The Pursuit of Wysdom

These past few days I have been contemplating a great deal of what the future holds for me. I truly have thousands of decisions to make and I am getting a little overwhelmed. However, I think I have boiled most of my decisions down to a common denominator; the pursuit of wisdom.

I could do this or I could do that. I could go here or I could go there. I could meet them or I could spend time with that individual. When I don't take the time to give it to my Lord, I find myself trying to reason out my own future. Speaking with a friend the other night, we both realized that the overarching trend in our thinking is that "if we have enough time, then we will figure it out".

However, this never works. At the end of an hour-long brainstorm I find myself not only exhausted and worried, but in no better shape than when I started. I finally end my time with the very thing I should have started with: giving the situation to the Lord.

Reflecting on this pattern of my thought process brings me to the conviction that I do not want to have control of my life. My actions and my sinful nature try to tell me otherwise, but I truly know and believe that control over my own life just leads to control over a stressful and sinful life. I don't really want my blood on my own hands.

I want to give it all. I want to be completely surrendered to the will of God. I want to pursue His wisdom and be firmly planted wherever that leads me. I want to be at peace with whatever His will is. I want to know when to act and when to be patient. I want to know when to speak and when to be silent. I want to grow in wisdom and be thankful for whatever amount is bestowed upon me based on my experience and maturity.

There is no safer place than in the will of God. A wise man seeks this safety and retracts his hands from the wheel. Unfortunately, I've grown pretty comfortable with where my hands are at.

Relative Truth

I recently wrote a short critique of a periodical article for one of my classes here at Moody. The story was from a newspaper in Peoria, IL. In the report, an old woman's purse was grabbed outside WAL-MART by a thief who proceded to say "thanks" in a mocking manor. When she tried to retrieve the purse by reaching into the getaway car, she was dragged and slightly injured. The punk threatened to shoot her and called her a "bitch".

I had a lot of negative thoughts towards the actions of this young man, but the old woman's response to her own actions troubled me the most. She concluded that her attempt to retreive her purse was stupid. Her very words were, "What a stupid thing I did."

Now, this lady did not do anything that was immoral. She was justified in trying to prevent an evil act being committed against her. However, her comment also shows the lack of confidence that we have in our beliefs. She knew that getting robbed, having a gun shoved in her face, being called a "bitch", and being dragged across a parking lot was wrong. There is no doubt that if she had been asked ahead of time whether or not these things were wrong, she would have conceded. In fact, if she was asked if trying to retrieve a stolen item from someone who smugly grabbed it in the first place was wrong, she undoubtedly would have said "no".

We have truth written in our hearts (Romans 1). We know that evil exists and that attempting to prevent evil is not wrong as long as it is not done in a way that reciprocates evil. However, we are not firm enough in our beliefs to stand firmly after the fact. This lady said that her actions were stupid AFTER she was dragged across the asphalt.

We base our actions not on motivations, but on outcomes. If the outcome is deemed bad in our minds, then the motive and action must have been bad in the first place. However, this is not how truth works.

Truth is a firm belief that no matter the outcome, a pure motive and pure method of acting that truth out brings about a truly good response to any situation. If I get killed for preaching the gospel in a loving and truthful way, one cannot say based upon the result that I should not have been preaching in the first place. Truth transcends outcome.

If we are not convinced that an action is right before we do it, then we should not do it in the first place. However, if we are truly convinced of anything, then we should be able to stand for that conviction no matter what the outcome.

Mission Journal Day 1

This is a collection of the journal entries that I wrote while traveling to China this past 06-07 New Year. I realize that there are lots of them, but If you read them, I hope you gain an appreciation for the work that God is doing over there. I am so blessed to have been able to take part in this trip and I pray that somehow the Lord will bless you as you read. I apologize in advance for any spelling errors. I didn't feel like being real critical as I copied these all day long.

The Mission Team
-Marla Witzig -- Jon Goodyear -- Jason Knowles -- Mika Bertsche -- Drew Henricks -- Jeff Witzig -- Our leaders Tim and Laura Bertsche

Missionaries we visited
Doug and Jen Witzig and their sons Zack, Luke, and Joel
Craig and Roxie Graves


--I woke up today at 7:30 a.m. not realizing how soon the flight from Peoria took off. Jason and I rode in row 8 as the emergency helpers. So, just in case the plane crashed into a mountain or body of water, we would surely die. Thankfully nothing happened on our 20 minute flight to the Windy City. As we were descending, the plane's reflection on the clouds had a complete rainbow around it. Quite a beautiful sight I must say.

