Monday, 11-14-2011

Dear J2 Family,

I hope you are all doing great this week. I know it's a monday, which makes me want to go "RWAR!!!!", but thank God it's another day. (^_^). I hope all of you are doing well physically but more importantly, spiritually. 

NEWS:

Thank God Amber Chang's dad had a successful operation and now has time to spend time with his family.

The instruments of LIfefellowship are apparently available for usage but not by our council choice.... interesting. 

Today we discussed about the PARABLE OF THE SOWER. Please read Luke 8 and ponder the words. 

The seed fell along the path, the rocky soil, the thorns, and the good soil. We each evaluated where we honestly thought we were and the result was this: we felt we were mainly on ROCKY soil, on the THORNS, and well, one was .5 on good (nice willy, thank God (^_-). So take a moment and ask yourself, in complete HONESTY:

What Soil Am I On RIght Now? 

Are you focused right now? or do the pleasures and cares and riches of the world distract us from Christ? I had a feeling that this would be the big one but Thank God not everyone has problems with that. It's so easy to be carried away in pursuits in this world: to neglect faith for academics, for $bacon$, for "laziness", and fun. SO DISTRACTING!!! but keep in mind what soil you're in and where you want to go. The purpose of this exercise was just to evaluate where you think you are and get you back on right track.

ALSO I FORGOT TO MENTION: a way i feel to make things more bearable is to try to find the purpose in all that happens, because there is a reason.

if your computer is super slow, maybe God is training your patience

If you have giant red pimple on your upper lip, maybe God is teaching humility 

If you get a 70 on a test, maybe God is teaching you that failure in this world means nothing

if you fail at something, maybe God is teaching you not to dwell on the past and to move forward.

if everything is going wrong, maybe God is telling you to reevaluate your faith so you can grow.

If a borden milk  truck blocks your view of the past, maybe God is telling you to move forward.

if you are reading this, maybe there's a reason.

FIND the REASON in LIFE! That is our mutual goal and I hope we can share that this coming Sabbath!! (please remind me as i probably will forget)

p.s. Don't forget your health. School is important but your health is more important. Sleep, exercise, sweat, enjoy health! and thank God for the time you have to enjoy life on earth.

p.p.s - for those of you who have "smart" devices, and want to be exposed to the bible more, I recommend you get an app called "BIble.is" and before/as you sleep, listen to a couple of things. It's peaceful, not boring (if you get the dramatized) version, and very good. try it out! use your devices for good!

Take care, drink plenty of Strawberry, banana, ice cold smoothies,  stay happy, and pray for each other!

Your brother in Christ,

-Kenny Z

2011 Fall SC Group Photo

OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS!!

Before class:  the two bday stars had no idea about our secret plan! :) 

Pleasing God with an obeying heart

"So Samuel said:
      Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
      As in obeying the voice of the Lord?  
      Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
      And to heed than the fat of rams." 


(1 Samuel 15:22) 

Bully No More

What is the Christian approach to the bullying/oppression of others? Is it simply to avoid being a bully, to befriend the victim or do we have a greater responsibility?


Look at John 8: 1-11, the story of the Jesus saving a woman from being stoned to death, and   Luke 19: 1-10, telling the story of Zacchaeus, an outcast who Jesus befriends. How might these texts be related to the issue of bullying?  Who is the bully in the text?  (Even though this is not immediately clear, particularly in the Zacchaeus text.)  What do these scriptures say about how we might respond to bullying? How do we see Jesus using or not using "power" in these passages? Also consider: What was Jesus own response to being bullied by the religious leaders and government? Based on these stories, what might we argue is the Christ-like response when we encounter incidents of bullying?

Smile! :]

Hi everyone,
I found a joke in the Reader's Digest the other day and wanted to share it with ya'll/you guyses. I thought it was funny because it kind of related to what we learned last Saturday, about the different sects/denominations that have come out of Christianity. Enjoy~ :)

"Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, 'Don't do it!'
He said, 'Nobody loves me.'
I said, 'God loves you. Do you believe in God?'
He said, 'Yes'.
I said, 'Are you a Christian or a Jew?'
He said, 'A Christian'.
I said, 'Me too! Protestant or Catholic?'
He said, 'Protestant'.
I said, 'Me too! What franchise?'
He said, 'Baptist'.
I said, 'Me too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?'
He said, 'Northern Baptist.'
I said, 'Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?'
He said, 'Northern Conservative Baptist.'
I said, 'Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?'
He said, 'Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.'
I said, 'Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879 or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?'
He said, 'Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.'
I said, 'Die, heretic!' And I pushed him over."

Sabbath: Table of the Week

(Showing the position of the true Sabbath). Apart from Latin and English, unless otherwise stated the name of the Seventh day means “Sabbath.”