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Every birth story is God's story

This morning at Mom's Group, we were reminded of the birth stories of key women of the bible. Each of these women waited upon God to bear a child.
1. Sarah, mother of Isaac
2. Hannah, mother of Samuel
3. Rebekah, mother of Jacob
4. Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist
5. Samson's mother

All these mothers probably gained a conviction during their long, barren wait, that the child they conceived truly came from God and ought to live for God's purposes. We see how God receives all the glory for each of these birth stories. The more powerful thing is that God used this period of waiting to do groundwork in their lives, to ultimately surrender their children to God's work.

For Abraham and Sarah, it took years of receiving God's promises and of wandering to give birth to the promised offspring Isaac. Abraham became so intimate with God, that when God called him to sacrifice his one and only promised son, he was willing.

For Hannah, she dedicated her son to the Lord's service. After being weaned, Samuel lived in the house of God. Can you imagine sending your child at the age of one or two to learn under Ted at SJCAC? That takes some major faith and surrender.
I was reminded of the promises God gave us when I was pregnant with Abigail and Isabel. Thus, we gave them these names.

Abigail means "joy of the Father". We claimed Luke 1:14,15 for her, "He (referring to John the Baptist) will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord." We see already that so many have rejoiced in Abigail's birth and we claim the promise that she will be great in God's sight.

Isabel means "consecrated to God." We prayed differently for her and we see that she is quite different from Abigail. She's not as bubbly or outgoing as Abigail, but has this intensity, but pleasant spirit about her. We have surrendered Isabel and Abigail to be used by God. We receive by faith that Isabel would walk a consecrated life, seeking purity and holiness, so that she can be an empty vessel for the Lord.

The true test for us as parents will come when we release them to college, to marriage and to their future callings in life. We're glad God is giving us at least another 15 years to prepare ourselves to physically release our children. We didn't have to wait a long time to bear children, but we surrender these years ahead to joyfully release our children for God's work, wherever God may take them.

December 09, 2005

What's your calling?

We're called to be missionaries...church planters...parents...pastor's wife...lawyers....teachers...doctors...
These are good answers, but it misses the mark of the true answer.
We are reminded lately that we have two levels of calling.
The first and most important calling is to the person of Jesus. The second and more temporal calling is to the work of Jesus. To be more specific, our calling to our vocation or career. Too often, we invest our energy into making our second calling more important and loftier than the first. Being the best in our second calling is not worth our time and efforts if we are not faithful to our primary calling as Christians.

Throughout the past years, people have approached us asking where our calling is: local church ministry vs. overseas ministry. We've wrestled a lot in our hearts over this issue. And God has used different people in the past to remind us that we are ultimately called to Christ Himself. We have not failed in getting overseas...but we are in the process of seeing and living out our highest calling as Christians...and this will be a life-long journey. If we cannot live such faithful lives here, how can we think it may be easier elsewhere?

This past week, my hubby preached on the high importance of the "Everyday Commission" of making disciples. People are the most important investment in this lifetime, for they are the only assets we will take with us to heaven. God will not continue our secondary calling/vocations into heaven. Can you imagine Ted being a pastor in heaven? He doesn't want to he says! How funny that picture looks...but that is the reality of how we live our lives.

We are thankful that we can follow Jesus, that He gives us the great privilege of being called His children, His disciples, His brothers. How are you faithfully pursuing your calling in your life?

December 06, 2005

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

We spent the long weekend down in Los Angeles. It was a joyous time of feasting and celebrating God's goodness to our family. The most wonderful gift we thank God for is our brother Keith. On Sunday, we witnessed him getting ordained as Reverend Keith Park. This special ocassion was witnessed by hundreds of dear family and friends who have witnessed Keith growing up as a child, going into seminary to prepare for ministry, to seeing him lay so still in the hospital one year ago. He had planned to get ordained earlier, but in God's perfect timing and purpose, our brother had to pass through the shadow of death before such a monumental day. As he stood before all of us, declaring his commitment to serve the Lord Jesus at any cost was the most powerful testimony. His sickness confirmed in his heart that there is nothing greater to live for than to preach the hope of the Gospel. The world has witnessed that nothing will steal his love and dedication for Jesus and His kingdom. We believe that God will continue to use him as a powerful vessel!

We also thank God for our children and their health. Recently, we saw a movie about a boy who became blind at the age of seven. We cannot imagine what life would be like seeing our own children suffer some physical loss or disability. We have friends who have children with disability, and we are amazed by their level of faith and commitment to lovingly raise their children. God is the one who gives and takes away. He holds perfect plans for each family and we are thankful that He has given us healthy children who allow us the time and energy to minister to others.

Hope all of you had a joyous Thanksgiving.

"Give thanks in all circumstances...for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

December 01, 2005