We landed safely in Chicago, grabbed a Cinnabon, and are now awaiting the boarding process on UN835. I wrote this day 1 journal right now because we will be fast forwarding in time. We will be essentially be traveling 31 hours in 15. So, that should be good on the ole internal clock. Nothing like a little time travel I always have said. That last sentence may have bad grammar. Mmmm....McDonalds. Some guy is eating right near me. Welp, here we go. Let's hit up the future.

Mission Journal Day 2

Well, I just woke up not too long ago. I thought I would have slept longer due to the 24 plus hours I was awake. But, I feel rested and the jetlag probably won't get me. I am sitting here watching the sunrise above the mountains in Hong Kong. The sun just peeked over the mountain and is turning the mist over the bay into a beautiful array of pink, orange, and purple. The water is calm and the many birds are singing.

I can't complain when the winter weather is 55 degrees F in the morning and a nice 70 during the day. My goodness. My God! How great is He! This earth is incredible. Maybe I should write down what happened in the last 15/30 time warped hours before I comment on the bombardment of other amazing things going on at the present time.

We left Chicago on our nice 747 plane. The seats were nice and the leg space was good ("more than any other airline"). After a savory snack of 1.2 oz of bagged goodness and a ginger ale, we watched half of the first movie. The plane decided that our imaginations would be greatly challenged if we had to assume what the first portion of the movie was.

Anyway, Jason was next to the window and would notify us when something cool was going on down below. Our flight essentially went right over teh top of the world. Seeing the frozen Russian land from 32,000 feet was incredible. I want to go there now as well.

The plane ride consisted of watching roughly 7 movies on a 13 inch TV. The projector in our section was broken despite one flight attendant's attempt to get it going by hitting it first with an empty Aquafina and second a small rubber mallot. She only suceeded in scaring the crap out of those of us who weren't paying attention.

The flight time was passed by, once again movies, as well as my newly found interest in Sudoku puzzles. This goes without mentioning the gourmet meals where "if the first choice was unavailable, the ultimate meal could be enjoyed as they were both equally delicious". Makes me wonder why they bothered with two in the first place.

So I stayed awake the whole time and when we landed in the beautiful airport, I was ready for bed. We met Doug and Zack and took rental vans to the Baptist Theological Seminary in Hong Kong.

On the way, Jon Goodyear and I as well as Drew Henricks marveled at the architectural genius of the HUGE apartment complexes and the thousands upon thousands of people packed into the sky. We drove across the worlds largest suspension bridge yet were more fascinated by the endless supply of apartments. Doug told us that the complexes held up to 20,000 people and have bus depots, salons, grocery stores, etc. in the bottom.

This way of life is so foreign to me. Well, we had a short meeting and then proceeded to pass out for the night. Here I am now once again soaking up the beauty of this place and thinking about the cramp that may soon form in both my right hand as well as my forearm simultaneously. It should be a good day. Let's bring in the New Year with a prayer.

Mission Journal Day 3

Yesterday was quite the journey. Jon and I woke up and showered with a nice mothball-like shower gel so that we would both be sure to ward off any attractive Chinese girls we encountered. We walked to the nearest bus stop where we caught a double decker bus to the nearest train station. We took some killer curves in that bad boy.

We got to the station and used our octopus cards to scan through the terminal. These cards are like rechargeable debit cards for public transport and somehow even food. Kinda scary, but pretty convenient. We took the beautiful KCR train to the area of the church we were going to. The KCR was like silent and incredibly clean as we rode it.

We got to the church after some train transfers and finally to Heng On. Laughter. But seriously. We ate at McDonalds where we had normal American food. It was there that we met Brian and Lee, the pastor and wife of the Ma On Shan Baptist church. After we had breakfast, we went to the church and had a little time where Brian explained the history of the church and some specifics of what their goal was.

We then went to chuch which was completely in Cantonese. We started with music worship. There was dancing and clapping which was different but liberating as the emotions could be expressed more greatly by physical means. After music, we had corporate prayer for the past year and the years to come. Doug translated behind us so we could join in the prayers.

