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In today’s passage, the faith community in Corinthians seems to have more than a single issue, just like every church does. They had divisions, conflicts, debates, and quarrels that threatened the community. Since Paul wrote his letter to the people in Corinthians, maybe divisions and quarrels have continued issues.

July 7, 2024

In today’s passage, the parable of the Ten Maidens speaks a profound word to each one of us; it is a fresh reminder of the need to prepare for the delay by living in the present moment faithfully, courageously, and hopefully. The only difference between wise and foolish maidens in the passage is this: the wise virgins prepared for the wait and, therefore, brought extra oil, while the foolish virgins failed to stock lamp oil.

June 30, 2024

In today’s passage, Paul’s plea for rejoicing, saying in verse 4, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice,” challenges each one of us about “how.” We may think of joy as a private sense or feeling in response to happy circumstances. For Paul, joy is shared, not individual; a byproduct, not an end in itself; a discipline of Gospel living, not a feel-good factor; thus, joy is a command, not an option, not depending on our circumstances. How can we be joyful, no matter what our circumstances are?

June 23, 2024

In today’s passage, Paul argued a Christ-centered life as a new way of life, having a renewed identity not by law, tradition, or ethnicity, but by Christ. For our faith journey, what we are reminded of from today’s passage and Paul’s theology of Christ-centered is our faith journey moves through impossibility, possibility, and responsibility.

June 16, 2024

In today’s passage from the book of Matthew, we see the disciples on the boat fighting a strong headwind. What is worse, the boat is being battered by the waves and is already far from land. Yes, it seems the disciples have had a chaotic night in the middle of the stormy Sea of Galilee.

June 9, 2024

Paul, in today’s other passage from the book of Romans, can speak of “our suffering,” the suffering of the people of Jesus. What Paul means by “our suffering” is the cost that comes with discipleship, that we notice the neighbor and invest in the well-being of the neighborhood. So, Paul reminds us of such obedient suffering, which is the cost of discipleship as we live out the gospel truth.

June 2, 2024

Today’s passage, the letter of 1 John is addressed to the little congregation in the Roman Empire, reminding and affirming to them its identity as Easter believers and its way of life with a special purpose in the world. And we, as a church, continue to visit and read this ancient letter to the church because it is as relevant and contemporary for us today.

May 12, 2024

In today’s passage, imagine the Ethiopian eunuch--—He is a eunuch, an outsider, a Jew from Ethiopia. He is the official in charge of the queen’s treasure. He is reading the scroll (book of Isaiah) with searching and seeking hope because his life is tough enough, and hunger for a better life.

May 5, 2024

In today’s passage, we are again reminded of what happened to the early disciples. Saul, who also is called and known as Paul, is still chasing after them to catch and detain them. With the high priest’s permission, Saul runs after the early believers—whether men or women, old or young—to take them as prisoners.

April 28, 2024

A Verification of Our Easter Faith

April 21, 2024

In today’s passage, the believers of Easter messages gather in one place as they are one in heart and mind. In spite of their fear or anxiety of being captured by the Roman Empire, the community of Easter believers have a great sense of solidarity, which we need the most today—the sense of solidarity—making people stay one in heart and mind.

April 7, 2024

Look at what happens and how the disciples handle the Easter message on the very first Easter evening. Although we probably do a good job shouting, singing, and crying out the Easter messages on Easter morning, I wonder how we live out those messages in the real world we live in every day.

March 31, 2024

On Palm Sunday, Jesus, with his little company, rides a little donkey entering the city of Jerusalem. Jesus’s arrival in the city of Jerusalem caused upset, as Jesus challenged head-to-head with the settled power, as Jesus brought the good news to the city that concerns the left behind.

March 24, 2024

What do we learn from the story of anointing the young boy as the King of Israel? Do not be impressed by appearance? Do not assume that talent or merit or power or pedigree counts for much? Do not think that real significance flows from top to bottom, from the greatest to the smallest? All throughout the holy stories in the Scripture, we are reminded God works beyond our understanding and reason—works through the nobodies, the poor, the uncredentialed, and those without pedigree or leverage.

March 10, 2024

In today’s passage, the prophet Isaiah calls the people of God back to their true identity with a different purpose in the world. Often, we have been persuaded that our goal is to succeed in the rat race of the empire. However, God has other plans in mind.

March 3, 2024

In today’s passage, God makes a huge promise and announces a new world. God makes a covenant with all living creatures that never again will there be such destruction. And then, God shows the rainbows as a symbol and a reminder of the covenant. Yes, God replaced an old world with a new world.

February 25, 2024

In the passage, Moses saw God’s back. When he came down the mountain, the skin of his face was shining, and people were afraid of him. Whenever Moses went back to speaking with God
and came back to tell the people what God had said, Moses removed the veil so everyone could see his shining face. People might not be able to see God directly, but they could see God’s glory reflected in Moses. God had given them someone they could look at and listen to, someone who walked around in his own personal spotlight.

February 11, 2024

The good news we are reminded of from Paul’s letter is that we have not one but two intercessors for our faith journey—the Holy Spirit, who teaches us how to pray, and Christ, who sits on the right hand of God. Paul says that most of us do not take full advantage of them. It is because we do not know how to pray, Paul tells us. We often do not know how, or what, or why, and consequently, we are likely to avoid prayer altogether because we would rather not pray at all than do it wrong.

February 4, 2024

In today’s passage, Bartimaeus shouts, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” How in the world does that blind beggar recognize what no one else can see, that the man on the road in front of him is indeed the Messiah? Although the crowd tried to make the blind man silent, he cried out again more loudly, “Have mercy on me.”

January 28, 2024

In today’s passage, someone called Samuel in the middle of the night, not once but three times. Three times, Samuel answered, “Here I am,” and “I am coming,” running to see the priest, Eli. It was not Eli who called him, however, by the time Samuel awakened him for the third time, Eli had a hunch who it might be. So, the priest Eli told Samuel what to say the next time when he heard the voice, saying, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

January 14, 2024