August 2, 2025

There’s a Korean saying, if you literally translate, “A dog in a school for three years can recite poems.” The English equivalent to that would be, “The sparrow near a school sings the primer.” Basically, it means that the environment can change your behavior and what you learn. 

A good example of this  that I see around me is when I preach. During sermon time, I can see what everyone is doing, and a lot of times I notice my kids. When they were younger, they would sit up front and they seem to be busy drawing or doing something to keep themselves busy. Obviously, they are not paying attention. They are not making any effort to pay attention to my sermons. What surprises me is that when we come home, and the girls would tell me about what they heard and sometimes even ask questions about what I presented. They were not listening, but they were listening. 

King Solomon once said, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Proverbs 13:20. He also said, “As iron sharpens irons, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Proverbs 27:17. The environment you are in will change your behavior, whether you like it or not. In that case, I believe being at church will bring a positive behavior to our spiritual walk. This is where we pray, sing, and hear about Jesus. And when you become familiar in such an atmosphere, those things will occupy our minds.

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July 26, 2025

We went to the water park this summer with the family and we absolutely had a great time. It was a great way to stay cool in the heat we had during the day and the kids did not want to get out. We were having a good time in the wave pool and there were a lot of people there. Every few minutes the waves would start and the people would jump up and down in the waves. 

Suddenly, I heard one of the lifeguards blowing his whistle three times in a row and jumped into the pool. Someone was drowning. He swam and grabbed a dummy baby doll. A few minutes passed by. Another lifeguard blew his whistle and jumped into the water and swam toward a real person this time. I could see that this swimmer was struggling in the water and when the lifeguard got to this swimmer, she started smiling as he guided her out the pool. Both times were drill situations. I have been to water parks in the past, but this was the first time seeing lifeguard drills during actual park hours. In order to keep the lifeguards alert at all times, they practiced the drills a few times each day.

This illustration makes a good example for us. We as followers of Jesus need to be alert at all times. The signs that we see from the Scriptures such as Matthew 25 helps us to be alert and be ready for the second coming of Jesus. We see that these signs have already taken place and we continuously see these signs. “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Matthew 24:44.

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July 19, 2025

8 Quality Characteristics #8: Loving Relationships

Love is the essence of God’s character, for God is love. In fact, God summarized the commandments for us. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34. Love has to be the center of everything we do in the life that we live. Without love, all things become meaningless. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:2 that “without love, I am nothing.” 

Our basic instinct is to love our families. It’s rooted in our nature. That’s why we love our children by default. It’s not something we have to develop or grow. We love our children from the moment they are born. Outside of that might be difficult. Our sinful nature deformed our nature to love and it can be difficult to love others. Therefore, God told the people to love: “You shall not vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19:18. Jesus repeats this in the Gospels, too.

I have been writing about the seven quality characteristics that our church should have. If we were to have all seven, but not have this eighth characteristic, all would be in vain. As all the characteristics complement one another, this eighth one to have loving relationships would solidify everything together.

I pray that our church family grows to be in a loving relation as Jesus has taught us to. “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

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