Rescued by Jesus. Rebuilt by the Spirit. Responding to God's grace.
You ever hesitate—or fail—to pray because you just didn’t believe that God would answer your prayer? I do. More often than I should. He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it […]
I don’t think He wants to “use” me, anyway. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10 NIV) Ah, aging. The loss of hearing. Deteriorating vision. The pain in my back, hips, knees, ankles, and heels when I wake […]
Sometimes, God guides us by closing the doors on us. “When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” (Acts 16:7 NIV) << Previous episode There was a cricket in my house the other day. My wife hates crickets. I refuse […]
When God calls us to something, He might not call us to finish it. <<Previous episode January, 2017. I had just started my new job a month earlier. This role was an incredible answer to prayer: getting paid to write and be on social media all day, all to serve people with disabilities in the name […]
Is taking care of your family idolatrous or biblical? <<Previous episode As I was processing what the roundabout meant for me—was God calling me to exit one specific role at one specific church, or was He calling me to exit full time ministry completely?—an encounter with some old friends rattled me. They had been married […]
Are our failures part of God’s plan, or does God redeem our failures? << Previous episode October, 2016. I agreed to step down from my pastoral role after God spoke to me through a roundabout: “See the direction everyone else is going.” “Yield.” “Navigate your way through without crashing.” “Know when to exit.” After two […]
God doesn’t always give us a sign. << Previous Episode If you know me or have read any of my blog, you probably know that following signs from God was “my thing.” My schtick. God gives me a crazy sign, I pray about it for a while, then I follow God into the next adventure […]
The end of one chapter is the beginning of a new one. << Previous Episode If Ransomed Life were a three-act play or film, this post would be near the end of Act II. Many stories follow a similar three-act structure. In Act I, the protagonist lives in an ordinary world, subconsciously wondering, “Who am I?” […]
When calling doesn’t turn out the way you expected. <<Previous Episode Facebook reminded me that two years ago, I posted something about feeling like a doormat. “It is one thing to follow God’s way of service if you are regarded as a hero, but quite another thing if the road marked out for you by […]
I wasn’t too crazy about the movie the first time I saw it, but I loved it the second time. Why I flipped after reflecting on disappointment. Warning: spoilers ahead. “It was like a roller coaster ride: there were about five truly exhilarating moments, but it took some tedious climbing to get to them, and […]
<< Previous episode I’ve been avoiding this episode for over five months now. Every time I sat down to write it, I’d choke mentally and walk away from the computer, or I’d write about something else. I suspect that I was subconsciously hoping to avoid reliving one of the most difficult seasons of my spiritual […]
What are you thankful for? There must be something. There is always something to be thankful for, even in the midst of trials and pain. This is not to minimize anyone’s pain or encourage a facade of happiness. I wouldn’t do that, especially not after posting about lament just a few weeks ago. Laments may form […]
Hungry, angry, lonely, or tired? You might be ripe for a spiritual attack. But what is it, and how does it work? It was one of those days. I had a long day at work, followed by a stressful commute that took longer than usual and involved more than one close call, fraying my nerves. […]
Definition of Lament: intransitive verb : to mourn aloud; wail transitive verb : to express sorrow, mourning, or regret for often demonstratively : to regret strongly (from the Merriam-Webster dictionary) I had to write a personal lament for a seminary class. It wasn’t hard. At all. Not after an emotionally draining week. Last Thursday, my […]
Feeling discouraged? Maybe you just need a nap. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves. (Psalm 127:2 NIV) It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. It’s not that I have nothing to say. I have a lot to share. I […]
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Cor. 12:26-27 NIV) Oh, Houston. My heart aches for you when I see the images. Water. Everywhere. Homes […]
What lessons can a divided church learn from the 1st century church? Members of my church’s men’s and women’s groups take turns writing devotionals each week, going through books of the Bible verse by verse. We are currently on 1 Corinthians. When my turn came up the other day, my assigned passage was 1 Corinthians […]
What good is faith if it doesn’t inform the way you live? I collect toys. I used to collect so many, it was pathetic. Or awesome, depending on how you look at it. My old room at my parent’s house looked like a booth at Comic-Con, stocked floor-to-ceiling with action figures, vehicles, and playsets, mostly […]
What happens when you serve others while trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit? << Previous episode He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not […]
<< Previous episode What’s the point of arguing? I guess it depends. When two people have a disagreement but both are willing to hear and consider the other person’s perspective, an argument (or should I say, “heated discussion”) can be constructive. But when one or both of the parties involved are unwilling to hear the […]
My father passed away exactly one month ago today. I was at a retreat this morning, and as much as I had been looking forward to it, I found it difficult to engage fully. I found it challenging to sing songs of worship, even though my mind was agreeing with the lyrics on the screen […]
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55 NIV) It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. Life has been more hectic than usual these days. In early April, my father was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Shocking, as he wasn’t a smoker. My wife, kids, and I […]
For most of my life, I have struggled with the question, “Who am I?” And I’ve been buying the wrong answers from the enemy, who is in the business of spiritual identity theft. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1970s. Not the easiest time or place to be Asian. And to complicate […]
What motivates you to do what you do in the name of Jesus? << Continued from the previous episode No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:12 NIV) May 2015. It was my last tai chi […]
Before the harvest–even before cultivation, planting, or sowing–there must first come the hard work of tilling the soil. << Previous episode Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray […]
Going “home” after two years was harder than I thought. << Previous episode Two-thousand-fifteen. It had been nearly two years since my family left California for Japan. What would this experience be like, I wondered, as my flight from Narita began its descent into LAX on a Friday afternoon in April. It turned out to […]
Disaster relief work in Japan may not look like a prerequisite for children’s ministry, but maybe God knew what He was doing when He called me to both. << Previous Episode When my then-home church invited me to interview for the role of children’s pastor, it may have seemed like it came out of left […]
Even with multiple confirmations, I still needed just one more… << Previous Episode Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” (Judges […]
Ever hesitate to follow God because you worry about the future? << Previous episode “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matt. 6:25 NIV) February, 2015. […]
Why does God give signs sometimes? << Previous Episode Our two-year assignment in Ofunato was coming to an end. Though I thought God would have us stay there longer, we were surprised to begin discerning a call to Santa Ana, California. What’s the relationship between Santa Ana and Ofunato? I have no idea. But I […]
