A person having real good life

 

A person who does not do what he should not do and does what he should do

 

A person who says he does not know what he does not know and knows what he does

 

A person who apologizes for what he does wrong and does not reveal what he does well

 

A person who is not ashamed of what he does not have and does not brag about what he does have

 

A person who is generous to others and strict to himself

A person who does not complain about the injustice of the world and acts fairly on his own

A person who does not find excuses but finds ways to solve problems

 

A person who does not shift responsibility to others but takes responsibility for himself

A person who quickly forgets yesterday's mistakes and does not repeat the same ones

A person who does not go to crowded places and enjoys being alone

 

A person who ignores unnecessary worries and focuses on necessary things

A person who lives by his own will without being conscious of the eyes of others

GOD's will towards me

We run out too often, saying that the group we belong to is unfair and unreasonable. However, there is no rational and righteous group in movies or novels anywhere in the world. Because that unfair and unreasonable place is the world I live in. It is God's will towards me to practice righteousness and be tolerant in that unjust and unreasonable group.

God prays for humans

 

In most of religions, humans should pray for gods.

In Christianity, the God prays for humans.

 

In most of religions, humans should die as sacrifices for gods.

In Christianity, the God died for mankind.

 

In most of religions, humans should go to gods through suffering.

In Christianity, the God came to humans through suffering.

 

In most of religions, humans should build magnificent temples for gods.

In Christianity, the God destroyed the temples.

 

In most of religions, there is a clear distinction between humans and gods.

In Christianity, the God placed inside the humans' heart.

 

In most of religions, humans should follow gods' unilateral decisions.

In Christianity, the God waits for the humans' free willful decision.

 

In most of religions, humans make and worship the images of gods.

In Christianity, the God created humans in his own image.

 

In most of religions, humans should carry the heavy burden of life, which gods don't care.

In Christianity, the God takes over the whole burdens and hardships of humans.

The most precious things

 

There are precious things in the world that cannot be bought with money. People often think that money can buy everything, but what money can buy is temporary and momentary. We must pursue something of incomparable, precious and precious real value that goes far beyond material values. 

Money can buy fine wine, but it cannot buy joy.
Money can buy good bread, but it cannot buy the taste.
Money can buy clean water, but it cannot buy eternal living water.
Money can buy fragrant espresso, but it cannot buy the leisure of life.
Money can buy a luxury watch, but it can't buy time.
Money can buy a big house, but it can't buy a harmonious family.
You can buy an attractive opposite sex (female or male) with money, but you can't buy love.
Money can buy a good bed, but it cannot buy deep sleep.
Money can buy a prestigious doctor, but it cannot buy a life.
Money can buy expensive insurance, but it cannot buy safety.
Money can buy effective medicine, but it cannot buy health.
Money can buy a comfortable chair, but it cannot buy comfort.
Money can buy an unblemished ox or sheep, but it cannot buy the forgiveness of sins.
Money can buy a first-class ticket, but it cannot buy the kingdom of God.
Money can buy high-quality information, but it cannot buy the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

God's answers to prayer

I asked strength, God gave me difficulties to get stronger.

I asked wisdom, God gave me problems to solve.

I asked courage, God gave me dangers to overcome.

I asked love, God gave me troubled people to help.

Now, on your way (Mark16)

 

Now, on your way

 

Jesus was resurrected and sits at the right hands of God.

We have come to salvation in the name of Jesus.

The power of the name has made us the children of God.

Our lives that have received this wonderful gift of grace must be changed. 

 

The disciples saw the resurrected Jesus with their own eyes and experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit.

They scattered into the world and preached the gospel of Jesus to the ends of the earth.

No one could stop them. 

 

Now, you have to push yourself to endless questions.

Am I fulfilling the role of light and salt of the world?

Am I silently walking the road of the calling I received from God?

Am I preaching the Gospel?

Am I living worthy of being saved?

Am I loving my life and loving my neighbor?

Am I newborn every day?

Son of God (Mark 15)

 

Save yourself! If you're really God's son, come down from the cross!

 

Jesus came to save the world. It was a great work of grace for human beings who could not escape from sin by themselves. But the Jews shouted to Jesus on the cross to save himself. Because Jesus was truly the Son of God, he had to take up the cross. The ignorant shouted that if he came down from the cross, they would believe that he was the Son of God. They really didn't know what they were doing.

