People like getting things that improves your quality of life. This past week at the doctor, I had the privilege of getting 3 shots injected in my arm to immunize me against the tetanus virus and his batch of bad guy friends. It was terrific, until later that day when I could barely move my arms, and my immune system began to act against the cocktail of weakened pathogens inside my body and as a result, I developed massive headaches and stomachaches, and woke up the next morning feeling like I was going to die. But then the pain went away, and I now I feel fantastic!
So what does my trip to the doctor have to do with anything? Nothing. I'm not even going to try to cleverly tie that into what I wanted to talk about (although, I very easily could).
But back to this idea of receiving things. During Christmas time, people like getting gifts. But society tells us that it's selfish to only receive gifts, and that we should also enjoy giving gifts as well, so we also like to give things. This makes everyone happy in our culture. It allows Christmas time to be enjoyed by all people groups, regardless of religion because, hey who doesn't enjoy other people when selflessness is in season? It's humanity at it's best correct? Don't you get a great feeling when you give someone else a present? It draws people together right? This is the season of giving isn't it? When is he going to stop with all these rhetorical questions?
Now I enjoy the season of giving as much as the next guy. I enjoy buying my family random silly gifts for Christmas, like shamwows, a waffle maker, and the entire men's collection from Bath and Body Works (sounds impressive but there are only 3 things for men at that store, which I think smells fantastic. I'm a sucker for fruit flavored fragrances). But I'm going to suggest that Christmas should primarily be a holiday of receiving. I don't mean to sound like a selfish, arrogant person.
The true message of Christmas has nothing to do with us. It has nothing to do with what we can give. It has everything to do with what God has given to us. He gave us an unmerited gift, the gift of eternal life through his son, Jesus. We did nothing to earn this gift. When you were a child and you received gifts from your family, not because you deserved them, but because your family and friends love you. God loves his creation, people who bear his image. The fullness of the high and mighty God came down to dwell among us. God walked among men. Something so powerful and holy came down to live with people who are weak and sinful. He did this so that we might be able to experience a relationship with the father, and to know God, to have eternal life in Him. That's the greatest gift of all.
But today, people gloss over that reality. On Christmas Eve this Saturday, millions of people will go to church, hear a message that they've heard several times before about God's love. They will sing some hymns without paying attention to the words, and then leave with a feeling of self-righteousness thinking that they did their cultural duty as an American and a Christian. I pray that person isn't you. I pray that you will realize the monumental occasion that you are celebrating. That you wouldn't just use this season as a season to feel good about yourself because of all you've given to charity and family and friends. Because the reality is, no matter how much you do for others, and no matter how pure your intentions are, you will never please God by your actions, by your works. A perfect God demands a perfect person. I doubt you are perfect. Only Jesus is. Only by allowing Christ to become your righteousness can you experience God. Receive the free gift that God has sent to us. It is real. Christmas isn't just a tradition, it's a celebration of a real event, the most important event in human history. Respond to the gospel. Celebrate and worship God for who he is and what he has done. Celebrate Immanuel, God with us. God with us. What a concept. We have a Wonderful Counselor, a Mighty God, an Everlasting father, a Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9), dwelling with us if you have accepted Christ.
Christmas is just the beginning of a life that ended with the defeat over death. Christ became the sacrifice, taking on the death that we deserve. But he conquered death by rising from the grave to dwell with God forever. And now he stands, extending that invitation to me and you.
If you haven't received that gift, I implore you to do so. If you have, I implore you to share it with others, and to reflect on what that means for you as a child of God this season.
I want to leave you with my first attempt at embedding a video on this blog! It is from a spoken word from a Christmas Real Life meeting at Ohio State last year which I had the pleasure of being in attendance. I think it does a much better job of saying what I wanted to say. So if you skipped all that reading and just wanted to watch a video, well you're in luck!
Merry Christmas
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
the trilogy concludes
Welcome to part 3 of my commentary on O Holy Night. If you missed parts 1, and 2, I'd give you a link to click on, but I'm too lazy to insert the links, and I assume since you're on the interwebs, you understand the concept of scrolling down to the bottom of the page to find previous posts. As I sit down to write this post, I can't help but think that I'm following in the footsteps of some other great trilogies of the last 50 years, Star Wars (i'm reffering to the originals, obvi), Lord of the Rings, Toy Story, Indiana Jones (that last movie didn't count), Twilight, Spiderman, and the Jason Bourne Series (a very underrated set of films I might add). In the ways that those movies changed film making, I see this series of blog posts to completely revolutionize the blogoshpere. Also, I think that attaching the word "sphere" to words is cool.