We were then introduced in front of the church and prayed over by the whole congregation. For some reason, this didn't impact me. However, after we sat down, everyone stood up and looked at us. I was moved at this point. They corporately thanked us in english and welcomed us to China. It was right then that my heart started to feel for the Chinese people. I praise God for that.

The sermon was translated to Jason and I by Dennis, a 26 year old primary school teacher who had an australian accent. We also met Ricky and William who translated a little as well. Marla and Mika's translator was a particularly beautiful Chinese girl named Angel.

I was thrilled at the church's sensitivity and willingness to be guided by the Holy Spirit. I finally saw sincere Christians who believe that the Spirit can work in great ways. This encouraged me in my personal struggles.

After church, Dennis, Angel, her boyfriend Simon, Brian, Lee, and Brian's brother went with us to a Chinese restaurant where we had the traditional breakfast/brunch style of eating called Dim Sum. Many different orders of food are brought and everyone tries it. We had some cool stuff like squid, turnips, pumpkin dessert as well as a really nice red bean dessert. Over the meal we learned more about etiquette as well as the Chinese language from Dennis, Simon, and Angel.

We then headed to Hong Kong Island. We walked along the coast before going to the island and did some prayer walking. We prayed on site within site for whatever the Lord laid on our hearts. We took a ferry across the water to HK island and got on a double decker bus to drive through the city. We went on a tram car up the HK peak. At the top we took some incredible pictures of HK from above and ate at Bubba Gumps for dinner.

After dinner we were pretty tired so we headed down the peak on the tram and took taxis, trains, and a mini bus back to the seminary where we brought in the new year in our sleep.

Mission Journal Day 4

Yesterday was another tiring day, but not as busy as previous days. Jon and I woke up early and went down by the bay to do our journaling and devotions. It was quite beautiful. There was a hotel just down the coast that was playing Christian music very loudly. Light the Fire was playing while I sat there on an uncomfortable rock.

The team ate at the canteen of the seminary. All of the food was dirt cheap and cooked to order. We then went to the Bertsche's room and sang some songs and had a short devotional. We prayed for the strength as we were going to the most famous temple in HK. The people there were going to be worshipping their foreign gods as well as praying to their ancestors.

We took the KCR and the other train to the temple. Outside, old ladies were selling all kinds of novelties from incense to trinkets for presenting at the temple. We entered the gates and saw many people carrying incense. People bowed and chanted.

We went up higher to the main area where the courtyard was filled with people. Whole chickens, fruits, flowers, everything: People were actually worshipping pagan gods! Doug was right when he said that the experience would be sobering. I saw a little girl shaking the canister of sticks that "predict" the future. This was sad yet I saw myself as she was. We grow up doing as our parents lead us to do.

Right in front of the altar people would place their incense sticks in a flower pot filled with sand. Not moments later, a temple employee decked out in gloves and a neon green shirt would pull the sticks out, dunk them in water, and throw them away. I saw their fleeting faith literally go to the dumps instantaneously.

We split into three groups and prayed for the people. You do not feel that these people have lasting hope. They are searching for an eternal god. They desire something that will last and they are not finding it. Unfortunately, some do believe that they are correct. Satan's presence has gripped so many.

After the temple we went to a mall where we had authentic Chinese food, but it was really more along the lines of fast food. We had some good dishes, but the flavor was lacking. After lunch we went to the Hong Kong Historical Museum. We spent a good 3-4 hours walking around learning about the evolution of the Chinese written language and historical events like the Opium Wars and the invasion of HK by the Japanese.

The night ended as we went to the California Pizza Kitchen where we had some good pizza and free refills. We were scheduled to leave for Hoi Ping (Kai Ping in Mandarin) at 6:30 from the seminary. Jon and I hit the sack at 10 pretty exhausted from the day.

Mission Journal Day 5

We woke up extremo early today because we had to leave the seminary at 6:30 am. After a long and speedy trip to the boat dock, we had some breakfast at McDonalds. We got on our boat at 8:30 and left for Hoi Ping. The trip was to take 4 hours. I took a little drammamine because I thought for sure I would lose it on the boat. I have been experiencing slight vertigo as we are constantly traveling by some mass transit. I have dizzy spells now and again.

After a real light lunch on the boat, we landed in mainland China. The port was guarded by Chinese men in green uniforms. I tried to sneak a picture but was reprimanded. This was the first time I have felt tension with any government official/public "safety". I must say, I was thrilled that I had nothing to hide and so had confidence amidst the seemingly gruff attempt to intimidate me.

