Scripture of the Month

April, 2001

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

After a private prayer, Jesus decided that it was time to reveal His true identity to His disciples. When asked who they thought Jesus was, Peter, their spokesman, answered with a profound statement, "The Christ of God." Though Jesus didn’t say, "Good answer! Peter", yet from a parallel passage, we saw Jesus pointed out that Peter’s answer was correct because it was a divine revelation from heaven.

Knowing Jesus is the Christ (Savior) is absolutely vital. You’ll be saved if you confess Jesus is the Savior, but this confession alone can’t automatically make you a disciple. After telling His disciples what He had to go through—suffering, death, and resurrection on the third day—to claim victory over Satan, he taught them what it meant to be disciples. First off, "If anyone" means those who are willing. To be a disciple of Christ is a decision of the will.

The word "come after" means to go or to follow a person. That’s what discipleship is all about: to copy the mentor. Jesus then gave three mandates to those who wanted to be His disciples: deny self, take up his cross, and follow. A true disciple is one who has made and implemented a radical decision to "deny" himself. This word functions as a polar opposite to "confess," which has the sense of acknowledging a thing or a person. Now, we see a picture: on the one hand, we need to "confess" Christ as Savior, and on the other, "deny" ourselves as the person in charge of our life. This does not mean cultivating a weak, passive, nonassertive personality or merely denying certain pleasures. It is, rather, for the disciples to recognize how to live for the sake of Christ, not self. The next mandate carries an even harder demand. "To take up his cross" is a picture of a criminal being forced to carry the bar of his cross to the place of execution. He was on a one-way journey. He’d not be back. The final mandate is "to follow," which means to be led instead of taking the lead. The danger of "following" is that you don’t necessarily know where you are heading. A disciple is willing to follow his master’s instruction because he trusts his master’s good intention and ability. This is a "faith" issue. How committed you are as a disciple depends on how much faith you have with the Lord.

Something interesting in these three Greek verbs is worth mentioning. "Deny" is a statement and in its present tense, which can be interpreted as a continuous action that needed to be renewed often. "Take up the cross" and "follow" is an imperative and happens at a point of time. It means that every time you deny yourself, you are commanded to take up the cross and follow. This is what Disciple is meant to be.

Pastor's Corner by Pastor Jonathan Lee

November 2008

Hard to Give Thanks?

Many will have a more difficult time this year being thankful. The economy has put us in an ungrateful mood and whatever the outcome of the election, things may get worse or at least take a long time to get better.

How can we give thanks in our current circumstances? The first Thanksgiving puts things into perspective. Life for the Pilgrims was not as rosy as we might think.

The Pilgrims left their homeland because they were being tortured for their religious beliefs. They sought the New World to gain freedom to live out their faith. (They desired freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion.)

They risked their lives to journey across the ocean. Upon landing in Massachusetts on Dec. 26, 1620, they lacked provisions and shelter. William Bradford's wife drowned disembarking from the Mayflower. Most became sick within weeks. Only 7 of the 17 husbands, and 3 of the 17 wives survived after three months. By April more than half of the population that came on the Mayflower died of disease or famine.

By summer, the Pilgrims did learn from Native Americans how to plant corn, hunt, and fish. Although the first Thanksgiving was that Fall, a month later they had to restrict themselves to half-rations. It was several years before they were out of danger of starvation.

How did the Pilgrims' gratitude flourish against such harsh circumstances and how did they continue to believe in a sovereign, loving God?

• Even before leaving England, they had made it a habit to set aside days throughout the year to acknowledge and praise God for His mercies and faithfulness. They developed an attitude of thankfulness that carried them through any adversity of life. Thanksgiving was much more than a big dinner once a year.

 

• They kept eternal consequences in view and drew purpose in the belief that their accomplishments were, according the Mayflower Compact, “for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith.” They looked beyond personal fulfillment, provision, and survival.

