Feb 24: 1 Chronicles 1-9
1 Chronicles makes me think of how crazy it is that all the lineage is captured in the bible in such detail starting from Adam. It just branches out exponentially and you see how many people and generations are produced. On top of that, it makes me think of my own family and how their future generations will be. I think my parents did an amazing job of raising me and my siblings, primarily by showing us how to love each other through sacrifice and actions. A lot of pressure and responsibility is now on our shoulders (just me and ernie actually) to ensure that the future Park generations are rooted and grounded in Christ.
I used to have some minor insecurities about being a bad dad, thinking I wouldn't be patient enough or as sacrificial as my parents to properly show my love to my kids. Instead of worrying about all this though, I know that I should be worried about something else and that is my relationship with God.
Matthew 6:33 says:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
If we seek first God's kingdom, ALL things will be given to us as well. More and more I'm learning to believe in this, putting God first and letting Him take care of the rest. How do I become a good father? By seeking God first...his love will live in me and my love to my kids and I will have no choice but to be an awesome dad. Showing my love to my kids will then hopefully transfer onto their kids and to all the generations that follow. It's so important now for me to have a rock solid relationship with God so that God will look down upon me with favor and bless the future generations to come. Let's make sure our walks with God are so strong that it is inherited onwards. Think of the movement God can create through us!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Day 115
Feb 23
It's been a really hectic past 2 weeks with a lot going on in all aspects of my life but God has shown me how amazing He is during that time. I just want to say thanks to all my friends that continue to push and encourage me to seek God's kingdom first, I really couldn't get through everything without you guys.
I'll start blogging again tomorrow when I start 1 Chronicles, please continue to keep me accountable!
It's been a really hectic past 2 weeks with a lot going on in all aspects of my life but God has shown me how amazing He is during that time. I just want to say thanks to all my friends that continue to push and encourage me to seek God's kingdom first, I really couldn't get through everything without you guys.
I'll start blogging again tomorrow when I start 1 Chronicles, please continue to keep me accountable!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Day 103
Feb 11: 2 Kings 4-8
In chapter 4, a widow who revered the Lord, had debt to pay from when her husband was still alive. The creditor was now coming to take her 2 boys as slaves for that debt. She went to Elisha to see how he could help and he asked her what she did in fact own. She replied, "your servant has nothing there at all...except a little oil." Elisha told her to ask her neighbors for all the empty jars she had and no questions asked, she did it and was able to fill all those empty jars with the little oil she did have. She sold off all the oil she had and was able to pay off that debt and keep her 2 boys.
It's amazing to see how little God can work with at times, but the thing that caught my attention more was this widow's desperation. When we're pushed to the edge with no options, we have no one left to go to except God and that's what she did; she consulted Elisha the prophet for advice, and faithfully followed his directions. I want to have that same sense of desperation at all times, not just when I'm struggling. The kind of desperation that leads us to seek out God with urgency and purpose. Ever since I started this blog, I've asked God for a burning and passionate zeal for his word and he has helped me keep that fire. I want to add to this and ask for desperation for his word and take it to the next level where I almost need to read His word everyday. I've been listening to Desperate People by Hillsong a lot lately too so this passage today fit right in. Enjoy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VuGzjpszHQ
In chapter 4, a widow who revered the Lord, had debt to pay from when her husband was still alive. The creditor was now coming to take her 2 boys as slaves for that debt. She went to Elisha to see how he could help and he asked her what she did in fact own. She replied, "your servant has nothing there at all...except a little oil." Elisha told her to ask her neighbors for all the empty jars she had and no questions asked, she did it and was able to fill all those empty jars with the little oil she did have. She sold off all the oil she had and was able to pay off that debt and keep her 2 boys.
