Korean American Christian Blog

Courtesy of Tim Yu, Living Hope Community Church 

Where’s the passion? Where are the voices singing aloud? Many Sunday mornings, I come to worship service wondering will our members praise God with their voices this morning? Or will it be with just their hearts? I’ve often been a proponent of the notion that your heart gets communicated in actions and, that said, maybe our hearts just aren’t there. And then I wonder how music so powerful can become so dulled by an uninvolved congregation.

Where does the problem lie? Does it lie in the style of music? I know of many people who go to concerts that play similar styles and come back with voices exhausted and clothes drenched in sweat because of their involvement in the musical experience. Is it because the music is too loud? I believe the volume level at any concert is exponentially louder. Then again, there are those gem-of-a-Sundays when I believe the Spirit in us and our voices are one in expressing to God our gratitude and praise. God’s presence is undeniable then.

In Ephesians 5:18-20, Paul challenges believers to live a certain way. He writes, “be filled with the Spirit” and follows that with some reactions that come about as a result of being filled with the Spirit. For instance, one begins to “speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs”, “sing and make music in your heart to the Lord” and give “thanks to God the Father for everything”. Sure sounds like being filled with the Spirit incorporates praise and worship offerings to the Lord. Then, I realized that there are more commands to Christians to sing in the Bible then nearly anything else.

Music, especially in the context of worship, is so amazingly powerful. It can even inspire atheists attending a concert to concede that there are elements of certain musical experiences that are positively and undeniably divine. Music stirs the emotions and is so powerful that, even alone, it can engender "spiritual" experiences. God created music and He commanded us to sing to Him.

Courtesy of David Chung, Living Hope Community Church  

During these tumultuous economic times I can’t help but wonder when it is going to get “better”. Friends and family members are reporting layoffs and lost incomes. I know we all have people we care about and maybe even ourselves are going through some really tough times; we all are affected in some way.

I’ve had numerous discussions with friends and family members as to how they have learned from the current uncertain times; and how much they cherish the truly important things in their lives such as the relationships they have. They often reflected on the importance of spouses, children, family members and friends. I too find myself giving extra hugs and kisses to Susanna, Caden and Cara these days. Actually, when you think about it, the only thing that really matters in the end, and also to God, is our relationships to each other.

I can’t describe with words the awesome feeling of coming home from a tough day at work and having Susana and my children eagerly great me at the door. Actually most of the time the kids and Cody, my dog, are usually plastered to the window at my usual time of arrival home. It makes me feel like a king and the troubles of the world melt away at the front door. They truly want me to come home, and I can’t think of a better place to be each day.

I guess that is why God gave Israel a daily portion of manna each day. He wanted them to relate to Him as the provider on a daily basis. Remember what happened in the wilderness/desert when they cried out due to hunger? He provided bread, manna, from heaven; from heaven. Did you get that? From heaven the Father fed his children on a daily basis. Some tried to gather and store away as any smart survivalist would do. However, the manna only lasted one day. Why? Why not allow the manna to last a week, a month or a year at that. After all they were going to be out there 40 long years 

I think I might have been a little overwhelmed recently. I flew back to Atlanta this weekend to drive up to Nashville for my friend Brooklyn's wedding. Except she's not getting married this weekend. She's getting married NEXT Friday. I flew cross-country on the wrong weekend. Ha ha! Oh.

I'm back!  Beijing was great.  I ate a scorpion.  Mostly it tasted spicy.  And it was crunchy like a potato chip, except it was exoskeleton.  This is what peer pressure gets you.  

PS- Synchronized swimming is awesome- the Russian duet was amazing- more impressive even than the Forbidden City (though slightly less so than the Great Wall).