [it warms my heart everytime I see you two Sunny and Jenny! Keep living for Christ alone!]. I couldn't help but be amazed by the way God can completely transform people.

And could you please pray for God's strength to be upon me? It was a tough week, and to top it off, I just found out I might have to lead both the Africa and Thailand Mission Teams (back-to-back) this year! I got burnt out just hearing the news ... but hey, my life's whole purpose is to be used for Christ and His Kingdom ... so whatever God wants ... whatever it takes ... I'm His to use ... until the very end ... and until my final breath (even if it's at the end of these trips!).

God, you know my heart ... all for You ... and only for You I will live.

[ps. For Mike and Sehna ... I've added some more MP3 verses + "The Answering Machine Song" and the "Heal This Land" song you requested for download. Enjoy!]

Whatever It Takes ...

In an attempt to help our congregation stay pure and to hide God's Word in our hearts [Psalm 119:9,11], I have created a new "Audio Memory Verse" site, where you can download MP3 files of verses to help you memorize Scripture. [See the new Bible: MP3 (Memory Verses) link on the right] You can listen to these verses in your MP3 players and have memorzing the Word as a regular part of your lifestyle. And for our mission teams, this can aid in the memory of our team verses also. I have them available in regular reading format, and another version with "background music" =)

I really hope it helps us keep more of His Word in our lives. I want so much for all of us to cherish His precious Word and to do whatever it takes to know and love God more.

There is a life-changing, purifying power in memorizing Scripture, and I hope and pray that this can help in our process of becoming more like Christ. May your love for Christ, His Kingdom and His Word only grow through this small offering of worship to our King. May God bless you richly as you "taste and see" that He is good. [Psalm 34:8]

Steven's Graduation

Thanks to the blessings of the internet, I was reconnected to my "little" cousin who graduated from the US Air Force Academy (one of the best schools in the US).

I must admit I was a bit worried when he first entered, because I heard some horror stories of what they do to freshmen there, but God has been faithful and good.

I'm so proud of you, Steven! I'm especially so thankful to see your faith is still growing. You've grown in so many ways ... I still can't believe you're taller than me though =p

Keep in touch buddy. And I hope you can visit Sydney some day soon ... and if you do, I'd love to take a ride in a jet with you =) I'll be putting up more pictures of you, your graduation and your family when I get some more time. Check out the "Family Pix" section for more later on.

Bless you bro! And I hope I see you soon. Keep living for Him alone ... He's your true Commander-in-Chief!

Blogger for Word

Wow, I've been really impressed with Blogger (actually, with all of Google's services). With Blogger you can post photos up straight from your computer (you don't need an outside photo site, like photobucket, flickr, etc.). And you can edit your whole site via HTML to make it look the way you want it to.

You can do "audio blogging" through a phone call. And the latest function it has is the ability to work with Microsoft Word [Blogger for Word]. It's pretty cool because you can post, edit, and save all your posts through Word now. So for the Bloggers out there ... "more power to ya".

Currently Listening Streams Sanctuary (Chris Rodriguez)

In the City of Blinding Lights

Our 2005 missions training has officially begun. Everyone was there on time (very early!), which was a good way to start. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how everyone's life will change throughout this process; though it's a lot of work, it's always worthwhile when I see the lives change. The Africa Team are mainly members from the 2003 Thailand Team which is also good to see. I'm hoping to take them along side this time around in the training/leadership so that they'll be able to, in turn, be ready to train other teams in the future.

Yesterday was another low key Monday. Eddie Bang and I hung out in the city for a bit ... I finally replaced my MP3 player =) ... and a bunch of us had a great dinner with some wonderful deacons in our church. Our church is very blessed with some great families.

These pictures are from a couple of weeks back, but didn't get a chance to post them. I wanted to show off some more of Eddie Bang's and Eunyoung's photography skills ...

Currently Listening How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb By U2 City of Blinding Lights

Sex Education - Porn No 101

We continued on with our new "Sex Education" series for our weekend services. Today's topic: "pornography". As Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:4 "each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable", and this "learning to control" our bodies is what we looked at today ... how we can control our eyes, our minds and our hearts in a way to develop spiritual muscle memory ... to become holy and honorable in our lifestyle.

I've added more resources pertaining to this topic in the "Book Favorites" section and added a few new links. Last weeks message "Sex 101" is available for a listen at our previous sermon site ... we hope to have the MP3 download available soon (we're still working out some bugs with our new site).

