love = purpose?

What is the purpose and end of God's love? What does he say to the woman caught in adultery?

" When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, 'Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.' " [John 8:10-11]

Sadly in today's culture we emphasis the great message of forgiveness - "neither do I condemn you" - but forget the command to "go and sin no more." Both are equally important in understanding God's love toward us. God does not throw around His love carelessly, but purposely pours it out on His own children for their salvation and sanctification.


What does God desire from us as believers? I would say Colossians 3 gives us a good practical answer to that question. Done.

*Jaiqu

broken = dish?

One of my favorite quotes comes from a secular professor at Cal Poly.

"Christianity is for the broken-hearted" - Dr. Harlin

Of all he said, that alone is most true. For God breaks and mends. And what God has broken, He will mend in His time. Done.

*Jaiqu

soooo = long

It has been quite long since i posted on this blog. To all of you who have lost sleep wondering what insanity I have been up to; and what stories I have been withholding from these grand pages of the internet...I am now engaged to my wonderful wife-to-be, Chelsea Heath.

Yes, you read that right...I am engaged.

This seems to be a great surprise to many people. Perhaps because I used to be adamantly pro-single; perhaps just because I am a Software Engineering [who are not famed for their social skills].

So yes, I am terribly in love...and quite a sweet malady it is.

Chelsea and I have started a blog on our whole wedding planning process called "Married by March." I don't know how much more I will be posting on this blog, but if you care to keep up with me you can subscribe to our blog.

So long. Done.

*Jaiqu

be = sure

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14

God has, throughout all of human history, reserved for Himself a remnant. At the flood, He did not save the whole, but the remnant. At the calling of Abram, He did not save the whole, but the remnant. At the rescue of Lot, He did not save the whole, but the remnant. At the establishment of Joseph, He did not save the whole, but the remnant. At the anointing of David, He did not save the whole, but the remnant. At the exile of Israel and Judah, He did not save the whole, but the remnant. At the calling of His Church, He did not save the whole, but the remnant. And now, in this day, is God suddenly given to change? No! For the scriptures declare that He does not change [Malachi 3:6]. Then how is it that some are given over to the deception that all will be saved? For God, by His sovereign mercy, has not condemned all to their just punishment, but has saved some.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' " Matthew 7:21-23

And if not all are saved, who are you to boast of your faith? Instead, boast - in faith - of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Indeed, how can we boast unless we know and are known by our Redeemer? Therefore, as Peter commends the brethren to "be even more diligent to make your call and election sure" let us, who are called, seek to know the fruit of our calling, that we may be confident in the work of Christ.

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." Philippians 2:12-13

If then we are called to fear and trembling; of what do we fear? But as Solomon taught his son "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." And do we fear without reason, as one cowering before an empty shadow at night? But what does Jesus Himself say; "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Therefore there is a judgement and not all will be judged faithful. Know your salvation, that in that day you may enter as a son and an heir, and not as an enemy; unknown to God.

"Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." 2 Corinthians 5:9-10

How can we receive a blessing, and not the rightful curse of death, unless we bear good fruit? But good fruit only comes through the indwelling of the Spirit and the work of the Son. For no one, apart from faith, can do anything good deserving of blessing. How much more then are we incapable of earning our own salvation! But the fruit of salvation is good works. What comes first? The root or the fruit? It is the root which is established first and only after that grow the branches which then produce fruit. Therefore if we are not rooted in Christ we are unable to bear fruit. And if we do not produce good fruit then the work of Christ has had effect in us.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." John 15:5-6

We know this then; that God has saved a remnant, that we are called to examine our salvation to know if we are part of that remnant, that we are to do so in reverent fear of the just Judge and that we are to know true salvation by the fruit it produces.

Done.

*Jaiqu

single = no

I am sorry that I have not posted in so long.  As many of you, if not all of you, know...I am no longer single.  Chelsea and I have been dating for almost three weeks now [wow have I really not posted in that long?].  She has been a constant encouragement and blessing to me the last three weeks, even the last three months.  The greatest thing is that she shares the same passion for Jesus Christ and for the Word of God.  How extraordinarily rare it is today to find even one godly woman who desires to know the scriptures!  How much more fruitful the church would be if we all desired to know and live out the truth of the Bible.  I desire to live my life in such a way that others would desire more to know the Word of God and furthermore to submit to it.  Just like in Malachi 3:10, what if we tried God in this, to submit to the entirety of His Word, to see if He does not sanctify and bless us who are His children for doing so.  That is my challenge to you today.  Done.

