3rd Commandment - Do not misuse God's name! (2 King 5)

Out of the 10 Commandments, I've used to consider the 3rd one to be very easy--simply restrict myself from swearing or misusing God/Jesus names would do the trick. Little did I know that there's a much deeper implication than these superficial acts of obedience. Thank God that He reveals to me from one of the sermons recently.

2 Kings 5 is about Naaman healed of leprosy (a terminal skin disease back in the old days). I've studied this passage several times and getting familiar with Elisha, the servant girl, even the king...but I really wasn't paying attention to Naaman until I listened to the sermon at Sunset Church. The pastor pointed out that in verse 11 it's a classic example of breaking the 3rd Commandment - Do not misuse God's name:

9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."

11 But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.


One would probably think that Naaman was being unreasonable. But if we dig deep into verse 11, what Naaman was expecting would seem humanly "reasonable", as Naaman's expectation was actually resembling how Jesus and other prophets cured diseases in the past. What actually went wrong?

The root problem is what I would call "spirtual fantasy", a state where a person paints a "spiritual" picture of how things should work according to this person's own or other's "spiritual" experience. For Naaman, his "spirtual fantasy" of healing of leprosy is "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.". When God's answer via Elisha (verse 10) contradicts Naaman's "spiritual fantasy", Naaman got angry and refused to obey.

Did Naaman got cured by his "spiritual fantasy" way? No. Naaman got cured when he finally obeyed God's command:

"14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy."

Our pastor pointed out that we Christians, like Naaman, are often forming and dwelling into our own "spiritual fantasies", and equally frustrated at God when God's answers are in contrast with our predetermined expectations. As a result, we are missing out a lot of God's blessings due to our disobedience and pride.

I've given "spiritual fantasy" some thoughts and come up with some ways to identify them in our lives:

-Is this "spirtual fantasy" inline with the God I know from the Bible?
-Are there things/actions in this "spirtual fantasy" directly contradict the Scripture?

Consider the following scenarios:

-A young Christian college student claims that "God could only prove His care for me if He helps me an A out of this class", despite this student missed half of the classes as well as assignments and failed the midterm and final exam.

-A desperate homeowner who's facing foreclosure claims that "God could only prove His care for me if He helps me to pay my mortgage payment and avoid foreclosure", despite the fact that this homeowner was dishonest about his income when he applied for the mortgage for this house.

-A church leader chooses to remain silent while other church leaders are committing premarital sex, adulteries, bearing false witnesses (lying) and attacking each other in church ministries, all in the name of "keeping the unity of the church because the unity of the church pleases God".

Which of the above are actually biblical? Which ones of the above are "spiritual fantasies"?

By now we should realize we are breaking the 3rd commandment much more times than we could have imagined. Could you identify any "spiritual fantasy" in your life or lives of others? Let's all repent and go back to the Bible and obey His words. Remember what Jesus says in John 15:

10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.

14You are my friends if you do what I command.

A humble sharing from a brother in Christ

A Fun Way to Practice Your Typing Skill

Just found out this site today and have tried it myself. The idea is simple yet very very addictive (you are warned!):

http://play.typeracer.com/

Enjoy!

Please pray hard for students nowadays...

