ENFP Persuader

Greetings everyone, I am really sorry for the lack of updates, but my
workload has finally caught up to me and I am feeling the heat. I did
several personality tests in my Leadership Development course and it
confirmed this might happen.



MBTI( Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ) : ENFP

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm



SOI (Style of Influence): Persuader



Persuader

Persuaders are friendly and lots of fun. They influence others
through outgoing personalities that relate well to the needs of other
people. They are good at developing loyalty in other people and then
selling their ideas to meet the needs of the other person. They are
enthusiastic and value their ability to verbalize ideas. They also
evaluate others by how effectively the can verbalize. Persuaders are
ones who sell ideas as a lifestyle. They are charming, and at times
impetuous. They like a good deal of variety and will not tolerate tight
reporting structures, which are viewed as too controlling and
oppressive. They will do well at creating enthusiasm in the group for
ideas that need to be implemented. They can overestimate their ability
to influence others and can be too optimistic about the accomplishment
of a task. They can also jump to conclusions before obtaining all the
facts. Often they will try to commit to too many activities and as
a result be spread too thin. They then can react to the pressure by
trying to do it all in a mediocre way rather than dropping some of the
activities. They have a hard time saying no. Presuaders are a great
asset to any group because of their enthusiasm. They will function best
in a environment where they have the freedom to select their own
projects and then deadlines are given to them for the accomplishment of
these projects.



Positive Potential:

enthusiastic

a seller of ideas

enjoys people



Negative Potential:

impulsive

can overuse enthusiasm as a substitute for getting the facts straight





Thanks to every for praying for me, worrying that I will spread too thin. I know by the grace of God He will carry me through.

519 Days of Waiting

519 days of no hockey, and finally the NHL resumes tonight. I still
remember of the last game the Leafs played, in the playoffs vs. the
Flyers. Game 6, overtime, and Jeremy Roenik ended our playoff run.


I have been eagerly waiting for the return of Leafs hockey... but I
thought to myself, do I have the same eagerness for the return of
Christ? Do I look till I'm long in the neck for His glorious
reappearing? Or an even better question, am I ready for His return? If
He were to return today, can I say that I have accomplished what He had
set in front of me?


Joel, why the lack of obedience... follow His ways and eagerly await for His return.

Life Influencing Lives

... that has been a thought I had in my mind for the past few weeks, and it became more alive today.



After lunch today, I met with Rev Lau to have a chat, updating him
on my progress at the seminary and along to officially ask him to be my
mentor for my Leadership Development class. Dr. Wildeboar said that you
should never be alone in ministry. You should always have two others
serving with you, a mentor and an apprentice. I was excited when Rev
Lau agreed to take me under his wings and monitor my spiritual growth.
On every Friday, I am invited to the church after lunch. I get to
polish the bulletin for the week and along with Rev. Lau prepare for
the Friday night program. Every other week, we will also meet for a
progress report. I will have my own church office hours. :P Throughout
the meeting, Rev Lau said many encouraging words to me, my spirits were
lifted but I must also not let it get into my head.



After my meeting with Rev. Lau I went back to the school to meet
with Sharolyn, the student life coordinator. On Monday, I bumped into
Kaarina in the hallways and she asked me if I would coach the varsity
women's volleyball team because of what happened at the retreat. So
during the week I spoke with Sharolyn to get more information. I was
uncertain whether or not I would want take on such a challenge because
of my inexperience in competitive volleyball. So I spend the past few
days praying about it. The more I prayed and as I read Dr. Robert
Clinton's "Making of a Leader" I realized this might be a ministry
task. So I decide to meet with Sharolyn today and toss the ball back
into her court. She told me of the three candidate she met so far,
eventhough I have the lest volleyball experience, I have the greatest
potential in positivity influencing the players on the team. So she
will get back to me sometime next week with her decision.


When a ministry task is offered to you, it saves so much headaches
and worries you just act in obedience and let God's will play out. Oh,
what peace. :)



To top off the night, Patrick and I went to see Les Misérables.
Patrick got us really good seat, G-row, 6 rows back from the stage. And
to illustrate the point life influencing lives, when the Bishop of
Digne acted in compassion to Jean Valjean by forgiving his act of
theft, it changed Jean Valjean's life. And in turn, Jean Valjean
influenced the lives of Fantine, Cosette, Marius and ultimately Javert.
Life influencing lives. The compassion and kindness of one bishop.

Cracking the Old Shell

Two Weeks Only?



I cannot believe that it has only been two weeks since school
began. I seem much longer than that: 2 books read, 1 paper and 1 test.
And the countless amount of knowledge gain. But knowledge is just
knowledge if it does not transform life.


I can feel the core of my beliefs shaken with the study into the
very thing I believed. Many people asked how does that happen in
seminary? Shouldn't your studies strengthen your faith?


Yes. But like how a lobester grows, it must first shead it's old
shell. And with the sheading the old shell you feel the most valuable.
So you break down you faith in studies, you will constantly think for
yourself what and how much to take it, constantly defending your faith.
It is this thought process that break you out of you "Sunday School"
shell. Like what I always say to my high school boys, "I don't want
Sunday School answers".


In this past two weeks, I learn to think for myself and reflect on my believes.

The Ultimate Sunday School

Oh wow, my head hurts from all the intensive theology today.



But to start, my day started with everything going wrong. I left
the house this morning at 7:15am, on bike. I imagine it will take 45min
to bike to school. And I want making good time. It only toke me 20min
to get to Victoria Park and McNicoll (only 3 blocks away from Tyndale).
But than, , flat tire. So okay, I got 45min to spare, no problem,
I waited for the bus. I have exactly $2.78 in my pockets, so I have
$0.28 to spare if I take the bus. Oh, how I miss Ottawa, bus with bike
racks in the front. It's rush hour, the bus driver did not let me on
the bus with my bike, even after pleading with him that I have a flat.
So the only choice I have is to walk... walk... and walk... and walk...
8:26am, finally arrived at school.



Systematic Theology. A large class, about 60 students in the class.
No "let's introduce ourselves". The moment I sat down we are right into
the thick of things. "What is theology?" Dr. Shepard is awesome. Gotta
be one of the smart man I've ever met. When he speaks, I can only catch
about 5% of what he was saying because of his wealth of knowledge.
After class I exchanged email with pastor Freda and found out that she
still listen to Dr. Shepard's lecture tapes while she drives eventhough
it has been several years since she took Systematic.


But what I learn today, scientific knowledge is information about
that particular object. It does not change you. But rather, Biblical
"knowing" is to be transform through personal intimacy.



That's why Paul said "We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." (1 Cor. 8:1)



So we can study all the theology we want but it does not draw us
close to God. Look at the Jews in the Bible, they are the most
"theological" people in the world, but yet they miss the boat on know
the heart of God. Yet, theology provides us with the foundation of our
faith, that's why it is necessary. Man, this is like my dream come
true, the ultimate Sunday School.


And in the afternoon, even better. Worship & Liturgy. Theology
of worship. The meaning of worship and studying worship in the OT.
Woohoo! Can't wait till next week, worship in the NT. But also I am
reminded of 300 pages of reading and book report next week. Please pray
for me. Thanks.

Being a T Flip-Flop

I felt like a T Flip-Flop, and man, it is a hard thing to do. Hahah...
I guess only electronic geeks would understand what I just said.



A T, or Toggle, Flip Flop is a simple two state device that toggles
it digital output with the excitement by the leading edge of a signal.
And do I feel like a two state device? State 1, life as a student.
State 2, life as a working individual.


I feel sluggish in making that switch. I feel more tiring making
that switch every day. As a student, I am to absorb as much information
as quickly as possible while letting God transform my life. And at
work, my focus is to help people by educating them in the basics in
finances. From student to teacher, from teacher to student. And 3 days
into it, I am tired. I am behind in my reading. But I know God is
gracious.


I am still very excited. I thank God every time I am reminded of my
studies. I know He will give me the strength to carry on. So in the
meantime, I just have to learn to continue to flipping and flopping.

The Journey Begins

The dawn of a new journey. I woke up at 5am this morning and could not go back to sleep. Excited or nervous? I cannot tell.



Greek at 8:30am was fun. I never knew I can have so much fun
learning a new language, since language has always been my weakness.
Many friendly faces in my class, Bernie, Jon and John. Dr. Rebecca
Idestrom, professor of Biblical Studies, is also in my class. She sat
in front of me and right before class began she turned around and ask
if I played volleyball, and she said she will remember me when I'm in
her class next term. :S


During lunch, I had fun textbook shopping. But I soon realized that
I have a 300 pages book to read this week with a book report due next
week. Then, two other book reports due the week after... joy. Now I am
feeling the heat, and it's just the first day of classes.



After lunch, Leadership Development. This is one course I know I
will enjoy, because I can apply immediately what I learn in class. So
it looks like Monday is the fun day and Wednesday is heavy day with
Systematic Theology and Worrship & Liturgy.

Tyndale Retreat - Last Day

Last day of the retreat, normally it will be sad to go home. But not
this time, this marks the beginning of a new journey. I was eager to go
home.