When we got through customs, we met Roxie and Craig who are missionaries with Doug and Jen in Hoi Ping. They recently moved to HP, but had spent some time in Hong Kong after leaving L.A. We rode in a bus provided by the Ever Joint Hotel through the anti-traffic controlled city. Looking around, I soon realized that the Kong had gone and we were now in the real deal: dusty, dirty, run-down.

I will say that I was truly hoping that we weren't staying in any place like the buildings I saw. To my delight, yet strangely enough to my embarassment as well, we pulled into the turnabout in front of a 30 plus story hotel that rose high and mighty above the dusty 6 story apartments below. The hotel is beautiful. The beds, however, are no softer than box springs. Thankfully, we had thin pads put on our beds to soften the blow to our backs.

The afternoon was spent exploring the pool, spa, billiards room, table tennis room, and bowling alley. For dinner, we met with some pastors of the local church, one being named Peter, the secretary from Soaring Glory named Jancy, and a sunday school/ kindergarten teacher named Jane. We ate a great Chinese meal with Peter Jane and Jancy. Roughly three hours were spent talking, eating, and getting to know one another better.

It was with Peter that I began to once again grow to love these beautiful people. It was hard to see the three go at the end of the night. I hope that we get to see them later in the week. My heart is growing. Praise the Lord our Father.

Mission Journal Day 6

After a long 10 hour night's sleep, I got up from my mostly comfortable bed and tried to shower. It ended up that I couldn't figure out the shower so I took my first bath in a year in China. I went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast where they had many America/Chinese dishes. I enjoyed the funky meal and was full by the end.

Peter, Craig, and Rosie then took us through their apartment, Craig and Roxie's that is, and to our surprise, they had a fantastic little place. The whole building looked rundown, but their place was very nice. We then walked through the streets to observe Hoi Ping life. Walking around was incredible. We first went into the wet market where tons of animals were kept to be slaughtered fresh. Tons of fish, birds, frogs, turtles, shrimp, muscles, crabs, and others were ripe for the killing.

After that stinky and bloody experience, we went to the general supermarket which rivaled a Sullivans or Thompsons. It was very nice. Jason began his exciting day of being hit on by the Chinese girls. They loooooved him! It was hilarious.

We continued to walk around all the hundreds of little shops. We walked by some caged dogs ready to be killed. I was very shocked/sobered/saddened, but understanding that this is life here in China. We finished the walk with Jay and Marla both buying fake Rolex watches.

We ate lunch at KFC and then headed to the high school to help with english. Drew, Jason, Mika, Craig, Roxie, and I were paraded in front of the class and where we told a little about ourselves. Our comments were responded with ooooh's ahhhh's and clapping. We then broke up into 6 groups and spoke with the students in smaller groups.

This was great! The kids gave me gifts of food and we exchanged questions back and forth. My heart began to connect. I began to love the youth at this point. I got to see the hearts of this people where I did not in Hong Kong. After classes, everyone wanted to take pictures with us. The girls loved us guys and all wanted pictures. We felt like celebrities.

However, I was moved by all of this. I loved interacting with them. We had dinner afterwards at a traditional Chinese restaurant. We invited three of the school teachers and Peter. Peter and I spoke of many things, but I soon learned of his struggles to be what he wants; a Greek teacher. My heart is burdened to pray for him to achieve his dreams.

Mission Journal Day 7

Drew and I woke up and opened the curtain of our room to see the sky completely covered by the clouds. But, the sun was actually shining its rays through the clouds in one area. This symbolized the Lord's continued work within China despite the darkness that we see all around.

Jen, Craig, and Roxie went with us up Learn Gum San, a hill that overlooks Hoi Ping. It was wonderful to climb to the top. We reached a 4 or 5 story pagoda on which we climbed to the top. We spent some time praying and singing up there. It was very beautiful to see the whole city.

We all then went to a "westernized" restaurant where we had some interesting American foods including water buffalo, ostrich (tastes like pork sausage), and kangaroo (more beef-like). It was a pretty good meal as they had some great spaghetti. We stopped by the hotel for a bit and took a quick nap.

