In&Out

what comes IN must go OUT.

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For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10)

Jesus didn’t come to please the religious crowd. Jesus didn’t come to pander to the social crowd. Instead, Jesus entered the world to save sinners. When we look back over the Gospel of Luke, we see Jesus reach out to men and women, young and old, powerful and forgotten, demon possessed, and the politically connected. He came to save sinners of all shapes, sizes, and stripes. He came to save you and me.

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I was walking into my room, and this song was filling in the air. Then I thought, "wow, the Good News DOES sound so sweet! No wonder why the author wrote His grace is so amazing and it sounds so sweet." For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 KJV)

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“There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.” ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

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There is no plan B.

[oneflashlight]

A View from an Airplane Window

Every time I was on an airplane, I prayed that God meet me and talk to me during my journey. This was because I heard some pastors talking about their encounters with the mighty One, and I wanted that encounter, too, so I prayed every time I was on a plane.

To meet Him I did a couple of things: praying and talking to Him like “Daddy! Weather’s great!, Daddy! Did you know that…?, Dad! I love You so much, Dad!, or listening to some worship songs and thinking of Him like a girl who has a crush on a cute boy, or simply saying the same desire in my heart: Lord! I want to hear from You!” None of my endeavors was successful. I couldn’t hear or feel anything, but I tried anyway when I had a chance to be on a plane.

On my way to San Diego, just like I did before, I was very determined to pray and I prayed. When I was not in a prayer mode, I would look outside of the plane. There are many shapes of clouds. All white, all look fluffy and soft, and skies are clear blue. What a perfect combination! And they seem like they don’t have any boundary; all seem so endless and…endless that I have no idea of where the beginning point is or where the end is. I wanted to have more a wider view of this perfection, so I pulled my face right onto the window glass and started to roll my eyes. Anyone who enjoys window seat would understand this, and I am 100% sure everyone has once tried the position I did, but soon eyes get tired from being rolled too much, legs are getting numb, and there appears white mist on the window from mouth breath.

So I ensconced myself in my seat back again, and this thought came to my mind: this small airplane window is like my eyes. What I see now is very limited. What I want to see is the whole picture, yet what I see now is only partial. It seems like it is a 1% of the entire view, so I try to see more by rolling my eyes from the left to the right and from the right to the left, but it is impossible for me to see 0.0001% more of what's in front of me because I just can’t, unless my eyes pop up outside of the window and roll themselves at 360 degrees. Though I cannot see the whole, I know skies are skies and cloud is cloud. They are what they are and where they are.

Then I realized God is God, and He is everywhere; He is where my eyesight cannot reach, and even where I would never think he would be. The moment was like His talking to me: “hey, my daughter I am right here, and here behind you, too! I am with you all the time! What you see is not all you see! I am so BIG you can’t see me from head to toe, and the beginning or end, but my love for you is endless just as I am endless!” Since that day, I have no doubt that He is with me everywhere. He is beyond my thinking and understanding. He is omnipresent. Just like the skies and clouds I never see, but I believe there they are.

[oneflashlight]

one flashlight at a time

Last December I visited New York. It was a four-day trip, and I decided to walk the Manhattan and the middle town area. The streets I chose were the big ones: the 5th avenue, 42nd street, 50th street, the one near the Madison Square Park…etc. I did not choose those streets because they are famous areas, but because they are relatively safe. My theory was that, where there are many things to see and many tourists to see them, those areas are bright all day and night from the neon signs and stuff, hence safe. When I walked into the “wrong streets or avenues” at night, I became scared because it’s New York, and you never know what’s going to happen, or whom you will encounter on that dark street you have just entered. The bigger a city is, the more crazy people there are, and we normally think that those people are in the back side of a dark alley. Maybe it is true, and we try to avoid those unsafe situations.

However, the things are not what we think they are here. “Cray cray” people are everywhere, whether bright or dark. You cannot deny you have never seen crazy people on the bright streets, even in a day. We feel safe because there are many normal people, but mostly because it’s bright. Brightness gives us comfort, making us feel safe. On the other hand, darkness makes us feel unstable, uncomfortable, and unsafe.

There is very simple truth about darkness: it is dark when there is no light. YES, you heard me! Dark alley is dark simply because there is no light. If you have a flashlight, you feel less scared. If you have a company, you barely feel scared. If you have both a flashlight and a company, you never feel scared at all. In fact, thanks to the flashlight you are carrying, your company, and you, people behind you or people already on that same street feel safe, too.

Imagine you pass this dark street every night holding a flashlight, standing for a while. Sometimes you bring a friend or two. Some people see you and your flashlight shining on the street, and they start passing by. More and more people come and go, so the city council decides to build some infrastructures on that street: lamps, more police patrol, or things like that. Now you see the dark street turning into a brand new street full of light, people, and some laugh. You are making your surroundings much brighter with the help of a small flash light, and your company. Everything starts with a small thing, and you are in the center of this pleasant change. After all, you are a starter here. You are making a difference in your surroundings. It seems so trivial, but it isn’t.

Helping is when you go into some dark alley with a small flashlight. Helping is when you carry this tiny flashlight on that street standing, being a light to people in that area. Helping starts with a small act of kindness as great things start from a small thing.

As people of Light, each one of us is a small flashlight. Your act of kindness doesn't necessarily come from some kind of donation. Just give them (whomever it may be) a helping hand. Be a listening ear. Let’s make this world full of Light… Then a world of darkness will turn into this:

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testing

testing..testing..ah..ah... ah.. one two three one two three..

[oneflashlight]

Good words are worth much, and cost little.

George Herbert