It's amazing to see how little God can work with at times, but the thing that caught my attention more was this widow's desperation. When we're pushed to the edge with no options, we have no one left to go to except God and that's what she did; she consulted Elisha the prophet for advice, and faithfully followed his directions. I want to have that same sense of desperation at all times, not just when I'm struggling. The kind of desperation that leads us to seek out God with urgency and purpose. Ever since I started this blog, I've asked God for a burning and passionate zeal for his word and he has helped me keep that fire. I want to add to this and ask for desperation for his word and take it to the next level where I almost need to read His word everyday. I've been listening to Desperate People by Hillsong a lot lately too so this passage today fit right in. Enjoy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VuGzjpszHQ
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Day 102
Feb 10: 1 Kings 21-22, 2 Kings 1-3
There are so many types of sins in my life that I commit repetitively. Over and over again, I fall into these sins and it's so hard to snap out of. You would think that the repetition would bring about awareness and change, but more often than not, I just become numb to it and my pride clouds me from correction.
Ahaziah, son of Ahab, falls into a similar trap. After his father Ahab died, Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room and injured himself. Ahaziah sends out messengers to seek out answers from idol gods, but Elijah confronts them and sends them back to Ahaziah telling him that he will certainly die. Ahaziah then sends a captain and 50 men to find Elijah and when they do, the captain says, "Man of God, the king says, Come down!" Elijah answers with, "If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Fire immediately comes down and consumes the captain and his men. Ahaziah hears this, and for some reason sends another captain and 50 men. Again the same exact thing happens, and the next captain and 50 men are consumed by fire. Ahaziah hears this once more, and sends out a 3rd captain with 50 men. This captain though gets wise and asks Elijah for respect on his life and Elijah follows him to Ahaziah.
This story may seem ridiculous, but are our sins so different? We know the consequences and outcomes of some of these sins we repetitively commit, but go on committing them nonetheless. What can we do to stop this? We can make intentional decisions that keep us away from these sins and temptations. Instead of just saying, oh I'll try harder not to commit this sin, we can think of concrete steps that will help us avoid that situation altogether. Another mentality that can help is that every time these temptations come about, let's not look at it as another chance for us to fail, but another chance for us to resist and show our obedience and faith to God. We can show God that we're willing to make real changes in our habits b/c of the love we have for Him.
There are so many types of sins in my life that I commit repetitively. Over and over again, I fall into these sins and it's so hard to snap out of. You would think that the repetition would bring about awareness and change, but more often than not, I just become numb to it and my pride clouds me from correction.
Ahaziah, son of Ahab, falls into a similar trap. After his father Ahab died, Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room and injured himself. Ahaziah sends out messengers to seek out answers from idol gods, but Elijah confronts them and sends them back to Ahaziah telling him that he will certainly die. Ahaziah then sends a captain and 50 men to find Elijah and when they do, the captain says, "Man of God, the king says, Come down!" Elijah answers with, "If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Fire immediately comes down and consumes the captain and his men. Ahaziah hears this, and for some reason sends another captain and 50 men. Again the same exact thing happens, and the next captain and 50 men are consumed by fire. Ahaziah hears this once more, and sends out a 3rd captain with 50 men. This captain though gets wise and asks Elijah for respect on his life and Elijah follows him to Ahaziah.
This story may seem ridiculous, but are our sins so different? We know the consequences and outcomes of some of these sins we repetitively commit, but go on committing them nonetheless. What can we do to stop this? We can make intentional decisions that keep us away from these sins and temptations. Instead of just saying, oh I'll try harder not to commit this sin, we can think of concrete steps that will help us avoid that situation altogether. Another mentality that can help is that every time these temptations come about, let's not look at it as another chance for us to fail, but another chance for us to resist and show our obedience and faith to God. We can show God that we're willing to make real changes in our habits b/c of the love we have for Him.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Day 101
Feb 9: 1 Kings 19-20
I love reading about this story when God comes before Elijah. Elijah just traveled 40 days and 40 nights and reached Horeb, the mountain of God. When he's there, God tells him to "go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." When Elijah is out there, a great and powerful wind tears the mountains apart and shatters rocks, but the LORD wasn't in the wind. Then an earthquake came, but the Lord wasn't in the earthquake and next a fire came by, but the Lord wasn't in the fire either. Finally, after the fire, came a gentle whisper. When Elijah hears it, he pulls his cloak over his face and hears God speak to him.
