Gentleness

And he said to them all, 

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself 

and take up his cross daily and follow me."

- Luke 9:23 -

--

It's so easy to think that I understood something:

1. I convince myself that I understood it 

2. I genuinely think I understood it 

LUKE 9:23

Heard it. Learned it. Taught it.

SO MANY TIMES.

Did I really understand it? Nah. 

I thought I did, but I guess there was more to it that I was missing.

It's not that I convinced myself (which makes me feel a bit better), but at the same time, I never took the time to really sit and reflect on what this verse - the verse that I've heard, learned and EVEN taught so many times - meant. 

So... Did I sit and reflect? (kind of)

Not on my own, but through God who brought the right teacher at the right time.

Question #1: What's the difference between "denying yourself" and "taking up your cross"?

Question #2: So then, what is your cross?

About a month ago I was asked this question: 
"What's the difference between denying yourself and taking up your cross?"
... (dot dot dot) ...
I felt like I got punched in the face.
Simply put, I couldn't answer the question. I couldn't differentiate the two!

After all these years of genuinely believing that I understood, one day I have come to realize that I was wrong.

The question was answered for me. It made sense, but it wasn't CLEAR.

Finally, after 9 long hours of sitting, discussing, and reflecting... it came.

It was as if all the dots in my head got connected.

There was a deep(er) meaning to this verse and it has now become clear(er) to me.
Perhaps there's more to it? I don't know. 
Perhaps there are other interpretations? Maybe.

But for now, I'm content.

"Denying yourself" and "taking up your cross" CAN be differentiated.

So then, what is MY cross?

After long hours, God gave me this word:
GENTLENESS. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
- Galatians 5:23 -

Hallelujah !

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Finally finished reading the whole bible,

along with a 555 page Korean commentary

HIP HIP HOORAY! :D

"하나님나라 관점에서 읽는 90일 성격통독"
90 Day Bible Reading Plan -  Reading from God's Kingdom Perspective

HALLELUJAH! PRAISE THE LORD!

Sore Throat

Almost died with a sore throat last night..
(Okay maybe not die.. that's just me being dramatic)

Woke up several times in the middle of the night because my throat was hurting so much.
Opened my eyes around 5:00AM and started to worry.. "how am going to preach like this?!?!?!"
Tried to get some more sleep, and woke up around 6:30AM.
PTL! Felt so much better.

Voice cracked a couple times during my sermon.. but it was pretty okay overall.
But AFTER the sermon..... GG. I felt like my throat was going to rip apart.

Went to the pharmacy after service and told the Vietnamese pharmacist, "Sore throat."
She gave me two medicines - one to swallow, and two to melt under my tongue.
She said "3 times a day. How many days you want?"
So confused. I thought they would just give me the whole box.
So I just said, "One."
Paid 30,000VND ($1.50) and got my day's worth of pills.

She took it out of the box, cut out 3 days worth, and put it in a small plastic bag.

Vietnam style?

Legged Fly

As I was preparing my sermon at Donut's Donuts, I found myself a little friend!

(But not for long..... muahahaha)

It looks like a fly with antlers and legs.

Stared at it for a little while,

then said my goodbyes.

On the Floor

I was invited over for a mini-picnic on the floor, behind the counter, of Donut's Donuts.

Donut's Donuts: Morning Shift

This is what we ate..

It's a type of shell, but I don't know the exact name of it

The chewy texture kind of reminds me of escargot (cooked snail),

which also I tried for the first time in Vietnam.

Looks kind of gross, huh? But pretty delicious :)

Eating a lot of unfamiliar things over here..

But I guess there's always a first to everything ^^

Jesus Messiah

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,

so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

- 2 Corinthians 5:21

 beautiful.

Oh how beautiful is the gospel message

(Bark)

This is what I go through every night..

listen carefully

One dog barks,

then another dog,

and then another dog.

It's always three dogs.

(perhaps the same three dogs every time

Then of course, there are the other dogs barking from a far distance.

It's a battle every night to fall asleep.