Durung the morning prayer walk, I met Adam, who is also 1st year in
M.Div in Pastoral. What made me really started talking to Adam is that
though he is a Caucasian, his mandarin was much better than mine. I
felt ashamed. During breakfast, I also met Adam's wife, Ailyne. Ailyne
is asian and along with Adam they spend the past two and a half years
serving in Tawain as missionaries. And I also found out that Adam is
applying for the youth pastor position at Grace Chinese Gospel Church,
my old church. Small world. It was encouraging to sharing with Adam,
especially in regards to the struggles english congregation in a
chinese church often face.


All in all, the retreat was fruitful. Meeting my fellow students
and the faculty. I am looking forward to the new school year, I cannot
wait till tomorrow. Tired now, early morning tomorrow. Good night.

Tyndale Retreat - Day 2

Day 2 began with me sleeping in for the pray walk... :P I guess I really was tired.



The morning message by Dr. Johnson was once again amazing. This
time illustrating on the point that there is no speed limit in the
state of Montana. But with no speed limits, you end up spending more
energy trying to be prudent on the drive through the mountainous roads
of Montana. And that is exactly what the law from the Lord do, saves us
the time in trying to figure out our own boundaries in life so that we
can truely live life to the fullest.



Before lunch our small group met for the first time. Beside the
group leader, Jeff, Tara and Daisy, the rest of the group were all
first year students. We had a great time getting to know one another. I
especially enjoyed the company of Matt and Rose, a young couple who
packed up their life in Langley, BC, so the Matt can come to Toronot to
study at Tyndale. I than realised that people sacrificed so much just
to follow God's will, and it is a good reminder from the Lord not to
take this opportunity for granted. I found out that Matt had roughly
the same choices of seminary and I had: ACTS and Tyndale. Pray that
Matt and Rose will soon find a place they can call home and pray that
Rose will soon find employment in Toronto.



In the afternoon, it was the highly anticipated annual faculty vs.
student volleyball championship. The faculty had won the provious two
years and we were told that if we lose this year we will never heard
the end of it throughout the school year. So the stakes were high, and
the pressure was on. I must admit, what a great way to let your profs
who you are by making a fool of them on the court. The students easily
won 3-1 in a best out of five championship, but by the end of the day I
was a marked man by the prof. I remember Dr. Johnson's comment, "Joel,
I know you will be in my class next term, think twice before you make
your next serve." All in all, it was good times and now all the profs
know who I am. lol



In Dr. Johnson last message in the evening, he delivered another
powerful message. This time, he reminded us not the let the laws in our
lives prevent us from share God's love to people around us. All in all,
God taught me so much through Dr. Johnson's words.



In the evening, we went back to the lakeside for smores and
campfire. And of course lots and lots of singing. The worship I had
with my fellow students were simply amazing. Everyone worship the Lord
with all our hearts. And in return, the Lord displayed another wonder
of His own. Aurora Borealis!!! Green and pink lights danced across the
evening sky. A display that is even more awesome than the millions of
stars.

Tyndale Retreat - Day 1

The long awaited Tyndale Retreat snuck up on me after a busy few weeks. I cannot believe, one more weekend than school begins.



I did some quick Back to School shopping before heading up to camp.
Spent a whopping total of $6.36 with the purchase of a dozen 80pgs
notebooks and a dozen pens. Just like back in the old Waterloo days.
For some reason everyone expected me to take note with my laptop, but I
really prefer notes taking with pen and paper.



The journey up to Musoka Baptist Conference took two hours, three
hours including the traffic and dinner. Musoka, my old stomping grounds
along with Algonquin Provincial Park. The place where I picked up most
of my camping skills. So many memories and stories. And now I'm adding
another to this beloved place, the beginning of my seminary career.


I drove up to camp with Frederick. We had the chance to chat about
what we think about our church so far. We shared many opinion about
what is the current state of the church. I will be looking forward to
spending the weekend with Frederick, Bernie and Alfred as we soak up on
what God is going to teach and bring it back to church.



The highly anticipated was more then I expected. Upon arrival to
the camp, I was greeted with the warm for Christ's love. At first,
other then Colin and those from my church, I did not know anyone else.
Well, there was also Josh whom I remember from high school, along with
John and Jon I met at the orientation. But that quickly changed. As we
worshipped our Father with all our hearts, you cannot help but to get
to know the people around you sharing this same heart of worship. There
was Nohumm, from Mali, sitting next to me - a character that never
cease to put a smile on your face.



The message from Dr. Van Johnson was awe inspiring. He painted a
beautiful picture of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus hanging on to
His every word, while Martha busyed herself in the kitchen. It was a
reminder that eventhough we are now studying the Bible as a textbook,
we should not take it for granted and still spend time in daily
devotion to let the Word of God change our hearts.



After the evening service, eventhough I was tired from the drive, I
decide to spend some time getting to know the other students. So
Nohumm, Monik, Terri, George and I made our way to lakeside to enjoy
the evening skies. The lovely cool crisp evening air was enchanced by
the magnificant display of the cloudless/moonless evening sky. I have
never seen such an awesome display of stars and the milky way. We spend
the next two hours sharing our story.


As we were watching a plance quietly fly across the sky, Nohumm
told us that back home in Mali when the farm workers see a plane fly
across the sky, they will all drop all their tools and watch in awe.
With that, I quickly commented that is exactly what Mary did at the
feet of our Lord, Jesus. She dropped everything else and listen to the
Lord in awe. And that is what we need to remember to do.

Orientation

Today, I went on my Tyndale orientation. I never thought I would hear
so many biblically deep rooted jokes. Man, you know you are a bible
nerd if you understood those jokes. lol.



Bible nerd, what a interesting term. Is it a bad thing to become a
bible nerd? Because "knowledge puffs up"? The made me reflect on the
purpose of attending Tyndale. Back in my undergrad days and before, the
only thing we worried about in school is our marks. At the end of the
day, it is our marks the mattered. Yeah seminary, it seem all to
change. My instinct tell me that I need to strive for good marks, yet,
it is not the marks or the knowledge that matters in seminary. God does
not care about what marks you get or how smart you are in biblical
knowledge. If so, He would have love the Pharisees. Yet, Jesus rebuked
the Pharisees over and over again in the NT. It is not about the
knowledge, it is about transformation.


How does the seminary transforms life? ...well, I guess I am about to find out. I am excited.



It was a humbling experience sitting through the orientation. My
fellow classmates are pastors and church leaders in their own
ministries. So there is nothing to boast. Who we are in the seminary
are just faithful servent of the Lord, allowing further biblical
education to enrich our lives with understanding the truth and hence
being transform by the truth.



I know a few individuals who reads my journal are contemplating the
possibilities of seminary. Let me just clearify that there is nothing
"scary" about seminary. From what I see, those who attends the seminary
are not a "special breed". You do not need a "pastor" title in your
name to be "ready" for seminary. If you are scared that God will
transform your life, then seminary is not for you. If you want to
experience transformation, I challenge you to take one course and see
what you think.

Recap of the Last Week and a Half

Wow. Time flies. By this time next week, I will be sitting in class
beginning my Theological Education, a.k.a. being equipped to do every
good work (2Tim 3:17)



The whole last week was a blur to me. This is the first time I have
for over a week where I can sit down and calm myself down in reflection
and meditation. Maybe this is the last push my Heavenly Father wanted
me to experience before the fun starts next week. I'll try my best to
recap the emotions and the lessons from the past week.



Sunday, Aug 28, 2005

The Joy of Worship

After a week of perparation, hedge trimmer, trumbone, megaphone and
what-nots, it's my time to preach on the Sunday. This will mark my 3rd
time preach, but it is amazing how much God continues to teach and
equip.



I learned a great deal in preparing for the sermon this time
around, especially because unlike the last sermon where I had several
months to prepare I only had two weeks to put this only together. But
once again, whatever God has started, He will complete. With in the two
weeks, He gave me the hedge trimmer illustration. He pointed me to the
story of Gideon. I was the first time preparing that I actually had
much more material than I needed for the 45 minutes of sermon. Thank
God for opening the floodgates of His teaching.



However this time, through all the preparations, I did not feel
ready. Last time in July, I was ready. I fact, I was ready in June. But
I learn to just have faith in the Lord, and He will place words in my
mouth. So when I arrived at church at 9:30am, I did not think about the
sermon. Mike arrived early too. We setup the chairs, praying for each
one as we place them down. By the time A/V was setup, Joel Lau was
preped on when to blow his trumbone, and everything was ready to go, it
was already 10:15 - no time to look over the sermon notes.


By 10:30, the beginning of the service, I was anxious and excited.
Not really about the sermon, well not yet, but about worshipping God.
When I stepped up to welcome the congregation and give the
announcements and sermon outline, I was filled with energy and the Holy
Spirit. The praises and singing was simple amazing. I never had such
fun worshipping the Lord. Clapping, dancing, lifting of hands, the
worries of the coming sermon simply vapourized with the words sung to
the Lord.


The joy of worship.



For the message, the Holy Spirit took over. It was amazing to see
even Daniel was captivated by the hedge trimmer and my attempt to
reenact the story for Gideon. The Spiritual battle was obvious, the
devil was doing wierd things with my voice, however, thank God for the
brothers and sisters who were praying for me.


