July M Care Update

This will be the last update for our current team. Most of them will be coming home within the next few months, though Alex will be staying out a bit longer to help our brother Matt to transition into his new surroundings. Please read through their updates and continue to keep them in prayer.

The last couple of weeks have been really tiring trying to balance out my double shift at the hakwon and attending the English Corners to promote our English Camp. Now that I’m back on the morning shifts, my energy has somewhat been stable. It’s been really hot and humid here so home team beware! Pack clothes that are “light” and try to stay away from the dark colors, the sun’s heat will penetrate and alter your mood.
I have been meeting up with Stella every week. She’s been really busy these days since all the university students are in the midst of finals. Last week, I was able to give her the OT/NT packet, but because of finals she has been confined to only studying for her school work. I spent the day with her yesterday and she seems pretty interested in our faith. She’s been asking a lot of good questions about how we live and the way we choose to live out our lives for him. Stella’s a really sweet girl and really naïve about this world.
Sunny is another girl I have been meeting up with. She will be attending our summer program and she’s been reading the Bible on her own. The only problem is that she doesn’t have one so I told her some websites to check out where she can read the Bible. I’m going to meet with her today and she texted me the other day saying that she came across some questions regarding the Bible. Hopefully, I’ll be able to answer those questions as I meet with her over dinner.
We’re still diligently advertising for our camp. Our registration shows that we’re still in need of 30 more students. It’s a bit challenging trying to get people to sign up because either they have work, are going home, or they think we’re not legit. These are some of the obstacles we are trying to overcome. We still have two more weeks of advertising so, hopefully and God willing… He’ll bring who He wants to bring.
Hello everyone! I guess this will be the last update from the seven of us for the time being. The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy. Whether it be from having planning meetings, to actually preparing for the upcoming English camp, to advertising and meeting up with friends, it has been quite a jammed pack month.

I have been continuing to meet with the Korean student from the hakwon every week. It has been very encouraging just to see how eager he is to share about how he is doing and the many interesting stories about his non-physical life. Just talking to him has shown a different light and perspective about what we both believe in and it has caused me to realize a particular need to serve those who needs to be served. An opportunity to help serve the children of Korean Christians have come up recently and it is something I am considering as something to help in with the remaining 5 months I have left.

In addition, with the free time, I have been able to meet with other “workers” and it has been a time of much refreshment and to hear more opportunities for the new incoming workers from our company. Please continue to pray for plan and direction for the upcoming year and to see more opportunities to serve him and his fellow workers.

My meetings with my language partner have been good. We have developed a good friendship and considering his wife is a Christian, the more our friendship builds the easier it is to talk about non-physical things and about the Bible. Recently, he just finished his studies at Peking university and so he has a little bit more free time. So I asked if he wanted to read the Bible and he said he would. Please continue to pray that he would genuinely examine himself as he reads. I know he gets enough pressure from his wife and is surrounded by other Christians, so please pray that I would be an example of Christ’s love to him. Also, please pray that the Bible will soften his heart and open his eyes to the truth.

Only 2 weeks left before camp and there is still a lot of work to be done. Meeting up with our weekly regulars is becoming more and more difficult as people are getting caught up with summer jobs, internships, traveling, etc…..but I still have at least a couple chances a week to meet up with our study members. again, there are 3 guys in our weekly study, and 2 out of the 3 are starting to really slack off due to new jobs which require travel and work on the same day as our meeting – the 1 other guy is diligent in coming and he has been the one I have been able to meet with most. He has been very busy with work and we probably see each other once every two weeks, his heart is always open to share and talk, but penetrating deeper is something that has proven quite difficult – his new job requires massive amounts of hours, and I hope to use post-camp time to make my last efforts. Heat makes things difficult to do, laziness and overall fatigue set in every day….

