Wives Submit to Their Husbands; What About the Husbands to Their Wives?

Paul instructs, “Wives, submit to your own husband, as to the Lord (or 'as is fitting in the Lord'), for the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church.” (Ephesians 5:22-23, Colossians 3:18). Isn't this such a strong word, 'submit'? Even more so, for wives to submit in EVERYTHING to their husbands (Ephesians 5:24)? Isn't it unfair for the bride to rely on her groom for final decisions? It sounds unfair, isn't it! Actually, I think what makes it unfair is that the role of the husband is not emphasized strong enough. True, the Bible describes husband as the head of the wife, but that's not the commandment! Paul instructs, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR HER!” (Ephesians 5:25; Colossians 3:19). This is what husbands are called for! Not to simply lead the household, but even more so, to love their wives, even to the point of sacrificial love! Men, are we ready to die for our wife (or future wife) if needed be? Are we ready to endure pain to rescue our wife, as how Christ suffered in the cross to rescue us from our sins? Are we ready to defend our wife, as how Christ defended the the truth for the church? Are we ready to be servants to our wife, as how Christ served the church? If not, why else do we marry?

Justifiable Sin

Oh, how foolish are we to think that there is such a thing! Aren’t we all guilty of justifying our own faults, our own short comings, and even our own sins? We try to reason why we did what we did, but sin is still sin! Abraham reasoned with Abimelech why he lied about his relationship with Sarah (Genesis 20:11-13), but if God did not intervene, Abraham could have easily imposed a curse upon Abimelech (Genesis 20:1-9). Wasn’t Abraham supposed to be a blessing to others (Genesis 12:1-3)! Indeed, “we are at our highest foolishness when we sin (Pastor Henry)”, so let us search our true intentions, or we may as well put a curse upon ourselves and the people around us. -- A response to Pastor Henry’s sermon (SFBC).

Exiled in San Francisco

During King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Jerusalem, some of the people of Israel were exiled to Babylon (Daniel 1:1-7), a city filled with idolatry (Daniel 3:1-7). While God promised the exiles that they will return home (Jeremiah 29:10-14), He also instructed them to live in Babylon as though they were natives of that city (Jeremiah 29:4-8). My situation may not be the same as that of the exiles, but perhaps, like them, I ought to live (in San Francisco) as if I were a native of the city—for who am I to say “today or tomorrow I will go into such and such a town, and spend a year there…” Yet I do not know what tomorrow will bring! (see James 4:13-15) If the Lord wills, then I will move to a different place. But as of now, I ought to settle here—find accountability partners, fellowship with true Christians, commit to a church, and serve a local ministry. – A response to a message from Sonrise.

My Mission Statement

I have been thinking about my goals and priorities in life. What am I called for and what am I suppose to do in this short lifetime I have? I may not know the exact answer, but I can definitely pray about it. Nehemiah fervently prayed for his people (Nehemiah 1:4-11), and God turned this passion (Nehemiah 1:1-4) into his calling (Nehemiah 2:1-18). I, then, pray that God will also use my passions to reveal my mission statement. – A reflection from the Sonrise retreat at Pajaro Dunes.

“Men of God, if you want to serve God and cannot find the propitious occasion, wait awhile in prayer and your opportunity will break on your path like a sunbeam. There was never a true and valiant heart that failed to find a fitting sphere somewhere or other in His service. Every diligent laborer is needed in some part of His vineyard. You may have to linger, you may seem as if you stood in the market idle, because the Master would not engage you, but wait there in prayer, and with your heart boiling over with a warm purpose, and your chance will come. The hour will need its man, and if you are ready, you, as a man, shall not be without your hour.” – C. H. Spurgeon

San Francisco as God Sees It

Before I moved to San Francisco, most of my friends warned me about how sinful San Francisco is. Perhaps they were right, but who are we to condemn the world… and San Francisco for that matter? Jonah refused to witness to Nineveh, because he knew God will show mercy to this wicked city (Jonah 4:1-3). There were 120,000 persons in Nineveh who do not know their right hand from their left, but God showed pity to this great and wicked city (Jonah 4:11). I may not know if God sees San Francisco as how He saw Sodom or Nineveh, but I pray that God uses Christians in San Francisco, including me, to share the gospel within the city. Indeed there are true believers here! Let us not wait for a great fish or a plant (Jonah) to teach us about compassion. Aren’t we sinful in His eyes as well, yet He showed compassion to us? – A response to Pastor Henry’s and Pastor Dale’s sermons (SFBC).

Unfaithful Giving versus Faithful Giving

I’ve been attending a campus ministry in University of San Francisco California (UCSF), called Sonrise, and a Bible Study group from San Francisco Bible Church (SFBC), called ETC. Both groups are not connected with each other, but last week’s messages from the two ministries were closely related: Sonrise shared about the unfaithful giving of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), while ETC talked about the faithful stewardship of the Philippians to Paul (Philippians 4:14-18). These messages reminded me that the act of giving by itself is not enough to be pleasing to God. In fact, giving with a wrong heart and a bad intension may even be an insult to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:9). True gift must be given completely (without holding back anything) and faithfully (without delay). I pray that I myself will be true to my giving, pleasing and acceptable to God.

“Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house…” -- Malachi 3:8-10a

‘My Testimony’ or ‘My Devotions’

I have been debating about a blog topic – “My testimony” or “My devotions”. I wish I know Greek or Hebrew to figure out the Biblical verses which uses these words, but I can only refer to the English translations of the Bible [ESV to be exact]. The word ‘testimony’ or ‘testify’ refers to the proclamation of the gospel that God has given eternal life through his Son Jesus Christ to those who believe in Him (Mat 24:14, II Tim 1:8, I John 4:14, I John 5:11), while the word ‘devotion’ or ‘devote’ describes the outcome of this testimony by committing onto prayer, Scripture reading, exhortation, teaching, good works, service, and fellowship (Acts 2:42, I Cor. 7:5, I Cor. 16:15, I Tim 4:13, Titus 3:14). As a Christian, I long for Christ to produce in me a life of a true believer, having both faith and works (James 2:14-26). With this in mind, I decided to choose “My Devotions” as a blog topic, since this can be a means for me to grow in Christ and this is a good reason to regularly update the blog. Please pray that I may be diligent in updating this blog, and that this blog will be a means of Spiritual growth to me and to the readers as well.