After the service, like always the fellowship continued with lunch.
I took the opportunity to sit with Wynne and chatted with her for it
was her last Sunday at our church. It is sad to her go, however God
continues to reminds us that our church in not "losing" her, but in
fact sending her out to His ministry. It was a touching moment when she
invited all of us out to dinner and treated us because she wanted to
share her first paycheque with us. Lord, thank you for the opportunity
to serve with such a wonderful sister over this last year.



Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Flood



"I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living
creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to
destroy all life."

~Genesis 9:15



Over this past year, God had reminded me of His powers in the form
of rain and floods. 2 hours of rain, flooded many houses (including my
own) and destroyed many roads in the city of Toronto. 2 days of rain,
wiped out 80% of the city of New Orleans. A single tsunami devested
hundred of thousands inhabitants living in South-East Asia. 40 days of
rain destoryed everything on earth. Imagine what happened in the days
of Noah.



A tap on the shoulder, God is saying "remeber me?" In today's
world, we lost our sense of fear of the Lord. He is still the master of
the universe, He is unchanging. Yet, as our technology advances, we
grew proud and wants to take control of what is of the Lord's. And as
we gain this sense of control, we forget about the laws and the
guideline God set in place for us to live our lives to the fullest.



Lord, I pray for the families in New Orleans and surrounding areas.
Pray that your protection will be over the millions affected by this
flood.



Wednesday, August 31 , 2005

Looking Ahead in the New Year of English Service



This morning, Angie, Mike and I had the opportunity to have
breakfast with Rev. Lau to look at the coming year for English Sevice.



Yesterday, Mike and I spend the afternoon going over what need to
be done in hte English Service. God has given us such passion to lead
the congregatiopn from the front, to really roll up the sleeves and
tackle the church issues ourselves while equipping others to help. We
went over these ideas with Rev. Lau and he gave us the vote of
confidence to run with the ideas while once again casting his vision on
us so we are align with the direction of the church. The first thing we
are going to do is to develop a culture in the English Service where
people wants to go, beginning with a bulletin the congregation wants to
keep and better organizing the worship.


After the meeting Angie told me she is really encouraged to see
such brianstorming meeting takes place between Rev. Lau, Mike and I.
And she is very excited about the direction of the church.





Thursday, September 1, 2005

First Point of Contact



Tonight, I had a revelation during the English Web meeting. We are
in the process of redesigning the church website to better suit the
needs of the congregation. And Frederick asked what is the primary
usage of the English web? Then it dawned on me that the website is the
first point of contact people might make with our church. Because of
the age of our congregation, when one of the younger member invites
his/her friends to church, they can point their friends to our website
for more information. So we need to design a website with 3 purposes:
that caters to seekers, help build community between the attendees of
the church, and also educates the existing members with Christian
Education





Sunday, September 4, 2005

1st Year Anniversity



Wow! How time flies? It has been one year. This time last year
little old Joel was worrying about the challenges ahead. Standing in
the front with the rest of the Church Counsel, being calling into God's
service to serve Logos Baptism Church (York Region Mission).


And what a year it has been. God has carried us so far.
Transforming a bunch of university and young careers into servents of
God. None of us have served at the level of church or congregation
counsel before. We knew how to run a fellowship, but you want us to
lead a congragation, you gotta be kidding! And yet, a year down the
road, we all embraced our responsibilities. I had many individual
meetings with the leaders in the congregation over the past month to
get some feedback of what they thought of last year, all of the leaders
are very positive. They responded by saying they would not have traded
anything else for what they have learn over the past year.



Looking ahead into the second year, I am excited. Each member of
the English Counsel is taking ownership of their role, and we are realy
to make some waves for the Lord.

Merely 24 Hours Later...

... Two more gunfire incident. One again in broad daylight, near a
swimming pool filled with kids. The other in the evening, Victoria Park
& Finch, 10 minutes drive away from home, an area I frequently
drive by on the way to church.


After a summer of gun violence, 15 dead, many more injuried, my
heart goes out to my home city. Do I feel safe living in Scarborugh?
Yes. I feel that I am living in the safest area in Scarborough. Lord, I
pray that there will be a revival in this city.

Father, Father, Heal Our Land

Toronto Star Article: Man shot dead as 20 watch



48th homicide of the year in Toronto and the 32nd fatal shooting. A
martyr for the cause of anti-crime. In broad day light, in a crowded
courtyard. Only 5 minutes drive away from home. :S



2 Chronicles 7:14 keep popping into my head over the summer.



"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves
and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I
hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."



I have spent my university years, and 2 years following that,
running away from Toronto. 7 years I ran. And in the span of one sermon
on that fateful October Sunday morning, I came home. God called be home
to build His church, Logos Baptist Church (York Region Mission). But in
the back of my mind, I always wanted to run. To leave this city for
other fabulous Canadian cities or even overseas.


It is funny how God can change hearts with in short period of time.
Over last year, I learn to accept my place in Toronto over the next
three years. A change in heart that lead me to fall in love with my
church, to fall in love with God's calling for me. A new found passion
in doing God's work here in Toronto, and to become deeply burdened by
the conditions of this city.


Father, I'm beginning to see the work you are doing in my heart,
especially over this summer. Father, you have given me great dreams,
great visions, great burdens for this city and for this world. Give me
strength to focus solely on your plan and not my own.


Amen.

Metamorphosis

This morning, still resting in my bed, I watched a documentary on House
Flies on the Discovery Channel. I was especially intrigue in the
metamorphosis from larvae to flies. This reminded me of the sermon from
Teen's Conference back in 2004. The sermon which I named my journal
after.


The process of metamorphosis is an interesting one. The larvae
forms a cocoon around itself and the inside turns into mush. This mush
rearranges itself to form wings, eyes, legs and various body parts.



That's what metamorphosis it all about. Allowing yourself to be
turned into mush and let God reshape you. We just have to focus on the
end results while the journey and process twists, turns and bends us
into uncomfortable shapes.

Free

I woke up to a weird dream today. In fact, it has been a long time
since I remember my last dream. I must thank God for the peaceful sleep
recently, so restful that I just remember falling asleep and waking
fresh the next morning.



When I woke up this morning, I noticed I was really tensed. So
tensed that I clinched and curled into a ball. I woke up from a dream
where Angie, another little girl and I was hiding in a van in attempt
to escape from a group of people trying to capture us. Angie and the
little girl was hiding underneath a blanket on the middle row of seats,
I was hiding in the gap between the running boards and the sliding door
of the van. When we arrived at the inspection point, my heart was
racing. And as soon as we slowly pulled away, I woke myself up to
prevent the dream from making a turn for the worst.


When I woke up, I was clinched into a ball, covered with cold
sweat. But as soon as I realized I am safe in the comfort of my own
bed, I relaxed. I could feel my whole body relax and all the tension
that had built up disappeared. It was an incredible feeling of freedom.
I just lay there in the early morning enjoying the feeling of being
free.


"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of
life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the
law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,
God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a
sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,"

~Rom 8:1-3



"Verse 1:

who will free me from this body of death

who will ransom my heart and give me life

who will set my feet upon a hope

that will not fade away



Verse 2:

you have broken the chains on me

you have silenced condemnation's song

and you set my feet upon a hope

that will not fade away



Chorus:

Glory to God who gave his son

Glory to God the victory's won

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I am free



Glory to God who bore my shame

Glory to God exalt his name

Hallelujah, hallelujah

I am free



Bridge:

there is no condemnation

there is no condemnation

those who are in Christ

we are free"

~Free by Todd Fields

Not To Be Flaunted

I again spent most of the day in my bed today... pounding headache. But
praise God that the fever have subsided, and sinuses cleared up. In
bed, it gave me the opportunity to do more thinking. Especially about
what three individual said to me over the last few days. They are
awesome words of encouragement, the difficult part is not to be
flaunted.


This is the perfect example of what Pastor Ed Silvoso said in his book Annointedfor Business.
God thinks highly of you even if you feel otherwise, and He will make
other people tell you how they think highly of you, too.



The first vote of confidence came during the conversation I had
with Mike. We agreed that our sermons though theologically we far from
being up to par with Rev. Lau and Rev. Thumb, but we can use our
creativity and illustration to connect with the congregation. Mike told
me when he asked one of the younger one in our congregation who is her
favorite speaker, she said Joel because of his jeans illustration.


Another vote of confidence was duing the conversation with BIll and
Cindy last night over dinner. Though I told them at my church I am off
limits, jokingly said they will play matchmaker and set me up with
someone. I've only known Bill and Cindy since the beginning of the
softball season back in May, but Bill said if he had to list some
qualities of me, he will say: Joel is spiritaully and godly, and
certainly has the gift of discernment.



Lastly, during lunch today mom asked if I was still having guitar
lessons tonight, because I am ill. I told her yes, I'll still giving
guitar lessons tonight. She told me that Jackson, one of my good friend
back from Miliken Logos Church, and my guitar student, said to his mom
that he's glad to have me as a friend.



All these good words within a few days can be very flautering, but
I know God is telling my these things for encouragement. Lord, please
not let my ego get the better of me. I know everything I am is the
result of your handy work. So thank You, Lord, for Your work in me.