*Jaiqu

post = new

I'm working on a new post.  It's an open letter to my home church and her sister churches.  I actually wrote it a while back and just recently found it again.  Since I wrote it with scripture in mind, I am now typing it up as a blog post and linking in a verse to each phrase; as appropriate.  Since there will be so many links [twenty-two so far and I'm only a third of the way done] I'm going to be using link titles [like this: Nifflas Games], that way you can know which verse I'm referencing before you click the link.  I encourage people to read the verses in multiple versions, though I personally prefer the NIV and NKJV.  Hopefully I will finish the letter later today, though no guarentees.

In other news; spring break was awesome.  I went to Disneyland [happiest place on Earth...I still reserve judgment on that assertion], raced go-karts at Boomers [very fun], hiked Bishop's peak, went to the drive-in movie theater [we saw Monsters vs Aliens and Race to Witch Mountain...the first was funny, the second was alright] and spent a day in Monterey at the aquarium.  Overall a great week.  Plus I caught up on sleep and got to enjoy much good fellowship [and BBQs!].  Praise God.  Done.

*Jaiqu

Ebenezer = help

Before Ebenezer was a character in the play 'A Christmas Carol', before 'hum-bug' or the muppets, Ebenezer was the name of a rock.  Ebenezer literally translates 'Stone of Help.'  It's found in 1 Samuel 7.

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far the LORD has helped us.' " - 1 Samuel 7:12

This is the same passage refered to in that famous hymn 'Come Thou Fount' when it sings "Here I raise my Ebenezer / Here by Thy great help I’ve come."

So here I raise my Ebenezer.  YHWH has helped me thus far.  He has carried me through this quarter and has each day provided for my daily needs.

Praise God.  Done.

*Jaiqu

correction = good

"Do not grow weary in doing good" (2 Thessalonians 3:13).  I so easily grow weary.  Again; "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.  The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Galatians 6:7-10).

Today, on my way to hang out with a friend who has been sick all week, I passed through farmer's market.  At the end of the street was a hungry beggar (or so I deduced from the words on his sign).  I had half a pulled pork sandwich, fresh from Firestone's, in my backpack.  I could have given the man my sandwich and shared the gospel with him.  He might be my brother in Christ, but I won't know because I passed him by...I somehow thought that my friend could not wait an extra fifteen minutes.  How much more valuable is the gospel than fifteen minutes more with a friend?  I was so blasphemous as to think that I was doing good in entertaining my friend when my real purpose here is not to please men but God.  How is it that I had grown so weary of doing good that it was an annoyance for me to take the time to share the gospel?  The gospel is the good news of repentence unto the forgiveness of sins.   If I have been saved through hearing the gospel, how is it that I am hesitant to speak the gospel?  I have not yet understood the gospel aright.  For if I understood the gospel correctly, I would want nothing but to freely share it with all who would hear.  I would shout it out and not hold it back.

But instead of reaping blessing I reap bitterness and anger.  I grow callous and hard-hearted.  I spite and complain.  This is not my desire but the product of my wandering focus, my wayward heart.  So I, again, must get down on my knees and pray;

"Father God,

Forgive me for being self-centered.  Forgive me for being inward and outward focused instead of being upward focused.  Forgive me for my pride, my anger, my spite and my waywardness.

I praise you that you love me despite my inability to stay focused on you.  Thank you for rescuing me from the power of sin.  Thank you for salvation.  Thank you for constantly providing for me; physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Circumcise my heart.  Cleanse my heart from any evil desire and plant right desires within me.  Cause me to stay focused on you.  Do not let me forget your lovingkindness.  For you are God.

Grant me wisdom and discernment; teach me to love rightly, that I might please you.

Your glory shines forever.  Blessed is your name in all the earth.

I pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen."

Done.

*Jaiqu

alive = still

I am still alive...barely.  I would write a blog about the effects of sleep deprivation on the body...but I'm too sleep deprived to think.  I guess that's one effect.  The quarter is almost over.  Just eight more days then I'm done [hopefully].  Everyone please pray that I survive through this week.  God is so good.  It's only because of Him that I have made it this far.  I can't wait for Hume Lake next weekend and spring break two weeks from now.  Oh, and Portland a couple weeks after that! And Felipe's wedding the weekend before that.  Wow I have a lot of cool stuff coming up...I just need to survive five more days to get to the first of it.  Praise God.  Done.