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
Let's get to it, shall we?
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
The first few lines of this section seem pretty straight forward. Jesus told us to love each other. Great! Love and peace sounds fantastic! Breaking chains of bondage, seeing slaves as our brothers? Cool. I like the sound of that also. Oppression shall cease? Awesome! But again, let's step back and think about what's going on here.
Love is an odd thing to define. There are 4 Greek words for love. Storge, which means affection, Phileo, which refers to friendship and brotherly love (hence the reason why Philadelphia is called the City of Brotherly Love. Random side note: I have an odd inclination to cheering for Philadelphia sports teams because my name is in the city), Eros, which mainly concerns romantic love, and Agape, meaning unconditional love. In the New Testament, the original Greek language uses Agape, pure unconditional love to describe God's love for his people. Unconditional love is hard to come by in this day in age. Even the strongest marriages can end in divorce, and relationships between parents and children are never ideal. But God's love does not fail. The love that compels God to send his Son, that allows Christmas to even happen is truly incredible compared to human attempts at agape. What Jesus did on this earth, living a perfect life and dying on the cross for our sins is the ultimate act of love. John 3:16 is a very popular verse that does a good job of illustrating God's love for us. Perhaps a lesser known verse is found in the book of 1 John in chapter 3, verse 16 which says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." When the Bible talks about love, it goes beyond just being nice to people. It calls us to truly give of ourselves, to make sacrifices, to go beyond our comfort zone, not just during a season of giving, but for the entirety of our lives.
His gospel is peace.
Gospel means good news. The good news is peace. That's what everyone wants right? Politicians and high school seniors writing college essays always talk about establishing world peace. Call me a pessimist, but I don't think that's happening anytime soon. But I can take solace in the fact that God has offered peace to us through Jesus. For there to be a peace, it is implied that there was war, rebellion going on. Humanity was in open rebellion against God, fighting God, using sin to tell God that we didn't want Him reigning over our lives (hey I worked in the title of my blog there!). But Romans 5:10 says "While we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." We couldn't bring about this peace by ourselves, only Jesus can bring peace.
The song continues and states that the slave is our brother, and all oppression shall cease. By claiming that slaves are our brothers, doesn't that also imply that we ourselves our slaves? We are all slaves to sin. When you realize that everyone, you and me alike, were once seen as enemies of God, slaves to sin, wouldn't the oppression that exists between people groups fade away? No one is supreme over anybody. Comparisons become moot points when you are trying to figure out who is worse off than someone else. You're missing the point if you're doing that.
You'll notice that each section of the song ends the same way. Thanking and praising God for what he has done. The primary response to hearing the Christmas story is not to give gifts to other people in an effort to make you feel good about yourself, or even to brighten someone else's day. The first response is worship. Declaring that Christ is the Lord. If you have made Jesus the Lord of your life, then forever and ever, you will praise him for his glory. You will want to proclaim his name to the world, because of what he has saved you from: the grave, sin, eternity without God. It's not something you do once a year as the calender turns to December, it's something you do with all your heart.
In some versions of the song, I noticed that instead of ending with a proclamation of Jesus's divinity and kingship, the song ends with the words "Noel" which simply means Christmas. So often, I hear people talk about "keeping the Christ in Christmas" and how they will say "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays". I have been known to be one of those obnoxious people. But nowadays, all I hear when people say things like that, is just white noise. Do not simply yell Noel, without reflecting on what you really mean. This isn't a time to make a political statement. It's a time to worship and reflect on the fact that 2000 years ago, God entered into the world on a holy, divine, night in the form of a helpless baby, and the life of that child would change the world forever.
Well I hope you've enjoyed my posts on this classic. And I applaud you on making it this far. I just now realized that I may have been rambling and this post is quite a bit longer than previous entries. I hope you enjoy the Christmas season, and you'll hear again from me again as I continue to share my thoughts about this wonderful season. It's been real.