Back in Service

Sorry, Jenny, for stealing your pun. But it is how I felt stepping into
church today. It was the first time this summer, I got the sit down
during a sermon back home at York Region and just soak in what God has
to say to me. Since the last week of June, I have been either away or
speaking on the Sunday. Waterloo, Saddleback, Montreal, speaking in
English Serivce, rafting, 2 weeks of Children messages... that's 7
weeks. But as I'm writing these things down, I began to realize this is
how a senior pastor of a church feels. They are either speaking at
their home church or speaking as a guest speaker. Joel, why are you
whining? God is just equipping you for His good works.



HAhahah!!! God has a funny way to reaffirm His words. As soon as I
wrote the down what I felt God was saying to me, He send me a
confirmation. I am listening to Seattle's Spirit 105.3 over internet
radio, and Mercy Me's "I Can Only Imagine" came on. I remember learning this song when I was visiting Montreal Chinese Alliance Church.



"I can only imagine what it will be like

When I walk by your side

I can only imagine what my eyes will see

When your face is before me

I can only imagine

I can only imagine



Surrounded by your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you Jesus?

Or in awe of you be still?

Will I stand in your presence?

Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing Halelluja?

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine

I can only imagine



I can only imagine when that day comes

And I find myself standing in the Son

I can only imagine when all I will do

Is forever, forever worship you

I can only imagine

I can only imagine"

~I Can Only Imagine by Mercy Me



I remember this song touched me so much when I heard it. It a call
that made me really examined myself what will I do in the presence of
God. What I do truly reflects the status of my heart.



Well, back to today. Amazingly, still under the influence of the
flu, I was able to wake up early without trouble. The Church Ministry
Counsel meeting ended at 10:00. By the time I got home, it was need
11:00 and with the help of Neo-Citran I was out cold in no time. I
wanted to arrive to church early to setup up for service. Implanmenting
some ideas what was brought up during the meetings. As we placed each
chair down, we prayed for the person who is going sit in that seat for
service today. As service began, some of the younger ones are surprise
by the new setup, but overall we found it less distracting and more
intimate.


I really enjoyed the service today. I enjoy the company of the
brothers and sisters, worshipping with them and fellowshipping with
them. Mike Jr's message was refreshing. Mike and I agreed that though
theology wise the two of us have a long way to catch up with the likes
of Rev. Lau and Rev. Thumb, but we can use our youth as an advantage to
relate to today's culture and mentality.


After service, I was scheduled to umpire three softball games. Part
of me told me to go home and get some rest, but I didn't want to let
Bill and Ivan down. It only has been one week since the end of my
Sanctuary softball season, but umping the games made me miss playing
already. Umping the games was fun, but spending 6 hours on my feet was
taxing to my already weakened body. Also staying mentally sharp was
difficult too. But interestingly, as my body got weaker and weaker
throughout the day, I became mentally more alert. For it was during the
last game where most of the difficult calls were made. Relying main on
my hearing to make the calls at first base.



The surprise of the day came during dinner time with Bill, Cindy
and Ivan. Out of the blue, Cindy ask me why I was going to seminary. I
just told her it was God's calling. But she asked me was going on in my
mind when I was in Vancouver? Was I already thinking about serving God
fulltime when I was called while I was in Vancouver? So I ended up
sharing with them my struggles in 2003 and how I came back to Toronto
from Ottawa. In the end, Bill and Cindy shared how they met and how
they became romanticly involved after being friends for 9 years. That's
when God reminded me that He only gives us the best. Bill shared that
before datng Cindy, he told a brother that he wanted a wife with
similar qualities to Cindy, but he never considered Cindy because they
were such good friends and she is 8 years younger. He could have never
imagine God provided him with the real Cindy. Praise God for giving us
only the best.


"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though
you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much
more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

~Matt 7:9-11

When God Say Too Much is Too Much

August 20th, 2005. For the last few weeks, it looked as though today
would be the busiest day of the year for me. It started with a wedding
invitation from Jeff and Elizabeth. But due to poor scheduling, I also
committed to helping out with Habitat for Humanity in the morning to
help build a house (something I really wanted to do for a long time).
Last, but not least, the Church Ministry Council meeting was schedule
for this afternoon, where my attendance is mandatory.



As the day approached, I had it all planned out. H4H in the
morning, 3:30pm EMC and CMC meetings, and 7:00pm wedding reception.
Everything seem to fit together. That was my plan... but apparently
that's not what God have in mind. Monday night was a hint of what to
come, starting with a nasty sore throat. To a point that I could not
speak on Tuesday. I thought all was well by Wednesday. But by Thursday,
came the fever. I know I needed rest during the all day Caring Ministry
meeting on Thursday, but I was too focused on the task at hand. I was
bedridden Friday, but stubborn old me still made the trek outside to
meet with Mike Jr. in the evening. It turned out to be an awesome
discussion, Mike and I bouncing ideas back and forth for English
Ministry. Thank God for the widsom, for ideas for the English Ministry.
I was really excited coming out of the discussion.



But what it meant for today is that I know I will not have the
strength to have such a busy day. H4H is out of the question. In my
current condition, it will be dangerous for me to be on the work site.
So I decided to notify Bill first thing in the morning and return to
bed. Oh, what a horrible night of sleep, tossing and turning, fever,
stuffy nose and coughing. I did not get the rest I wanted. That would
be staying up late for the wedding would be out of the question too.
The leaves the EMC & CMC meeting. There's no way I am going to miss
those meetings.


I know God will give me strength in the meetings. Thank you, Lord, for protecting me from being burnt out.



However, there is one thing that bothered me today. A member of the
English Ministry Council called and ask for premission to be absent for
the EMC. I will not disclose the reason but I thought in my current
condition I still make it an effort to come to the meeting. This small
thing made me angry. I am not angry toward that individual (so please
don't be offended if you read this), but I am angry at myself in my
inability to lead this group of awesome servants. Angry at myself for
my inability to make the meetings, their service meaningful.


This will be something I will ponder thoughout the day. Lord, please teach me the lesson I need to learn.

Authority of the Bible

Thank you, Lord, for sermon preparation.



"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

~2 Tim 3:16-17

Flu

Lying in bed... flu. My sinus is all clogged up,
but I want to get and prepare for next week's sermon. Thank God for
strength in the mist of all the sniffles and coughing.

Thunder, Flooding, and Tornado Warning, OH MY!

Sick of lying in bed because of the flu, watching the lights flicker on
and off with the storm outside. I picked up my book, grabbed a lawn
chair, and camped out in the garage enjoying the rain with taking in
some teachings from Bill Hybels.


My, what an amazing storm. moth ball size hail, heavy rain,
lightling flashed across the skies, thunder rumbled overhead, driveway
littered with fallen leaves and branches, and flood rush down the
streets. For as long as I can remember, my curiousity of storms and
rain always draws me outside in the worst of conditions. From the time
we were running from the storm while canoeing on the Barren Canyon
River, to the occassion flooding of Philip St. in Waterloo, I love to
hear the rat-tad-tad sound of the rain and the crash of thunder.


Today was no different. Being outside made me forget about my flu.
It made me wonder what would have went through Noah's mind when his was
rocking in his ark listening to the sound of rain that's flooding the
world he knew.



Back to the basics today. Soon after I came back into the house,
the power went out. Just like the great blackout from two years ago. No
radio, no TV, no internet, no distraction... C.Mo decided to cancel
Home Group program for tonight, it's far too dangerous to drive through
the flooded roads. Flooded basement, I ran around the house to ensure
every is okay around the house. Oh what fun it was when mom and dad
came home, how we all work together in the absent of electricity to
prepare dinner and for the night. But power is back, and it's time for
dinner. Thank you God for this peaceful experience.

Devos in Edwards Garden

I had such wonderful devos today, spending time in the beautiful
Edwards Garden reading God's word. It has been awhile since God had
touched me so much in devos. Maybe it was the peace of the trickling
waterfall, the quacking of the canada geese running around me, or the
wonder in observing bees buzzing from flower to flower hard at work.



While preparing for this Saturday's English Council Ministry
meeting, I found a peaceful corner un the garden to read "Volunteer
Revolution". Tears stream down my face as God reminded me of my purpose
to serve Him, and to equip others to serve Him.

Thank You Sanctuary Softball

3 months, 10 games, and countless practices later, this concludes the
2005 Sanctuary softball season. Praise God for the fellowship I had
with the team. It seem so long ago when I met my team for the first
time. Bill asked me a funny question today, "Joel, with so many offers
to join other teams, why did you choose Sanctuary?" To be honest, I
didn't really have an answer to that question. God just placed me into
Sanctuary. I could of played with my cousins on the Anointed, or with
my old church friends on the Remnants, but in hindsight God taught me
so much on this team.


I had so much fun with the team, how God bond us together in
support and encouragements. Even though we only had 1 win all season,
we had so much fun learning the game of softball together. And thank
God the the opportunity to serve as the honourary batting coach. It was
wonderful to see everyone learn the game of softball for Lord.

Time for The Next Challenge

God has a funny way to make me keep my words. When you allow God to
work in your life -- to mold you and shape you, you are due for a
workout. It was as though I just snap out my spiritual low, regaining
my focus in the Lord, God has the next challenge waiting for me around
the corner.



