The opening photo was taken in the early morning of August of 2019. I slept in one of these yurts in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. I was visiting Mongolia and staying with some friends whom I got to know through a handful of short-term missions trips there. This time, I was bringing my daughter …
What is the ‘Yeast of the Pharisees’? (Mark 8:14-21)
Toward the end of his ministry, Jesus was very much at odds with the Jewish leaders. We note that at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus made attempts to reach out to them. His teachings invited their positive response, and he made time to accept their invitation (for dinner in Luke 7:36f, and for private …
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“We Don’t Have Enough!” (Numbers 11)
When the Hebrews were set free after over 400 years in slavery, they were a people without identity and structure. They had always belonged to someone else and followed rules of life set by their masters. But now they were gathered together and led out into the wilderness (Exodus). Freedom is good, but what’s next? …
Encountering God
Exodus chapter 3 contains the famous story of Moses meeting God through the burning bush. Moses is 80 years old, and this is really the first recorded meeting of the two. Of course, God was always active in his life (read about his miraculous birth story in Exodus 1 & 2), but this is the …
Why Didn’t Jesus & Pharisees Get Along?
That the Pharisees hated Jesus is a given. They were the driving force behind his capture, illegal trial, and push for his death by crucifixion. Peter pointed his accusing fingers at them in his first sermon (Acts 2:23), and Paul wrote about their heinous actions as accepted fact (1 Thessalonians 2:15). So, why did the …
It’s Unfair for John the Baptist!
Our church children were assigned Bible reading at home every week and they were told to write a comment or two. The comments were to show that they read them with some thought. One day, our children’s ministry director showed me a question that was asked by a fourth grader. I don’t remember her exact …
Lord Was With Joseph?
Genesis 39:2, 21, 23 repeats the phrase, "the Lord was with [Joseph]." And for the first-time reader of the Joseph story, it can come across quite odd. For most of us who know this story inside and out, we skip over it without much thought. And that's because we know how the story ends. After …
God Remembers the Good Parts
Three friends got together over coffee, and the two of them recounted a recent golf trip they took together. It was a golf trip meant for all three, but something came up for the third. The first one began, “Oh my God, what a great trip it was! The greens were perfect, and I had …
Praying for God’s Blessing
“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands—O prosper the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90:17) What a great prayer for blessing! All of us work. Some work at home and some at the workplaces, and some are students striving to get the …
Is God With Me?
Deuteronomy 20 begins, “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots, an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” (v.1) And then two leaders step up to …
Pastor Jin's Study 