Love is an odd thing to define. There are 4 Greek words for love. Storge, which means affection, Phileo, which refers to friendship and brotherly love (hence the reason why Philadelphia is called the City of Brotherly Love. Random side note: I have an odd inclination to cheering for Philadelphia sports teams because my name is in the city), Eros, which mainly concerns romantic love, and Agape, meaning unconditional love. In the New Testament, the original Greek language uses Agape, pure unconditional love to describe God's love for his people. Unconditional love is hard to come by in this day in age. Even the strongest marriages can end in divorce, and relationships between parents and children are never ideal. But God's love does not fail. The love that compels God to send his Son, that allows Christmas to even happen is truly incredible compared to human attempts at agape. What Jesus did on this earth, living a perfect life and dying on the cross for our sins is the ultimate act of love. John 3:16 is a very popular verse that does a good job of illustrating God's love for us. Perhaps a lesser known verse is found in the book of 1 John in chapter 3, verse 16 which says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." When the Bible talks about love, it goes beyond just being nice to people. It calls us to truly give of ourselves, to make sacrifices, to go beyond our comfort zone, not just during a season of giving, but for the entirety of our lives.
His gospel is peace.
Gospel means good news. The good news is peace. That's what everyone wants right? Politicians and high school seniors writing college essays always talk about establishing world peace. Call me a pessimist, but I don't think that's happening anytime soon. But I can take solace in the fact that God has offered peace to us through Jesus. For there to be a peace, it is implied that there was war, rebellion going on. Humanity was in open rebellion against God, fighting God, using sin to tell God that we didn't want Him reigning over our lives (hey I worked in the title of my blog there!). But Romans 5:10 says "While we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." We couldn't bring about this peace by ourselves, only Jesus can bring peace.
The song continues and states that the slave is our brother, and all oppression shall cease. By claiming that slaves are our brothers, doesn't that also imply that we ourselves our slaves? We are all slaves to sin. When you realize that everyone, you and me alike, were once seen as enemies of God, slaves to sin, wouldn't the oppression that exists between people groups fade away? No one is supreme over anybody. Comparisons become moot points when you are trying to figure out who is worse off than someone else. You're missing the point if you're doing that.
You'll notice that each section of the song ends the same way. Thanking and praising God for what he has done. The primary response to hearing the Christmas story is not to give gifts to other people in an effort to make you feel good about yourself, or even to brighten someone else's day. The first response is worship. Declaring that Christ is the Lord. If you have made Jesus the Lord of your life, then forever and ever, you will praise him for his glory. You will want to proclaim his name to the world, because of what he has saved you from: the grave, sin, eternity without God. It's not something you do once a year as the calender turns to December, it's something you do with all your heart.
In some versions of the song, I noticed that instead of ending with a proclamation of Jesus's divinity and kingship, the song ends with the words "Noel" which simply means Christmas. So often, I hear people talk about "keeping the Christ in Christmas" and how they will say "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays". I have been known to be one of those obnoxious people. But nowadays, all I hear when people say things like that, is just white noise. Do not simply yell Noel, without reflecting on what you really mean. This isn't a time to make a political statement. It's a time to worship and reflect on the fact that 2000 years ago, God entered into the world on a holy, divine, night in the form of a helpless baby, and the life of that child would change the world forever.
Well I hope you've enjoyed my posts on this classic. And I applaud you on making it this far. I just now realized that I may have been rambling and this post is quite a bit longer than previous entries. I hope you enjoy the Christmas season, and you'll hear again from me again as I continue to share my thoughts about this wonderful season. It's been real.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
i should be studying for finals, but i wrote this instead
Welcome to part 2 of my analysis of the beloved Christmas song, O Holy Night. Here's part 1 for those of you who missed it. I should be studying for my final on parasitic pathogens and infections, but learning about the parasite known as Leishmania is not all that fun. So instead, I'm taking the next few minutes to write this post as I prolong my studying, and if you go to OSU, here's a chance to take a little break for yourself! And if you don't go to OSU, great, you have all kinds of time to read this! We pick up the song in verse 2.
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Here the first few verses refer to the well known story of the 3 wise men who come to visit Christ. Not much is known about these 3 kings. Of the four gospel accounts, only Matthew records this incident, but this story of their visit holds a lot of significance. These Wise Men, the Magi, are not Jews, but they have an understanding of Jewish scripture and prophecy. In the book of Matthew 2:6, they quote a prophecy from Micah 5:2, "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel." They come from, according to the song, Orient land, or east of Israel. Why would these non Jews, these Gentiles, be interested in the Jewish Messiah? They had faith in God. This Messiah is not just for the nation of Israel, but for the entire world. Jesus came to be worshiped by people of all different cultures and races. He came for everybody.
