Spiritual Gifts, the ultimate Re-gift

I've been thinking a lot about Spiritual gifts recently, mainly because my pastor here in Korea has been doing a lot of sermons that have challenging me to think more carefully about the role spiritual gifts should play in our lives as Christians. I grew surrounded by the view of cessasionism(I think that's spelled correctly) saying that the spiritual gifts of healing and tongues have ceased after the apostolic age. I don't have the time, or the materials gathered to write about why I've grown to start thinking differently about the situation, but that will hopefully be my next blogpost.

But breifly, I wanted to talk about something I think we can all agree on. The ideas of teaching, hospitality, empathy, organization, etc...these are all spiritual gifts that I think all Christians would agree are given today to all Christians. The question is, why are they given? I heard a great sermon by Piper tonight about Spiritual gifts, and he was talking about Romans 1:11 where Paul says,

"I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spirtual gift to make you strong--that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith."

Now Paul is not saying here that he is going to bring a gift that will become there gift. He's not going to bestow the gift of generosity upon them, instead he's going to use the gift Christ gave him to strengthen them.

A few key points that Piper hit on here were number 1, that Spiritual gifts are always meant to be shared with others, not hoarded. When they are hoarded, they are stifled. When they are used for building up another's faith and glorifying God, they are affirmed and strengthened. We are given gifts so that we may give them to others.

Secondly, Paul talks about the mutual benefit of giving and recieving gifts. Think about when you give a Christmas present to someone. Not only is the person who recieves it happy, but you are happy in giving it. In the same way, the exercising of our gifts not only encourages those who recieve it, but it strengthens our faith as well.

Lastly, the major point that stuck in my mind is the mindset of Paul here, that we should strive to have every day. The point and purpose of his using his gift, was to strengthen their faith. The question is, do we have that desire today with every person we meet? Do we have the desire in the morning to strengthen and stir up hearts towards Christ. Because the Bible is very clear that if we have the desire to magnify Christ in the building up of others, the Holy Spirit will enable us with the power to do that. But do we have that longing to begin with? Do we want to see others grow? Not that we are Pharisees that try and fix everyone, but do we earnestly take joy in seeing our brothers and sisters strengthened in their love of Christ. May that be our prayer every morning when we wake up. That God would use us in some way, today, to encourage someone to love Christ more. To be more satisfied in Jesus.

These days I must admit that my desires have been entirely too inwardly focused. Too focused on my circumstances and my woes. While the waves seem to be heavy right now, I must remember that Christ's yoke is light, and that he can sustain me even in the valley of the shadow of death. If I can ground myself in this confidence, I can free myself to think about others. I pray that he will do this for all of our lives.

On a more update note, I went to "Everland" and "Carribean Bay" this weekend with my friend Ivan and his girlfriend Haeyeok. It was really fun. We went on a rollercoaster called "T-express" and it's classified as one of the most thrilling roller coasters in the world. It was really intense. It had like a 90 degree drop and it went at top speed 124 miles per hour. I think it's the fastest coaster I've ever been on. And get this. It's wooden. It was awesome. There were also two fun parades we saw. The water park was really good too, but really crowded, so we didn't get to go on too many rides. I was reminded of my younger years at Water Country USA with my brother and cousins, when we would go down the waterslides screaming, "YEEHHHHHHHAAAWWW!!"

Every day...you gotta press on towards the goal

Recently, in the midst of a difficult past week, I've been giving a lot of thought to idea of comfort, and how much I used to rail on against (anyone who reads my blog can attest to my distain of it). And yet, when the rubber meets the road, I yearn for comfort. When things get...uncomfortable, I complain. I blame others. I blame my circumstances.

All the while, Jesus is there telling me I believe two things. First of all, in my trials, he tells me, "I know...I know. I've been there. I know what it's like to be betrayed. I know what it's like to be poor. I know what it's like to be scorned and mocked and tempted." Hebrews 2:16-18 couldn't have put it any better:

"16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for[a]the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

When we feel overwhelmed by the weight that trials bring, may we find some comfort knowing that Christ not only understands, but intercedes as our sympathetic, empathetic high priest.