Time is really flying, and we’re all feeling it. As most of you know, Rich and I went for a short trip to the North Korea. Can’t go into details, but some really good stuff is going on there. We’ll let you know soon! Right now, the thing on all our minds is the upcoming reunion and work … as well as the short time left here (for us, about two more months).

A lot of what’s been happening has been in the form of answered prayers, so I hope you’ll be encouraged to see that every one of my last requests has a PTL attached. THANK YOU for keeping me in prayer.

* PTL – my grandpa continues to gain weight / eat regularly, and remain mentally stable and alert. May God continue to sustain both my grandma and my grandpa’s health for the purpose of redeeming them.

* PTL – my sis Sarita will be coming in August to visit and staying with us for about 2-4 weeks for work and play. Usually I only get to see her about 5 days a year, so this is a special opportunity. Please keep her salve. in mind, as well as the salvation of Mei Mei, Dirk and Baby Mika

* PTL – Spiritual Growth for Rita & Esther is happening! For Rita, although our times together have become sporadic due to her hosting out-of-town guests almost every other week, she continues to tell me about all the very exciting leaps and bounds in her life. I’m reminded of how REAL the Holy Spirit is as I look at the changes in her life. As for Esther, she’s started to read more regularly again, and is planning on attending a Bible study at her church soon. Please ask that God would give her conviction about the absolute truth of His words — she’s a little hung up about how all the children have so many different interpretations. Again, keep in mind the leaders of their church — that they would be focused on upholding the word faithfully.

* PTL – Met with Lisa twice now, and even though Monday is her only free day, she wants to get together often cause she doesn’t want to miss out on the action. So, please continue to keep her and the other FOF pals in prayer — that seeing the big picture as the look at OT/NT will really lead them to conviction and salvation. May Holy Spirit really work in them especially during the times we have left to see them.

* PTL – He’s really teaching all of us to be fully dependent and have unwavering faith regarding the summer attendees. the # continues to grow slowly but steadily, and it’s all Him. As far as my other personal requests, my main goal these days is to use the remaining time effectively for king dome purposes. I want my personal relationship with God to be the driving force — that I would continually be growing as He convicts me, and I respond with action/obedience.

John – Lately he has been working a lot at the school, but he seems to be doing well. He is consistent with his readings and he seems to be enjoying his time with the Bible. There are two decisions mentioned before that he needs to make by the end of the summer. First is whether if he wants to continue to work at the school or not. Second is if he should get involved in the big local church here or look for a smaller but more Bible-based local church. The big church has been ‘a hit or a miss’ for us. Since they have so many things going on and preacher is always changing every week, it’s difficult for John to fully understand what they are trying to preach on. The preachers vary in their styles and their view points. But at the end of the summer, he will decide whether he will get more involved with the small group there (possibly give it a try and see how it goes).
Tony – I finally got to meet with him again, and we were able to talk about the meaning of being a Christian. During our talk, he honestly confessed that he wanted to both jobs. But after reading the Bible, it was made clear to him that one cannot do both (at least in heart wise). He also told me before we started our talk that he was going to look for a new job. At the end of July, if things go well, he should be done with his current job and he will be looking for a new job. I just advised him to look for one where he has the weekends off. Tony needs much growth in the Bible. He is willing and wants to know who Christ is better, but the problem is time. But also, with me leaving, the transition between me and whoever will disciple him needs to be smooth. He’s excited that he can continue to meet with another person so he can learn with more.
Daniel – We have been spending some good amount of time together and he has been reading the Bible whenever he has time. I have talked about the gospel with him each time we meet, talking about the whole gospel each time, with an emphasis on different parts of the gospel. So far, I have been encouraging him to ‘think’ and see if God is really there. He understands what he needs to do, and he has expressed to me that he wants to read the whole Bible during the summer. This guy has become a really good friend to me, and I only want the best for him. Please pray for him. He often asks questions about his future and if God would allow him to go to different parts of the world and earn money if he becomes a Christian. He really needs to trust in him and prioritize what is most important in his life. He willing accepts his sinfulness, but waiting for the repentance. I am seeing him again for dinner next week. Yay!
Me- He has been teaching me and causing me to have a greater desire to know Him, so I can love him better. Also, I realize I need a greater desire and enjoyment to workmanship him. It’s so crucial and I believe much of is comes from my lack of true understanding of who he is. But overall, I am thankful to him and hope to do my best. Returning home soon, it has been a goal of mine to have an undivided heart for him. For I am afraid that change of circumstances and settings can alter my desires. But pray that I would give my all to him in any circumstances and settings as I reflect on his immutability. Please pray for me.
Thank you for everything! I will see you soon!