The next line refers to Jesus as being the King of Kings, which is kind of weird considering the circumstances, that he is lying in a lowly manger. The King of Kings, the God of the universe, the first born over all creation, who has all the power in the world, has been reduced to an infant, incapable of surviving without the help of his mother. The almighty God became a helpless baby. Just let that truth sink in for a little bit, no matter how many times you have heard that before. It's still amazing.
The verse continues, that Jesus was born to be our friend in our trials. Do you remember a few years ago, when those "Jesus is my Homeboy" t-shirts came out? I hate those t-shirts. Jesus is not simply your homeboy. He is so much more. He's not just someone you go to in times of trouble, because he's a good listener and will guide you on your life journey. Hebrews 4:15-16 says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need". Jesus experienced everything we have gone through. He experienced all the pain and suffering of the world when he was crucified on the cross. He's not just an onlooker. He is an active participant in our lives. He's more than a homeboy, he is more than an acquaintance. He is our friend, the best friend we will ever have (yeah I know how cheesy that sounds, but that doesn't mean it's any less true).
The section ends with a call to worship. No, it's more than a call, it's a command to kneel in recognition of our place before God and to see Jesus for who he really is, our Lord and savior. He's not just your homeboy, not just a good moral teacher, not a set of rules to follow, but the sovereign king of creation. Jesus may not look the way you think God should look. But God does not conform to our norms, to our expectations. We are called to follow what he has planned for our life, and the first step, is to admit that we are sinful people who need this baby to live a life that we never could.
Well, this concludes my study break. Now I'm off to the wonderful world of parasites and medical terminology. Check back soon for the thrilling finale of my analysis of O Holy Night. (meh who am I kidding, it won't be all that thrilling, but it will still be good).
Until our paths cross again...
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Here the first few verses refer to the well known story of the 3 wise men who come to visit Christ. Not much is known about these 3 kings. Of the four gospel accounts, only Matthew records this incident, but this story of their visit holds a lot of significance. These Wise Men, the Magi, are not Jews, but they have an understanding of Jewish scripture and prophecy. In the book of Matthew 2:6, they quote a prophecy from Micah 5:2, "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel." They come from, according to the song, Orient land, or east of Israel. Why would these non Jews, these Gentiles, be interested in the Jewish Messiah? They had faith in God. This Messiah is not just for the nation of Israel, but for the entire world. Jesus came to be worshiped by people of all different cultures and races. He came for everybody.
The next line refers to Jesus as being the King of Kings, which is kind of weird considering the circumstances, that he is lying in a lowly manger. The King of Kings, the God of the universe, the first born over all creation, who has all the power in the world, has been reduced to an infant, incapable of surviving without the help of his mother. The almighty God became a helpless baby. Just let that truth sink in for a little bit, no matter how many times you have heard that before. It's still amazing.
The verse continues, that Jesus was born to be our friend in our trials. Do you remember a few years ago, when those "Jesus is my Homeboy" t-shirts came out? I hate those t-shirts. Jesus is not simply your homeboy. He is so much more. He's not just someone you go to in times of trouble, because he's a good listener and will guide you on your life journey. Hebrews 4:15-16 says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need". Jesus experienced everything we have gone through. He experienced all the pain and suffering of the world when he was crucified on the cross. He's not just an onlooker. He is an active participant in our lives. He's more than a homeboy, he is more than an acquaintance. He is our friend, the best friend we will ever have (yeah I know how cheesy that sounds, but that doesn't mean it's any less true).
The section ends with a call to worship. No, it's more than a call, it's a command to kneel in recognition of our place before God and to see Jesus for who he really is, our Lord and savior. He's not just your homeboy, not just a good moral teacher, not a set of rules to follow, but the sovereign king of creation. Jesus may not look the way you think God should look. But God does not conform to our norms, to our expectations. We are called to follow what he has planned for our life, and the first step, is to admit that we are sinful people who need this baby to live a life that we never could.
Well, this concludes my study break. Now I'm off to the wonderful world of parasites and medical terminology. Check back soon for the thrilling finale of my analysis of O Holy Night. (meh who am I kidding, it won't be all that thrilling, but it will still be good).
Until our paths cross again...