Something came up at work, and I am call to really focus and step
up to set a good example in the office. In the mist of busyness, I am
looking for leadership at work however instead I am call to step up to
be that leader. Lord, please give me the strength in the coming weeks
to learn the lessons you want me to learn.

The Wonder of Toes

Tonight, we had our joint men and girl's group event. The group of us
went to First Markham Place food court for dinner, before heading to
Bowling. During dinner, there was a family with a young baby sitting at
the table across from me. I was watching the baby and making funny
faces with the baby. It is amazing to see how the little baby smiles
and react to the funny faces I make at it. But as I was making funny
faces at the baby, I noticed something even more amazing. The baby
would sit there, and watch her own toes for minutes. She will wiggle
her toes and watch her toes in awe. Then, she would wiggle her fingers
and watch her fingers in awe. It is this awe, this sense of wonder, the
wonder of the toes, of fingers, of the weird faces of a funny looking
man. :P


After playing with the baby for minutes, I am finally caught by the
parents. The proud parents noticed their baby were giggle and smile at
the funny man making weird faces, so we introduced ourselves to them.
Since Candy and Genuine were sitting directly behind them, they started
a conversation with them. Angela and Steve, the proud parents for the 3
months old baby, were enjoying all the attention their baby were
getting. While Candy and Gen were talking to speaking to Angela and
Steve, Johan whispered into my ear: "C'mon, Genuine, invited them to
our church." At the moment, in my heart, I prayed for Angela and Steve.
And the next thing that happened was a flurry searching for a church
pamplet. Praise God, Alice with her magic pouch had a pamplet and a
church bulletin.


Lord, thank You for the opportunity to serve You with brothers and
sisters like Genuine, Candy, Johan, Alice and the rest for the English
Congregation. I pray for Angela and Steve, pray that You will open
their hearts and draw them to You this Sunday.

Ready for Take-off

" He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.



Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;



but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint."

~Isa 40:29-31



As a weak, He give me strength. He does not invite the strong to
fly along side with Him. He invites to weak to soar on His wings. Lord,
I am weak, I am tired, yet, I am ready to soar with You.



From talking to Alice on Sunday, to Theresa today, and meeting with
the directional team today, I realized what I needed to do to refocus.
Pray. :P


I realized that most of the senior leadership in the English
Congregation are tired, and each are dealing with their own personal
issues. While, yes, I am mentally tired, but I have hope in the Lord --
hope that He will renew my strength. With renewed strength, God called
me to execise my gifts.


I was a little nervous meeting the Directional Team tonight. I
didn't know what they would say. When I arrived, Rev Lau told me that
for the next 1/2 hour the floor is mine. "What? I did not prepared for
anything!" The direction team wanted to learn more about my calling,
and wanted to know how they can support me through my studies.


It was very reassuring to know the church to behind me. The meeting
was pretty tiring, sharing for 1/2 hour and fielding questions from the
Directional Team. So I wanted to go home afterward. However, as soon as
I turned out of the church parking lot, I decided to give Theresa a
call to drop by since I'm in the area. Thank God for the chat with
Theresa. It was long over due to get in touch with each of my senior
leadership. Time to execise my gift, to encourage and lift up my tired
leaders.


Thank You God for refocusing my thoughts. Thank You for giving us this great dream and vision for Your church.

Mentally Tired

Why am I so distracted recently? By every little small and big things.
Emotions running wild. Voices in my head. I cannot hear God's words.
Brothers and sisters were telling my to deal with these emotions
directly. However, I had doubts. Though what they said made sense,
however, I continue to play Gideon.


Dealing direct with my emotions could settle many voices in my
mind. I did it once last year and it was a blessing and brought me
peace. However, this time, something seem different. As though there
was something else I was meant to learn. Am I playing Gideon or
learning a lesson in patience? Only God can tell. But I began to panic
for I cannot calm down to hear God's voice.



Thank God, with some thought and the experience from preparing
today's Senior Worship Children message, I realized my emotions ran
wild is not the root cause of the problem. The problem is that I am
mentally tired, even since the conclusion of Show N' Tell week in June.
From that week and all the travelling I did, I have never recovered.
And being mentally tired, every little or big things distracted me.
From little things such as the Tour of France, NHL free agents, or big
things such as my emotions, all swamped my mind with voices.



So the past two weeks, I have been overwhelmed by my emotions and
seeking for ways to deal with these emotions, while all along it was my
that is tired. In due time, I will address my emotions, but Joel,
patience, wait for God's directions.

God's Signature

G.K Chesterton once said that the older one gets the more it takes to
fill the heart with wonder, and that only God was big enough for that.



5:43 am, front row seats, literally, to God's greatest specticule,
the morning sunrise. It is a specticule He prepared for us every
morning since the beginning of time. Yet, every morning, it is atill
filled with His glory and majesty.



Last night, Genuine and I stared up into the heavens, watching
shooting starts streak across the evening sky. We commented how small
we are, in comparison to the whole universe.

Learning to be a Spiritual Camel

This past two weeks, I am getting a taste of what to come over the next three years. Allocating time between ministry, work and family, I was trying to find time to attend to all three. What suffered most was my quiet time with my Father. Though I still have time to read in the office or time to think and listen to sermon during my time on the road, I still long for some quiet personal time with Father.

I began to understand the amount of time need to prepare a sermon (10 hours for every hour of message). Over the past two weeks I faired pretty well, preparing of a sermon, maintain to be the "hardest working" in the office, completing my errands, and even making time to have dim sum with grandma. But it has been taxing, and I'm feeling the tireness now. For the same reason, I'm looking forward to this weekend rafting/camping trip. At a camping trip I can always find some quiet time to spend with Father and to wonder at His majesty creation. To become a spiritual camel, load up with my time with Father, and get ready to jump right back into minitry next week.

A Productive Birthday

27 already. Every since university, I did not like celebrating my birthday. Maybe because I always had to study on my birthday since the exams of summer term is always at the end of July. But I think the main reason is because I do not like all the attention on myself. Therefore I don't find birthdays any different than any other days.

So I decided to run errends today. A great way to spend some productive time all by myself. But to start the day off, dim sum with Grandma. Realizing I haven't had lunch with grandma much since she moved up north, it's time to catchup with her. But apparently she had dim sum plans already with two other "por por", so I join the three of them for dim sum.

I guess it has been a year since Lee, my younger cousin, got married. And also two years since Nap's wedding, my older cousin. That was the center of discussion for grandma and the two por por. "Ah Yin, when is your turn?" They took the liberty of taking turn giving my tips on how to find the "perfect wife". So funny, entertaining all the suggestions. I took their suggestion with a grain of salt because I already know the qualities I should look for in my wife. They are listed in Proverbs 31.

Another funny incident occured during dim sum, probably due to the numbing effect of today's center of discussion, is that all of a sudden I forgot how to write my Chinese name. I felt so ashamed. Maybe it's a wake up call from God, telling me to sharpen my Chinese.

After dim sum, I had my fury of errands. I went to Tyndale to register for my courses. I got my first choice in all my course, 4 courses in Fall, 5 in the Winter.

Fall '05 - Greek I, Systematic Theology I, Leadership Development, Worship & Liturgy
Winter '06 - Greek 2, Systematic Theology 2, NT History & Theology, Bible Interpretation, Spiritual Formation

Praise God, I got Prof Penner for both Greek.

After registering, I went to Scarborough Town Center to renew my license plate. But I realize I needed to do emission testing first. So emission testing I go. The wait time was good, gave me a chance to do some reading. Afterward, back to STC for renewal, but I realized I forgot my auto-insurance in the car. Third time the charm. license plate renewed, I went home and decided to wash and wax my car, completely clean the interior, fix the broken truck light and change the engine oil.

Fixing the truck light was a challenge. Now I know what it feels like to be a dead body in the truck. I found out that the truck light was broken, so I was lying in the trunk trying to solder the wire upside-down. That was a first.

After all that, off to church for coffeehouse rehersal... or so I thought.

After picking up Harmony, arrived at church to see Mike to be first one at the church locked out. So I went to unlock the door. When I opened the door, I found it odd that the alarm was not set. Then before stepping through the door, I looked down as saw a plate of whip cream, "Uh oh". My last sight was Genuine jumping out from behind the door. There's no point in running, I just turned around and walked. Whip cream, shaving cream, flour, eggs, water... 16 people throwing all sort of things at me. All that was missing was chocolate chip and I'll become a human cookie.

Man, they got me competely off guard. Coffeehouse rehersal. That was a good one. What amazing is that I only know all of them of a year. I praise God for the bond we developed over the last year. They had my complete trust. And spending my birthday with these brothers and sisters is the best thing I can ask for. Thank You, Lord for these great friends.

Angie, Olga, Olwen and Candy baked me a cake. Candy and Genunie made me a wonderful scrapbook. Theresa and Johan got me a very nice gift. How blessed I am? Thank You, Lord, for giving me the best birthday ever. And thank you, Candy, for all the planning you put it.

But Gen and Candy, you know I usually find a way to top whatever to done to me. So lemme see, who's birthday is next? Ahhh, that's right, July 29th, Genuine's birthday. Mahahah.