I have good news and bad news. The good news is: I’m coming home soon! The bad news is: I have to say my good-byes to China For those of you who may not know, I’ll be returning home on August 4th. But before that, the summer team will come and begin our summer English camp for college students in Beijing. Since time is winding down, this will be my final update. Thank you all for keeping up with me throughout this past year and supporting me through your “prayers.” I hope you’ve been touched and encouraged by the amazing things that dad has done and continues to do in this country. He is forever faithful

These final weeks have been a challenge and a great blessing. A challenge because of our advertising efforts to get students to join our camp :T A great blessing because of the time I’ve had to reflect on how good and faithful dad has been this past year. The camp sign-ups are slowly trickling in, but one thing is certain: I was never meant to be a salesperson :T One very exciting piece of news is that we have another new Christian! YUP! Her name is Joy and she’s one of the girls in our weekly study group. She and her boyfriend were the two in our group who were not part of the Family, but recently she made the decision to commit her life to dad. ptl!

Joy knew very little about the Bible at the beginning of our study in October. But as time progressed, we noticed a very obvious growth in her knowledge and understanding. She was the most consistent, attentive, and eager person in the group. She even read ahead and finished the book of John on her own. On one occasion, I sat down and talked to her about her readiness to make a decision. She actually told me that she believed everything the book said and she was fully ready to make a decision, but she wanted to make the decision with her bf. After a couple months, God has led her to make the decision first and she has committed herself to “pray” for her bf everyday. It’s actually quite endearing to see such child-like faith in her. She says she is confident that God will change her bf’s heart. Please “pray” for him. At this point he says he is not ready to give up his chances of getting a good job because he is currently a Communist Party member. Please “pray” for Joy as well. She recently returned back to her hometown for her new full-time job. She has a home group to join so she will have continued follow-up. Fortunately, she’s been attending a home group for many months now, so she understands the importance of these churches.

As for the others who I’ve been meeting up with, they’ve all been pretty busy with exams but I’ll be seeing them for the final time within the next week. It’s amazing to see how at one point they had very little understanding of the book, but now they are able to retell many parts of it. Though their hearts are yet to be fully softened, I can testify that God has graciously brought them steps closer. It is a beautiful thing to even see seeds grow into green stems. It’s been a true privilege to take part in this growth process.

As for me, I will tell you more details when I return home Let’s just say I feel like the luckiest person in the world a lot of times…

My! Goodness! When did this year fly by?! Haha! Hello family! How is everyone? It’s insane to think that Lynna, Henry, and myself are typing up our last emailed update for this past year we’ve been residing in China. What’s even more weird is that in the blink of an eye, we’ll be walking up the international ramp into the arms of our family and loved ones. AHH! I still can’t seem to wrap my mind around it. I woke up this morning and announced to Lynna that we only had a couple more days until the team comes to Beijing and she screamed in my face. Haha, it made me laugh.

It’s been difficult to meet my friends who are still students in the past 2 weeks because of their varying final schedules, but since they are all finishing up in the next few days, I am hoping to resume and really be urgent in my remaining time with them. This afternoon until night, I’ll be seeing Rebecca before she leaves for her hometown to visit her family; she will be back before the team comes. I am truly hoping to be very sincere and honest with her about what is really on my heart, so I ask that even if nothing happens tonight and all she does is listen, please be on your knees over her prayers on what I tell her as she travels to-and-fro from home. I think going home without knowing that I made the gospel absolutely apparent to her would leave me with a great deal of regret.