Friday, December 2, 2011
not everyone can sing, but everyone can think
In my last post, I made a reference to my favorite Christmas song of all time, O Holy Night, sung by the wonderful voice of Josh Groban. This song is incredibly hard to sing for me, and as a man, I have tremendous respect for those who succeed where I have failed. You need to have a really good range to hit those high notes, something that I am lacking. (Side note: in middle school I was one of a few boys who actually could sing and was actually involved in middle school show choir and a Capella group. Thanks to my Asian upbringing that involved intense piano study, I developed a great ear and knew my way around a music staff. As a tenor, I was one of the few who could hit those high notes. Then one day, puberty came and my greatest asset and contributions to the choir left me and my dreams of being the front man of a boy band died.) In fact, whenever I sing during worship, I always feel bad for the people around me as I make valiant attempts to hit the high notes. I seriously think that there have been times when others have left the area around me to go worship next to someone who can actually sing.
Now if you've been to any Christmas Eve service in a Protestant church, you've probably ended the night singing this song. It's been a staple of every Christmas themed service I've ever attended. It's very easy to take this song for granted, or any other worship hymn or song for that matter. But have you ever stopped to think about the lyrics you are singing? Because this song is surprisingly deep upon further review and makes some bold claims. Over the next few posts, I'm going to analyze the lyrics of this Christmas classic.
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
The first verses of the song set the setting for the well known entrance of Jesus. But starting with the 4th lines, the song has some serious implications. Think about it. Human souls had no worth. It was stuck in the mire of sin. Life was hopeless. This all changes with the birth of Christ. The soul regains its worth when Christ steps onto the scene. Apart from him, there is no real hope in the world. This occasion marks the dawning of a new age, a new chapter of humanity where a personal intimate relationship with the Father is made possible by the Son. So what are we told to do when we hear this good news? We fall on our knees and worship. The last time I was listening to this song, instead of being amazed by God's love, I was more in awe of Josh Groban, or Celine Dion's vocal fortitude. But we should be in awe of the voices of the angels in heaven who are declaring "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:14). The rebellion of humanity's sin against God is coming to an end. Heaven has sent down an olive branch, and all of God's angels rejoice. I wonder how beautiful and terrifying it must have been for those shepherds that holy night when they sat in their fields and all of a sudden, a legion of God's angels appeared to them shouting the praises of God.
As we continue on in this Christmas season, I encourage you to look at the lyrics of your favorite Christmas carols that talk about the birth of Christ. Really reflect on them, and understand what you are proclaiming when you sing along on the radio or in a candle light Christmas church service. I'll continue my analysis of O Holy Night in my next post. Until then, you stay classy, world wide web!
Now if you've been to any Christmas Eve service in a Protestant church, you've probably ended the night singing this song. It's been a staple of every Christmas themed service I've ever attended. It's very easy to take this song for granted, or any other worship hymn or song for that matter. But have you ever stopped to think about the lyrics you are singing? Because this song is surprisingly deep upon further review and makes some bold claims. Over the next few posts, I'm going to analyze the lyrics of this Christmas classic.
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
The first verses of the song set the setting for the well known entrance of Jesus. But starting with the 4th lines, the song has some serious implications. Think about it. Human souls had no worth. It was stuck in the mire of sin. Life was hopeless. This all changes with the birth of Christ. The soul regains its worth when Christ steps onto the scene. Apart from him, there is no real hope in the world. This occasion marks the dawning of a new age, a new chapter of humanity where a personal intimate relationship with the Father is made possible by the Son. So what are we told to do when we hear this good news? We fall on our knees and worship. The last time I was listening to this song, instead of being amazed by God's love, I was more in awe of Josh Groban, or Celine Dion's vocal fortitude. But we should be in awe of the voices of the angels in heaven who are declaring "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:14). The rebellion of humanity's sin against God is coming to an end. Heaven has sent down an olive branch, and all of God's angels rejoice. I wonder how beautiful and terrifying it must have been for those shepherds that holy night when they sat in their fields and all of a sudden, a legion of God's angels appeared to them shouting the praises of God.
