Rest in the Bible

  Last Tuesday, I led a combined women's Bible study at the Houlton church. After lunch, I held a cooking class for the children in the afternoon school program. We made Korean Potato Pancakes, which are one of my children’s favorite foods.  Right after the class, I visited Linda Meraya, who has been very ill. My heart ached to see her suffering so much. After one more visitation, I finally had dinner with my family. By then, I was already exhausted. However, I still needed to lead a prayer meeting with my colleagues for my M.Div studies. When we gathered online and began 'Tongsung Kido' (praying aloud together, spontaneously interceding for one another), we prayed for the world, for missionaries, for both Korea and the USA, for our school, and for each other. After the meeting, my soul was restored, and my heart was filled with joy. I even found the strength to FaceTime with my older children afterward. I can truly feel the power of prayer, the power of spiritual fellowsh...

  I love you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. I love you to the moon and back. I will love you forever, unchangingly. I will love you until my very last breath. These are the words I whisper to my children— While pushing them on the swings, While reading books together, And while singing lullabies before they fall asleep. Sometimes, I get frustrated.  Sometimes, I feel disappointed; Sometimes, I fall into despair over my own weaknesses. Yet, these are the words that always bring me back to being a mother. Today, the Lord speaks those same words to me 'Though people change and circumstances shift, I will be with you always, even to the very end of the age.' (Matthew 28:20) Lord, I will love You until the end. Lord, I will love Your people until the very end."

  In today’s Bible reading, Jacob heard God’s voice clearly—a promise to protect him and guide him until he returned home safely. After seeing the ladder reaching toward heaven, Jacob said, 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven' (Genesis 28:16-17). Heaven is not a distant place; heaven is wherever God is. Lord, sometimes I am like Jacob—fleeing from my own weaknesses, faults, and brokenness. Even so, let me hear Your voice. Remind me how much You love me, how closely You are with me, and how faithfully You will guide me until the very end.  When Jesus breathed His last, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, the earth shook, and the rocks were split. Even the tombs were opened, and many bodies were raised . When the centurion saw all that had happened, he said, 'Truly this was the Son of God!' Yes, Lord, it is good to confess that You were the Lord...

  Saul took immense pride in serving the Lord. He possessed the passion, knowledge, and energy to travel great distances, even to the point of killing Christians, believing he was doing it for God. However, the Lord stopped him and asked, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Not only did the Lord know Saul’s name, but He said something unbelievable—that Saul was persecuting Him . This was never Saul's conscious intention. Then, the Lord revealed Himself: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." What shocking news this must have been! Saul thought he was devoting himself to God, yet the Lord told him he was hurting Him. How many times have I heard these words echo in my own life? I, too, have done my best. I have devoted my whole life and poured out my passion, knowledge, and energy into things that God did not want—all while thinking it was for Him. How many times have I hurt Jesus' feelings by hurting the feelings of others who carry Jesus within them?    ...

  Genesis 24:63, 67  "He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching." (63) "Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother, Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death." (67) 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." Today, I want to share a meditation on Isaac, who found comfort through his marriage to Rebekah. It had been about three years since his mother, Sarah, passed away, and the Scripture tells us he was deeply comforted by Rebekah's presence. As a son born to Sarah in her old age, we can only imagine how close their bond was and how profound Isaac’s loneliness must have been after her death. Someone on...

  The Seed of Martyrdom: The Story of Robert Jermain Thomas In today’s passage, Paul receives a prophecy from the believers. They warn him, “If you go to Jerusalem, you will be bound and face death. You must not go.” However, Paul’s response is unwavering. He declares that he is ready not only to be bound but to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Seeing Paul’s readiness to die for the Gospel reminds me of Robert Jermain Thomas (1839–1866) , known as the first Protestant martyr to Korea—a missionary who went there, essentially, to die. Robert Thomas was a young English missionary who arrived in China in his early 20s, burning with a passion for East Asian missions. He arrived with his newlywed wife, Caroline. However, the hardship of life in a foreign land and the harsh climate took a toll. Caroline, who was pregnant at the time, suffered a miscarriage and passed away shortly after. Though devastated by grief and loneliness, Thomas did not give up on his calling. He sp...

    The Spiritual Marathon: Running Toward the Calling Recently, my husband and son have been preparing for a half-marathon in March. Inspired by friends and the Word of God last year, they set a goal and began training in earnest. Watching them increase their mileage day by day is truly remarkable. Sometimes they limp from the strain in their knees, feet, and thighs, falling into an exhausted sleep by early evening. Yet, seeing them persevere toward the finish line is a powerful spiritual challenge to me. Today, the Apostle Paul encourages us to run our own race to the very end: "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." (Acts 20:24) Fulfilling a mission is like the mindset of a marathon runner. In Matthew 13, the person who finds "treasure hidden in a field" sells all he has to buy that field. Because he knows the val...

Lord, let our beloved ones and us take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until these calamities have passed. Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in You my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by. (Psalm 57:1) Lord, let our beloved ones and us wait for You until we mount up with wings like eagles. Even youths will faint and grow weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:30–31) Lord, let our beloved ones and us have faith that You are always with us. We can wait for You, because we trust Your promise to protect us. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. ...

  Reflection  I have always admired the Apostle Paul and the Apostle John. I see parts of myself in Paul’s fiery passion, yet I long to resemble John, whose temperament is different from mine—perhaps that is why I married a husband who is like John. Paul was a man of dramatic experience and unwavering zeal, willing to lay down his life for the Gospel. As a goal-oriented strategist, he had clear missionary plans. Because of this firm nature, he once clashed with Barnabas over Mark and chose to part ways. Strategically, his plan to go to Asia Minor seemed superior, and he struggled at first to understand why God redirected him toward Macedonia. However, God used these journeys not only to transform the world but to transform Paul himself. Later in his life, we see a changed man—one who forgave Mark, whom he had once rejected, and embraced him as a precious co-worker. This same Mark went on to write the Gospel of Mark. Furthermore, when Paul surrendered his own plans to follow Go...