A couple of other sites that offer help and resources in this area are:

• New Life Ministries (nice name, eh?) and
• The XXX Church (interesting name, eh?)

May God bring new healing and freedom to His people who are caught in this epidemic plague of pronography ... and may we all find warmth and strength as we walk in the Light ... may our mighty Savior be your guard and shield this week and forever ...

Only for You ... All for You

My desire for our ministry ...

"Cry to God that His people may know this: that every believer is only to live for the interests of God and His Kingdom."
Andrew Murray

Only for You Jesus ... and all for You ...

A big thank you ... to Mihee [our church administrator] who has faithfully served our ministry for almost 2 years. God is leading her elsewhere ... you will be missed and you are very much appreciated! May God bless you, protect you and shine upon your life always ...

And please pray ... as I will be preaching at our 8:30AM Korean service this Sunday as well as the EM. And we'll be beginning our missions training this Sunday night too + care groups should be well under way ... and there's been some red tape in Guinea for our visas concerning the September missions trip to Africa with the Come Mission team, please pray for God to open the right doors over there.

And I'll leave you with a song [the link courtesy of my good buddy Bobby Lee] ... The Perishers "Pills" ... the song really grows on you. Have a great weekend and may you enjoy His presence and may He be honored in all our worship. Take care and God bless ...

Yahweh

One of my favorite songs of all time ... a prayer of surrender ...

Take this soul // Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul // And make it sing

Take these hands // Teach them what to carry
Take these hands // Don't make a fist

Take this mouth // So quick to criticise
Take this mouth // Give it a kiss

Yahweh // Yahweh // Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh // Yahweh // Still I'm waiting for the dawn

Take this city // A city should be shining on a hill
Take this city // If it be your will

What no man can own // No man can take
Take this heart // Take this heart // Take this heart
And make it break

Yahweh by U2

Yahweh Grafics/Music Video used in the current Vertigo Tour

Currently Listening How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb By U2 Yahweh

A God-Entranced Vision of All Things

I would normally put this kind of post in my book recommendations section, but I just started reading this book the other day and everytime I read it, the pages have burning in my heart. And today, it's been igniting a new passion and a new flame for the glory of His name.

A God Entranced Vision of All Things is a look at the theology and teaching of Jonathan Edwards, and how God was everything to him and to his ministry. Mark Noll, who is a Christian historian, writes of Edwards, "Edwards' piety continued on in the revivalist tradition, his theology continued on in academic Calvinism, but there were no successors to his God-entranced worldview ... the disappearance of Edwards' perspective ... has been a tragedy."

Piper writes in this book about our generation: "What is missing is the mind-shaping knowledge and the all-transforming enjoyment of the weight of the glory of God. The glory of God - holy, righteous, all-sovereign, all-wise, all-good - is missing."

Reading these pages have caused me to pause and cry out for our congregation to be a God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Spirit-saturated people in this generation. Would you pray with me about this concerning our congregation and our generation? Would you pray that Christ would be exalted as supreme in all our services, all our sermons, all our care groups, and all our teachings?

"God, don't let this drought remain in our generation. We don't want to be just any generation, we want to be one that is filled with You, focused on You and on fire for You. We want to be a people who live, learn, teach, and preach Christ as our everything. Make us a holy people whose love for you and whose hatred for sin increases with each day that passes by. Give us a God-entranced, God-consumed, God-saturated vision of all things. All for You Jesus ... and only for You. In Jesus' name, Amen."

[Note: this book is currently heavily discounted at Koorong Bookstore right now (call me if you need to find the discounted ones) + you can download a version free here. To our EM: let's read this book, live out the message, and pray for this vision together. Praying for passion together ... Eddie]

God ... Thank You

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious
slow to anger, abounding in love."
Psalm 103:8 NIV

Chillin' in the City

It was a pretty relaxing day off today ... just hanging with some buddies in the city and taking some pictures at Hyde Park. I also stopped by a couple of travel agents to take care of some mission trip stuff. But I realized today I'm more relaxed Friday and Sunday nights than I am on Mondays ... maybe because on Mondays I have our Tuesday staff meetings hanging over me. Regardless, I still love having the day off.

