“When you really think about it: Everything are parables.”

Additional Thoughts on Praise

I’ve been reflecting on “Thoughts on Praise” for a while now. I’m sure some of you may already know - but if not here’s a snippet.

Three points on “Thoughts on Praise”:

• praise is the overflow of joy
• praise spurs us to want others to experience that same joy
• praise completes the joy

But what happens when you RESTRICT a person’s ability to praise?

I came across a podcast where the “Beast Games” winner talked about life after winning 10,000,000 dollars. He had to sign an NDA that he cannot tell anyone that he won until the final episode aired, which was about 6 months.

He described how ecstatic he was when he went back home. However, as days went by, that joy waned. And then some sort of depression sets in. Even though he won 10 million dollars - it was a surreal moment that he wasn’t able to share that joy. If you could gain the whole world but have no one to share it with, then what good is it. The episode aired. He watched it with his friends & family - joy was re-experienced - as if he won 10 million dollars again.

The winner was actually forewarned about this emotional rollercoaster on the day he won. He met with a psychologist who specialized in contestant game-show winners and knew that what he went through was a common phenomenon. The phenomenon that when one wins a prize but because of a signed NDA artificially suppresses the joy. And it often leads to being depressed. That is until one is able to share it.

Additional points on “Thoughts on Praise”:

• praise is the overflow of joy
• praise spurs us to want others to experience that same joy
• praise completes the joy
• praise allows you to experience that joy again - but this time in a fuller capacity - cause joy shared is doubled
• praise is not only inner-health made audible - but also the audible that maintains inner-health

Thoughts on Food (AGAIN)

Past Wednesday night - at the chapel - we went over the first half of Matthew 16. We’ve declared that when Jesus spoke of the bread in verses 9 to 11, He wasn’t talking about physical bread but perhaps His teachings - aka the Word of God. But why refer to the “feeding of the 4 and 5 thousand?” This made a good exercise by rereading the miracle of feeding the 4 thousand - BUT this time by replacing every instance of “bread” with “the Word of God”. In doing so one will find out that: both are sufficient in feeding the 4 thousand, and both had the disciples distribute and participate in carrying out the miracle. I guess this isn’t far-fetched as we proclaim that “Jesus is the Bread of Life”. What’s more profound is when Jesus stated “I am real food and real drink”. Maybe that Chipotle you ate that day wasn’t real but a reflection of what is real. Have you ever wondered why we eat? Like why would God design us to have food to eat in order for our bodies to function and live out our lives? Have you ever wondered why food is something you can delight in and then praise about? Perhaps this is what C.S. Lewis is talking about when he wrote about praise as mentioned previously. Have you ever wondered why we need to chew first? and have the food go through a meticulous process of digestion before we can claim its energy to live out our lives? Perhaps this is how one should ruminate on the Word in order to understand the Law of His character so that we may live out our lives in right relationship with Him and with others. Have you ever wondered that eating is NOT so much of an individual activity but one done with other people? Would it be wrong to say that the greatest social activity that God has ever design is just to have a simple meal with someone? It’s cross-generational - an activity where you break bread, share life, and get to know & be known by someone. Maybe this is what bible study is - it’s NOT so much of an individual activity but one done in an assembly of believers. Where we all bring our own “dish” as in potluck - to share our own thoughts & feelings as we break down the passage into its sentences and its sentences into its Words. Just so that we could “taste and see that the Lord is good and take refuge in His Word” ~ Psalms 34:8

Thoughts on Praising God

Does God just exist out there? How does God want us to relate to Him?

Someone shared this with me about Revelations 4:8-11.

It begins with: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come”. A popular phrase as many of you may know - sung by the four mighty cherubim day and night. What follows is the praise of the 24 elders, “You are worthy, our Lord and God…” Notice how it switches from THIRD PERSON when the angels speak to SECOND PERSON when the elders speak. This is how we relate to God - for He is not just a God but OUR God.

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am YOUR God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Thoughts on Jesus

A standout verse in Matthew 16:13-20 is verse 15: ‘“But what about you?” he asked, “Who do you say I am?”’

I’ve skimmed through the Gospel of Mark - and I’ve noticed that Jesus doesn’t really say who He is. He mainly asks “who do YOU say I am?” Perhaps this is an important question for you to ask yourself.

Let’s look at how the disciples responded to Jesus when He told them that He will be betrayed. Every disciple asked, “Is it I, Lord?” But only Judas said, “Is it I, Rabbi?”

Rabbi is an honorary title, but there were many rabbis walking around during the time of Jesus. The title Lord is one that denotes full authority and ownership.

You can have many teachers in your life, but you can only have one Lord.

So the question for the disciples here and perhaps us is:

• “Who do you say Jesus is?”
• “Who is Jesus to you?”

But is simply just saying ‘Jesus is Lord’ enough?

NO! We know this from the sermon on the mount - Jesus said: “Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven.”

You could give Him the proverbial Judas kiss on Sunday morning - but for the rest of the week, betray Him in your heart. This is blasphemy - to say the Lord’s name in vain on Sunday mornings - but then go on worshiping other Lords in the rest of the week. A dichotomy between what we say with our lips and what we worship with our hearts.

Perhaps this is why Psalms 19 not only asks for the words of his mouth to be pleasing to the Lord, but also the meditations of his heart. For our hearts are like tablets to be filled with the bread and teachings of God.

Thoughts on Malachi 3:3

There are many verses on sanctification, Malachi 3:3 is one of them.

“The LORD will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver…”

There’s a story how a group of women who were studying the book of Malachi, and they came across this exact verse. They asked themselves, “What does the LORD have to do with being a silversmith?” So one of the women offered to investigate the process of refining silver. The woman called up a silversmith and was like, “Hey can I come watch you” and she didn’t mention about why other than her curiosity about the process. So he agreed and as she watched him he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that one needed to hold the piece in the middle of the fire where the flames were the hottest as to burn all the impurities away. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot. Then she thought again about the verse, He sits as a refiner. So she asked silversmith if he had to sit there in front of the fire the entire time. He said not only he had to sit there but he had to keep a very close eye on it because if it was left for a moment too long then it would be damaged. And then she asked, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” And he smiled and said, “Oh that’s easy - when I see my image in it.”