 

• They depended upon God for help. They did not expect, nor insist on becoming self-sufficient. Governor John Winthrop concluded a message to his fellow settlers with Deut. 30:20 saying, "For the Lord is our life and our prosperity." They faced each day trusting in God's presence and care.

 

• They developed an interdependence upon one another and the Native Americans that is rarely seen in our modern culture of independence. More than 50 Pilgrims and 90 Indians, from toddlers to elderly, from servants to seamen, were present at the first Thanksgiving. They found comfort and support in depending upon each another.

 

Our funds may dwindle, but my prayer is that our thanks to God will multiply as we draw together in community and share with one another through the love of Jesus.

By Pastor Jonathan Lee, (inspired by Shirley Dobson)

Pastor's Corner by Pastor Jonathan

March, 2006

Initially I wanted to write about some of the “hot topics” of today, but I am hesitant to express my personal views in this newsletter for fear our church may lose non-profit status for expressing political opinions! Why do I have reason to be hesitant? It seems to me that Jesus and God have been purposefully excluded from our everyday life in America.

We have “Turkey Day”, “Holiday” parties, “Holiday” Trees, and “Spring Break”. In my son’s kindergarten class, the word Christmas was not mentioned, no Nativity crafts, no Christmas cards, and no singing of Christmas carols. Candy Canes were not allowed since they are supposedly a symbol of Jesus (shaped like a “J” or the staff of the Good Shepherd, the white and red stripes representing the His purity and blood.) However, Kwanzaa was mentioned, Santa Claus crafts were made, they danced to Jewish folk songs, and each student was given a Jewish toy called a dreidel. Then, last month the entire class celebrated Chinese New Year by dressing in colorful costumes, making paper dragons and lion heads, and parading around the school chanting, “Monsters, monsters go away, and don’t come back on any day!”

Don’t misunderstand. I really enjoy celebrations! I also encourage everyone to learn about different cultures, traditions, and beliefs. However, why are Jesus and Christianity left out of this agenda of supposed openness and tolerance? The reason cannot be for separation of church and state, since many of these alternative activities are definitely religious. The reason cannot be for sensitivity to other cultures, since half of the students are not Chinese. The reason cannot be for exposing children to various folk tales, since others would obviously think Jesus birth, death and resurrection are also only folk tales. And the reason cannot be for the sake of balancing out an overemphasis on Christianity, since in my own informal survey of a talking with people a majority still do not know the historical meaning of Christmas or Easter!

Perhaps the reason is an unconscious determination to eradicate all mention of the person who presents truths that many do not wish to face. These are truths that speak for changes in values and lifestyles.

The “hot topic” I will advocate for here is that Jesus be at least mentioned: be it as Savior, religious founder, historical figure, or merely a character in a folk story. Here I will not endorse or condemn any particular political platform, but I am endorsing any activity that will just include Jesus in the conversation.

Although I believe it is necessary to be involved in the political arena, I also believe we should live in such a positive way that it is unavoidable that Jesus be mentioned. Prayer in school? We ought to pray to at home. Same sex marriages? Let’s be an example of how Jesus builds healthy marriages.  The 10 Commandments on government property? Keep writing the Great Commandment on our hearts (Matt. 22:37-40). Concerned about abortion? Don’t let the concerns of the world abort our fellowship with God. Separation of church and state? Allow Jesus to be Lord in every aspect of our lives. When we are engaged in these ways everyone will have a reason to celebrate who God is and all He’s doing to draw every tribe, language, people and nation to Himself.

Pastor Jonathan

Pastor's Corner by Jonathon Lee

June 2006

The Da Vinci Code is still a hot topic. In 3 years, the book has sold over 40 million copies in 44 languages. The opening weekend of the movie grossed over $77 million in the US alone. So, here’s my 2 cents:

First and foremost, let’s all remember that this is just a book of fiction. Enjoy it, or dislike it as a work of fiction. As controversial as it may be, it is not that important in the big picture of life.