As we continue on in this Christmas season, I encourage you to look at the lyrics of your favorite Christmas carols that talk about the birth of Christ. Really reflect on them, and understand what you are proclaiming when you sing along on the radio or in a candle light Christmas church service. I'll continue my analysis of O Holy Night in my next post. Until then, you stay classy, world wide web!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
it's thanksgiving! so let's talk about christmas! (obvi)
Some people say Christmas season doesn't start until after Thanksgiving. Others say it starts after Halloween. Personally, I start feeling a little festive October 25th, the Two Months Before Christmas Day... day. I may or may not have been part of a four person effort that decorated a few trees and light posts on campus with paper made Christmas ornaments last year. These ornaments may or may not have been in the shape of Christmas Dinosaurs, (because everyone knows that Dinosaurs are awesome, and I bet that if you asked a Dinosaur what his or her favorite holiday was, it would be Christmas).
The other day at work, a friend and co-worker mentioned putting on some Christmas tunes in the kitchen where we were busy making some hot toasted sandwiches. You see, when Josh Groban starts singing O Holy Night, I get jacked up and my productivity increases tenfold. Same goes for Mariah Carey's rendition of All I Want for Christmas is You.
But then an unspeakable horror occurred. (Well not really unspeakable because I'm going to talk about it right here). Another co-worker mentioned how she hated Christmas music and how she "quit" Christmas years ago. SHE QUIT CHRISTMAS! You can't do that! It's not like smoking or drinking, a bad habit something that you can just quit!
In all fairness, she was not digging any of the commercialism and has young kids who probably bug the crap out of her when December rolls around. So she isn't the biggest Grinch around. And she said something to the effect of "It's Christmas everyday." And I'm pretty sure I understood what she meant.
Or maybe I didn't understand at all what she was thinking, but this is what I thought about.
The idea of Christmas is something that is integral to my daily life. It's a key component of the Gospel. I'm not talking about any our silly traditions that revolve around Santa (or if you switch the letters around, Satan! Oh my!) cutting down trees and exchanging of gifts of course. But what Christmas celebrates is an incredible thing. The birth of Jesus, the realization of years of Jewish prophecy in the Old Testament, the beginning of sin's ultimate demise, begins the most important story of all time.
I believe that Christmas can be summed up in John 1:14 which says:
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
God came to dwell among us! This wasn't the first time God decided to dwell with man. In the past God's presence dwelt among the nation of Israel as they wondered the desert and His presence was made known by a tremendous sight as Exodus 40:38 says "For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys"
But this dwelling among men is different in Jesus. I imagine that a giant pillar of fire is real intimidating and scary. Something so powerful, so holy, so perfect cannot be approached by man. Remember that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (I love Harrison Ford! Han Solo, Indiana Jones, what a guy!) when those creepy Nazi guys open of the Ark of the Covenant and power inside the Ark, melts their faces? Yeah, I'd say that's actually an accurate picture of how we can't grasp and even stand to be in the presence of a perfect God, or that a just and righteous God can't stand to be in the presence of sinful people.
But in Jesus, God became man. He became an approachable baby in a manger in Roman occupied Israel, a far less terrifying sight than a tornado of fire leading a nation that would conquer the Holy Land. Through him, we have access to the father, to eternal life. We don't have to cower in fear before God. God came down to meet with us.
The holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas are inseparable in my mind. Because the thing I am most thankful for is that "...Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:5-11.
Also, I think Easter is sweet too, but we can talk about Easter at the appropriate time, which is obviously, New Years, or maybe Presidents day?
Happy Thanksgiving everyone
The other day at work, a friend and co-worker mentioned putting on some Christmas tunes in the kitchen where we were busy making some hot toasted sandwiches. You see, when Josh Groban starts singing O Holy Night, I get jacked up and my productivity increases tenfold. Same goes for Mariah Carey's rendition of All I Want for Christmas is You.
But then an unspeakable horror occurred. (Well not really unspeakable because I'm going to talk about it right here). Another co-worker mentioned how she hated Christmas music and how she "quit" Christmas years ago. SHE QUIT CHRISTMAS! You can't do that! It's not like smoking or drinking, a bad habit something that you can just quit!
In all fairness, she was not digging any of the commercialism and has young kids who probably bug the crap out of her when December rolls around. So she isn't the biggest Grinch around. And she said something to the effect of "It's Christmas everyday." And I'm pretty sure I understood what she meant.
Or maybe I didn't understand at all what she was thinking, but this is what I thought about.