After our nap, we went to to Soaring Glory to tour Doug's factory. It was very interesting to see the actual factory. The whole place was clean which I would expect of a Christian businessman. Doug's associate Tap Kwan showed up from Hong Kong and talked to us for a long time about how successful he was. Afterwards, we went to another hotel where we had a nice meal of traditional Chinese. Of course we were quite satisfied after the meal so we came back to the hotel, hung out in the rooms, and then hit the hay.

Mission Journal Day 8

We woke up early today. Well, Tim, Laura, Jason, Jon, and I all did. We ate breakfast and then headed to a hotel in Hoi Ping to meet up with some students from Hong Kong to go help with english at another school. I was surprised that most of them knew 3 to 4 languages and english was not their first. We traveled by mini-bus to Chek Hum.

It was here that we were once again paraded in front of the class. This time the students were junior high age. The Hong Kong students were in charge because they know Cantonese. We played games first and then Laura and I were put in charge of telling them about Christmas.

Peter translated, but I really didn't know what was appropriate to tell. I basically shared the entire gospel message, but of course, my words were filtered through Peter. After being at the school for a while, we went to Peter's church. We went on the rooftop where we played a name game with the HK students. For lunch we went to a little restaurant and had traditional Chinese. After the meal, we went to a man and woman's house to visit. The man was blind but sang a beautiful song to us.

From there we went to the Witzig's house where we had some worship through song and prayer. Craig and Roxie shared their whole story of how they arrived in Hoi Ping. We had a nice meal of chili and then were off to the college age/career fellowship. I was to share some words as well as Mika. I was a little nervous, but the Lord was faithful and prepared my heart before I spoke. After we both shared, all the people split into small groups to share common experiences. I was blown away at the testimony of these Chinese believer's faith. They know exactly what they are giving up when they forego the traditions of their families.

I came back to the hotel very achy and tired. I thought I was getting sick so I drank more airborne and had two cups of oolong tea. Then, I hit it.

Mission Journal Day 9

I woke up feeling quite bad. I had slept very poorly and when I woke up, I felt like I had just gotten out of surgery. Everything was sensitive and achy. I just took a hot bath and that helped somewhat. I drank lots of tea, took lots of vitamin C, and ate lots of fruit. We left the hotel around 9:30 for the kindergarten where Jane works. Peter went with us as well.

We got to the school and the entire place was decorated and built for children. This school is for ages 3-5 and there are roughly 800 students total. We walked in and saw some girls practicing traditional Chinese dance. It was absolutely adorable to see their proud little poses. We then went to Jane's class. The children had drawn their own pictures and were coloring them with oil pastels when we got there. We could not believe how good these children were for being only 5 years old. Surprisingly, they knew some English. We got to take pictures of them and talk a little bit. Their faces capture the beauty of China entirely. They are absolutely beautiful. My heart was softened again as we interacted with them.

After a short time, we left for a small village outside of Hoi Ping (Lon Boui?). We stopped at the house of a little Chinese woman and sat on some stools in the cold and dark, concrete house. It was there that we met her grandson Sing. He went with us as we traveled to see the church that David Crane refounded after his father had evengelized in the area some time ago. It was great to see the ministry that Rollin and David Crane both had.

We drove back to Hoi Ping for some McD's for lunch. After that, we went to Liyuan Gardens to tour the beautiful grounds there. At one point, we fed the coy fish there. I swear there were a thousand of them that came to eat the little cookies that we threw into the water.

We then drove to the next village over where we climbed the watch towers that are so popular here in Hoi Ping. In the 1910's-1920's, about 3000 of them were built because the Hoi Ping government did not exist. From there we traveled back to the hotel for a dinner buffet in the same restaurant we always eat breakfast. It was the first time that I had heart. I mean, I ate the heart muscle. It was terrible.

We finished dinner and MIka, Jason, and I went to a youth outreach at the Sun Churn Christian church where we had gone to the college/career fellowship the night before. There were probably 70-80 kids there. It was a great time. I was able to play table tennis a lot and was able to keep up with the high school players. We came back to the hotel around 10:30 and watched Unbreakable in Jason and Jon's room. I was feeling better by the end of the day. I slept very well.

Mission Journal Day 10

We woke up early on Sunday...i mean late because our church didn't start until 12. I ate tons of food at breakfast, mostly fruit and vitamins because I was feeling better and I wanted to boost the immune system. We took taxis to the church and listened to Cantonese for two hours while Doug and the Hong Kong student Mikala translated for us. After the service, we went upstairs to the teenage fellowship. The Hong Kong students did their skits, Drew and Marla shared, and our team sang two songs.