The second thing Jesus is telling me in the midst of my grumbling and defeatedness, is "Trust me, I got it handled. Press on towards the goal. Even though you don't feel like it, trust me."

How quickly emotions can trump theology. How quickly the temptation of relaxation can stifle gospel mission and cosmic redemption. I don't know if I'm letting my plate spillover, but I just here God telling me to trust him. That's all I can do at this point. It's either trust God, or give up. And quitting I feel is not an option for me at this point, so I press on, knowing that God has a sovereign plan, and his plan is much more complex and great that what I may think it should be.

A long while back I posted a blog showcasing some really cool Christian rappers I found out about. Well there's one guy in particular that I really think is awesome, and he's from Philly too! His name's Shai Linne. To give you an idea on how sweet this guy is, he wrote a song called "Spurgeon." This video clip is an excerpt from one of his concerts. The clip begins with him doing a short accapella rap that is so well constructed and it is soooo glorifying to God!! After that he goes onto the give a very brief but convicting Gospel presentation to the crowd there. This is kingdom work in today's world!

Been back for a week now

I've been back for almost a week now, and I've gotta be honest, I'm already exhausted again. I'm hoping and praying that it's just because of the fact that I'm still jet-lagged and just coming off of a vacation that I feel so tired now, and hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things. But work right now is really tough, and I have many responsibilities in many areas at work, and in church and the college ministry I do. I feel overwhelmed right now. Please pray for me, I am extremely exhausted.

I also had to move into a new apartment this week. I used to live on the 4th floor of my apartment building, now I moved onto the 2nd floor. It's a long story, but yeah, I'm now in a new room. It took me maybe about 6 or 7 hours to get everything done, so that was also pretty tiring. But I'm actually pretty happy with the new apartment, it's definitely cleaner than my old one...for now^_^. It's basically the same exact apartment, just inverted if you can imagine that.

I've been able to catch up with many of my friends back in Korea, and it's really great seeing all of them again. I am reminded of God's blessings to me so much by all of the amazing people Hee's given to me in friendship.

Looking back on my vacation in the States, it was really great. It was pretty much what I was hoping for. I got to see many of my friends and family, but also spend a lot of time just relaxing and reading. Of course now I'm kind of in shock being back to a rigorous work schedule. Also, before I came back to the States, I felt like God was pushing on my heart to touch base with all of my friends on a spiritual level, and God really honored that. With almost all of my friends, God gave me opportunities to share what God's been teaching me, prayer request with them, and hardship and encouragements. But it was such a blessing for me, and for so many of my friends, I feel like God is really doing some awesome things in their hearts, and that was really encouraging for me to see.It was great to be back and finally see all of the Sanders side together again since 2 years ago. We ate amazing food, shared many things about our lives, played catchphrase, and got to see Poppop in a very interesting hat^_^. I really am so thankful to God that everyone was able to make it.




I also got to see so many friends that I haven't seen in a while.

I even got to go up to Boston to see Tim V. It had been about 2 years since I had last seen him, so that was a very sweet reunion. I'd love to go back again if he's still there. What made it even better was that Andrew and Aaron came with me, and I got to see Zack again, a friend I met through Tim. I also got to meet all of his cool roomates.

And of course the highlight of being back was getting to see my lovely new niece Chloe. I seemed so unreal to actually be holding her. I'm so proud of Kevin and Alison, and I know that they are going to be amazing parents! Chloe is so adorable and lovely, I couldn't seem to keep my eyes off of her the whole time I was there. I can't wait to see her again, and I can't wait to see how much she's grown the next time I see her.

Overall, it was really just a great vacation. Once again, please pray that I will have to strength to accomplish everything that is required of me in Korea, and that God will continue to use me for his glory, and that I would be wise in planning for my future as every year seems to bring many difficult decisions.