Psalm 83(1) Season 1 Episode 44 

Dear friends. We can not habituate holiness in our own ways, can we? Holiness doesn't just happen unless our ungodliness is replaced with the life of the holy one. We do not naturally know what is right to do. We will always choose to do what is right in our own eyes. The recent uproaring of the riots across the nation is like a drunken crowd. They are doing what is right, just and neglecting the holy judge in heaven. It proves that human beings do not naturally know what is right to think and to do on our own. We can not do right at all with God's discipline hands. If Jesus did not come to replace our mind and heart with renewed changes, like miracles, happen every day, we will surely fail our roles as thinkers and doers again and again. 

We are familiar with communal sin, aren't we? The first communal sin was committed against Joseph and covered as an accident by his brothers. Since then, the people of Israel have not ceased to do what is only right in their own eyes.  Where is hope?  What is wrong with doing what is right in our own eyes. The wound from World War II still stings when international sin was committed with an excuse to do public good. The crime was coated with philosophical, biological, and political Utopian color; however, it only condemns and bears no marks of justice but a hellish world in the war.

We should think deeply and stop and think again and again. Why is it wrong to do what is only right in our own eyes. We will continue with the second half of Psalm 83 and we praise God that he is never silent before injustice and injustice will be undone in Jesus Christ in his resurrected glory. We lament and yet again it seems that the evil is still speaking vehemently. 

Proverbs 28:19 says "Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint but blessed is he who keeps the law."

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Oh. God. Do not be silent. 

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Dear friends. I confess to you that I have never given real attention to the fatherless, the poor, and needy until my own suffering becomes unbearable to me. If God has never become one of us, incarnated as a baby, grew up like all of us, we will find him unbelievable. However, this is our God. He mourns with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. He feels for us so much that he died for us. And he has never ceased to sympathize with us, with the poor, and persecuted. 

Today we felt the pain of the national evil and horrible leadership. Is this new to us? Sometimes suffering shocks us out of our shallow knowledge of God. We are not prepared to suffer. I found myself sometimes appear shocked at such sufferings. However, since the Exodus, God has chosen many many leaders to lead people of Israel to the way of righteousness. None of them did a perfect job to restrain evil however evil is only to be restrained because it is already in full blossom from generation to generation. We are living in the age that sin is conquered by Jesus' death and resurrection. Nevertheless, the remaining sin is still so true that it is heavy enough to break our feeble hearts. 

What about a world where Jesus isn't the king? Oh. We know how it feels like then and we feels it now. 

It is only until the humanity is renewed in a new conscience, a new heart, a new faith, a total another being in Christ can evil like this really change. 

It is only when Jesus is the king of the new humanity in a renewed world, evil shall cease. Not a better person of now, not a better version of a national leader, not a better version of ourselves, not a better international understanding.  It is never an idea that will help this world. It is a whole new world needed. It is a whole new person other than us can make it happen. 

BUT only Jesus. Only through Jesus there is a new humanity in a new world, in the new heaven and new earth. 

Fortunately, he has come and he has conquered and he is living actively and powerfully. 

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To see love.

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Dear friends. History is the realization of promise and the promise is the history of the future.

Have you also in a situation that you need deliverance? A paper that seems to be difficult to accomplish; a poor financial situation; a bad habit, an enemy who swear to bring you down, a pandemic quarantining, a FINAL JUDGEMENT?

The good news is that God always deliver us into peace and liberty. This psalm is written as a dialogue to recall God's great deeds in Egypt and his deliverance of his people. However, the reason why the promise is still sure is because Jesus has perfectly secured it. He willed for us on our behalf when we failed to obey. When we struggle to comprehend, Jesus is epistemologically bearing our pain. When we are face racial discrimination, he share his resurrection with us so that we can stop being afraid. Just do not let your heart be hardened even if it is sorrowful and it is confused. Friends. Do not ever be angry and stop caring. We need to hurry up and wait. Hurry up and care MORE. It is always the danger of unbelief to stop caring. Caring is painful. No one had suffered like Jesus did because he cared the most for the persecuted and the persecutors. We pray that God help our unbelief and help us care more.

In remembrance of George Floyd.

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See the Love.

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Psalm 80, Season 1 Episode 42 

Dear friends. This is one of the communal laments in the book of Psalm. It is characteristic of them to ask: "How long O Lord?" followed by a national disease or personal distress. The psalmist must know that God's answer will always be: "Never again." as in Psalm 10. BUT this pure knowledge of God is not enough. He knows a high-temperature comfort in a bleak cold winter surrounded by violence of his enemies. Here in the Psalm, the psalmist sang the most BEAUTIFUL song of the vine tree which gives life and through which its branches were delivered from Egypt and from all evil. 

When will God uproot the tree of all evil? This is the genuine question we pray and we long for even at this moment when protesting is on the move across the nation.  The Psalmist gives a calm and beautiful picture of this tree. Its visibility reaches all the earth and its height and strength are stronger than death. This is the tree of life. This is the tree of the vine. This is the son of man who was totally forsaken in order to give life. He replaced the root of all evil with his own body. We are all live in him.  We need his righteousness so bad now and we can not bear to not see him. We desire he stands among the nations to cease all the war. We adore his sacrificial love and eternal plan so that we, sinners, murderers, mobs could have life through him. Lord gives life. Lord shine your face. Make your righteousness known to those who desire you and who despise you alike. Save now. Lord. Friends who can we not pray? 

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How Long O Lord. 

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Dear friends. 

Do you remember one or two things that you felt ashamed or embarrassed at the thought of it? Do you remember one or two extreme sufferings in your life you are not quite able to forget? 