Doesn’t the book claim that it is based on facts? Here is another example that if someone says something long enough, loud enough people begin to believe it. I hear that even the author, Dan Brown, believes in everything he wrote in his book of fiction. Hmmm… is that a fact?

Of course many stories are based on real events, but anyone can begin a story with a few facts and then add a multitude of fantastic ideas. Da Vinci, Jesus, and Mary Magdalene are all historical figures, but what is the reality of who they were and what they did? Since the Garden of Eden, we should all be aware that lying works best when mixed in with a portion of truth.

Am I upset about the book and movie? Am I going to protest against it? Well, instead of putting energy in stopping (or adding momentum to) the media machine, I’d rather see this as an opportunity to open some meaningful conversations. I would love to explore with honest seekers to discover what the historical facts really are and what the spiritual truths really are. So, go ahead and take one of those tours at the Louvre following the clues of the book, but let’s also take a read in the Bible to see whether these things are real (See Acts 17:11). People will looking more at how we Christians are relating, rather than what we are saying or yelling at them. Let’s pray that our actions will not repel people, but bring them to meet the real Jesus.

This is an opportunity to share the Good News, but this opportunity will pass away. This controversy will also pass away, just as it did with “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Godspell”, and “The Last Temptation of Christ.” Perhaps some people’s faith will be shaken by the Da Vinci Code and the like, but rest assured that Jesus Himself still stands as the Rock of our salvation and He can weather this little storm.

According to Guinness World Records, “The world’s best selling and most widely distributed book is the Bible with an estimated 2.5 billion copies sold since 1815. It has been translated into 2233 languages and dialects.” The British Times has written, “…the Bible is the best-selling book every year. If sales of the Bible were included in best-seller lists, it would be a rare week when anything else would achieve a look in. It is wonderful, weird ... that in this godless age... this one book should go on selling, every month." There are over 100 million Bibles sold every year around the world. The Bible itself puts it this way: "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever. And this is the word that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:24-24 NIV)

Pastor Jonathon

Pastor's Corner by Pastor Jonathan Lee

July, 2005

In this season of graduations and commencements, a friend sent me this inspiring story:

They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt. Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears. This class would not pray during the commencements ----- not by choice but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.

The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families. The speeches were nice, but they were routine......until the final speech received a standing ovation. A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened. All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!! The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said, "GOD BLESS YOU, each and every one of you!" And he walked off stage...

The audience exploded into applause. The graduating class found a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.

A true story or not, it illustrates that though we declare religious freedom, we cannot take our freedom for granted.  As we celebrate Independence Day, remember that true independence comes when we are dependent upon God. Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free… So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:31and 36)

When Jesus is our Lord and we follow Him, not only are we free from the punishment of sin and the power of sin, but we are free to exercise the privileges abundantly granted to us by God. Prayer is one such privilege. Although government authorities may prohibit public praying, prayer cannot be bound by any external force since it is in essence communication from heart to heart.

What is our heart saying? What is God saying from His heart? Prayer is a heart language that must be spoken frequently with gratitude and never taken for granted. As we “commence” together in our journey with Jesus, I pray for you. As your new Pastor, pray for me. Together let’s pray for a multitude of nations to find freedom in Christ.

Pastor's Corner by Jonathan Lee

February 2007

Expressions of Love

The history of St. Valentine is a mystery and most likely a combination of stories surrounding two people named Valentine, both martyred for their faith on February 14, 270 AD. One was the Bishop of Terni, Italy who was beheaded outside of Rome, the other a priest and physician serving near Rome.

Emperor Claudius II was imprisoning Christians and some record that Valentine was killed for helping Christians escape Roman prisons.

Another story tells that the emperor decided to outlaw marriage, believing single men made better soldiers. Valentine was arrested for performing Christian marriages in secret.

During his trial, Valentine proclaimed that the God Jesus called Father is the only true God. The emperor threw him in prison for insulting the Roman gods.