As you can see in the picture, Eddie Bang was also quite relaxed as we chilled in the city =) We both brought our cameras hoping to capture some good shots of Sydney. Picture taking now has new significance thanks to the world of blogging. I've been really impressed with Eddie Bang's photography these days. He's been taking so many amazing shots of the Opera House and of Harbour Bridge, both in the daytime and at night. He has a great eye for good shots ... hopefully he'll have more pictures up on his site.

Hope you all had a good weekend. It was a great one for me; it always feels good to start a new series and I was thankful to hear that it was well received and helpful for our congregation. We had a preliminary meeting for our mission teams and started our Care Groups again as well. I'm looking forward to how the rest of this year will unfold ... it's been a great 2005 so far, esp. with seeing so many lives change and experience personal breakthroughs this year. More of You, Lord ... and all for You Lord.

Sex Education - Sex 101

Our new series "Sex Education" started today! If you missed out, check the sermon section in the coming days and it should be available for download soon.

We basically looked at the biblical purpose of our sexuality, why God created it, and how we can honor God through it.

Also take advantage of the downloads and supplimental resources that are available in the previous post and in the "Book Favorites" section.

My desire through this series is that the Church would no longer be so silent about this very important topic ... especially since everyone talks about it, everyone thinks about it, but so few people are guided biblically through it. I hope it helps you and I hope it helps all of us honor God in ALL things. So whether we eat, drink, date, or blog ... let's do it all for the glory of God.

Sex and the Supremacy of Christ

In preparation for our new series on Sundays, here are some resources that can help you along in our study of sexuality and the glory of God.

Plus I've added some resources from the "Sex and the Supremacy of Christ" conference taken from DesiringGod.org:

* Sex and the Supremacy of Christ: Articles

* Sex and the Supremacy of Christ: Audio & Video

May these resources help you in your fight for holiness and in your desire for God.

You can also check my "Favorite Books" section for more resources and recommended books that will further your personal studies of our Sunday series.

Please pray that this series would be used by God to create a new holiness and reverence for God and His gift of sex within our congregation and for all who hear the messages. Pray I would be a faithful vessel used to bring freedom, as truth is proclaimed, and pray for all who listen, that they would have hearts that are humble, hungry and ready to hear His Word and to obey it.

"God, we want to honor You in every area of our lives. Would you especially work powerfully during this new series ... redeeming this important area of sexuality for all current and future relationships of everyone in our ministry. Bring purity in the secret places. Bring freedom for those trapped in bondage. And bring healing for those who have been living in shame.

Let Your gentle and convicting Spirit minister to all our hearts as we gather to worship You tomorrow. Fill me, anoint me and use me to be Your mouth-piece and Your servant. Prepare us today for a life-transforming encounter with You tomorrow. Let miracles happen and lives be changed ... all for Your glory. In Jesus' name. Amen."

To Your Health Continued ...

In light of all that my body's been through these past few months, I'll be taking some Chinese medicine for about 10 days in order to "bring balance" (as the doctor put it) to my system.

I took it for 2 days so far and I just have one word to describe it ... DISGUSTING! It is so difficult to get that thing down my system! BUT ... I will do it for the sake of good health.

You know, I think part of the curse of sin/Adam's fall has effected food, its flavor and its nurtritional value. I think in heaven when everything's restored to its proper place, things like chocolate [and crabs!!] will be good for us again =) hee hee hee ... looking forward to that day when He restores all things again ...

Anyways ... we'll be starting a new 4-part sermon series this Sunday entitled: "Sex Education" ... should be interesting! Well, have a great weekend everyone! It was a fun week with this blogging explosion that's happened in Australia! =) Have a great one and may God bless you BIG TIME as you worship Him wherever you are!

What's New: I added more reviews/recommendations in my "Favorite Books and Music" sections. Plus slowly organizing more and more links ...

No Matter What ... You Are Loved

Just had a great talk with a brother in Christ whose loved one just experienced freedom in Christ recently. God never ceases to amaze me with His strong love and grace for a broken and fallen people like us. It's sometimes so easy to see how much God loves another person, and yet so hard to believe that God loves us. It's easy to see that no matter the mistakes another person has made, God has not given up on them ... yet so hard to think our own mistakes can be redeemed. Sometimes we can see such a bright future for others and be left in the dark, wondering what tomorrow may hold for us.

Maybe that's why we need each other ... to walk this journey of life together ... to hold out hope for one another when we lose hope for ourselves.

