A few weekends ago I took a trip with my sister, Grace Kim, to Roseville, CA. We made a great team as we led worship at the Rock of Roseville Church (Well, Grace led and I played backup keyboards and helped direct the church band in following Grace). It was a wonderful time of leading a congregation into the presence of the Lord. But I must say that the highlights of the trip were principally just getting closer to my stunning, 7th-month-expectant sister, and secondly, the plane rides. As to the latter, I love the absolute vulnerability of flying. There’s still something strange to me about a 45 ton piece of metal hurling through the atmosphere at 530 mph. On our first flight I opened my bible and flipped to one of my defaults (i.e. favorites), Psalm 36. After describing the posture of the wicked man in verses 1-4, David turns to look at the heavens, the clouds, the mountains, and the seas (all of which were clearly evident outside my own plane window) in verses 5-6 and how they envision the faithful mercies of God in preserving a humanity so bent on rebellion. In verse 7, David contrasts the response of the righteous toward God’s precious mercy compared with that of those who reject it: they “take refuge in the shadow of Your wings”. Every time the plane takes off or lands I feel that “taking refuge” most manifestly (especially on those rickety American Airlines landings!). But for a moment, ponder how precious this must be to God. For many, if the plane goes down, men curse God and die. But few thank Him for a lifetime of preserving mercy. How many men look out the window to see the clouds and admire “Mother Nature” (which in itself is such a statement of Evolutionist Naturalism… your mother is not Nature…) or see a great lake below and forget that God once flooded the earth with water and is hence preserving it from ever such a deluge (2 Peter 3:5-7)? Men look at Creation and volitionally suppress the truth of a Creator (Rom. 1:20); each stubborn denial “storing up wrath for the day of wrath” (Rom. 2:5). But then the plane safely lands again and again. And then it rains again. And again. And again. And again. God continues loving and preserving ungrateful and evil men (Luke 6:35-36). And it is mercy that preaches (Rom. 2:4). Indeed God is not leaving Himself without a witness (Acts 14:17) as every drop of rain silently preaches to the race of men, “God sent me! Don’t you see how kind He is? God sent me to refresh you, but you hate Him and refuse His right to rule over you! Know this now: I may come again as a Tsunami! But all I can do is testify of my Creator, He is both Power and Love (cf. Ps. 62:11-12). Repent of your rebellion and Believe in God!” But this witness will only last for a short while, and then comes the final judgment (Heb. 9:27). Do we not comprehend the fragility of our lives? It will not always be a safe landing. You will not always come home to a warm bed. Death is the great equalizer of us all and it fearfully coerces us to hope in Someone who is Living, who is Self-Existent. Our lives are in the hand of God (Ecc. 9). Take refuge there! He promises life and resurrection and pleasures forevermore.

“Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like a great deep. O LORD, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.” (Psalm 36:5-7)

There are an estimated 200,000 Sabians living in Iraq, that is, followers of John the Baptist (not Jesus). We must go tell them about Jesus!

“Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.” Acts 19:4-6

“The testimony of God to humanity, typified in the completion of the martyrdom of the saints, is the primary measuring rod of redemptive history. In other words, the completion of redemptive history happens in context to the completion of the testimony of God, which is typified through the completion of martyrdom.” -John Harrigan

See Mt. 24:9-14 and Rev. 6:9-11

If you voted “Other” on the Poll, please leave a comment on my post with your thoughts instead of typing out your answer… I don’t know how to access, much less make public answers that are typed as “Other”. Thank you! Love you guys!

Here’s another updation to you all. It was a long and nervous 2 days, but IT WAS ALL WORTH IT! Not just because I placed in the top 20, top 7, and top 3 (with grueling tie-breaking rounds between us), but because I got to be a trumpet blast (even if I had to whisper) of the preciousness of God’s Word. I am so provoked by all these kids who have treasured the Word of God not only in their minds but in their hearts. This Bible Bee is not about our diligence and how awesome we are, it is about the worth of Jesus and His Words, that they really are better than life (for most of us this meant: better than friends, games, evenings, afternoons, mornings, and even junk food that would hinder us from knowing the Word).