Catherine is really persevering continually. There have been a lot of times this year where I felt a great deal of worry over her, whether it was her health, her work schedule, or her overall choices in life, but I am grateful for all the Lord has been showing me in her gradual growth. I have a lot of heart-to-heart talks with her and I am so thankful that our relationship has grown from just acknowledgment as sisters to really honest and loving friends over this year. I find that I can be so completely open with her, even challenge and confront her way of thinking, and yet she is always so teachable and willing to press harder for sanctification and humility. I hope you all at home really continue to pray for her regarding these areas. More than anything, I know that Catherine truly desires that in the end of her life, God would be pleased with all that she has done and that she would be able to hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Also, I wanted to say, “Thank you!” to all those who have been lifting me up in prayer over the anxiety I was recently feeling over coming home. I have calmed down considerably since 2 weeks prior and I really do attribute it to your partnered prayers for me! Thanks, family! It’s bittersweet to leave my “home” for the past year, but I also sincerely can’t wait to see you all again!

Working Aliens by Joseph Jun

The following entry is the second of our 2-part series on “Witnessing at Work”…enjoy!

Working Aliens?

For those of us that are out of college and are working in full-time positions, you would probably agree that it is a large part of our lives. I know many at our church that love hanging out and fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters. However, if we sit down and think about how much time we spend at church (Sunday Worship, Bible Studies, Prayer Meetings) we still see that work dominates are time and much of our energy during the week.

Our blog has been a place where we can gain encouragement through the sharing of different topics and issues that we all face on a day to day basis. With many of us spending so much of our weeks at the workplace, I wanted to continue with the topic of evangelism at work. We are to have a missionary mentality when we approach the workplace. I wanted to keep this entry practical and give you some things that I have learned by working in an environment that is heavily male dominated and very worldly. That actually is no different from your places of business, but we need to remember what our priorities are as believers in Christ.

When I think about my role in the workplace I think of…

1 Peter 2:11-12
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

First and foremost Apostle Peter addresses the believer as an alien and stranger. When you go to work do you feel like an alien or a stranger when you interact with your co-workers? If you feel right at home with conversations and activities that your non-believing co-workers participate in, then it may be a benefit to examine to see if you are really a stranger or alien in this world. I know most of us though, feel uncomfortable and uneasy when we participate in conversations/gossip/joking that is obviously dishonoring to God. So then, feeling like an outsider/alien because of what we believe in and the Christian lifestyle that we affirm is only natural!

Ok. There is so much to being aliens and strangers, but I won’t get to most of that here. Apostle Peter goes on and says in v. 12 to live such good lives among the pagans that they will glorify God when he visits us. Hmmm. That’s a pretty big task for us. What does it mean to live such a good life among the pagans then?

I just recently finished going through Colossians and this verse came to mind. (Col 3:23 – Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men)

One way to live such good lives among the pagans is to work for the Lord. When we work for the Lord, we can put aside our desire to get ahead, and participating in things that might be unbecoming of a Christian. Your boss is Christ himself. Sometimes I imagine myself working and Christ actually being my supervisor. An all-knowing God who is present everywhere. I’d probably be in a lot of trouble. But remember, Scriptures command us to work at our jobs with all our hearts as to the Lord. Be a good worker. Do the tasks you were hired for and are being paid for. Many of us (me included) go to work and have a poor attitude. We waste our time and cut corners here and there to make it easier. However, part of living such good lives among the pagans is to gain a reputation of hard work and reliability. No one wants a poor worker who is a liability. People you work with are watching you. Even before you ever have an opportunity to open your mouth to share about Christ, or invite them to church, or talk about religion they have probably formulated what kind of co-worker you are to them. You are either a person they would want to work with, or someone they would rather avoid. So when you do get that chance to share the Gospel and what you believe and how serious you are about church, your work ethic has either bolstered your credibility or has tainted your witness.

