How to Read the Bible from Tim Keller

There are two ways to read the Bible. The one way to read the Bible is that it’s basically about you: what you have to do in order to be right with God, in which case you’ll never have a sure and certain hope, because you’ll always know you’re not quite living up. You’ll never be sure about that future. Or you can read it as all about Jesus. Every single thing is not about what you must do in order to make yourself right with God, but what he has done to make you absolutely right with God. And Jesus Christ is saying,  “Unless you can read the Bible right, unless you can understand salvation by grace, you’ll never have a sure and certain hope. But once you understand it’s all about me, Jesus Christ, then you can know that you have peace. You can know that you have this future guaranteed, and you can face anything.”
Tim Keller

First Annual Berean Sports Day

On October 4th, 2008 9a.m. Berean Community Church will be launching our first annual BCC sports day. One of the most memorable things about my college life was the annual sports day we had between different campus ministries. Some participated in basketball, some in volleyball and some in tug of wars. Whatever your assignment was everyone cheered for their team as if their salvation depended on it. I can’t physically compete like I used to but I am looking forward to the family of Berean gathering together to spend a day in healthy competition. At the end of the day we will see who will have the bragging rights and who will need to remain silent..at least for a year.

Though we are encouraged to consider each other better than ourselves in Philipians, apostle Paul also challenged us to run the race as to win in 1 Corinthians. Let’s put both of these principles into practice on this day. Let’s do our best to beat the people who are better than us. See you there……

Peter Kim

God is not frustrated

God’s plans are never frustrated.  What He wills He fulfills.  It’s so important that I never forget that.  When I feel like God is frustrated it inevitably gets me frustrated.  Our God’s power can never be exhausted.  His plans can never be thwarted.  Though things don’t go as I’ve planned or desired it’s just a reminder that my plans were not His all along.  My frustrations are just a reminder that I have focused too much on what I can and cannot do and not enough on my Father in heaven.  His breath keeps every living creature alive every single moment of existence.  His love keeps me safe from anything that is ultimately harmful for me.  There is no where I can go where His presence isn’t just as rich as where I’ve been.  I am safe…….  Don’t forget to look up…….  that’s where strength and life comes from.

Lord of the harvest…………….

I forgot how much work it takes to raise a child from infancy.  I have been staying up all night since I came back from China so that Esther can get a break from the night feedings.  I’m not fully over the jet lag so my sleeping habits are all messed up right now anyways.  I’ve already gone through this with three other kids so I thought this would be a lot easier but now I’m remembering how difficult it was for all three of them.  But as I look at each one of my kids I would do it a hundred times all over again for each one of my kids if they need it.

Berean is my spiritual child.  I wouldn’t trade it for the world. ( I really mean that)  But there are other children that are growing on the other side of the ocean.  I can’t seem to get them out of my mind…not that I’ve been trying.  I have one family but two homes.

Lord…I beseech you…send out more workers into your harvest………….

Back from Asia

It’s 4:11a.m. To have a clear purpose in life is one of the rewards of following Christ. His mission was clear so everything in His life had a definite goal. To be able to wake up everyday knowing exactly what you were supposed to do for that day is a great feeling. That’s exactly how it is during these summer trips. No matter how tiring and laborious the day’s task may be, the thought of doing something meaningful that day really makes each day worth living. Although I am a pastor sometimes I’m not sure if my purpose is really clear. I wrestle each day as to how to prioritize my time. I struggle to divide my time between family and church. I wrestle with where I should be devoting my time even in ministry. These things may never fully be resolved but I wish they would sometimes. To live with a clear mission…………that is my prayer.

Pastor’s Desk: Why Do We Sin? (pt. 2)

Our lack of faith leads to sin and our sin leads to lack of faith.