Our first was How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin and the second was Give Thanks. We sang Give Thanks once in English and then in Chinese because most of the students knew it. The song was so powerful when we sang together. After the fellowship, I talked with some of the students in their broken English. But, I had some nice talks. We went to Doug and Jen's house for pizza and watched Mulan.

Doug and I went to get the pizzas and I got a Chinese flag at one of the stores. We had a nice talk as we drove to the pizza place (Pizza King). After Mulan, Drew, Marla, and I went over to Craig and Roxies for game night with Peter, Jane, and Peter's little cousin Bun Bun. We had a really nice time just talking. Peter shared some more of his struggles as a pastor and I learned more about Chinese life from Jane. I must say, I enjoyed talking with both of them. Doug came around 9:30 and we went back to the hotel to sleep.

Mission Journal Day 11

We woke up somewhat late today because our first thing on the schedule was a wedding at 12:45 at the Sun Churn Church. We left the hotel around 11:00 and took taxis to McDonalds. We separated from there and wandered the streets of Hoi Ping. Jon, Jason, and I went together and just walked up and down the roads. Most of the stores were cell phone stores, but I found an umbrella store. I owe my friend Josh at school for the one I lost of his. I bartered for a 30 R&B strawberry patterned umbrella. He will probably not accept it.

We kept walking and eventually found a tea store. I bought some pot-looking Chinese tea and the other two bought tea pots. We gathered for a small snack/lunch at McD's and walked to the church. We didn't even know the couple getting married, but the Chinese culture is to welcome guests and friends.

The wedding was very different from the wedding I envision mine being. The piano procession was played by a woman who improvised in 20 different keys for the same song. This provided me with laughter and Marla with tears. Cell phones rang off the hook during the ceremony and, going along with tradition, they were all answered by their owners. There seemed to be about four professional photographers, one being a videographer. However, there were about 6-10 others who just wanted pictures, so they crowded the altar and pulpet. I could not believe the amount of distractions that were taking place during this wedding. I soon realized that I was the only one distracted as well as the rest of us Americans.

The wedding ended with canons (hand-held) of confetti being blasted off inside the sanctuary. We left the church and walked back to Doug and Jen's place. We had some drinks and worshipped through prayer and song one last time. We then debriefed and shared how these past days had impacted us. It was a very nice time.

Roxie and Craig swung by and picked up some of us as we headed off to the wedding feast. We walked into the hotel place and there was a huge room set for over 700 people to eat. It soon filled up and we began our final Chinese meal. Craig and Roxie were with us so it was nice to end our time with them. We enjoyed fish, chicken, squid, shrimp, lilly bulbs, and many other nice foods.

We ended the night by saying final farewells to Jane, Peter, Suki, Grace, and the other Chinese believers. It was a nice time as we also said goodbye Craig and Roxie, whom I have grown to love very much. All the guys on the team crammed into a taxi and were taken to the supermarket for a final sweep. We had to find some things for the bus ride to Hong Kong the next morning. We bought some crackers and peanut butter, tangerines, and cookies. We then just headed back to the Ever Joint for a lazy night before bed.

Mission Journal Day 12

We had to wake up early because our bus for Hong Kong was leaving at 8:30. Drew and I woke up and got most of our stuff ready before we went down to breakfast. I only had time to drink some juice and airborne as well as slurp down some rice congee. We left the hotel with our many pairs of slippers and headed for the bus station.

We hopped on a bus after a goodbye to Drew, the Witzigs, and Jancy. The bus was just like a charter bus from the U.S. but without a bathroom. The lady in front of me was vomiting the entire way and the man next to me had no control over his son. It was sad to see the lame parenting due to the fact that he probably only has one child. The child was simply not being disciplined.

Anyway, we had to get off the bus at the China Border and once again at the Hong Kong Border. We went through customs twice in a bout 20-30 minutes. We finally arrived at the B.P. International House (owned by the Boy Scouts) around 3ish. We checked into our small rooms. I felt low this day and I still can't figure out why. I was wearing thin on patience.