The world is actually pretty savvy when it comes to identifying those that talk without the walk and those that walk with the talk. There is so much more to this topic, but I know some of you will probably read this at work (on your break of course! ☺) and its getting longer and longer. So let us represent our God by the way we work in our individual workplaces. It’s alright to be an alien and stranger, just remember to be an alien that illuminates the area where you work.

Mortifying Sin by Michael Tang

The Berean Men’s Accountability Group held its last session this past Saturday and will beginning a new session in September. The following entry is a reflections piece about the last 9 months of this group. For more information, please contact elder Vince Kim (vincentskim at gmail).

For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor. 1 Thessalonians 4:2-4

Today, many people in the Western church crave answers to the age-old question: what is God’s will for my life? Does God want me to be a doctor? A lawyer? A teacher? Does God want me to be rich? Who does God want me to marry? If these Christians with such itching questions would simply open their Bibles, they would no doubt find the answers in passages such as the one above. The apostle Paul could not have laid out it more clearly: God’s will for us is our sanctification, our ongoing growth in holiness. God wants and commands us to be holy, just as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). Whether we are doctors or lawyers or marry this person over that person, the fact of the matter is that our primary concern in life should be holiness.

The calling to be holy as a Christian is a high one. We cannot downplay the epic title of being “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9). Yet, despite countless instructions in the Bible to pursue holiness, the church today seems to be failing miserably in this area. It is that particular instruction that Paul gives us, to “abstain from sexual immorality”, in which we are so disobedient.
A poll published by Leadership magazine reveals that more than 40% of churched young people at the age of 18 and under have engaged in premarital sex. Another poll from ChristiaNet reported by Marketwire.com claims that 50% of all Christian men are addicted to pornography. Rick Warren’s website Pastors.com had a survey of over 500 Christian men at a men’s retreat and reported that over 90% had admitted to feeling disconnected from God because of lust, porn, or fantasy. D.A. Carson recounts in his book A Call to Spiritual Reformation about how “the directors of several mission boards in North America and Europe have quietly mentioned to [him] that they have had to deal with more problems of sexual immorality among missionaries during the past five years than during the previous thirty, forty, or fifty years”.

The situation is crystal clear: sexual immorality is a rampant epidemic in the body of Christ. Rather than seeing a healthy, pure body, the world beholds a church of Christ that is diseased with sexually immoral sins. More and more Christians are succumbing to the seduction that the world offers in its culture of movies, TV shows, and music.

Carson has a great analogy for the situation the church is in: a frog that jumps into boiling hot water will immediately jump right back out. However, that very same frog can be quietly cooked to death if the temperature of the water in which it is already lying slowly rises. Like this proverbial frog, our culture is slowly heating up and destroying the life and witness of the church.

The Men’s Accountability group at Berean Community Church is an ice-cold solution to counter the boiling temperature of our culture. It is a call for the men of the church to kill sexual immorality and to pursue after the righteousness and holiness of God (1 Cor 6:18).

When the group first started in October 2006, the brothers chose accountability partners with whom they would meet once a week to discuss their latest struggles and victories over lust. These weekly meetings were the means in which we confessed our sins and prayed for one another (James 5:16). It is in these weekly meetings where the partners would also discuss the readings of various Christian literatures. Over the past 6 months, we read Sex is Not the Problem, Lust is by Joshua Harris, The Mortification of Sin by John Owen, and Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes. We also memorized various passages in Scripture that dealt with fighting against the temptations of sin (i.e. Romans 6, Psalm 51). Another helpful tool that was employed by most of the men was the computer program Covenant Eyes, which monitors all the Internet sites that we visit. The program sends a bi-weekly report to the accountability partner of all the questionable websites that were visited.