I am especially provoked by the other 2 of “the three”, Daniel Staddon and Ellen Lawrence. That was the funnest tie breaker of my life. They are crazy awesome and so humble! What kind of competitors root for you to win, even though knowing that your loss is their gain?! Thank you all for supporting me. I am abundantly blessed and have absolutely no reason of remorse for even getting 2nd. In the end we are all headed for a wedding feast (Rev. 19) and we will rejoice that we won the greatest competition, the competition that begins today, when after you walk out of J.W. Marriott, whether win or lose, and you press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3). It is the prize of being pleasing to Jesus, of being seen by Him when no one else sees you. It won’t matter if you’re really smart or get F’s, if you’re young or old, male or female, if you embrace today that narrow way of love, of keeping and teaching (live it and speak it) His commandments, you will be GREAT (Mt. 5:19). I tell you what, our hearts are desperate to be seen, to be noticed, to be great. And yet mystery of mysteries, the greatest glory is found in serving your brother/sister/mother/father (Mt. 22:36-40, Gal. 5:13-14). Then God is going to CROWN YOU (2 Tim. 4:7-8, Rev. 2:10)! God is going to HONOR YOU (1 Pet. 1:7)! Your resurrected body will shine because of the love you displayed in the secret place (Mt. 6:1-18, Dan. 12:3). Know that, as I said in the final round, “Jesus is interceding for us right now” (Rom. 8:34), He is praying that in this race of faith (1 Tim. 6:11-12, Heb. 12:1-2, Phil. 3:11-16, 1 Cor. 9:24-27), your faith would not fail (Luke 22:34-31)! So, as Paul did not cease to pray, may we also pray (even if it be in constant 15 second prayers) that we would be “strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience (endurance) with joy” -Col. 1:11 Whether you are a full-time mother, a pastor, a student, a kid, a full-time businessman, do not be deceived! If you faithfully sow to the Spirit (by talking with Him, yielding to, and obeying Him as He teaches you to love and serve), you will reap eternal life and greatness in the age to come (Mt. 20:26-28). Do not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not loose heart (Gal. 6:7-10)!

Dear Friends,

Good News!  The Final Challenge of the 2009 National Bible Bee Contest will be available for you to view via a live webcast on the National Bible Bee website – www.biblebee.org  Be sure to mark your calendars and invite your family, friends and neighbors to watch as our children proclaim the Word of God in our Nation’s capital!

The webcast can be viewed live on Friday, November 6, 2009, from 1:30pm – 5:15pm. (EST).  (That’s 12:30pm – 4:15pm in Kansas City)

Please continue to pray for God’s protection and blessing on this inaugural event!

Proclaiming God’s Word and Exalting our Savior!

–Bible Bee Headquarters

Hello all!

I am writing this now because I need to raise around $2,000 for a trip with my Dad to Washington D.C. this upcoming November to compete in the final round of the National Bible Bee! It costs so much because we are staying at the prestigious J.W. Marriott and it’s a lot. Over the past 5 months I have been working hard and steady on memorizing and reviewing the Bible passages for this competition and now I am in need of your support. So many of you have already shown it in encouragement and prayer, but now I need it in finances too. As always, this is optional and I only want you to do this if your heart moves you. You can just enter any amount after you click on the button below. Thank you so much!

This is a letter Pastor (not Dr. or Rev.) John Piper wrote to the parents of a baby born with no eyes…

The last few lines make my heart come alive in tears of hope,

It seems to me that this life is a proving ground for the kingdom to come. Some are asked to devote forty or fifty years to caring for a handicapped child instead of breezing through life without pain. Others are asked to be blind all their lives…

But only in this life – ONLY in this life. I want to be the kind person who makes that “ONLY” what it really is – very short. Prelude to the infinity of joy, joy, joy. But not yet. Not entirely.

How will we ever cope with the burdens of this life if we believe this is all there is, or even the main act in this drama of reality? O Lord, give us your view of things.

May God fill you with anticipated joy.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

If it is true, that this life is just God’s test grounds of looking for love and humility so that He can entrust those faithful ones to much in the age to come… (Mt. 20:26-28; 24:45-47) I want to see life this way! Oh, I want to see that this is about learning how to love now, not about how to play the games of empire and get big in this age. Oh, this is about making Jesus big and reflecting His character of self-giving, other-oriented love. This is about bleeding and blazoning the gospel among all the nations so that when He comes, He has an equally yoked Bride, a Bride who has left all to follow Him (Ps. 45:10-11). We are so centered on THIS DAY. We need the power of hope (Rom. 15:13) to align and anchor our hearts for THAT DAY, for the coming Kingdom of Messiah. It is the great reversal (especially for mothers) and the only motivator for humility and submission and faithfulness in this age when it seems no one is looking or noticing. It is the day when God will vindicate. It is the day when He will openly judge wickedness and reward righteousness. It is the day when He will rewrite all the history books! Alexander won’t be so “great”! And it will be those who have kept and taught the commandments of Christ who will called “great” (Mt. 5:19)! They will “shine brightly like the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3). Don’t grow weary, your life is hidden and it WILL be revealed in glory (Col. 3:3-4). “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” (Gal. 6:9) “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.” (Rev. 22:12) “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 1:13)

Hello all!

I am writing this now because I need to raise around $2,000 for a trip with my Dad to Washington D.C. this upcoming November to compete in the final round of the National Bible Bee! It costs so much because we are staying at the prestigious J.W. Marriott and it’s a lot. Over the past 5 months I have been working hard and steady on memorizing and reviewing the Bible passages for this competition and now I am in need of your support. So many of you have already shown it in encouragement and prayer, but now I need it in finances too. As always, this is optional and I only want you to do this if your heart moves you. You can just enter any amount on the button below. Thank you so much!