And the awesome thing is that when faith is exercised and we risk it all to believe He loves us, no matter what ... and we risk it all, to keep living for Him ... and we risk it all, to believe God's not finished with our lives yet ... then we can really live life again. I get so excited when I see people beginning to live their Christians lives with this kind of courage ... this kind of faith. May more of His Church be changed and transformed to be free as we believe His Word, instead of our own, and to have faith in Him more than our feelings.

"God, give us the courage to believe that we are forgiven and loved, no matter what. And give us the risk-taking faith to love You ... no matter what. Continue to set hearts free to begin truly living life as You intended it to be ... bold, courageous, faith-filled ... as we run in the golden fields of grace without worry, without fear ... but always with You smiling upon us. Thank You for freedom."

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

2 Cor. 3:17 NIV

For Those Looking for a Digital Camera

I've talked with a bunch of people recently who were looking to buy a digital camera so I wanted to give my plug for one of the best ones around right now. Basically, if you're an average user like most people, then as long as you have a camera that is 2.0 megapixels or larger (which is almost any new camera you buy these days ... and megapixels are basically the number of dots in the picture ... the more dots, the finer quality photo you'll have), the picture quality should be fine . If you want to blow up pictures to larger sizes, then you want more megapixels. And in terms of quality, shutter speed (normally I like Sony products, but Sony is a bit slow in this area), functionality, size, etc. my recommendation would be to get a Canon. Most reviews I have read seem to agree that Canon is one of the best brands out there right now. And the best Canon series (for the average user) would be the Canon IXUS/Powershot Series.

Several people in our EM (Eric [who also did a ton of research before buying his too], Bomi, Stang [who is a photo-maniac!]) and I all have this series and we all love it! No problems, just clear pictures with a lot of fun options (like a rapid shot function where you can take like a billion pictures every second ... makes for some fun film making and great for sports photos). Hopefully Eric (EBae) can take it from here and rave even more about our camera :p But this is definately my pick for most people.

Your Health Your Wealth

Just got back some allergy test results that I took about a month ago. And after waiting an hour and a half, I saw the doctor for 5 minutes to hear that everything was fine. Mainly hayfever. But this hayfever has been sucking all the energy out of my body these past few weeks. I think I'm allergic to Australia ... at least that's what a couple of doctors think ... the air, the pollen, the trees, the leaves, the grass, the mold, the weeds, the bushes ... hmmmm ... Interesting that God called me here though. Can you pray for me? I think I'm also allergic to some of the people here :P (kidding! ... well, kinda) But in order to keep my body running somewhat normal, I think I better go back to my 50 Days of Purity diet of only fruits, vegetables, and "shangshik" (a Korean all-natural/health drink). I put a picture of all the nice and healthy ingredients it has =) Click the picture to see a closer look of all the goodies inside ;p).

Another interesting thing was that while I was waiting at the doctor's office, I was reading one of the magazines there that had a list of top 10 things you never want to have as a sickness ... and then they listed the chances of getting them ... which was "0" zero ... unless you go to Africa!! Almost all of the worst infections, diseases and injuries a person can have can all be contracted in Africa ... and I think our Africa team is going to need a lot of prayer guys =)

[What's New: I updated the whole "Inklings" section and added some recommendations in the "Favorite Books and Music" sections. And the "Bible Reflections" also got a major facelift as well.]

Making Our Days Count

I can't believe it's August already! We'll be starting mission team prep soon ... I'll be heading to Africa in September ... and then our teams to Thailand and Africa take off in December. It's going to be here before we know it. Time is flying ... and I want to use the remainder of my time here well for God. "God, please give me the grace and the mercy to finish strong and finish well in your eyes."

Yesterday's message was about our "Ministry of Influence" within our sphere of relationships. We are called to be light in our world, and we are called to burn brightly for Him. And that is my desire for our ministry ... that we would be used to by God to influence this generation and the next, to live their lives wholly for the interests of Christ alone.

I pray that our congregation would be wise enough to "number our days" [Psalm 90:12] ... to count our days so that our days would count ... for today and for eternity. "And God, please consume the hearts and desires of the people at New Life so that they would burn passionately for Your Name and pursue all things for Your glory." And please pray that prayer for my life as well ... only for Him, I want to live. May we, His people, have a glorious and victorious week! =) God bless ...

[What's New: I added some new pix & comments in the "Friends: USA" section]