We walked around downtown Hong Kong and looked for gifts for our families. We all found some cheapt stuff and then went to the mall where Marla, Jason, and I got to sit in some massage chairs for a little relief. I then rode some random horse saddle exercise thing and got a nice little chafe on the inside of my thighs. We all enjoyed a second meal at the California Pizza Kitchen with unlimited free refills. We then went to another store and bought it out.

We returned to the hotel and I bought some internet time. It was then that I found out that Jonny was ENGAGED to leah! Wow! I could hardly believe it. We just spent the night in our room watching TV and checking emails and such. After quite a long time, we went to sleep for the night in our frozen room. Thankfully the boy scouts provided us with a lush sheet and paper thin brown blanket for our comfort. How restful the night was.




We left the next morning for the States and safely arrived

Preparation

Well, this word "preparation" has continuously been on my mind. I really cannot shake it. I am realizing that this word encompasses my overall motivation in life. The preparation that is happening and will happen until I die comes with the promise of finally grasping that which I am actually preparing for.

This mindset that I am developing brings a fresh new outlook on what I do on a day to day basis. In fact, it is because I have hope for something ultimately and exceedingly better that I find the state of preparation to be a wonderful motivation for existence.

Preparation is longing for the future. Preparing is believing that this step, right here and right now, is crucial to the realization of what is being hoped for. This is not to be confused with losing sight of the here and now and neglecting present circumstance. In fact, I would say that neglect of current circumstance, no matter how small, is the antithesis of preparation. Preparation brings to light the necessity of the present to even reach that future hope.

I am in college now. I study the Bible, I read many books, I write long papers, and it is all incredibly and absolutely necessary. A mind of preparation, while struggling with seeing some things as trite, eventually concedes to and fully invests in the task at hand. I see this time of dedication to my schoolwork as necessary to being effective in ministry. However, my preparation for ministry brings about the next level of preparation: ministry.

Ministry is not my end. I don't reach full-time ministry and finally have my education pay off. I reach the next stepping stone of ministry and see it as the next platform for my ultimate and final goal: eternal presence and unhindered worship of my God and King.

I am being prepared for eternal glory. Each opportunity that I am given to prepare my heart more and more for the King is a blessing beyond compare. The longer I am blessed to live faithfully, the longer I am blessed to see other's preparation to join with me in Christ's inheritance.

This knowledge allows me to see the true blessing and true purpose of every moment I have on this earth. If this is not legit, then my life is a waste. But, it is legit and I know it.

1 Corinthians 15:19

"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

Hatred

I have come to notice that as our American society becomes more aware and concerned with social justice, we are developing hate within our hearts. We like to extend love to those who are being oppressed and act like we are holistically bettering this world, but I don't think we are accomplishing what we are boasting.

I see this country hating itself. As we watch the world deteriorate, we are also watching our own country fall apart, but we are not innocent. We hate our government. We hate our leaders. We hate our teachers. We hate and hate yet we put on the front of love and acceptance. We hate those who are wicked. We hate those who go against our beliefs. We hate those who challenge our beliefs. We hate the ignorant. We hate truth-tellers. We simply hate and if you tell me that I am not following Christ's example, then I hate you. I don't evaluate myself to see if I stand on Scripture, I evaluate my irrational feelings and see whether or not you have the right to say such things.

We sure cover it up well, though. If we are concerned about the downtrodden and destitute, then we are displaying true love, right? No, not entirely. We are not loving to the extent that Christ has called us to love. We are supposed to pray for those who persecute us and love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). We are told obey those in authority if they are not telling us to break God's law (Romans 13:1-3 // Acts 4:19-20). No matter what we think of the government, we are not to hate those in position of authority. We are not to hate anyone for any reason. Even if a person molests our children or executes the innocent by the thousands, we have no grounds to hate. We are to be firm in our beliefs and defend them with passion, but we are not to detest those who are against us.

Hebrews 12:9 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good"

We must examine our lives so that we are not displacing our hatred from our brothers to our enemies who laugh in our face. We must look inside our hearts to see if we are simply loving what is popular to love and hating what is popular to hate. If this be the case, then we don't know love as He is. We are to love in such a way that the world is shocked. This subtle hatred within us is going to manifest one day into a horribly ugly beast and we will plead ignorance in the light that we were sending money to Africa.

Good Friday

Well, tomorrow is Good Friday. It's just another day. A day to wake up late, to keep myself occupied, to log a few hours in at work, to go to church, and to hang with friends. This is the mindset that I so often have. The only good thing about this particular Friday is that it allows me to relax from class and kick off a fun weekend.