God is so awesome like this. You'd think if you had omnipotence, you would present yourself like a powerful wind, earthquake or fire and God kind of plays around with that and teases Elijah with it. But at the end, God shows us that He's a loving and gentle God when we are obedient to Him. This is such a comforting passage to me, it makes me want to be more obedient and experience this kind of love that God has for us.
I love reading about this story when God comes before Elijah. Elijah just traveled 40 days and 40 nights and reached Horeb, the mountain of God. When he's there, God tells him to "go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." When Elijah is out there, a great and powerful wind tears the mountains apart and shatters rocks, but the LORD wasn't in the wind. Then an earthquake came, but the Lord wasn't in the earthquake and next a fire came by, but the Lord wasn't in the fire either. Finally, after the fire, came a gentle whisper. When Elijah hears it, he pulls his cloak over his face and hears God speak to him.
God is so awesome like this. You'd think if you had omnipotence, you would present yourself like a powerful wind, earthquake or fire and God kind of plays around with that and teases Elijah with it. But at the end, God shows us that He's a loving and gentle God when we are obedient to Him. This is such a comforting passage to me, it makes me want to be more obedient and experience this kind of love that God has for us.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Day 100
Feb 8: 1 Kings 16-18
Praise God that I made it to day 100 ahead of schedule! (only by a little bit) Anyways, I'm really glad I committed to reading the bible consistently, it's done a lot for me and has taught me some more discipline, although I still need to be better at this. Thanks again to people who read/post and encourage me to keep it going.
I think we all know or at least say we know how important and powerful prayer is. But in case any of us forgot how much of an impact it really can be, chapter 17 clearly demonstrates this. In that chapter, Elijah is staying at a widow's house when her son becomes ill. She becomes extremely worried for his health and asks Elijah if he came to her place to remind her of her sin and to kill her son. Elijah then takes the son to the upper room of the house and cries out to the Lord asking Him to return the boy's life to him. Verse 22 is the key verse which states, "The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived."
God heard Elijah's cry; essentially, God reacted to Elijah's cry. If Elijah hadn't cried out for this boy, I'm not sure he would have lived... In any case, Elijah didn't just pray or ask God for help, he cried out for Him. He showed how invested he was and how much he cared for this boy's life and in turn God heard Him. God wants this kind of passion from us and from our prayers! It shows how much it means to us and how willing we are to cry out for help, asking God to take our burdens upon Himself. The result of our genuine prayers could be enough to save someone's life, nothing is too small for God to handle. Let's cry out to God for all that we're struggling with, for all that we need help with, and be assured that He will listen and He will react according to His will and His awesome plans for us.
Praise God that I made it to day 100 ahead of schedule! (only by a little bit) Anyways, I'm really glad I committed to reading the bible consistently, it's done a lot for me and has taught me some more discipline, although I still need to be better at this. Thanks again to people who read/post and encourage me to keep it going.
I think we all know or at least say we know how important and powerful prayer is. But in case any of us forgot how much of an impact it really can be, chapter 17 clearly demonstrates this. In that chapter, Elijah is staying at a widow's house when her son becomes ill. She becomes extremely worried for his health and asks Elijah if he came to her place to remind her of her sin and to kill her son. Elijah then takes the son to the upper room of the house and cries out to the Lord asking Him to return the boy's life to him. Verse 22 is the key verse which states, "The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived."
God heard Elijah's cry; essentially, God reacted to Elijah's cry. If Elijah hadn't cried out for this boy, I'm not sure he would have lived... In any case, Elijah didn't just pray or ask God for help, he cried out for Him. He showed how invested he was and how much he cared for this boy's life and in turn God heard Him. God wants this kind of passion from us and from our prayers! It shows how much it means to us and how willing we are to cry out for help, asking God to take our burdens upon Himself. The result of our genuine prayers could be enough to save someone's life, nothing is too small for God to handle. Let's cry out to God for all that we're struggling with, for all that we need help with, and be assured that He will listen and He will react according to His will and His awesome plans for us.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Day 94
Feb 2: 1 Kings 6-9
Chapter 7 goes into great detail the construction of the palace and temple King Solomon creates. The innermost room of the temple holds the Most Holy Place and I thought that was fitting. God's room is the core of the temple and everything else is around it. Our lives should really mirror this design. God should be at the center of our hearts and of our lives and everything should resound off of this.