All the men involved in the accountability group would convene together every other month at the church office to discuss their latest progress in the battle against lust. Each brother would take turns sharing, going around in a big circle, and we would end these bi-monthly meetings by praying for one another. This was an opportunity for all the men to be open with one another and to observe the progress that God was allowing us to make in sexual purity.

Though the statistics of today’s church may be very daunting, we must remember the church of Christ is no stranger to sexual immorality; almost every one of Paul’s epistles has some exhortation to flee from lust. Paul would probably say the same thing to the church today as he said to the Romans in 1st century A.D:

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Rom 6:11-14)

Men’s Accountability is not for the purpose of just resisting sin; the ultimate goal is to kill sin. We are dead to sin and alive to Christ, and as living beings, we must daily work by the glorious grace of God to root the sin of sexual immorality out of our lives and ultimately out of the church.

If you have read up to this point, the Puritan John Owen has a simple question for you to consider:
Do you mortify sin? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work. Be killing sin or it will be killing you.

Witnessing at Work by Tina Cho

I’ve been a missionary in the Graduate Division Department of UC Irvine for a little over 6 months now. As a Christian, I have a very different job description from all of my other non-Christian co-workers. Unlike them, I have two jobs. A physical and a spiritual one. My physical job is a financial assistant. My duties include many mundane tasks, like inputting data and creating Excel spreadsheets. My other job, however, is rather different in nature. It’s a job that requires far more wisdom, energy, and passion that can only be given by a divine power. My spiritual job is to be an ambassador of Christ. UCI didn’t hire me for this job, but my Father in heaven did. My duties include preaching the Gospel like Christ, loving like Christ, thinking like Christ, behaving like Christ, and most importantly praying like Christ. This is my real job, which only the Lord can enable me to do. This is what makes my heart beat with passion, what makes each day challenging, exciting, and purposeful.
God is teaching me that in order to do my spiritual job, I need to first and foremost ask Him for a spiritual vision. By spiritual vision, I mean the ability to see the things that are physically unseen, but spiritually present. It is a vision that requires great faith, as God describes to us in Hebrews 11:1…“faith in being sure of the things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen”. This vision must be grounded in a steadfast confidence, an unwavering certainty in the promises of God. It is my growing conviction that only those who walk closely with Christ can see in this way. The closer you are to Him, the more you will see what He sees. Therefore, I am learning that the first step in carrying out this spiritual duty is to stay close to Jesus in faith. God-given faith was what empowered ordinary humans like Apostle Paul to pour out their lives like a drink offering (Phil 2:17), to suffer for the Gospel ministry (2 Cor. 6:4-10), and to endure all things for the sake of God’s elect (2 Tim. 2:10). Paul was certain of the promises of God and this certainty was what kept him laboring intensely to the very end, even to the point of death.
There are many people in Graduate Division who don’t know Christ. 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week I am surrounded by dead people, who need Christ to give them life. They are the perfect example of what God describes to us in Romans 1:18-32. They suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know God, but neither glorify Him as God nor give thanks to Him. They claim to be wise, but are fools. They worship the creation, rather than the Creator. Their thinking is futile, their hearts are darkened. They are gossips, and slanderers. Self-lovers and God-haters. They are sexually impure, mentally depraved, spiritually dead. I realize the only thing that makes me different from my co-workers is the grace God has given to me through Christ. If it wasn’t for grace, I would be in the same boat as them. This thought humbles me greatly. Christ changed my life and gave me the duty to be His presence to those around me. In my humanness, I feel lonely at work because I am different. My co-workers remind me that I am different everyday. However, God always reminds me that He is the one who made me different. He has called me by His grace to belong to Him and not to this world (1 Pet. 2:9-10). He placed me on the difficult, narrow path for His glory sake. God is definitely using this working life to strengthen my faith in Christ. The Gospel is so real. It has the power to change the hearts of men, like yours and mine. What is impossible with man is possible with God.
My prayer for our church is that God would raise up missionaries who will live and die for the Gospel. Missionaries here and missionaries overseas. Missionaries who have been radically changed by God’s grace. Missionaries who despise comfort and complacency, but embrace the cross of Christ at all costs. No matter where God places us, the Gospel must be preached. Christ’s name must be loved and exalted by all men. We must pray and beseech the Lord. The harvest is everywhere. Dying souls are found everywhere. What will you do about it?