*Jaiqu

valentines = black

Happy black valentines.  I used to be outspokenly content in my singleness.  This year I celebrated black valentines by helping put on a valentines day dinner for 86 people.  Apparently I'm getting soft.

I find it interesting to understand how people perceive me, because I know how I perceive myself and how I think others perceive me...but I am sure that other's perception of me is different than I might intend.  So just to explain myself a little.  I don't focus much on my appearence because I never want anyone to like me just for how I look.  The obsession with looks in today's culture makes me sick.  I do appreciate beauty though, and I do dress up from time to time (though I don't think I will ever be comfortable in a tie).  I like the color black and it so happens that many of my clothes are black.  If anything, it is just a lasting remnant of the fact that I used to be depressed, nothing more.  I used to be emotionally mute, in that I sought to suppress or hide much of my emotion.  If I am ever not smiling, it is because I am stressed or tired or both (smiling may use less muscles than frowning, but doing neither is even less work).  I used to be extremely non-physical, so if you're my friend and I avoid a hug...it's only because I'm not in the mood that day, not because I don't like you.  I am easily annoyed by overly flirtatious women.  I have never been good with speaking my mind when it comes to certain topics.  If you think I am a jerk because I never complement you...I'm sorry, I don't complement anyone enough.  When I do complement you though, I mean it.  If I ask for your opinion, I want it (even if it doesn't seem like I heed it).  If I ask you how life is, I am looking for a meaningful answer.  I am notoriously horrible at keeping in touch with people, I still would love to talk to you, I am just too focused on whatever I am currently doing to remember to call you.  If I forgot your birthday, it's only because I didn't have it written down somewhere convenient.  I am constantly sarcastic, if you think I am making fun of you; I'm not.  I do the same stupid things and make a fool of myself too.  My laughter is just a recognition of our humanity.  I would never insult someone point blank.  I consider myself a trustworthy person and I disdain gossip.  There are very few people on this earth to whom I am fully committed, who could ask anything from me for their good and I would instantly seek to grant them whatever they asked.  I've probably never told you if you are on that list, but I bet you could figure it out if you thought about it.  I love those who are my family in Christ.  If I ever seem overbearing at all in my conversations about Christianity, it is only because I am zealous for your good.

So everyone; post a comment.  Let this be a poll of sorts.  Tell me your perception of me, candidly please; I have no use of lies or soft truths.  I'm also interested to know who all reads my blog, so tell me how often you read my blog (and your name of course).  Let my pride humble me.  Done.

*Jaiqu

If you want to write a particulary scathing or especially personal response you can email me at mersayochan [at] gmail [dot] com instead.

I just realized that I often write my blog posts in second person.  Just to be clear, I am not writing to just one person.  Often when I write 'you' I am writing to all my friends and family.

passage = Micah

Micah 7:18-20 (NKJV):

"Who is a God like You,

Pardoning iniquity

And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?

He does not retain His anger forever,

Because He delights in mercy.

He will again have compassion on us,

And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all our sins

Into the depths of the sea.

You will give truth to Jacob

And mercy to Abraham,

Which you have sworn to our fathers

From days of old."

Do you know that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not the original names of Daniel's friends?  Those names were given to them by the king of Babylon in homage to the gods of Babylon.  Their Hebrew names were all testaments to God's glory, not to that of false gods.  Shadrach was first called Hananiah which means "the Lord is gracious" while Meshach was originally called Mishael which means "who is like the Lord?" and Abednego was called Azariah which means "the Lord is my Helper."  I especially like the name Mishael; for who is like our God? Done.

*Jaiqu

focus = lost

I got three and a half hours of sleep last night.  Not optimal.  My ability to focus on anything right now is minimal.  It may be my curse that God has gifted me with the desire and ability to do so well academically that often my sanity is sacrificed for it.  But I'm going to sleep soon.  A passage for you to meditate on; Matthew 22:1-14.  And a blog for you to read; I'm all in, but only by His strength from my friend, and sister in Christ, Chelsea.  Of course, you can always see what blogs I am following by checking the sidebar under "what Jaiqu reads."  My father recently wrote an interesting post on his blog entitled; I didn't win the lottery.  He brings up many interesting points I wish I had the focus and background to address now.  I hope to write a post in the future addressing the seemingly most controversial of the five points of Calvinism; limited atonement.  I'm not decided yet though.  I know that the Bible makes many statements that, at least on the surface, seem to state that Christ died for everyone's sins.  But at the same time, limited atonement follows logically from the other points of Calvinism which are all backed extensively by scripture.  So I am intrigued by the controversy and seek to delve deeper into what scripture says on this topic, for we must submit to scripture and not to human understanding.  In all things, God is good.  Praise God that He saved me.  Praise God for those He has, is and will save; they are my family in Christ.  Done.