While in prison, Valentine witnessed to the guards. One guard had adopted a blind girl and asked Valentine if his God could help his daughter. Valentine prayed and the girl was given her sight. The guard and his whole family, 46 people, believed in Jesus and were baptized. The emperor heard about this and ordered Valentine to be executed. Before his death, he wrote an affectionate letter to the jailer’s daughter and signed it, “From Your Valentine.”

Valentine knew that he might get caught in his Christian activities. He knew that if he told the court the truth about the Roman gods that he would be thrown in prison. He knew that if he continued to witness to Christ in the prison he would make his captors angry. Willingly he continued, because he loved the Lord and loved people. He gave his life to free the prisoners and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who needed to hear it.

The Bible says: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."(John 15:13) “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).  Since God is love (1 John 4:16), it is in Him we can find the true meaning of love and source of love to share with others.

Let’s make this Valentine month more than hearts and flowers and chocolates. Let’s show love to our neighbors (James 2:8). Care for those in need (Matthew 25:34-40). Send a card of blessing to our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Let’s express love the way Christ loves us (1 John 4:19).

Pastor Jonathan

Pastor's Corner by Pastor Jonathan Lee

December 2008

Is It Christmas Yet?

The Christmas season has already hit full stride. It seems the stores begin the season earlier and earlier each year. It was the beginning of October when my family first heard Christmas music and saw ornaments on the shelves. With such a prolonged season it is easy to lose sight of the impact and meaning of Christmas. We grow weary of staying in the Christmas spirit, and like kids we wonder, “Is it Christmas yet?

Why do we celebrate Christmas at this time anyway? When really is Christmas? Scholars do not know the exact day Jesus was born, but many think it was most likely in summer, since the shepherds were out at night tending their flocks when the angels announced the news.

Then why do we celebrate Jesus’ birthday in December? The early Christ followers wanted to commemorate the amazing event of God coming into our world where we live to bring us to where He lives. So Christians chose a time of year that would symbolize the meaning of this event. They chose the winter solstice: when night was the longest and day the shortest. For it is from that day on that the light of the sun would shine longer and stronger.

The disciple John begins his account of the Good News of Jesus with these words:

”The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:9-13)

When baby Jesus grew to a man, He began His ministry and message saying:

“The people living in darknesshave seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of deatha light has dawned." (Matthew 4:16)

Jesus proclaims the purpose of His coming: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) and again, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” (John 12:46)

Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but what is immensely more important is when we choose to step out of the darkness and into His light.

There are times we don’t even know we are in the dark, or we don’t recognize the light, or we prefer darkness rather than light. But God promises that those who believe in Jesus and receive Him as God’s Son and Savior will become a child of God. All who step into the light of Jesus are born into God’s family and are given the free gift of eternal and abundant life. From that day on, the true light of the Son ought to shine longer and stronger in our life.

The question is not when is the actual day of Jesus’ birth, but my question to you is when is the day of your new birth? Is it Christmas yet?

Pastor's Corner by Pastor Jonathan Lee

August 2007

A Royal Life

A few months ago, Sarah and I visited Monaco. This tiny country is where the rich and famous live and play. The famous Casino Royale is here and the Grand Prix Auto Race. Ferrari, Rolls Royce, and Bentley are parked on every street and yachts are docked together like cars in a parking lot. A lifetime of my earnings would not buy even a week’s rent here, so of course we were there as tourists. Although surrounded by immense wealth, one thing I was really curious to see was St. Nicholas Cathedral where Princess Grace is laid to rest.

I knew about Grace Kelly because I love classic films. I’ve seen her in the movies: High Noon, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, and It Takes a Thief. She was a star on the screen, a kind of American royalty. Then, in 1956 she became royalty in reality when she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco. She left her acting career, but reigned as Princess for 26 years. Tragically, she died in a traffic accident when she suffered a stroke while driving down the winding road from her country home towards the palace. An estimated 100 million people watched the funeral. Her life and story captivated many people just as the story of Princess Diana does in more modern times. Princess Grace lived a life that most can only dream about.