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” 2 Cor. 5:17-20

Miscellanies (v.1)

Miscellanies will be a new feature on this blog. It will consist of exactly as it sounds: a mixture of things, both serious and trivial. Just some quick points so that I can contribute something to this weblog and not have to bug you guys all the time for posts (though I always love reading your contributions). Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

1. James 1:27, Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. A sobering reminder that this is as much in need of being practiced as it has ever been; especially when such help is done in the name of Christ.

2. As mentioned in yesterday’s A La Carte (Challies.com), a free EP to download from Christian artist Andrew Osenga (of Caedmon’s Call).

3. As we prepare for Communion service this Sunday, Thomas Vincent has some valuable insight from his book, The True Christian’s Love to the Unseen Christ, about how our love for Christ should be magnified during this special time:

“Often should you endeavor, in ever ordinance, to lift up your hearts unto the Lord’ but, above all, when you approach the Lord’s Table, all your graces should there and then be in exercise, especially this grace of love to Jesus Christ. Your eye there should affect your heart when you see the representations of your crucified Lord, and think what manner of love He bore to you, that He should submit Himself unto such a death for you. How should this affect your hearts! And, if ever, then your love to Christ should show itself and act with the greatest vigor and strength!”

4. Bookmark this: A great Bible study resource on the internet. Yup, the ‘net can be useful for something.

5. Pretty stinkin’ cute (Click ON the Play Button):

Reflections on Freshman Year by John Tang

Looking at everything throughout the school year in retrospect definitely has its benefits. I don’t know about you guys, but looking back at the past shows me how much God has been faithful to His continual work of sanctification in my own life, even through things I would have never expected. I take a look at my schoolwork, my relationships, and even my own expectations and I can’t deny the hand of God working in and through these things. While there are just too many details to be written and lessons to be shared, I think one area that God has worked in through this school year is my attitude towards schooling itself.
My high school years had always been a struggle in part because I never knew how to approach my schooling in a manner that was pleasing to God. I always wanted good grades, but for some reason I also saw good grades and success in school as being something wrong and worldly. However, on the other hand, I also couldn’t bring myself to fail in school because I always felt like I wouldn’t be honoring God through my role as a student. Going into college didn’t solve this, but impressed this issue upon my heart. Since I am a student and will be a student for the next three years, I think I was brought to learn this year how I can honor God through my role as a student.
Going through schooling this year, I always questioned the ultimate end of all my labors in school. Why was I trying so hard to do well in school? Why was I studying so hard? I kept going back to these questions because I felt like I wasn’t living up to the position God placed me in. But rather than just the method and actions I took in regards to my schoolwork, I think it was my heart that needed to be examined and purified. Through a desire to honor God and be faithful to His commands, I found myself being engaged firstly in honesty and sincerity in learning from school. I think trying to be honest in all things, from paying attention in class to doing homework and whatnot helped stimulate my mind to examine what I was learning in light of the Bible. I found myself seeing man’s rebellion against God; at the same time, I found myself learning about God. Trying to examine things according to the Bible gave me a dependency on God’s Word and a love for His truth.
Thinking back on my worries in the beginning of the school year of either being consumed with schoolwork or being a lazy bum, and seeing how I’ve been challenged in this particular aspect, I’m moved to thank God for providing me with a genuine love for the Bible and for teaching me how to worship Him through my student life. Examining all things according to the truth has moved me to desire to learn and do my best in school, so that I may approve what’s true and so worship God through my schoolwork.