I am convicted in my heart that if I do not weep and mourn the death of Christ, then I do not fully realize or appreciate the sacrifice. The sin that I so desperately hold on to is the very sin that poisoned the hearts of those who crowned Him with thorns. My sin is the hatred that caused the onlookers to spit in the face of their Maker. My sin is the pride that laughed as the whip dug deep and ripped wide open the flesh of the Lamb. My sin is the ignorance in the heart of the soldiers who pounded sharpened iron through the wrists of the King. My sin held Him there. My sin burst His heart when the dispair of isolation came upon the Savior. It was my sin.

There is nothing good about what I did. So, why am I so focused on myself on this day? I dare not call it good if I do not meditate on the only One who is good. I can only call this day good when I realize my wickedness. I am nothing and Christ is everything. What a blessing that I can now love the very God whom I nailed to that cursed tree. I do not deserve it. I am not good. He is good, His sacrifice was good, His forgiveness is good, and this day is good only because He has brought it.

Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it"

Amen

Hell

Well, to start off, I didn't think it appropriate to put a picture up that went along with a blog about hell. But, I feel compelled to write this blog in lieu of someone else's blog that I read. After commenting back and forth with this person, I have come to the conclusion that hell, in this person's mind, is no more than an inconvenience.

Now, I don't even know if this person considers themself a Christian, but I would assume so. As Christians, a poor view of hell develops out of a poor view of the sacrifice of Christ. I know that within the conservative Christian community there are different views on hell, but I am telling you that the view from this particular individual was completely unbibilical. I do not argue for the sake of arguing, but I do stand upon the Word of God when it is being compromised.

Hell, according to this person, is not separate from God. In fact, hell is being in the presence of God but hating it. Hell is actually being in the presence of so much perfection that one's own imperfection in contrast to that perfection brings about torment. According to this person, God would not make a place for evildoers as His ultimate goal is to redeem people. Over time (eternity), even those imperfect people experiencing torment will change and then all will be well and God will have succeeded in bringing all to repentence.

I laugh at this argument because it is so starkly contrasted to Scripture. God's worth (though I hate to put it that way) is not contingent upon us (Isaiah 48:11). He loves, above all else, His own holiness and the communion that He has within the Trinity. Different interpretations of Scripture differ on whether or not physical pain is incorporated into hell, but it still remains that there is separation of wicked from the righteous. I believe that there is physical torment as well as separation from the presence of the Lord, however, this liberal view of hell is just a feel-good, heretical view. It is absolutely rediculous!

If God's still has to do more work with sinners to get them to repent when they all went to heaven, then Christ did not fulfill what He was supposed to. Thus, a mockery is made out of the cross. He failed! Wait, God failed???? I think not!

Another thing, if this view of hell is accepted, then our actions on this earth mean nothing. I could murder or lie or rape, it does not matter. I will eventually get into heaven after a few millenia of being in "hell-like" heaven. He...ck, even satan could be in heaven. He might just take a few more millenia.

If God does not punish, He is not just and He is not God. However, God does punish, He does judge ( Isaiah 11:4 // Psalm 94:23) and He will be claimed by all as King at the same moment (Romans 14:10-11).

There is separation from God in hell (Matthew 25:31-46// 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 // Revelation 20). I just cannot fathom where this view of hell came from other than 2 Timothy 4:3. No one wants to hear that hell exists and that God would punish the sin because it goes contrary to what we naturally (and sinfully) desire. However, putting aside the things of the flesh and picking up our cross is contrary to our sinful desires as well, but it is the truth. Eternal destiny is not swayed or changed by how we feel about it. It is a fact that all people will either go to eternal presence with the Lord (God be praised for His mercy!) or to eternal separation from the Lord (God be praised for His justice!).

Hell is hell. Hell is real. God wishes that none would perish (2 Peter 3:9 // Ezekial 18: 23 & 32), but He is not intimidated by our sin. He will not be made the fool by allowing those to enter heaven who did not repent and believe on His ultimate expression of mercy, His son Jesus Christ.

You will either spend eternity in heaven or hell. There does not exist any other choice. If you do not choose the One way to heaven, you have already chosen the other. It's the default setting for our total depravity.

Truth is uncomfortable, isn't it?