Worldly Pokemon

Ephesians 6:12 “For our battle is not against flesh and blood…” This morning I listened in to Kyan’s online science class, where his teacher Mr Chan led students in categorizing various Pokemon into animal classifications. Beedrill for example is clearly an insect because it has 6 legs, wings and feelers. Machamp however is harder to categorize because it has six limbs, but also has two backbones and scales made of hair. One of the classmates stated that the Machamp lays eggs, so it would be fair to assume that it is a reptile or perhaps an insect. But Kyan rebutted that “this analysis doesn’t make sense. Every single Pokemon lays eggs so we can’t use reproductive systems as a way to differentiate. Sometimes we can’t use rules from the real world to understand fictional worlds.” How profound. You can’t apply the rules of one world to understand another world. As time passes I become more and more aware that the physical world is just a manifestation of a much deeper underlying spiritual world. I constantly find myself using the ways of this world to fix my problems, when scripture tells us that the battle is not against flesh and blood. Heading into a period of 5 weeks of quarantine, my natural reaction is one of dread and fear about a loss in productivity. The suicidal ten-year-old John Kim rears his head, rolling with fomo that I’ll fall behind the Joneses. I know God honors hard work, but the workaholic in me has often gotten in the way of my experiencing His love deeply. Lord, thank you for reminding me what is really important. Happiness comes from loving and being loved. If I get that right, then the circumstances sort themselves out. I align myself with the rules of your kingdom today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

God's Wing

Psalm 57:1 “I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings, until the disaster has passed.” In 10th grade English class, a friend of mine named Brian Elkin once told me the motto of the navy seals. “Pain that doesn’t kill you, can only make you stronger.” Somehow that left a mark on me, and formed the foundation of how I viewed life and hardships. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that scripture conveys a similar view. We are to consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds. His power is made perfect in our weakness. As time goes on I find that most good ideas have some basis on the big guy upstairs. Yesterday, one of my friends pinged me after reading the devotional about being real and crying out to God. He’s been struggling with a medical situation and upon reading the verse he broke out into tears on the bus. Given what we’re dealing with I can certainly relate, and as I prayed for him I was very moved by sensing how much God loves him. Well today I hopped on the plane to Seoul, closed my eyes and flipped on my audio bible. I’ve heard that song 1,000 times… “hide me now… under your wing…” But as Psalm 57:1 came on somehow it struck me that never really thought about what that means. Then I opened my eyes, looked out the window and realized that I was sitting right next to the giant, majestic, wing of this powerful plane. I used to spend hours staring out and studying airplane wings as a kid. I especially loved it when I got the window seat closest to the wing, like I did today. I feel like God chose row 47 for me to remind me and any of us who are struggling that He does sometimes allow struggle. But He also provides us cover in the midst of that struggle. David wrote this Psalm hiding in a cave from King Saul who was out to murder him. But David took refuge in the shadow of God’s wing, until the disaster had passed. Lord we know as believers that the end is always good. And if it’s not good, then it’s not the end yet. We thank you for trials, but we thank you even more for your presence. We thank you for the covering and victory that is in your son. Amen.

Finstagram vs Rinstagram

Psalm 55:1 “Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help! Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.” Last week I was listening to a talk by a tech investor named Balaji Srinivasan about identity on the metaverse (which can loosely be defined as the emerging shared virtual world). In virtual worlds people often operate from an alter ego, and sometimes multiple versions of an alter ego. Gamers rarely use their real names for instance. The concept of identity in virtual worlds looks very different than identity in the real world. But already young people in the real world are interacting in ways that portend our future. Balaji relayed the concept of Finstagram and Rinstagram as an example. Young people often have a fake Instagram account under a fake name, where they can act real. Then they’ll set up another account with their real name, but they act fake because their parents are watching. I consider myself a positive person, but today I’m just feeling a bit down. I just yelled at my kids. I’m stressed about their home based learning. Me and Elaine are both feeling side effects from our second vaccine. I have a very full day with no time to pack before an early flight tomorrow. I’m allowed to say that right? Sometimes I get too caught up on the fact that God wants to use me to bring positive vibes to people around me. That’s totally true, but sometimes you just gotta just be real. The last thing I’d want is for this forum to become my Rinstagram. Lord, I declare you are good. You have a hope and a future in store for me. Thank you that your power is made perfect in my weakness. I am overwhelmed by my troubles, but I know the battle has already been won. Thank you for your son. In Jesus’ name, Amen.