Rehabililating for the glory of God

"Everyone is addicted to something..."
~Rev. Michael Lau

This was what Rev Lau said during the pastoral meeting after he came back from CCCOWE in Macau. The question is, in the year 2006 and beyond, how shall we advance the Gospel? Do we still go door-to-door? But that will leave a sour taste of cold-calling or force sales in the mouths of people. Do we preach in the streets corner? Most will just treat it as noise. Friendship evengelism? A little better, but what shall we say to our friends.

What did Jesus do?

He formed relationships with the needy and addressed their needs. What kind of needs? Physical health? Yes. Spiriual oppression? Yes. Emotional emptiness? Yes. But in all these cases, Jesus addressed the root cause of these needs. Our addiction to sin.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
~Mark 2:5

The Bible did not give details of what kind of sins this paralytic man was addicted to, however, Jesus addressed his sins by forgiving, and the paralytic man was healed. This is the cutting edge of the Gospel. This is the core value of friendship evengelism and prayer evengelism. To build relationships with the lost and allow Christ to reach out to their addiction. It is only when this addiction is addressed and forgiven by the love of God that the lost can be found and freed from the bondage of sin.

Looking at our church, with a focus on healing and aiding single parent family and parents of problem child, we need to retool our leadership to cater to the hearts of the congregation. The greatest need is that the majority of the congregation will be VDP (Very Draining People) and VNP (Very Needy People). We will need the discernment from God to seek out the VRP (Very Resource People) from the congregation to move the VDP and VNP to VTP (Very Trainable People) and VIP (Very Important People).

We are all rehabililating from our addiction of sin, we should do it for the glory of God.

Shuttle Discovery Back in Space

The space shutter program is back, with the successful takeoff of the shuttle Discovery. I seem not too long ago since the Columbia incident. I was in Ottawa, visiting Nabil's house. When Nabil told me that Houston lost the shuttle, I was like "no way!"

That was 2 years ago. These two years God used the story of Rick Husband, commander of the shuttle Columbia STS-107 at the time of the incident, to renew my faith and draw me back to Him. Because of His faith, Rick Husband became my hero. And now that the shuttle program is back after two years of self-investigation and preparation, similar I feel that I am too ready to soar with the Lord after two years of training from the Lord. There's still a lot yet to be learn, but I can already soar on wings like eagles.

Just a Bunch of Vocal Cords

Wow. Gave my second sermon today in the English Service. Once again complete exhausted. I realized I'm just a tool used in God's will, nothing but a bundle of vocal cords making noise for God's message.

Pieces of the Puzzle Fall Together

Tears of joy. The most incredible joy.

Joy of prayers answered. For six months, I prayed. Six months of challenges from God. How little faith I have? If God can create the heaven and the earth in six days, surely He can soften my harden heart in six months.

What I realized is that when God issues a challenge, there's no way you will not able to do His will. Without us knowing at the time, He has already given us all the gifts and talents we need to complete the challange. We God called me into service six months ago, what at first I thought as a challenge to brisge the Chinese and English congregation (a task which I fail 10 years ago), but it turn out to be leading a fellow brother into a closer walk with God.

Six months of hard work, six months of learning, six months of feeling under-equipped for such task. Prayers answered with the brother telling me he realize that no matter what our Father comes first. Our Father, the unchanging One, who does not break any promises, if the source of all hope.

The joy, and relief, the knowledge of knowing God will give you all the strenght you need when He chooses you. THANK YOU, LORD!!!

Also thank You, Lord, for telling me there's nothing to look back onto, the only hope in in front of me. "Time to step forward". Thank You, the putting the puzzle of my life together, and forming the perfect picture.

Life Under the Microscope - Little Creatures Revisited

When I was young, my favorite toy was my microscope. (Yes, I'm a nerd) I love to collect different things and plop it on a slide and watch it under 1000x magnification. I remember from the water I collected from a pond, a whole new world that was teeming with life came into view under the microscope. Watching the little creature swimming around in their little world. The microorganism went about doing their business, not aware of my prying eyes observing their every move.

In God's eyes, we are too His little creatures. Most of the time we are not aware of Him watching us. We watches us through His heavenly microscope lenses so powerful that can even count the number of hairs on our head. But then, imagine, one day while our Heavenly Father was observing us and noticing us struggling and ill in our little world of mirky pond water. He calls His Beloved Son over, and points to you saying, "Son, I want You to go and save this one. No, not with our surgical tools, but You go into that mirky water, become one of them, and die for this little one."

Yes, I love to observe all the wonder microorganisms under the microscope, but to die for one?!? Let alone jump into the pond I collected the water from? No way. But, this is what His Beloved Son said:

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
~Luke 22:42

Then He took off His heavenly robe, dived into the mirky waters, put on our sin infested clothes and a crown of thorns, stretched out His arms and died for you in love. Imagine the sacrifice, on the part of both Father and Son. For a Father who so love to watch us under the microscope, He too was in too much pain to watch at that moment. But in result, we are given an invitation to swim in the prestine heavenly waters for eternity.

As we learn our lessons in faith, remember this. God the Father loves to watch us in His mircoscope, even when you are not aware of Him watching. There is only one moment in time when He turned His eyes away from our little world, when His own Son died for us. And when He sees us struggling, He'd sent His own Son into our world to save us, let alone the Holy Spirit and heavenly angels. So fear not, and have faith in His perfect will.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
~Deut 31:6

*******

Funny how as I pour my thought down on paper for the Lord, the Lord leads me to write something completely different from what I intented to. But thank God for painting such a beautiful picture of Your love.

What I really wanted to write about was not only God is watching me under His microscope, but as God continues to call me and shape me into His tool, other people are watching me under their microscope. I first felt this heat several months ago when because of miscommunication rides were not probably arranged for the Good Friday's service. It was no one's fault in particular, just simple miscommunication and misunderstanding. However, as the chairperson of the English congragation I took the heat from some of the non-believing parents. Then over the last few months, especially with the public declaration of my intent to attend seminary, I am becoming more aware of the eyes watching my every move -- from people at church, at the office, friends and family.

It can be very uncomfortable at times, especially when I know someone will be analyzing my every action. But thank God, for putting me in this enviroment where I am constantly kept accountable for all my actions. Also thank God for preparing me for this scrutiny through my transparency in my journal. And I know God will deliver me from the pressure and fears of the prying eyes.

"I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears."
~Ps 34:4

The Test and The Stumbling Block

*The Test*

Back from Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. One would assume it was a relexing trip, enjoying the sun and the mountains. Yes, indeed it was a fun weekend on the bike, but it has been challenging weekend also. This challenge was hard to put on paper, but after chatting with Johan today and along with the recent study in Every Young Man's Battle with the high school boys confirms that no longer I should let Satan keep these things bottled up in the dark.

Being is such vacation/tourist spots and along with the hot and humid weather, it is a challenge for most man. I think Pastor Paul said it best in his last message. Summer fashion can be pretty merciless for most man. Shirt skirts, low tops, the summer is filled with landmines of sexual temptations. This is a true test of "bouncing eyes".

"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust upon a young woman."
~Job 31:1

"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people."
Eph 5:3

Bouncing the eyes, what this means is that when a man sees something that is sexually tempting he is to immediately divert his eyes. This is a tough test, but I know strength comes from the Lord. Knowing that nothing is better than Jesus calms my male tendencies. I think most man will agree, sexual temptations are difficult challenges. And I must admit I have failed in such temptations. But praise God, His grace is enough to lift us up from the muck of sins. Also, God has been giving me strength by reminding me to stand firm in these temptations for the sake of my future wife. Plus for every woman, no matter how "merciless" in the way they dress, is a daughter of a father. And in honour and respect, I would too want to raise my future daughter in purity and holiness. So in conclusion, I do not have the authority to look with lust.

Thank You, Father, for the trials. I know you are shaping me into the man you want me to be.


*The Stumbling Block*

It is amazing how God uses long trips on the road to speaks to me. Over the last week, I have spent over 30+ hours on the road. My mind was filled with insights, some weird, some deep. Thank You, Lord, for the Holy Spirit continuing to speak to me.

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
~John 14:26

With the help of the Holy Spirit, I began to understand one of my potential stumbling block. Fear, just as what pastor Tom Holladay from Saddleback preached about. One thing I have convinced myself that I am not good at is languages. Beside cantonese and english, I have had trougle with other languages I tried to learn (mandrian, french and latin). And now I am expect to learn NT greek over the next two years. During the drive, I realized the problem is not the difficulty in learning the language, it is my fear of using and practicing it. My fear is that I will make a fool of myself trying. Funny though, I make a fool of myself all the time anyway, so why the fears?

That's one thing I still need to learn more about myself. Why the fear?

Small Creatures

When you think of small creatures, what do you think of? Ants? Puppies? Single cell creatures?

A weird brainwave over came me today during worship today. We were singing Trust His Heart when this weird thought came to me.