*Jaiqu

romans = encouraging

Romans 8 is incredibly encouraging.  Here is a shotgun snippet of Romans 8 that I have found encouraging today: Romans 8:1-4, 15, 18, 26-39.  But really you should read all of Romans 8.  Or better yet, all of Romans.  Or better yet, the whole Bible!  Praise God.  His will will be done.  Done.

*Jaiqu

micro = more

I realized today that if I updated my facebook status even slightly more often it could be considered microblogging.  It's funny how microblogging is something you do more often and not less.  I mean, I find that interesting...it seems that the word micro should have a temporal and not just spatial meaning.  But it doesn't in this case.  Da well.  Well I won't let facebook take away from my 'real' blogging.  Unfortunately, I have nothing more to say right now...so...yeah.  Done.

*Jaiqu

neck = hurts

I now know what helmets are for...they are for keeping you out of the hospital.  So a curb jumped in front of me...it just appeared right in front of me.  I hit it pretty hard and flew off my bike.  Praise God that He has gifted me with fairly good reflexes; I automatically went into a roll.  Unfortunately I rolled right over my head.  Since I was wearing a helmet all I got was a headache and not a trip in the ambulance...again.  I'm fine now, thank God.  Just scrapes and a sore neck.  Damn curbs.  Done.

*Jaiqu

safe = finally

I'm in Portland.  And there is too much snow.

Done.

*Jaiqu

need = more

You know what we need more?  People to preach [and teach] the Truth.  It saddens me deeply how many pastors are doctrinally confused and don't even know what the truth is.  Have you read the whole Bible?  More importantly, did you understand any of it?  How many times in church have you heard a pastor say 'I don't really understand this, but what I think is...'.  Yeah...that needs to stop.  We, who claim to be Christians, need to have a passion for the Word of God.  In Jeremiah 35:15 God says "I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them." God Almighty, through time and space, has worked diligently to prepare scripture for your edification and not to deceive you (2 Timothy 3:16-4:3).  If God has spoken through the Bible, and in Him is ALL Truth; then shouldn't we be passionate about KNOWING what He says to us!  I say all of this as an aside.  What I really want you to hear is what Jesus says in John 8:31-58 (read it all, I will be focusing on verses 42-47).

First, look at John 8:31.  Who is Jesus talking to?  "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said...".  This passage is for everyone who claims to believe the words and works of Jesus.  It is going to draw a strong distinction between true believers and those who are deceived.  This applies to you!  Listen closely and take heed to Philippians 2:12-13 and 2 Corinthians 13:5.  Search the scripture and gain confidence in your salvation (for if you have it, you will never lose it) or learn what you must do to be saved (which is really no work at all since "it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure").

What does Jesus tell them?  "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32).  Jesus is talking about the gospel, the good news.  You are a sinner and a slave to sin ("I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin" John 8:34), but God can free you from that slavery and forgive you of your sins ("if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." 8:36).  He is talking about salvation.  Shouldn't what the Savior, Jesus Christ, says about salvation be paramount in your search for truth!

Read through to verse 42 where Jesus says to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here."  So what is the necessary condition for salvation in this verse?  That God is your Father.  Is anyone able to choose their father, or are we born of our fathers?  You did not choose God to be your Father, God adopted you, by His choice, to be His son (John 15:16).  We are going to come back to it, but look ahead to verse 47, "He who belongs to God hears what God says."  Does this sound like you chose God?  Or did He buy you at the price of His son?

At this point, you may be defensive.  This is probably not the good news that you learned as a child.  You probably learned that God has given us a gift to be accepted or rejected by our free choice.  Look what Jesus says in verse 43, "Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say."  Jesus does not tell them that they have rejected Him (verse 31 says that they believed Jesus...so in a sense they had accepted and not rejected Him), instead He tells them that they are INCAPABLE of understanding Him.  So if you are infuriated with what I am writing and refuse to accept the testimony of scripture, all glory be to God, He has closed your ears so that you would not understand and repent (Mark 4:11-12).