Fw: 對 一 個 不 值 得 愛 的 人 死 心 - 袁彌明 - Sudden Weekly No. 662

怎 樣 才 可 令 自 己 對 一 個 不 值 得 愛 的 人 死 心 ？

第 一 ， 不 要 渴 求 一 個 答 案 。 不 要 反 問 自 己 他 為 何 不 愛 你 ， 為 何 背 叛 你 。 得 不 到 他 的 答 案 而 反 複 地 自 責 只 會 令 自 己 受 傷 害 。 人 ， 特 別 是 女 人 ， 偏 愛 沉 迷 在 受 害 人 的 角 色 ， 受 人 同 情 、 憐 憫 ， 不 願 面 對 現 實 。
第 二 ， 不 要 把 那 人 理 想 化 。 不 要 因 為 悲 劇 收 場 而 誤 以 為 這 是 一 個 蕩 氣 迴 腸 的 愛 情 故 事 ， 誤 以 為 這 人 是 你 一 生 最 愛 。
第 三 ， 要 原 諒 那 個 傷 害 過 你 的 人 。 不 原 諒 ， 心 有 不 甘 ， 覺 得 他 欠 你 的 沒 有 還 清 ， 你 就 會 變 得 頑 固 。
撤 退 一 段 感 情 像 戒 毒 一 樣 難 ， 愈 有 害 的 東 西 偏 偏 愈 誘 人 ， 只 有 靠 你 自 己 的 決 心 和 耐 力 ， 毒 癮 散 了 又 是 一 片 海 闊 天 空 。 不 知 你 有 否 聽 過 孟 敏 墮 甑 的 故 事 。 孟 敏 背 甑 走 ， 不 慎 失 手 ， 甑 墜 地 打 破 了 ， 孟 敏 頭 也 不 回 繼 續 向 前 走 。 這 事 被 當 時 的 名 士 郭 林 宗 看 見 了 ， 問 他 ， 他 回 答 說 ： 「 甑 既 已 破 ， 視 之 何 益 ？ 」 學 孟 敏 灑 脫 地 擺 脫 過 失 ， 別 作 無 益 的 惋 惜 。
亦 舒 作 品 《 忘 記 他 》 封 面 寫 ： 「 許 多 身 心 都 已 經 痊 癒 的 女 性 ， 看 到 從 前 叫 她 流 淚 的 人 ， 都 會 訝 異 得 不 置 信 地 問 自 己 ： 是 嗎 ， 就 是 這 個 人 ？ 怎 麼 可 能 ？ 」 這 往 往 是 許 多 年 後 偶 遇 曾 讓 你 放 不 開 的 男 人 時 的 潛 臺 詞 。 驀 然 回 首 ， 流 過 的 淚 早 歸 塵 土 ； 那 個 人 也 只 不 過 是 生 命 中 可 有 可 無 的 過 客 。

God is Faithful and He Reigns!!!

In case if you didn't notice, I've been worrying a lot lately. The fact is, my company isn't doing as well as it should, and I've been feeling pretty uneasy with my career. On the other hand, Amy is facing the same situation. We've been praying for each other on this issue, and frankly, it becomes very hard for us to obey the command in

Philippians 4:4

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Just a few minutes ago, Amy was sorting out the mails and there comes the INS notice. My Green Card Application has been approved! Consider that we first submitted our application at the beginning of April 2007, this is something very extraordinary--at least against all the Green Card stories we've ever heard. God once again demonstrated His Almighty Power and that we could really "Rejoice in the Lord always!". We could always be rejoicing no matter what the situation is. May God's name be glorified throughout the earth!!! Hallelujah!!!

Praise the Lord!!!

We prayed pretty hard for today's Green Card Interview and God just showed His abundant grace upon us once again!!! We almost missed the appointment due to the traffic jam, and arrived only 20 minutes before the appointment. And we've spent last night to be as fully prepared as possible. It turns out that the appointment only took a little less than 15 minutes. No embarassing or hard questions! God is so trustworthy! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!!!

The only thing that's pending now is the FBI background check. Please continue to pray for us so this would also go smoothly by His grace!

A Few Thoughts To Share...

I've been reading "Angel Heart Monthly", a Hong Kong Christian magazine that's primary aim is to share Jesus Christ with Hong Kong people. Every issue so far is a real blessing. The articles are very contemporary and to the point, and I'm also amazed at how good it could be for God to pull His Children together to create such a great magazine that appeals both to believers and non-believers. It also comes with a free VCD, which contains some very good Christian material for us to enjoy, and possibly a tool to share the Gospel with our families. May God continue to bless and use this wonderful ministry!

To learn more about "Angel Heart Monthly", you can go to:

http://www.media.org.hk/magazine/

Tomorrow morning is a big day, as it's my Green Card Interview. Please pray that everything would go according to His will and guidance. I'll update you with the latest.

Let's not forget that this Sunday it's our "Graduation Potluck Luncheon" for all graduating middle school, high school and college students. Please make sure you bring some food/drinks etc. to share with others in this reunion. For the graduating students, please prepare a two-minute sharing of your thanksgiving and your future plans for your new stage in life.

Solomon Fellowship, please pardon me and Chester for not being to make it this Saturday. Chester would be attending the UC Santa Cruz's graduation ceremonty, while Amy and I would be attending a wedding. I'll try my best to make it back to Sunday School preparation.

Need to get back to work...leave me some comments and let me know how you feel (nothing inappropriate, please!)