God remembers them all and he remember the sins and its damages in the past and present and in the future. He remembers throughout generations. However, before the foundation of the world, he prepared Jesus Christ to stone for our sin once for all and bore the righteous wrath we all deserve. He remembers in order to bring justice and he blotted out our sins on the book of life because Jesus' perfect sacrifice on our behalf. 

The psalmist sang a sorrowful song in Psalm 79. Jerusalem was destructed and people were slaughter. Blood. Body. Death. Everywhere. 

I still remember clearly the holocaust happened in China during World War II. Many missionaries were also among them suffering for the sake of righteousness. Will they pray? How long O Lord. There are still many nations that are openly hostile to Christianity and the cross of Christ. How can we not pray?

Let's pray because Jesus is living. Let's confess our sins without reservation because he is resurrected and we are all forgiven. Let's never feel ashamed when enemies pursue us and let's give thanks and ask for blessings like never before. Be blessed my friends. It is being sweet to walk with you in this season. 

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~How Long O Lord~ 

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Dear friends. There is only one belief in the world because there is only one person who can save. It is horrible to say that I have no belief, or no soul because I am purely made out of material. It is absurd to say that I believe only in myself because it is a dead end. It is illogical to say that I believe in a little bit of everything else, because if A is true, then -A is absolutely false. There is only one belief in the world. And where do you stand? We all agree that the people of Israel is disappointing at so many levels. Yet Jesus is the only truth, way and life. Sin is disabling, parasitic, and contagious. It is contrary and in comprehensive to everything that God has. However, in love God has prepared Jesus Christ for us so that he might dwelling with us. Our sin needs an entire new life and a total bathing in the blood of the lamb. We need more than a moral influencer. We need a life. A living sinless life needs to be given to us and replace ours. Jesus must die for us for us to be saved. Because he did so, he made it possible for us to not so sin. Praise him for the new life. Friends. This concludes the series on Psalm 68. Tomorrow we will meet again for Psalm 79. Thank you for listening.

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~~~Who can separate us? ~~~

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Dear friends. Up to now, we have seen how disappointing the people of Israel is and how they PRETEND to praise God. It struck me I was like them, hopeless and Unredeemable. Through Psalm 78: 42-55, we know two endings for people in this world and one person who took our ending and lived our life. Both Israel and the Egyptians deserve an ending of judgment, even worse than the 10 plagues. However, God delivered the people of Israel who were rebellious as human beings could be. God remembered the covenant with them and delivered them from there deserved ending by punishing Egyptians. God never changes. There are always two endings. All our endings are like the Egyptians. We are all UNredeemble. But God prepared Jesus to live our life and live our ending. He was faithful unto death. It was through his punishment we are saved. One ending for all who believe in Jesus and confess him as the Lord. Nothing as wondrous as this gospel. Friends. Be blessed. You have Jesus. 

Have you done something against your conscience to survive? My friends. I certainly have.  But I have also done things that even my conscience didn't accuse me. You may laugh because once in a while I often thought of things I had no memories of before I became a Christian. When I was a child, I have taken coins from my mother's desk to get candies from the store, take home a beautiful bottle of nail-polish from a childhood neighbour after playing together. I had no concept of stealing but I was practising it without instructions. I naturally knew how!  

By God's grace, our hearts are changed through the power of the risen Christ as God the father has promised. In Psalm 78: 30-42, the people of Israel, like I said this is probably your least favourite part of the psalm, disappointingly continued sinning after God has rained mana and meat from heaven and gave them what they craved in the wilderness. 

When the judgment was falling upon them, they PRETENDED to praise God but they did not really honour God. When punishment came, false worship will never work. It is the love of God that made us repent, not our self-interests. If I am so scared of being judged so I will try on Christianity. I will never worship God. If God did not prepare Jesus to change our hearts, we would probably never chose him ourselves. However, Jesus obey all his life unto death. He always trusts, always obey, and always give honour and glory to his father. He is our salvation. Salvation belong to the Lord Jesus Christ alone. 

Psalm 78:21-32

Friends. I told you that this might be your least favorite psalm but it is probably the one resembles ourselves most. A righteous God demands justice. The wage of sin is death. God has all the good reasons to punish sinners. If my sins need to be punished I would have already been crucified a thousand times and more. But Jesus Christ is the only one who always hopes, always loves, always obey and never sinned. His obedience is 24/7 and his sacrifice brought us eternal peace with God. We always desired what doesn't satisfy us but Jesus always desires what God the father desires. We failed any times in our lives. Jesus always did the right thing. There is one only way for sinners like me and like you. Because he has died for me and renewed my life every day. If you are like me, like the people of Israel, or you have never known Jesus, or perhaps you are frustrated at trying to by a faithful servant, COME TO JESUS. Start anew, start again. Its never too late.

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Now and at the Hour.

Dear friends. 

What standard is there for us to go to heaven? Do you wish there is someone who could represent you to do all you have failed to do? 

I certainly did. In my most recent reading of Ps. 87, I also found it is true that I will failed to be good for a year, a month, a week, a day, or... I will fail every second of my life. And if you agree, Ps. 9:20 will probably not be your favourite reading. People of Israel is such a disappointment. Thats why the psalmist began by encouraging believers to tell their children and children's children, the wondrous deeds of God in opening the Red Sea. However, these people in the wilderness has forgotten how great God is and how they have been delivered out of the land of slavery. The truth is I am no big difference from them. Thats why I need Jesus to represent me. Thats why the people of Israel needs Moses as their representative. Jesus has gone to the wilderness himself and brought us the spring of life and the bread of life. He was tempted in every ways yet without sinning. My whole life needs his whole obedience. The whole life includes those moments I failed to love God by trusting him, and those moments that I have deceitfully thought I was doing just fine. 

Be blessed. My friends. See you again Monday for the rest of this psalm. 

Thank you for tuning in.