Do you think I am being severe?  Look at what Jesus says next in verse 44, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire."  This is Jesus Christ, God incarnate, speaking.  He is speaking to everyone who claims with their mouths to believe in Him but with their works prove that they hate Him (there is no middle ground, if you are not living for Christ, you are in rebellion against Him.  Matthew 12:30).  This may be you.  Do you know?

Continue on to the end of verse 44 through verse 45, "When [the devil] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lie.  Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!"  There are so many people out there seeking to deceive and they weave strange doctrines to attract the unwary passerby.  And so many people fall victim to these deceivers because they are children of the devil (according to Jesus) and prefer a lie to the truth.  How sad and appalling is this truth which is abundantly evident in this day and age!  Be like the Bereans and search out the scripture to see if what you have been taught is true (Acts 17:11).  Be diligent and do not be deceived by false gospels, for they are really no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-8).  Examine my words also and see that they line up with what God says is true.  I seek to only speak what God has first spoken in His Word.

Now let's revisit verse 47, but first take a look at Romans 10:14, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"  Now let's apply this to what Jesus says in verse 47, "He who belongs to God hears what God says.  The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."  Let me quickly say as an aside that when He says 'hear' it should be taken to mean 'understood' (which agrees with the meaning of the word in Greek).  He is not talking about audibly hearing God, but understanding what God has spoken through Jesus Christ and through His prophets in the scriptures.  Back to the verses; Jesus is saying that only those who belong to God understand the gospel. Paul adds to this by saying that no one believes in Jesus Christ nor calls on His name unless they understand the gospel.  And Paul firmly believes in the implication here; that no one comes to salvation unless God has chosen them and caused them to hear, to understand, to believe and finally to call upon Jesus Christ.  Look at the flip side as well...if someone does not believe the gospel which is preaching rightly, it is because they do not belong to God and He has not made them spiritually alive (as in Mark 4:12, "Seeing they may see and not perceive,And hearing they may hear and not understand").  God not only authored the plan of salvation, He authored YOUR salvation (if you are saved).  Meditate on that.

Another implication of verse 47 is that if God has saved you, then He will also grant you the ability to understand scripture (not that you will understand it completely at first, but that you will finally be able to understand it).  This is echoed in 1 Corinthians 2:12-14 which says that we have received "the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand." So if the Bible makes no sense to you, examine your salvation.  If reading the Bible is a burden and never a delight, examine your salvation.  Hopefully, there is just something God needs to correct you on first, or else are you truly saved?  I read the Bible at least two times through before God finally enabled me to understand it.  I believe that I was not saved during that time (which is why I got only base facts, without meaning or substance, from reading scripture), but now am (and how glorious it is to finally be able to understand the rich mystery of salvation by God's power).  And as God sanctifies me I understand more, by Him.

If you have questions, leave a comment or email me at mersayochan [at] gmail [dot] com.

I pray that God will use this to encourage and challenge you.  If it is God's will, He will use this to rebuke you.  In that case I pray that He will also grant you repentance that you may be saved.  Praise God.  Done.

*Jaiqu

look = new

So I replaced my 'shmaybe interesting' list in the sidebar with my 'what Jaiqu reads' list. I keep up to date on all the blogs listed thanks to Google Reader. Don't use it? You must. It's quite fantastic. I'm in the library right now...just finished my take home final. It's really messy so I think I'm going to reprint it and copy my answers over to the new exam. Yay for free printing in the CSL. Do you use Skype? Call me then. [square brackets are the new parentheses.] Done.

*Jaiqu

WikiDino = alive

WikiDino lives.  In other news; my hair is shorter again.  In other news; I am almost done with this quarter...just have to survive finals.  In other news; I am going insane.  In other news; I have been facebooking more often than usual...an unhealthy habit in the least.  In other news; OpenGL is more awesome than I originally thought.  In other news;...ok I think that's enough.  Done.

*Jaiqu

opengl = mrarg

I'm currently working on adding an OpenGL compatibility mode to my game (because Java2D fails miserably at rendering lots of big polygons at once, and OpenGL pwns awestastically at rendering lots of big polygons at once).  I am also learning Lojban, a synthetic, theoretically unambigious, spoken language.  I can already say some simple things:

mi'e djeikus. [mEheh jAkoos]

My name is Jaiqu

OR

mi'e djuanatan. [mEheh jahnatan]

My name is Jonathan

mi nelci lo gerku [mE nelshE lo gerkoo]

I like dogs

OR

mi nelci le mi gerku [mE neshE leh mE gerkoo]

I like my dog

And that's what I did this giving of thanks day.  You?  Done.

*Jaiqu