 

                       "They did no know what they were doing."

 

Jesus, who overcame Satan's temptation with the word, was the Son of God, but he did not perform miracles for himself. He did not misuse his good powers. Jesus knew his own calling and he followed his own way silently at Pilate's question - ' Are you the king of the Jews?'

 

                        "Nothing could stop Jesus."  

The crucifixion was a great historical work in which the logos of God accomplished His will on this earth. Nothing could stop Jesus. The happiest people are those who quietly walk their own way. The people shouted for a miracle, but in the end they could not say anything in the face of Jesus' silence. The world has finally admitted  that Jesus is the Son of God.

Wise people (Mark 14)

She did what she could when she could - she pre-anointed my body before burial.

 

Wise people do their best in the right place at the right time. They humbly accept the results, but sometimes their actions may not be logical. A nameless woman poured 300 denarius-worth of expensive perfume on Jesus' head, which was obviously not logical according to the people looking at the situation. She could help the poor by selling the perfume, which was equivalent to a year's wages at those times. However, Jesus cherished the woman's contribution, which have been praised everywhere with gospel. 

 

Foolish people pursue their own profits like opportunists. Judas Iscariot did not find anything like Messiah from Jesus, so he decided to sell Jesus to the high priests in exchange for reward. Judas Iscariot took part in the great place of the Last Supper where the God's new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31) was fulfilled by Jesus, but could not recognize that Jesus is the Messiah.

 

Wicked people pervert the truth. They intentionally sanctify themselves with lies and hypocrisy, condemns others and are not afraid to testify falsely. The law, regarded as important as life by the high priests and religious leaders, was merely means to keep their superior social position and honor, and was no longer commandments of God's great love. They accused the Son of God, Jesus Christ, for blasphemy and ultimately crucified him. 

 

              "The road to the life of faith is never a straight line"

 

Wise people embrace God's values ​​and live obediently depending on God's good power. Their lives are sometimes illogical and challenges against the fallen culture of the world. The road to the life of faith is never a straight line, as it requires conviction and courage. Even Jesus confronted the life with fear and deep sorrow (Mark 14:32-34). We should only ask for what God wants by prayer.

The place of life (Mark 13)

 

Stay with it to the end. You're placed there as sentinels to truth.

 

Tribulation, natural disaster, and chaos come to us in an instant. Jesus prophesied that the magnificent temple eventually be destroyed by the Romans Empire. He also said that false prophets would confuse people everywhere in the time of the tribulation to come. Disaster may overtake people unrecognizably. Because of the pandemic caused by a microscopic virus not even visible, normal daily lives have stopped with fear of death all over the world for the past three years. 

 

The signs of the end of the age are always repeated in history. They may appear in the form of disaster, political issues, religious conflicts, inter-ethnic wars, environmental pollution, or economic inequality. People always confront the situations and struggle for survival to overcome. After one disaster passes away, another conflict begins. What do these situations mean to me and how should I take? Do I have to live in the world that is swept away by this chaos?  

 

       "-- to confess that Jesus is our only hope".

 

The Scripture is warning to us that these hard times have been in the past, are in present time, and will be repeated in the future. What we need is to keep our own place in life and endure it to the end. To keep and endure in that daily life, which is always a series of chaos, is to confess that Jesus is our only hope. We should be satisfied with the repeated daily life. We should stand in that place of life as sentinels to truth. Just as the watchman waits for the morning, we live in hope of the day of the Lord, Jesus.

People do not know GOD (Mark 12)

You don't know the Bibles, you don't know how God works.

 

Religious scholars, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees asked questions hard to answer to get Jesus into troubles. Jesus caught their evil intentions and clearly answered based on the Bible. The Jews wanted to live in their own greed and understood the Scriptures as they wished.

 The peasants in charge of the vineyard were interested in money only, so they even killed their lord's son to take over the vineyard. People tried to trap Jesus into a snare in terms of paying tax to Caesars. The Sadducees misunderstood marriage because they said there is no resurrection. Ignorance of the Word distorted the grace of the God, with which religious scholars exploited the weak and the helpless. 

       "Ignorance of the word distorted the grace of GOD"

Foolish people mistakenly believe that they know the God very well. However, they still do not know the God at all. To become the God's people is to know the way the God works. In God we should continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling for the rest of our lives (Philippians 2:12).