The Original Gangsta (Part Deux)

John 1:27 “He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” Yesterday my dad had a busy day. He went to go play tennis for the first time in over six months, and he went for a doctor’s appointment. He’s feeling stronger than ever, and the doctor actually told him to stop gaining weight back because she’d have to up his chemo dose if he kept at it. All that is great, but she also told him that they found a spot in his lung that might be cancerous. If it is, it would mean that he’s moved from stage 3 to stage 4. It could be just some inflammation so not definitive, and the plan is to continue with chemo and keep an eye on it until the next CT scan in a few weeks. This morning I was meditating on scripture and was reminded of this verse that my brother Jinwoo prayed over me some months ago when I first found out my dad has cancer. I shared about it on November 2nd last year. https://www.johnkim.co/post/original-gangsta I’ve since committed it to memory, and whenever my faith starts to falter I just repeat it over and over. See when we get into a place of knowing how holy God is… how set apart… how powerful… how amazing… we just can’t help but have faith. And faith leads to miracles. In today’s verse, an incredible man of faith named John (no relation to yours truly) was mistaken to be the messiah himself. But he had to set the record straight. “Man, you think I’ve got skills? Wait til you see the O.G. who’s coming next. He’s so next level I’m not even worthy to tie his shoelaces!” That is the posture that led to miracles in the life of John the Baptist. That is the posture that will lead the miracle of healing for my dad. Lord, I declare that you are holy. You are set apart. The distance between me and you is farther than the east is from the west, and yet you loved me so much that you’d destroy that gap and give me constant communion with you. Cancer stands no chance, because greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

An Unfair God

Luke 23:15 “As you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.” Last night I asked how Kyan enjoyed science camp with his brother Luke. He answered “well it wasn’t so great. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being a sore loser because he kicked my butt at this game we played there.” I replied “well God is fair, and He has blessed you in some ways and He has blessed Luke in some ways. The important thing to remember is that he loves you. You know he loves you right?” “Yeah I do…” This morning in meditating on Jesus’ trial before Pilate, I realized that I was wrong in my sharing yesterday. It is true that God loves us, and it is true that this is more important than what talents he’s granted us. But it’s actually not true that God is fair. If God were fair, we’d all be burning in hell for eternity. If God were fair, he would not have died on the cross because even Pilate knew he didn’t deserve it. If God were fair, he wouldn’t leave the 99 to hunt down my soul and bring me back into relationship with him. Loving yes. Caring yes. Insanely generous yes. But fair? No… God is not fair, and thank goodness for that. Lord, I thank you for being so unfair. It blows my mind how blessed I am to serve an unfair God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Nitwit Disciples

Luke 22:33 “Lord I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus answered “I tell you Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” I’ve often heard people say something like “God will only give you what you can handle.” But that hasn’t been my experience, and I don’t think it’s consistent with what we see in scripture. If He only gave Moses what he could handle, God might have said “ok you don’t speak so well, so let’s forget that plan I had for you to lead Israel out of Egypt.” He might have said to David “well you’re just a shepherd boy, so yeah… maybe you’re not really cut out to slay Goliath and become King.” The disciples were basically nitwits, and Peter stood at the top of the list. If God gave Peter only what he could handle, God would not have made him the first head of the church. He would not have given him power to heal just by having his shadow fall in the sick and the lame. He would not have taken the faith-lacking man who denied his savior three times and made him one of the greatest examples of faith in all history. If God gives you only what you can handle, and you do a good job of it, who gets the credit? “John did a good job with that task that God gave him. John’s a good guy.” But if God gives you something that you absolutely can not handle, that only He can handle… who gets credit? “Man that is just so supernaturally insane that there’s no question God did that.” If you’re called only to what you think you can handle today, maybe it’s worth asking God what else he might have in store. Many of us avoid asking the question because we’re afraid of what God might call us to. But when He calls you, He equips you. The victory has already been won, because of what he’s done on the cross. So what’s there to lose? Lord please help me think bigger today. As I get aligned more with your heart I realize that I can never outdream the ultimate dreamer. I love you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.