I’m always inspired when I hear about God using a person’s messed-up past to advance His mission. We have to remember that God never makes mistakes. Even through some of our deepest pains and trials, God can use it somehow for His glory.

The best part of God’s creative work in redemption is that He uses our experiences and personalities to reach many people with the Gospel. Due to my personal experiences and personality, I am able to reach a certain segment of the world.

In the same way, your life, which is probably very different from mine, can reach out to another segment of the world. Can you imagine what would happen if we shared our stories with people that can relate to us?

God is always in the business of turning our ashes into something beautiful (Isa 61:3). This story is about how God turned a bad boy into a warrior for Christ.
 
 

 
It is interesting how the Apostle Paul uses the illustration of adoption when he describes our relationship with God, our Father (Eph 1:3-14).

There is something very powerful about knowing that you are chosen and loved unconditionally. This is part of the core of the Gospel message.

Sometimes through an earthly adoption, people are able to know the love of the Father. May our love for people overflow.
 
 

 
I realized that it doesn’t take much to see a child laugh or smile . It brings great joy to anyone who see the sense of wonder in a child’s eyes.

This is why when people are willing to go out of their way to make kids happy, it makes me smile.

I pray that we will never lose the sense of wonder and amazement as we get older. God smiles when He see a heart of a child in us.
 
 

 
After having a daughter, I have become more sensitive and tuned into how girls are treated in our society, especially in the Church. It is amazing to see how a girl’s self-esteem is shaped by their relationship with their father.

It is my hope and prayer that Karissa (a.k.a. KiKi) will grow up believing that she can do anything she puts her mind to. The world will tell her otherwise. The world will put barriers and limitations in front of her. But I want her to know that with Christ and my full support, she can do anything.

I want to be her greatest cheerleader and supporter. I want her to know that she can be a world shaker, history maker!
 
 

 
I do quite a bit of counseling throughout the week. I guess it comes with the calling of a shepherd (pastor). After many hours of listening and talking, I have come to the realization that a lot of things come down to perspective. If a person is able to gain God’s perspective in the midst of their situation, then it’s a huge win – both for the counselee and the counselor.

It is hard to see God in some of the difficult situations of our lives. Unless we believe in a Sovereign God, who is in complete control and working out all things for our good and His glory (Ro 8), it is easy to become disillusioned and even bitter at God. It is humbling when we get a glimpse of our theology (what we believe about God) by the way we respond to things that we have no control over.

I am constantly encouraged to see Christ-followers who struggle to understand God’s purposes, but at the end of the day, they realize that they are not God. This is when we all have a choice to either trust God or to trust in ourselves. As we get older, we begin to learn that choosing the former is far greater. Why? Because God has proven Himself to be faithful time and time again to make something beautiful of our lives, regardless of how messy it is.

What appears to be a life of ruin, God has the audacity and the capacity to turn things around to something that is “gloriously ruined” for our good and His glory.
 
 

 
It is always exciting to see two of my passions come together.
The heart of a samurai and the heart for soccer.

I cannot wait for the World Cup to start!
 

 
When you see a father so passionate about protecting his daughter, it reminds you of how love and security play an important role in a relationship. As I watched this video, I couldn’t help but to resonate with this father as I thought about my daughter.

Then, I thought about God’s love and protection for His children against Satan and his evil forces. No matter what we are facing in life, we can be confident that God will persistently protect us because He passionately loves us.
 
 

 
God is the Greatest Artist of all time. We, as human are able to create beautiful things because the Creator created us.

Whenever I get inspired by a musician or an artist with their talent, I am reminded that they are just a reflection of the Greatest Artist.

Therefore, keep on creating great music, art and other creative pieces because it will keep on pointing to the One who alone deserves all the glory!
 
 

 
I am constantly reminded that in order to experience true freedom, we have to let go of everything; but it is always easier said than done. Living a life of complete surrender to Christ is hard.

We love ourselves too much, even to the point of being narcissist and full of pride. The times when I have been able to fully let go of things and “withhold nothing” from Christ is when I saw how worthy He was of my everything.

The more I focus on Him and less on me, the easier it is to step out in faith and let everything go. There is no other way in this life of following Christ.

This song by William McDowell called, “Withholding Nothing” has been on repeat throughout this whole week. May this be the prayer of our hearts.
 
 

 
Coming back from my recent trip to Cambodia, I was reminded once again about the evils of human slavery. As I looked at the issue, I couldn’t help but to conclude that everything starts from the heart. Since we live in a broken world, we try so hard to “fix” ourselves from the pain and hurt in our lives. This is where many of us turn to various things to numb our pain; but instead of getting better, things get worse.

It is discovered that a lot of the sexual exploitation has its roots in pornography. If pornography is one of the roots to human slavery, then we need to do everything possible to cut it off. We cannot allow pornography to be the fuel for human trafficking. Therefore, in order to fight human slavery, we have to invest in winning the hearts of men. In particular, we have to invest in the next generation.

The real fix can only be found in the Gospel.

It is the Gospel that can set us free. It is the Gospel that heals our hearts. This video is a good reminder of the fact that we need to win the hearts of men with the Gospel.
 
 

 

 
 
 
I remember when our kids were younger and they all went to the same school. It was so much easier driving them to one location; but now, they all go to different schools. I miss those younger years when we were all together in one car.

Everyday, as we got closer to school, I had one of them pray on behalf of all of us. Of course, we rotated the person who would pray because if we did the “can someone pray for us” method, there would be silence.

My favorite part was a phrase that they always included in their prayers. They said, “Lord, help us to be world shakers and history makers!”

I pray that this would be true of us.

We are part of the greatest movement in history. It is unstoppable.

God, may Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!

 

 
 
 
We made history at our 2013 Winter Baptism. It was our first time having the baptism at our Transformation Center. Secondly, we had the most people being baptized at one time in the history of our church.

I am constantly amazed at God’s transformative work of calling us His own and by bringing us from darkness to His marvelous light (1 Pe 2:9). I have the privilege of being an eyewitness of His power week after week. Then it all culminates at our baptism service.

This is the reason why I do what I do. It is my passion.

I can’t wait for our Easter Baptism in 2014.

 

Design by HMCC-AA Publications Team
 
 
 
It has been almost four weeks since the official announcement of starting HMCC of Hong Kong in 2015. There has been a great response. I’m encouraged and excited to see the 2020 Vision become a reality.

I am looking forward to this call-out meeting because I believe God is stirring some of us to respond in faith and to be a part of this future church plant. In this call-out meeting, I will recast the vision for making disciples in Hong Kong and the strategic significance of reaching China with the Gospel.

Whether you will be a part of church plant team or just a supporter or even if you are just curious, I pray that this call-out meeting with be informational and helpful to you. Please keep this in prayer.

Hope to see many of you there.

 

Design by HMCC-AA Publications Team
 
 
 
For our college ministry, we are finishing off our 2-part series called, “Mirror.” In Part 1, we covered the theme of “The Looking Glass.” I mentioned how, “we must see ourselves through the mirror of God’s grace.” It is God’s grace that fulfills us, frees us, and forms us.

Today we are going to go over the topic of “The Rearview Mirror” and how important it is for us to look back into our past. Too often we move forward without looking back at what we’ve experienced in our lives. This is why we constant repeat the same mistakes and fall into the same trap of sin.

If we are going to advance forward in our destiny, then looking back at the “rearview mirror” of our lives in order to see where we have been and how far we have come will be significant.

Join us tonight as we conclude this series!