July 13, 2024

Swimming is quite a challenging discipline for many triathletes. Only a few come from a swimming background since youth. In fact, many learn to swim for the first time in their adulthood as they decide to take up on triathlons. I am one of those triathletes. 

Swimming is all about form and technique. Without proper form and technique, you will not only be slow, but lose a lot of unnecessary energy and time. With proper form and technique, you have the advantage of going fast with efficiency, and you will be able to ride the bike with fresh strength after the swim.

I took a swimming class in college 20 years ago, and that was it. I could barely remember what I learned. So when I started swimming for triathlons, I had to relearn everything. Of course, I went to YouTube to learn. I would visualize what I learned online, and put it to practice. Even after that, I wasn’t improving. The problem was, I didn’t know whether I had the proper form or not. So, I would ask the lifeguards or other swimmers to record me swimming. Then, I would send it to my expert friends to review and give me tips. Over time, I think I have improved some.

My point is, it takes training, discipline, repetition, and guidance to perfect the art of swimming. That’s what our spiritual life should be about. Paul tells us that we are all running the race. To prepare he says, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:27. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to guide us. We should be trained and disciplined to effectively represent Jesus and share about Him. 

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June 1, 2024

I take a few different routes when I run in the mornings. One of the reasons is that I won’t get bored of running the same route all the time. On this particular route I ran on this morning, there is a silo standing tall to the right side of the path. You can actually see it when you are driving on 164. I know I have passed by this silo over a hundred times, and every time I see it, I imagine what is stored in it. 

My daughters enjoyed watching their piggy banks fill up whenever they put coins in them. You get satisfaction when you see the level of coins rise to the top of the piggy bank. After a few hours of activity, you get to hear your stomach growl, and you will find comfort when you start consuming food in your stomach. I think by nature, we like to store things up.

King Hezekiah reflects that type human nature very well in 2 Kings 20:13 “And Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures - the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory - all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.” The king filled up his storage and was very proud of it. (We know that this cost him his kingdom later on).

While storing things up is not wrong (as good stewards, we must be wise in saving up), we must also listen to the words of Jesus. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21. 

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May 25, 2024

I was scheduled to speak today on the pulpit, but I won’t be able to do so as some of us are in Michigan to attend the memorial service for Alcione Morrow. Next Sabbath is Youth and Young Adult Sabbath and we have another speaker, meaning that I won’t be on the pulpit for 4 weeks in a row. It feels odd to be away from the pulpit for that long, but when I look at the lineup of speakers in my absence, I see that God has blessed us with better speakers than me to fill our hearts with the Word of God. 

Jesus would be absent as He had a ministry to do in the heavenly sanctuary. I wonder what the disciples were thinking when they realized that Jesus would be leaving them soon. They could have panicked, been concerned, felt abandoned, lost hope, or didn’t care. It could have been anything, we don’t know. But Jesus had a special plan for the disciples, and us. 

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7 (ESV).

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to the disciples, and to us. This would be the role of the Holy Spirit: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all I have said to you.” John 14:26 (ESV). It’s wonderful to know the plan Jesus already had for us. We have the Holy Spirt today to guide and lead us to the truth. We have to open our ears and heart to listen to the things that the Holy Spirit speaks. But there is something we must do as well. Jesus spoke this a few verses before, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” John 14:21 (ESV). Keeping the commandments of God is a way to love Jesus and it helps us to be more receptive when the Holy Spirit talks to us. I pray that we will be faithful to His Words and open our hearts to listen to the Holy Spirit.

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