One of the main themes from our retreat this past weekend was repentance. I've realized that I'm lacking in this department immensely and was humbled by the speaker Dr. Kim's message. When doctors told him he was terminal in his thirties, he went up to Big Bear Mountain in Cali and just struggled with God for over a week. During this time, God humbled him and told him to repent for all the nastiness in his life. Dr. Kim ended up writing down 52 pages of sins on paper, coming clean with God, and is still alive at age 70!
I don't think I could come close to that many pages of sin on paper, not because of the lack of sin in my life, but because of the lack of true repentance and true understanding of my sins. I ask God to forgive me for things here and there, but I'm not really digging deep or getting to the root of these sins. I need God to help reveal ALL my sins to me, even getting to the real nasty stuff. I'm confident that God will help me develop this area of my life and I'm assured that once I ask for true forgiveness, His blood and the cross will wipe me clean and finally God will be able to be at the center of my heart and my life.
Chapter 7 goes into great detail the construction of the palace and temple King Solomon creates. The innermost room of the temple holds the Most Holy Place and I thought that was fitting. God's room is the core of the temple and everything else is around it. Our lives should really mirror this design. God should be at the center of our hearts and of our lives and everything should resound off of this.
One of the main themes from our retreat this past weekend was repentance. I've realized that I'm lacking in this department immensely and was humbled by the speaker Dr. Kim's message. When doctors told him he was terminal in his thirties, he went up to Big Bear Mountain in Cali and just struggled with God for over a week. During this time, God humbled him and told him to repent for all the nastiness in his life. Dr. Kim ended up writing down 52 pages of sins on paper, coming clean with God, and is still alive at age 70!
I don't think I could come close to that many pages of sin on paper, not because of the lack of sin in my life, but because of the lack of true repentance and true understanding of my sins. I ask God to forgive me for things here and there, but I'm not really digging deep or getting to the root of these sins. I need God to help reveal ALL my sins to me, even getting to the real nasty stuff. I'm confident that God will help me develop this area of my life and I'm assured that once I ask for true forgiveness, His blood and the cross will wipe me clean and finally God will be able to be at the center of my heart and my life.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Day 93
Retreat was awesome, Dr. Kim was awesome, I am super sad I missed church on Sunday but God used that day to test my patience and to build me up in other areas (because it was a nightmare of a day). Sora also told me I can still become a member next week so I'm glad!Feb 1: 1 Kings 1-5
In chapter 3, God inquired newly appointed King Solomon, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." What would your reaction be? It's almost as if you're being granted 1 wish from a genie (photo dedicated to dlaevee's blog), and you can have anything you want...I'm sure most of you know what King Solomon asked for, and it's most definitely different than anything we would ask for:
"So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"
I love this passage because it shows me what kinds of things I should ask for and what kinds of things I should be praying about. Instead of seeking out things that will only fulfill my humanistic desires, I should be seeking out things that fulfill God's heavenly desires, things that will glorify his Kingdom. I've been learning more and more how it's not about me, it's all about God. I need to learn to mature as a Christian and be able to understand the greater scheme of things. If something difficult and frustrating is happening in my life (like yesterday), I shouldn't ask God to change my circumstances, I should ask God to change me and to help me develop and mature through it. I'm going to put this into practice by analyzing and being aware of what my prayers are about, making sure to pray more for God and His desires than for my own.
At the end of this passage, God grants Solomon with wisdom as he asked for, but God ALSO grants him with what he did not ask for: riches, honor and a long life. That's how God works...he gives us even more than what we ask for, if what we ask for and what we do will glorify Him.
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