"All things work for our good
Though sometimes we can't see how they could
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth
Our Father knows what's best for us
His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just can't see Him
Remember you're never alone

Chorus:
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
Don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart

He sees the master plan
He holds the future in His hands
So don't live as those who have no hope
All our hope is found in Him
We see the present clearly
But He sees the first and the last
And like a tapestry He's weaving you and me
To someday be just like Him"
~Trust His Heart

As we sang in worship, I realized we ARE the small creatures. In the grand scheme of the universe, we are smaller than a speck of dust. At times we think we are in control of the world. Oh how we have been fooled. What can we control in our life? The actions we choose in the present. The past is passed, we cannot change the past. And the future has not happened so we cannot do anything about it. So whenever, if ever, we are in "control", it is only control of the present.

What is the present? The sliver of time where the past and the future meets. So that in the grand scheme of the universe, it's nothing. However, to our Father who is the Alpha and the Omega, He controls the past, the present and the future. So to our Father, we are extremely small creatures. However, He still loves us enough to forsake His son for us.

How great is that love?

Humility

Humility, n 1: a disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride

A lack of false pride. What better way to describe the lesson God is teaching me recently -- lessons in humility and obedience. God spoke to me through Ed Silvoso's Anointed for Business:

"It is not your strength that I am after, it is your obedience"

How much truth is in that phrase?

We tend to take pride in what we are good at. The misconception is that we are definited by our strengths, and we are encouraged to use these gifts God has given us. On the shirt daddy gave me for my baptism, is says:

"You life is a gift from God, what you do with it is your gift to God."

So with that, I was encouraged to execise my strengths in service to God. However, I realized that the danger in that is I would easily take pride in my strengths -- in what I was good at. So what God did was to give me a wake up call. He basically said to me that it does not matter to Him what my gifts are. I baffled be for a few days, until finally God reveiled the trust to me.

My strengths, He's the one who gave them to me. So Father knows all about my strength and what I am capable (or not capable) of. So in that sense, He does not care about my strengths. Therefore, there is nothing to take pride in, for such pride is a false pride.

All that matters to God is our obedience. God gave me the tools and gifts to carry out His work on earth, to bring the Kingdom of God here on earth. It is my part to use these strength for His glory.

Finding Peace in the God of Wonders

Greetings from Montreal. Praise the Lord for giving me peace and rest over the last few days. Brother Patrick and I has been away in an excursion over the last two days. We decided to take a few days off to see Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec city.

Everytime I return to Ottawa and drive on Colonal By along the canal, a certain calmness over comes me. The beauty of the waters, the spendid of the flowers, and the clear blue skies, reminds me of the glory of our Father.

"Lord of all creation
Of the water, earth and sky
The Heavens are your Tabernacle
Glory To the Lord on high"

To top off the visit to Ottawa was the bike ride along the canal. In the 3 years I lived in Ottawa, I have never once ride my bike in Ottawa until now. On the bike, with the gentle breeze and the amazing view, it is as though God coming to lift all my worries and sorrows away. Then, today, there was the drive to Mont Tremblant. The majestic mountains, the lush green valleys, and the blue green mountain lakes. Throughout the quiet ride on the twisty mountian roads, what else can I think of but God's wonderful work of art.

"Early in the morning
I will celebrate the light
And when I stumble into darkness
I will call your name by night"

Lord, it never cease to amaze me how much you know about me. You know exactly what I needed, and you call me. You know I need rest and peace, you took me through the widerness to give my rest. It is funny, I am usually pretty good with directions on the road. But on route to Tremblant, I purpose took an unknown route, trusting God will speak to me. And this unknown route too us 90 minutes off course. On the drive, I learn that the Lord is not interested in our strengths. He gave us those strengths, so He already knows we can excel in these areas. It was as if God was speaking directly to me, Joel, I know you are good with directions, will you trust me and let me lead you through an unfamilar path, without a map. He cares about obedience, not your strength.

Funny though, I know God has been teaching my lessons on obedience. That has been the theme over the past few weeks. However, through these lesson Satan been planning seed of doubt in my mind questioning me whether or not I know the will of God. I remember in the past saying so sure that if one is close to the Lord there no way he will not know the will of God. Funny now in my weakness I began to doubt. Lord, help me stand firm in your faith. I know you are near, give me the strenght to focus on you and understand your will.

The peaceful drive today gave me a chance to think. To think about how much has God worked in my over the last year. The lessons in faith, in trust, in love, in patience and in discipline. I know God still have much to work in me, but He constantly reminds me the there is nother better than Jesus -- no the riches of this world, nor the satisfaction from worldly pleasures.

"God of wonders
Beyond our galaxy
You are holy, holy
The universe
Declares your majesty
You are holy, holy"
~God of Wonders

You are Holy, but what's amazing is that by calling us children of God, you desire us to be holy too. Oh, Father, Father. How many times have I forsaken this holiness you gave me? But yet, you never forsaken me. And continue to choose to work with me. Father, Father, thank You.

Chicken or the Egg?

Funny, on a drive yesterday, my mind when through one of those random routine of mental aerobics. I began to ponder the age old question of the chicken of the egg. Or more specifically, cause and effect. Cause and effect. The reason why the chicken or the egg question is so fascinating is because we are not about to determine which one is the cause and which one is the effect. Is the chicken result of the hatching of the egg? Or is it because of the chicken, therefore the egg came into exsistance.

Why did I have these thoughts? I was reflecting by on my Las Vegas trip, gathering what I learn from the experience. Over the past year, I have been especially careful with me actions. I have constantly checked the motives of my action, learning self-control and humility. Learning about my weaknesses, over the ast year I have failed many times in motive. Seeking personal glory rather than glorifying God. And going to Vegas, I was not completely clear on what's God will for me so I was afraid of my personal desires taking over.

That was my constant struggle last week, fighting back my personal desires, and allowing God to move in me. It was tough. My spirit is telling me "no", my flesh shouting "YESSSS!!!! Go for it!"

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."
~Rom 7:15

What I want to do -- to be patient, to obey, to wait in the Lord -- I do not do. What I hate -- self-seeking, emotional gratification -- I do. I do not understand what I do. So what was my solution? I ran -- ran away from my personal desires. But I realized that running is not the best solution, because when you run you have to understand what you are running from. And I did not know exactly what I was running from.

This is where the chicken or the egg comes in. Should I run and hide? But what if God's will is for me to face "what I hate"? What if God is using this confrontation, this struggle, to build up my character and accomplish His will? If so, if I run, yes it is right to run from temptations, but we are also called to stand up in trial. So it is facing trials will reveal God's will? Or it is God's will for us to face these trials?

Chicken of the egg?

Dig in or pack up and run?

" 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

16Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created."
~James 1:2-18

So, the "what I hate", are those trials or temptations? It was difficult the first few days in Vegas. Whenever a hint of self-seeking, emotional gratification surfaced, I ran. But it was driving me nuts, chipping away at my will. To the point I said to myself I will keep running and if it is God's will He will open doors. But problem is how many doors does Father have to open before I have the courage to step through?

I am tempted by my own evil desire, but with Christ in me is the hope of glory. I should not be afraid of the actions I made, that's what lying down my lift means. To put to death the desires of my heart, and let God take the driver seat in life. It is not about chicken or the egg! God created both the chicken and the egg. It is not cause and effect. It is just God's will. From experience God do use my emotions to set things in motion. To be absolutely honest, that was how this journal started in the first place. Joel, just be near to the Father, and your actions will be according to His will.

"But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."
~Psalms 73:28

Be Near, oh God.

"I was there"

Adpated from Glorious Appearing, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins:

"Joel, I knew your name before the foundation of the world. I have prepared a place for you, and if it were not so, I would have told you. I was there when you were born.

"I was there when you thought your parents think you are useless. I was there when you failed in school. When you almost ran away from home, before you knew Me. I was there when you moved to Canada. And I was waiting when finally you came to Me, in your living room when you prayed in My name.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I am the lover of your soul. You were meant to be with Me for eternity, and now you shall be.

"I pray to My Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that I may dwell in your heart through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height -- to know My love which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask and think, according to the power that works in you, to Him be glory in the church to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."


What can I say? Thank You, Lord...

Lance Back in Yellow

Almost halfway through the Tour de France, 11 stages to go, unless for any major accidents one can consider the Tour de France done. After letting go of the pressure of the yellow jersey of a day, Armstrong reclaims yellow and it doesn't look like anyone could take it from him now. Aside from Mickael Rasmussen might have small chance, proving that they can ride with Lance up today's Category 1 climb to the finish, ‘Vino’, ‘Klodi’ and ‘Ulle’ could not keep up with the 6 times Tour winner.

What determination and teamwork. Armstrong proving once again he is king of the mountain, tore up the category 1 climb to the finish and blowing my all his major competitors. All this requires focus, determination and desire to win the prize.

Saddleback Church Visit

Back in Toronto, at the airport waiting for mom to pick me up. Aside from the brief rollercoaster ride, I slept through the entire flight. Shortly after landing, got a message from Jenny that she’s also home safe and sound. Praise the Lord!

Yesterday, Winnie, Jenny and I drive out from Las Vegas to visit Saddleback Church. The excitement was high on route to Saddleback. However, the trip did have it’s obstacles. From clocks set to 3 hours fast, to traffic jam and completely getting lost when we were supposedly 0.4 miles from the church, I felt that spiritual warfare was trying to keep us from reaching church with the heart of worship. While we finally arrived 30 minutes late to service, but Praise God, He taught the three of us to encourage each other.