The idea of Christmas is something that is integral to my daily life. It's a key component of the Gospel. I'm not talking about any our silly traditions that revolve around Santa (or if you switch the letters around, Satan! Oh my!) cutting down trees and exchanging of gifts of course. But what Christmas celebrates is an incredible thing. The birth of Jesus, the realization of years of Jewish prophecy in the Old Testament, the beginning of sin's ultimate demise, begins the most important story of all time.
I believe that Christmas can be summed up in John 1:14 which says:
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
God came to dwell among us! This wasn't the first time God decided to dwell with man. In the past God's presence dwelt among the nation of Israel as they wondered the desert and His presence was made known by a tremendous sight as Exodus 40:38 says "For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys"
But this dwelling among men is different in Jesus. I imagine that a giant pillar of fire is real intimidating and scary. Something so powerful, so holy, so perfect cannot be approached by man. Remember that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (I love Harrison Ford! Han Solo, Indiana Jones, what a guy!) when those creepy Nazi guys open of the Ark of the Covenant and power inside the Ark, melts their faces? Yeah, I'd say that's actually an accurate picture of how we can't grasp and even stand to be in the presence of a perfect God, or that a just and righteous God can't stand to be in the presence of sinful people.
But in Jesus, God became man. He became an approachable baby in a manger in Roman occupied Israel, a far less terrifying sight than a tornado of fire leading a nation that would conquer the Holy Land. Through him, we have access to the father, to eternal life. We don't have to cower in fear before God. God came down to meet with us.
The holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas are inseparable in my mind. Because the thing I am most thankful for is that "...Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:5-11.
Also, I think Easter is sweet too, but we can talk about Easter at the appropriate time, which is obviously, New Years, or maybe Presidents day?
Happy Thanksgiving everyone
Sunday, November 13, 2011
on the banks of the olentangy
The Olentangy River ( it's pronounced OH lehn TANGE ee not OH lhen TANG ee. Which reminds me, when was the last time you some Tang orange drink? Tang! It's a kick in a glass! Anyway, back to the rest of this sentence) runs through the campus of THE Ohio State University. A bike path runs along side it and on nice days in the fall, on campus it seems everyone on campus turns into a fitness guru and goes for a bike ride or a run along the path. Sometimes I'll join in on this fitness craze and run by the river. Sometimes, just to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather (global warming is a good thing. I like warm weather) we've enjoyed in Columbus, I'll just walk by the river in the fading sunshine of a Midwestern afternoon. Sometimes I'll just sit in the grass overlooking the river and get weird looks from bikers and runners who think I'm creeping on them. I find it helps me clear my thoughts, and the quietness of scenery gives me plenty of time to spend in prayer. It also allows me to say things "I went down to the river to pray" (hey, like that one song!).
So a little background on the Olentangy River. It might look pretty in the autumn sun as the water reflects the colors of the orange leaves. There are ducks and other water fowl swimming in harmony with one another. Maybe you'd even like to take a little swim in river. That's just foolish. The river is a dump. Well, more accurately, it's a river where sewers and drains dump their contents. As a Microbiology major, I could probably test the quality of that water and then let you know about all the fecal matter that's brewing in that cesspool. But hey, it still looks pretty. It would be an incredibly daunting task to clean the river. But hypothetically lets say you could. One day, a motley crew of environmentally conscious scientists and hipsters went to work and completely cleaned up the river and made it possible for wildlife and humans to enjoy the fresh water oasis in the middle of a college campus. In fact, you could even drink the water if you wanted to. How long would the restored river last? Until the next rainfall when sewers and drains dumped the contents of filthy urban runoff into the Olentangy. A continual system of pricey upkeep would be necessary to maintain the river, and the hipsters would probably stop caring soon enough.
Now then why am I talking about a dirty river? Because I think it makes for a great picture of the Gospel. Our world is filthy. I'm filthy. So are you. We're covered in sin. Any man made remedy can never clean us. In the Israelite tradition, continual sacrifices needed to be made, but no sacrifice could ever take away the stain of sin. Our own attempts at righteousness fall short of what God intends for us. A perfect God demands perfection. The only thing that can cleanse us is the blood of a perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ. We must embrace the truth that we are not good enough. Our lives are a mess. The work of Christ on the cross cleanses us completely. And when we sin again, Jesus' blood cleanses us still. We must drink from the living water, the water that gives eternal life, a life that is complete and fulfilling. This water will never get dirty. It is always clean, always fresh.
You want a real picture of a perfect river. Read this from Revelation Chapter 22:
"1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever."