Many sin because their faith or lack of faith allows them room to live with an ongoing, unrepentant presence of sin in their lives. But there are also many who lack faith because of their sins. In 2 Cor.4:4 we are taught that the “god of this age” has blinded the mind of the unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. The reason why our adversary has this kind of control over them is through the presence of sin in them. Sin gives our enemy the foothold to blind people to the reality of God’s glory. As Christians we have been delivered from the ultimate blindness that leads to death but we are also susceptible to momentary blindness when we allow unrepentant sin to exist in our lives. We cannot question why God does not reveal Himself all the while refusing to take off the very blinders that prevent us from seeing Him. God is not playing hide and seek with His people. God is Spirit and we can only connect with Him in spirit. We (mankind) at one point were only flesh (because we were dead spiritually through our sin) God became flesh to make contact with us. But now that we have been born again of the Spirit.. God remains in the Spirit (mostly). We keep asking to see God and yet God is exhorting us to open our eyes. It is our unwillingness to live in the spirit that prevent us from seeing God.

Isa 59:1-2
Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
NIV

Thank God that He is gracious enough to forgive us when we are willing to repent. Even if it is over and over again.

Pastor’s Desk: Why Do We Sin? (pt.1)

1.  Because we do not believe that God is real.  Though we do believe Him in the big scheme of things we do not believe that He is real from moment to moment during various times of the day.  When His presence seem real, as in church worship time or when our bible is opened to us, we are able to conquer our sins since the good of resisting outweighs the bad of sinning.  But when His presence does not seem real the benefit of sinning seem to outweigh the consequences for the moment.  At that moment it is our unbelief that take center stage rather than our faith.  When the desire to sin is great the desire to not believe is also great.  We may think at that moment, “Is God really omnipresent?” or even “Does God really exist?”  Our desires often determine whether we want to believe God or don’t want to believe God.  We strongly desire to believe that God exists when we are in times of hardship and in need of help.  The thought of death also invokes a stronger desire to believe that God exists.  But when the existence of God becomes inconvenient to whatever desires that we have then our desire for God not to be real is manifest.

So belief and unbelief may be one of the underlying reasons why we sin.

One of the solutions to conquering sin may be to grow a stronger faith in God and to learn to find pleasure in the things of God rather than the flesh.  When my faith in God is strong my desire to be righteous and holy is strong.  When my faith is weak and doubts are strong my desire to indulge the flesh is also strong.  If I do not find pleasure in God or the things of God then my desire to not believe will take it’s place in my heart, because unbelief empowers me to satisfy my flesh.

How  does my faith in God grow when I do not hear, touch or see God?  We live in a material world and God is not material. But God became flesh so that we can see Him, though He is now in Spirit.  Then we must become spiritual as God had become material.

First for God to become material He needed to empty Himself.  In the same way we cannot become spiritual without emptying ourselves of things that keep us bound in the material things.  What binds me to the flesh keeps me from being spiritual.  As becoming flesh required humility becoming spirit requires dignity.  One is to make oneself lower while the latter is to make oneself higher.  Not in pride but in essence.  We are to live, not down, but UP to the calling we have received.  When I am walking in the spirit I am aware of the presence of spiritual things, mainly God.  When I am aware of God’s presence my desire to live a holy life is strong.  But in contrast, when I am walking in the flesh, I become unaware of spiritual things, mainly God.  When I am unaware of God then my desire to satisfy my flesh is strong–thus leading to sin.

Walk in the spirit and we will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  The flesh bears fruit in the flesh but the spirit bears fruit in the spirit.

More to come………………………….

Here at Kentucky

We have arrived at Kentucky.  It’s a lot colder than Irvine was when we left.  It’s about 55 degrees during the day and in the 40’s in the morning and at night.  Everyone is excited not only because of the great preaching we will be exposed to this week but also for the fellowship we will have with one another.  I think this is the first time our leadership team has ever done anything like this.  We have been in dire need to connect as leaders.  When the church was smaller and less hectic we were able to meet every Saturday morning at a local McDonalds to share our lives and grow together.  But for the past couple of years it has become increasingly difficult to even meet once a month.  This conference will serve as a great opportunity for the leadership team to connect again for our own edification and for the church as well.  Please keep us in your prayers so that we will glean from this conference as much as we can and to come home refreshed and recharged for ministry.  I only wish that this conference was in Irvine and not in Kentucky so more people could attend.  Oh well– at least you have Resolved coming around the corner.   peace….