Last week we attended my Auntie Mae’s funeral. She was a friend of my parent’s ever since they were in church Youth Group together. She was considered a part of my family and was one of our God-Parents. (We grew up in an era when God-Parents committed to raise us if anything happened to our parents, and also looked after our spiritual growth.) She didn’t have children of her own, but we all became her children. When we were growing up, she came to our home every week, sometimes every day. She always sent us cards on our birthday and gave special gifts thoughtfully picked out for each of us at Christmas. When we grew to have our own families, she remembered our anniversaries and our kid’s birthdays, too. Our kid’s first real Bibles are from Auntie Mae.

Auntie Mae had a gentle encouraging spirit. She was generous with her time and attention. She cared about how we were doing. She made each one of us feel special and valuable. She had a deep love for Jesus, spending much of her time later in life reading, meditating and writing her feelings and thoughts in her journals.

To my surprise, at the end of her memorial service Auntie Mae was laid to rest in Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. I thought, “Isn’t this place reserved for saints and royalty?” Then, I was reminded that a person doesn’t have to be rich or famous to be honored by God. He looks and smiles at our simple steady devotion to love Him and love one another. (He doesn’t just look for great feats or spectacular events.) If we put our trust in Him and allow Jesus to be Lord of our life, we become the bride of Christ. We become princesses and princes. God prepares a place for us in His heavenly kingdom. Here and now on earth, Jesus offers us to live a royal life!

Before I sign off, I want to thank all who have generously and sacrificially partnered with us to exceed our Missions Pledge! Your prayers and resources make it possible to support our people as they share the love of the Father. Pray for Jenny, Tony, Annie, Sindra, Philip, Ken, Ray, Katina, David, Carol and others as they go to all nations.

Pastor's Corner by Minister Pinnie Wu

Apirl 2007

As I was seated in the waiting room for an appointment with my doctor, a lady came in carrying a portable oxygen tank with tubes connected to her nose.  A feeling of gloom overwhelmed me as I watched her mumbling and cursing occasionally. This world is full of anguish - unceasing wars in the Middle East; increasing occurrences of natural disasters; rampaging health epidemics spreading out of control.  Here at home, my daughter’s high school friend just died from a skiing accident.  In my neighborhood, a young man raced his car down the street, lost control, and struck an iron fence, killing himself.  A missionary couple sent out a prayer request for their friend’s daughter who has leukemia. A friend is heart broken because the thought-to-be life time partner had an affair.  Wars... natural disasters …personal calamities, these are anguishing scenarios of human suffering.  Perhaps you have had some

heartbreaking times of your own. Whether our anguish is physical or mental, our personal pain tears us apart inside.

People often ask, “Where is God?”  “Does he turn a deaf ear to the suffering on this groaning planet?” “Does he care?”  He cares.  He cares so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for us. Jesus knows very well what suffering is.  When He was on the cross, He knew what it was like to be alone and wrought with pain. He suffered for the sins of the whole world.  When Jesus lifted up his voice and cried, “It is finished,” he had successfully and triumphantly completed the task of redemption.  When Jesus resurrected at Easter, He claimed victory over death.

What relevance does the resurrection of Jesus have to do with human suffering?

I have exciting news for all who are suffering under life’s burden.  After the resurrection, Jesus promised, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”  This is encouragement for the discouraged, hope for the hopeless, help for the helpless.  The same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to us today.  He gives us power to overcome temptation, to smile through tears, to be joyful in the midst of life’s burdens and trials. To many people, life has lost its purpose and meaning.  These people are bored and fed up; they have no zest for living.  Yet, when they come to Christ with their simple faith, surrender their treacherous hands into the powerful hands of the risen Christ; they are lifted from broken hopes and dreams.  They will become happy, useful people, filled with purpose and power.