The River of Life, God's river is way more beautiful and magnificent then the Olentangy or any other scene I can imagine. I look forward to the day when I can find true rest and peace on the banks of that beautiful reality. It won't just be a pretty picture.
So a little background on the Olentangy River. It might look pretty in the autumn sun as the water reflects the colors of the orange leaves. There are ducks and other water fowl swimming in harmony with one another. Maybe you'd even like to take a little swim in river. That's just foolish. The river is a dump. Well, more accurately, it's a river where sewers and drains dump their contents. As a Microbiology major, I could probably test the quality of that water and then let you know about all the fecal matter that's brewing in that cesspool. But hey, it still looks pretty. It would be an incredibly daunting task to clean the river. But hypothetically lets say you could. One day, a motley crew of environmentally conscious scientists and hipsters went to work and completely cleaned up the river and made it possible for wildlife and humans to enjoy the fresh water oasis in the middle of a college campus. In fact, you could even drink the water if you wanted to. How long would the restored river last? Until the next rainfall when sewers and drains dumped the contents of filthy urban runoff into the Olentangy. A continual system of pricey upkeep would be necessary to maintain the river, and the hipsters would probably stop caring soon enough.
Now then why am I talking about a dirty river? Because I think it makes for a great picture of the Gospel. Our world is filthy. I'm filthy. So are you. We're covered in sin. Any man made remedy can never clean us. In the Israelite tradition, continual sacrifices needed to be made, but no sacrifice could ever take away the stain of sin. Our own attempts at righteousness fall short of what God intends for us. A perfect God demands perfection. The only thing that can cleanse us is the blood of a perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ. We must embrace the truth that we are not good enough. Our lives are a mess. The work of Christ on the cross cleanses us completely. And when we sin again, Jesus' blood cleanses us still. We must drink from the living water, the water that gives eternal life, a life that is complete and fulfilling. This water will never get dirty. It is always clean, always fresh.
You want a real picture of a perfect river. Read this from Revelation Chapter 22:
"1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever."
The River of Life, God's river is way more beautiful and magnificent then the Olentangy or any other scene I can imagine. I look forward to the day when I can find true rest and peace on the banks of that beautiful reality. It won't just be a pretty picture.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
oh what up blogosphere?
Well hello there my friend. I don't know how you got here. Maybe you're one of my faithful followers on twitter and you want to know how does Phil come up with such great tweets? Maybe you're one of my so-called facebook "friends" and you don't have anything to do today, so you clicked on a link to my blog with the mindset of, "Oh great, yet another blog about a 20-something who feels the need to share his feelings with the world. Get out of high school already!" Perhaps you Googled "World's most attractive single Asian-American male" and boom, here you are. Maybe you're thinking, "This guy is an idiot, he spelled 'rain' wrong in the title of his blog." Contrary to popular belief, I'm an above average speller (thanks High Point Elementary School!). The reign I refer to has nothing to do with the precipitation that has plagued my last two quarters at THE Ohio State University. No, it refers to Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven. With that last statement, I probably lost a lot readers and all my Christian friends are going "oh snap, he's about to drop some knowledge! Go Jesus!"
Yeah, I'm a Christian, or if you don't prefer labels, a follower of Christ, one who loves Jesus and has given him lordship over my life, and I want nothing more than to see God's kingdom reigning in my life, in this city, in this nation, in this world. I don't pretend to be perfect. I don't mean to be yet another pretentious holier than thou person who got a hold of a keyboard and started posting Jesus comments on youtube videos and yahoo news articles. No, I'm just going to let you know what Jesus has done in my life and how he influences every hour I live. If you just tasted the world's best ice cream flavor (it's graeters black raspberry chip by the way), wouldn't you want to share that revelation with the entire world? Well that's what I want to do. I believe that with Jesus on the throne of your life, your life will never lack meaning or purpose. I don't say your life will be fun and easy and you'll live happily ever after, because I'm not in the business of lying to people. If someone told you that if you became a Christian your life would be instantly better, I'd like to meet that person and punch him in the face. But Jesus can forgive you of your sins and restore your life and shape it in a way that fits into God's perfect plan. What that means in your life personally, I can't say. All I know is that the intimacy with God that I've experienced is awesome and I trust a perfect God with my life more than anything else on this earth.
So if you're still reading this, good for you! I hope you come back for my blend of life, humor, and truth. Well... see ya
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