Upon arrival at Saddleback, we were amazed at the size of the church. There were 6 venues to choose from with various worship styles. One thing that was confusing was finding parking. The parking lots were all full and following the parking attendant’s directions we were actually directed to the exit. It felt like, “Welcome to Saddleback, our parking lots are full, you may leave now.” We managed to find parking at the Ministry Building, and on our trek up the hill to the Worship Center, a nice lady offered us a ride there.

At the Worship Center, I was in awe. Walking by the baptism pool, people were sitting outside in the patio enjoying the sun and receiving God’s word over loud speakers. It was not Rick Warren speaking, but the message was powerful. We found standing room at the entrance of the Worship Center. I must admit, it was a humbling experience for me. As a newcomer to the church I was expecting to be welcomed and ushered to the proper areas. But God said to me, “Why should you deserve special treatments, humble yourself and serve Me.” That’s the continual message Father is training me – obedience and humility.

After the service, I then truly realize the size of the church. The Worship Center sits 2000 worshippers, along with the other 5 venues, overflow sitting and patio sitting, there must be around 5000 adults in attendance. It was like a convention, and they have services 6 times a week. Wow! And the line up for speakers they have over the next few weeks. Next week, Steve Arterburn. The end of July, Lee Strobel. Double wow!!!

We took time running around the church campus, it is truly amazing. They have a shark tank in the Children Building, BBQ and patio by the High School Ministry Building, rivers and cascading waterfall running throughout the campus. And mostly amazingly, a hill with the Calvary on top and the tomb built right into the hill. Beach volleyball court, basketball courts, and a frisbee golf field. We were like kids running around the church campus. We agreed that in the Kingdom of God, we will too run around giggling, laughing, rolling on the grass, climbing up rocks, and splashing water.

What an amazing church! But, I was reaffirmed that, for now, Logos Baptist Church is my home. No matter how much fun Saddleback is, I still miss the brothers and sisters at Logos. Over the last few weeks, one thing God has been doing is to stretch my vision – To think big and do big things for God. Maybe one day, we will have our own church campus. But all those are just materialistic things, the most important thing I learn was the Saddleback method to connect and cater to different groups.

What’s next? Willowcreek? 722? Brooklyn Tabernacle? :P

Obedience will be Rewarded

“It is very important to remember that this ocean of blessings began at the headwaters of a very tiny creek. The key, the origin, was simple obedience”
~Ed Silvoso, Anointed for Business

With the new found peace in the Lord, my attitude made a 180۫ turn. Spirits lifted. All the bitterness disappeared. I once again found the joy in Christ. After getting the front row seats on Friday morning, I decided to disappear from my group for more quiet time. I had about 2 hours before the general session started at 8am, so I decided to take a prayer walk around the arena. Praying for the convention, claim this convention for the Lord. The great thing about a convention, I noticed, is that everyone wears a name tag. So after the prayer walk, I decided to sit by the gates and pray for people by name as they walked into the arena.

What peace! “Come to Me, and I will give you rest.” What a change from Wednesday and Thursday! Though my left foot still hurts, I was able to place others before me. Just as Blair Singer said, we should each focus on our strengths to get the work done.

In the conference, a speaker said that “Greed is having a gift and not sharing it.” What about the love worth giving? Jesus poured out His love for us, and if we received this precious gift, we are greedy if we don’t share it with others. That was my motivation to get up early and fight for seats for the team. The show them I have a love that’s worth seeking. A marketplace minister, that God’s calling.

Usually for be, the toughest time of a convention day is after lunch. Either I’m hungry, or I’m full and falling asleep. But in the afternoon power session, Ken Davis asked if anyone has a laptop. And for some reason, I happened to have my laptop on me. So Ken used my laptop for his presentation and in return, he let me sit among the CEO’s in the very front. Wow, that an experience. I observed how and CEO’s encourage one another before their trainings, and how much fun they had up front. And I was about to see every little details since I’m so close to the stage and screen. I was so close to the big screen that I was able to notice Penny Ooi had a copy of Purpose Driven Life in her profile video.

No matter how early I lineup, and even being first in line, I can only get a seat in the front but on the side. But with obedience, blessings will pour out from heaven.

“not by works, so that no one can boast.”
~Eph 2:9

“Come to Me, and I will give you rest”

Friday morning, 4:15am. Outside of Grand Garden Arena, MGM Grand, lining up for the day’s conference. Well, it is not really lining up when you are the only person in line. This is funny, but in the buzzing city of Las Vegas this is the place where I find the most peace – a peace that was lacking all week so far.

To be absolutely honest, this year in Las Vegas, I am not having a blast. It is not that I am not excited. In fact, I must admit that one have to be pretty excited to line up for a conference at 4:15 in the morning. Every morning, I’ve been so looking forward to the day that I’ve been up at 6:00 the past two mornings and 3:45 this morning. The reason why I am not enjoying my stay is because of the injury to my left foot. According to Dr. Robert, because of the flat sandals all morning Wednesday the arch was not properly supported. In result was a pull of the tendon on along the top of my left foot. The advice Dr. Robert gave me was to loosen the laces of my left shoe. It is pretty immobilizing, every step I take sends pain up my leg. And bearing this pain all day long is pretty taxing on the mind.

Sorry Lord, I have not been a good witness. With the pain in my foot my focus been on myself, I have lost the “saltiness” in my life. I became bitter, complaining about everything – from the hotel to everything else around me.

Thank You, Lord, for speaking to my in devotions. “Come to Me, and I will give you rest.” Rest – that is exactly what I needed. God cannot work with an angry Christian. Eph 4:26-27 I was allowing Satan to slip into my walk and controlling my life. I needed to come to God.

Thoughts from 36000ft

Here we go again. The flight to Las Vegas. I should be sleeping, tired from the hour I spent on my bike today. But cannot sleep, thoughts racing through my mind. It must be a habit I’m developing, pouring my thoughts into my journal on route to Vegas. I just spent some time flipping through my entries from last year’s flight to Vegas. What a different mindset I am in compared to last year. Last year, I was tired, burnt out, looking forward to go to Vegas to get away. This year, for some reason, I am not in a mood to go.

I will be absolutely honest. Over the past two days, I’m feeling week – spiritually. It must be the crash from last week adrenaline rush at Show N’ Tell. From a week of advance the kingdom of God, to a week in “sin-city”. Well, I would be lying if I said I do not want to go to Vegas at all, but I do miss my church and the fellowship of brothers and sisters. Such mixed feelings, for some reason I feel that mental and spiritually I am just not ready for Vegas.

Especially when God suddenly open a door for me to go back to Hong Kong in August. Mom found a flight for $1400, $900 cheaper than what we previously found. But how would a trip to Hong Kong affect my summer. 2 things I learned from Show N’ Tell. 1) Never to doubt God. If it is His plan, He will make things happen one way or another. 2) Don’t worry about results, God determines the results, our part is obedience,

So, what does all this mean? Obedience. No matter how big the task, if it is God’s will, it will happen. I just have to do my part in obedience. Do my part in obedience… God is not calling me to sit with my arms cross and let him do His part. He’s inviting me to be part of the action – part of His miracles. But just like Show N’ Tell, that means hard work, discipline, and perseverance.

Ride the Good Race

I've been bad. Eyes glued to the TV again whenever I have the chance. But I cannot help it, it's July. It's the Tour de France. Yellow jersey, the sprints, the climbs, the teamwork, and the perserverance. 3500km, 20 days. As I am typing this, I have the updates of the stage 4 TTT in the other window. At 2nd time check, Team Discovery Channel is trailing Team CSC by 6". Armstrong and his team should be crossing the finishing line in any minute now. Hope they can make up the 6".

It is amazing that a group of 9 riders can achieve an average speed of over 55km/hr over 67.5km. That's as fast as I drive my car in the city. That why I love watching (and participating in) cycling. At first glance, it seems like a individual sport. But no individual can maintain speeds of 55+km/hr over 67.5km. It's all about team work. Throughout the tour, Team Discovery Channel rides around Armstrong to break the wind for him, to protect him and to chase down breakaway for him for one purpose, to gain and keep the yellow jersey on Armstrong's back.

Come to think about it, if Paul were to live in the modern time and wrote the epistlos again, I think he would of wrote about cycling instead. :P

Paul often talked about running the good race -- with perservence and in such a way as to get the prize. (1 Cor 9:24, Heb 12:1) But in 1 Thessalonians and throughout his letters, he mentioned that the Christian walk is about teamwork too.

" Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
~1 Th. 5:11

So just like in the Tour de France, living the Christian walk it's about personal perservance and hardwork, but also brothers and sisters in Christ has to work as a team, to keep the pure white clothes Christ has clothed us with. Handing onto this holiness without letting go. Ultimately, only Christ can clothes us in His holiness, it is our duty to obey His will. But praise be to God, He surrounds us with brothers and sisters on our Christian bike ride. :)

Stage 4 is over, Team CSC just crossed the finish line, 2" behind Team Discovery Channel. YEAH!!! Wow, what a close race! That means Lance Armstrong will take the yellow jersey for stage 5.