Story Mode! How I Learn Truth (And A Lot Of Other Things)

When I was a gamer, my favorite part would be the story mode.  I loved being part of an epic narrative much larger than myself.  When I was in my early twenties, this became a way for me to learn history through playing "Rise of Nations." Each battle in each campaign came with an elaborate story about how and why it took place. 

For this reason, I read and watch stories to learn languages, facts, cultural details, and a lot of other things to help me serve Jesus Christ.  This is especially helpful with language learning.  If I just memorize phrases and cultural tips, it "won't stick." Without context, it's all just sounds and symbols to me.  But if there is a good story, all of the sudden, everything just clicks!  I think this is one reason why Jesus told parables; because with certain people, the truth just doesn't "click" unless you tell them a good story.  So whenever I want to teach someone facts and figures, and they just "don't get it", I use stories (both fiction and nonfiction) to get across the gospel message.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.*

*Romans 6:23

Foolish Advice I've Taken: "You Can Always Do It Later"

Years ago, I worked at a major training school in East Asia.  In order to get promoted to a higher level of pay (which I will simply call "Level 2"), we had to complete additional online training modules.  One night, I planned to stay after work to complete these modules.

"You're off duty. You can always do it later." A "friend" whom I will simply call Hecuba, told me.

I listened to her, and long story short, I got caught up in the daily grind at work and forgot about it.  By the time I remembered and tried to catch up, it was too late.  Due to upper management decisions, several additional exams and modules were added to Level 2, to the point where every time I did one requirement, another was added, and I eventually gave up.  In contrast, a colleague hired at the same time as me (whom I will simply call Margot) stayed after work and did the training at the start of our contract.  She got Level 2, the accompanying rise in pay, and access to more fun teaching modules.

As it turns out, Hecuba already was Level 2 due to her master's degree and for that reason, didn't value it.  There was also a conflict of interest.  I actually wanted to stay in the country, grow in the company, and get promoted.  Hecuba just wanted to collect her check and return home with as little effort as possible.  I learned the lesson of Proverbs 13:20* the hard way:

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.*

Procrastinating is ALWAYS a foolish decision.  I can't count how many times I've screwed myself over by putting things off until the last minute.  So now I do things right away, especially if they are essential but simple.  And I avoid fools who tell me to "do it later."  This is because where there is smoke, there is fire.  Long story short, this was only the beginning of Hecuba's negative influence.  I eventually had to end the friendship because of all the trouble it was causing me.  Immediately after I did it, I felt a huge burden lift off my shoulders, and my life improved significantly.  I'm not saying that we should kick people to the curb just because they make a mistake once in a while.  But if someone is committing a "relational felony," such as:

A) Undermining your performance at work or school
B) Trying to lure you into drinking, doing drugs, sleeping around, or hanging out with violent people
C) Trying to tempt you into breaking the law
D) Anything similar to the above

Then you HAVE to get rid of them, because if you don't, before you know it, you will do something really stupid.  Then your Christian witness will be wrecked, and rest assured, your "friends" aren't going to help you out of the hole that they helped you dig.  Remember, if we don't have a blameless life, we can't protect Christ-centered one-man, one-woman marriages.  If we allow Satan to destroy this holy sacrament, then we will lose one of our greatest tools to lead others to Christ so that they don't burn in the Lake of Fire forever.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.**

**Romans 6:23       

Convicted! Why I Really Obsessed Over The Martial Arts...

"What are you looking for?"

The Holy Spirit asked me as I read a popular martial arts magazine on my smartphone.  I thought for a moment, and finally confessed that I was looking for the perfect technique that would make me invincible.  In other words, I was using the martial arts as a path to try to become "god."  As soon as I admitted this, the Holy Spirit (Who is the real God) confirmed in my gut what I knew all along: such a technique does not exist.  I will never be invincible and I will never be "god."

Jesus Christ will give me victory when it comes to protecting Christ-centered, one-man, one-woman marriages.  However, the victory will be His, not mine.  I cannot win this battle on my own power, and no technique, whether physical, emotional, psychological, financial, or supernatural will work unless my Heaven Father has already determined the outcome in my favor.  This was a tough pill to swallow (it's actually, metaphorically speaking, still stick in my throat as I type), but necessary.  For in order to ensure that people are saved from burning in the Lake of Fire forever, I must preach the gospel in Christ's power, not my own.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.*

*Romans 6:23 (ESV)

It's All Greek To Me (For Now)

"That's not what the Greek text says."

This is a common challenge people hurl out to cast doubt on the validity of scripture.  Yet, whenever I ask them what the Greek really says, they lower their eyes and say "I don't know."

I personally know one preacher (whom I will call Pastor Lucius) who has studied Greek for over 10 years and has assured me that the Bible has been faithfully translated.  Recently, I have started listening to a Greek version of the gospel of Matthew on Youtube on a daily basis.  Obviously, I don't fully understand it yet.  However, I have figured out enough to realize that my faith in Pastor Lucius' scholarship has been well-placed.  Nonetheless, I can't exactly bring Pastor Lucius to every spiritual conversation I wind up in, so I will continue to study Greek until I am fluent myself.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23, ESV).  

