When we think about God’s faithfulness, we usually think about it in context of God’s love, mercy, provision, and grace. We think about certain hymns: Continue reading “Is God’s Faithfulness Always “Nice?””
Am I Ever Safe from Sinning?
As Christians, we all know from Romans 7–not to mention from personal experience–that we are still very sinful, and continue to do so even after God has forgiven us. And we also hate that, or at least know we should, see again Romans 7. We notice, as we strive to put to death the deeds of the flesh that we might live, that sin is hard to fight. No matter how hard we fight, we still fall into sin sometimes. The devil is indeed prowling about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. When we hear God tell Cain that sin is crouching at his door, we feel God is really speaking to us. And sadly, sin doesn’t stop crouching at our door just because we’re at church or are on a spiritual high or just read our Bibles or just came from the most amazing small group ever or are actively serving God on the missions field. No matter how God centered the things around us may be, we can still sin. We are never safe from sin. Even–perhaps even especially–when God is directly blessing us or giving us direct experience of His presence, we can fall into sin. This shocking truth is quite biblical. Let’s call it the immediacy of sin. It can be quite easily traced through the entirety of Biblical history. Continue reading “Am I Ever Safe from Sinning?”
When Even Men Cry: 29 times this dude like LITERALLY cried lol!!!
For the first two parts of this series (the ones with actual content), see here and here. This post isn’t necessarily for the general reader. For example, if you’re asking yourself, “Why did Grant write this?” you are probably not the target audience. If you’re here for emotional voyeurism, continue reading!
Here we have the fulfillment of my promise: a list of all the times I cried in college. This post was hard to write for two reasons:
- I don’t like thinking about all times I’ve cried.
- Consequently, I can’t remember all the times I’ve cried.
Continue reading “When Even Men Cry: 29 times this dude like LITERALLY cried lol!!!”
When Even Men Cry: How to Abandon All Your Principles
After an extensive hiatus that has been far too long, this blog will revive with this post continuing our study on male tears. In the last installment, we talked about all the times Jesus cried, and concluded the only thing we saw that made Jesus cry was the sin and unbelief of His people, at one time seen juxtaposed with coming judgment. In this installment we’ll talk about my personal philosophy of crying and how it fits with the Bible. In the next installment you’ll see the promised list of all the times I cried in college, which for me ended in March of 2016. Continue reading “When Even Men Cry: How to Abandon All Your Principles”
When Even Men Cry: Jesus Wept
Inspired by a series of comments made by various friends about my public tears, or rather the complete lack thereof, I have decided to write a brief series of posts on the issue of men crying. I feel compelled to biblically defend myself against groundless charges of being emotionless or cold. So I will. Today we’ll talk about every time Jesus cried. Next time we’ll talk about my personal philosophy of crying in its relation biblical teaching. Finally, I’ll publish a list of times I cried college, because sometimes I like writing stuff people will actually read.
Some Summer Reading: Grant 2016
Last summer the authors of this blog published lists of books we were going to read here, here, and here. We want to start a fun tradition, so we’re doing it again! Grant will post his list in this post. Calvin and Chris’s lists will follow shortly. Continue reading “Some Summer Reading: Grant 2016”
Reflections on a Shooting on Campus
On Wednesday, June 1, 2016, around 10 AM, an engineering student killed his professor, seemingly over a matter of grades, in one of the engineering buildings at UCLA. He then killed himself. Before police could confirm this story, the entire UCLA campus was placed under lockdown in response to the potentially active shooter situation. Having recently graduated and started work, I was not affected by these events, but many of my closest friends were. After hearing about the events during my lunch break (before the details were confirmed), I found myself thinking three main things during the rest of the day that I wanted to share with you. Continue reading “Reflections on a Shooting on Campus”
I Have a Dream for Amos 5:24
Please see update I wrote to this post in 2020 here.
On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous speech, “I Have a Dream.” During the middle of the civil rights movement, this speech emphasized the optimism and hope that many activists held for the future. There is, however, one exception. King quoted Amos 5:24 in this context:
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’
Now most of us probably think King means something like this: “We cannot be satisfied until there is fairness for the negro, and all in the nation behave rightly towards their neighbors, independent of prejudice against color.” This is what we think based on the context of the speech. Now I mean no disrespect to Dr. King and the great good done by his actions and this speech, but unfortunately, that’s not what the verse means, because the verse has to be interpreted in the context of its chapter. Continue reading “I Have a Dream for Amos 5:24”
Why Should I Read a Biography?
The majority of my readers will think that they are busy. That’s the world we live in these days; everyone keeps themselves very busy, moving constantly from activity to activity. In all this craziness, then, when I or someone else recommends a book to you about a person who died several hundred years ago that you’ve never heard of before or haven’t really thought about ever, you ask, “Why should I take the time to read this book? Why should I read a biography?” Today I’m going to try to answer that question! Biographies, particularly Christian ones, benefit you by providing examples, challenging your life, honoring those to whom honor is due, and illustrating the gospel. Continue reading “Why Should I Read a Biography?”
Living a Life Worthy of the Calling
Arranged Marriage: The was picture my grandmother took and gave to the matchmaker, who then sent it to my grandfather in Japan. He chose her and never met her until their marriage was already in the process. Japan ruled over Taiwan for more than 50 years, so Japanese language and culture were heavily instilled. Continue reading “Living a Life Worthy of the Calling”
Citizens & Sons 