Are you discouraged and depressed?  Are you experiencing fear and insecurity?

With Christ there is hope. He has risen! He still lives today.  The same power that raised Christ from the dead will also raise those who confess Him as their Lord and Savior.  The risen Christ can transform your life now and into eternity.

Come!  I sincerely invite you to join our Easter Sunday Worship Service and experience the risen power of Jesus Christ with us.

Minister Pinnie

Pastor's Corner by William Wu

September 2007

It’s really amazing when we discover God’s provision! On July 24th, we signed a letter of intent with Flory Construction, bringing us one step closer in the hiring this company as our G/C. I know many of us have been praying for the building project. More specifically, praying for a Christian, a Church Builder, who we can together built this building for His Kingdom. God answer our prayers. He knows our every need. Let us praise Him! He is Lord! He blesses those who seek Him on all things.

It was approximately eight weeks ago, while we were busy talking to the design team to correct columns misalignment, the architect informed the church that one column at the southeast corner was omitted on the architectural drawing. We also learned that one parking stall has quickly disappeared in favor of the missing column. What could be worse? The Architect informed us we must move the building approximately 2 ft to the north, as the new column encroaches onto Santa Clara Water District’s easement. Working to resolve some of the issues pertaining to moving the building, the Architect informed us that we can rotate the building counter-clock slightly and by doing so, we don’t need to move the building northerly by 2 ft. In addition, we can recover one parking stall next to the newly added column. These solutions were worthy of our praise and thanksgiving to our God.

While we were working together on resolving some of the outstanding issues, the high cost of trenching for the underground utilities was before us. We met with the PG&E representative to discuss possibly relocate the power transformer to the front of the building and closer to the power pole from across the street. In essence, this move will reduce the trenching and underground construction cost. The PG&E representative agreed with our suggestion. As such, our Architect was able to incorporate all the above changes: adding the missing column, rotate the building to avoid the easement, relocate the transformer pad to the front of the building on to the revised drawing. Three complete sets of drawings were submitted to the SJ Examiner for review on Monday 8/6/2007. Although some of these changes were insignificant, but none-the-less, the re-submittal was required. Please continue to pray that no negative comments will come from SJ Examiner on the revised drawing.

During our initial meeting with Flory Construction, David suggested a reduced fire rated building will lower the construction cost. We proceeded to talk with our architect. Meetings were held between our Architect and SJ Examiner to review the building code, occupancy and area analysis to determine whether reduced fire rating is applicable. Architect informed us that our request was denied. Four weeks ago, our Architect, Ming Ng and I met with the SJ Examiner, his manager, and a representative from the Fire Dept. to review our change request. We learned it was possible to change the occupancy on the ground floor. However, the fact that we have classrooms on the second floor, the building code for fire requires us to be Type V - 1 hour rating throughout the entire building. At the conclusion of our meeting, we decided to not change our occupancy and keep the building as originally designed.

A few days after our meeting with SJ Examiner, he wrote us a letter, appraising us the attic-storage has been declared unusable. This was a shocking surprise to all of us, including the architect. The Architect corresponded with SJ Examiner, quoting the building code and provided substantial justification on the attic-storage for church use. Given the documented support, SJ Examiner concurred with the Architect and reinstated the attic-storage for church use. Hallelujah, hallelujah, praise Him!

A few weeks ago, AMStar informed us in writing that the steel delivery has been postponed to the week ending October 19th. However, we may request for a partial delivery of structural steel and roof in September. We plan to further discuss the building construction schedule with Flory Construction. Once we determine the best schedule for our project, we will request for the steel delivery accordingly.

Please pray for the following:

1. completion of the building pad
2. agreement to hire G/C David Flory
3. start the underground construction
4. start the foundation
5. schedule the steel delivery
6. delay the rainy season

Please reserve Saturday, September 29 on your calendar. You are invited to a celebration dinner on the construction milestone and the sharing of the church building vision.

William Wu
Building Committee Chairman