Black As Your Soul! The Temptation To Sell Out For Wealth, Status, And Attraction

"Can I put my hand on your arm?" My gorgeous twenty-five-year-old coworker's eyes glittered with joy as she smiled up at me.

"Sure," I said, and we took a photo together at our company's annual dinner. 

I was in a custom-tailored cashmere suit, in one of the most expensive hotels in the city, surrounded by beautiful women.  A banquet that would have cost thousands of dollars in the U.S. was offered to me on the company tab.  And I was an English teacher in a country where native English speakers were treated like "gods."

Wealth.  Attraction.  Status. And...

"All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."*

That was the deal I made for the prestige I got as an English as a Second Language teacher for the most well-known company in that nation.  A deal with the devil.

Contrary to popular belief, Satan actually does honor his promises sometimes.  But his promises are half-truths; he doesn't tell you what you are really sacrificing or what you are really getting.  He did not tell me I would be forced out of that same company for my faith.  He did not tell me that those beautiful women really wanted me because they considered me a free version of Rosetta Stone or an opportunity to satisfy their "jungle fever" when their fiancees/husbands were traveling.  And he did not tell me how miserable the side effect of the city's wealth - air pollution - would make me for my entire tenure there.  He also did not tell me what I would be sacrificing: time.  Time needed to preach the gospel.  Time that, as a man approaching his mid-thirties, I no longer have much of.  

Recently, I was tempted to continue to pursue English as a Second Language in a secular capacity.  It's a noble field, but I was pursuing it for the wrong reasons.  Wealth.  Attraction. Status.  So now I make it a point only to teach English for Christian organizations.  That way, I can use my skills for Jesus Christ, and not just to build my own kingdom, which will go up in smoke as soon as I die.  Billions of people need to hear the gospel so that they can be saved from the Lake of Fire, and I don't have much time left.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

*Quote from Matthew 4:9 (ESV)

Real Mercy Vs. "Mortal Kombat" Mercy

In the third installment of Mortal Kombat, you could show "Mercy" to your opponent.  However, this was really just a way for you to beat them up again so that you could murder them in an even more horrific way using a "Fatality" called an "Animality."  In the same manner, many people in church pretend to forgive others, but hold on to their bitterness and hatred until they can take vengeance in an even more horrific way than they had originally planned.  For example, a spouse may outwardly forgive their significant other for verbally lashing out at them in the past, but secretly resent them to the point where they act out by sleeping around behind their back.  In other words, they withhold a verbal "Fatality" by refusing to retaliate with verbal insults only to perform a passive-aggressive "Animality" by cheating, hurting their spouse in an even more horrific way than cutting words would have.  

In our battle to protect Christ-centered marriages, we must make sure that we are not guilty of sin ourselves.  This includes the sin of unforgiveness.  In Matthew 18:23-35, Jesus Christ talks about a servant who is forgiven a monumental debt by a king, only to turn around and throw a fellow servant in jail for owing him a tiny sum of money.  The king is so furious when he finds out that he reacts like this:

Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.  So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart. (Matthew 18: 32-35)

How exactly can a Christian advance God's kingdom from jail?  Not very effectively.  Even skilled spiritual archers would have difficulty shooting an enemy who has laid siege to the church when they themselves are aiming their arrows from the bowels of an embittered soul's dungeon.  Yet, that is what we are doing when we are so full of hatred that God the Father casts us into the jail of bitterness to be tormented.  Rest assured, God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit know the difference between real forgiveness and mercy (which leads to spiritual growth and freedom of the believer, and sometimes leads an unsaved person to repentance) and fake, "Mortal Kombat" mercy which, subconsciously or consciously, is just a way to bide time for a more animalistic way to retaliate against someone (saved or not) who has offended us. 

We need to understand something very important: everyone who refuses to completely and unconditionally surrender to Jesus Christ WILL burn in the Lake of Fire forever!  In order to reach them through protecting Christ-centered marriages, we need to have as much freedom and mobility as possible!  The fight to protect marriage is a spiritual WAR, and we can't be effective soldiers for Christ if we are thrown into the spiritual brig for disobeying a direct order to forgive our enemies.  So in order for us to be restored to the front lines so that we can give the gospel to as many lost and dying souls as possible, we must repent of unforgiveness (no matter how serious the crime against us is) IMMEDIATELY.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).  

Personal Decision: Moving On From Marvel And DC

Many children have imaginary friends growing up.  I did, but in a very different sense.  My imaginary friends weren't made-up creatures that I talked to.  They were the comic book heroes that I watched on TV and later, in film: chiefly Spiderman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.  Christ used these superheroes and their stories to teach me right from wrong, the lifelong struggle to overcome evil, the importance of protecting others, and ultimately, to lead me to the Greatest Good, who is Jesus Christ Himself.  However, the Holy Spirit has also showed me that my superhero childhood "friends" have served their purpose, and that it's time to come back to reality so that I can truly serve Jesus Christ and bring Him glory.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:11-13, ESV)