Haters will always hate no matter what but the faithful lovers of LOST last six years have appreciated this final season and the final episode last night.

It was very epic and moving. Bringing closure to everything and everyone. Forgiveness and acceptance. Letting go and moving on.

But I couldn’t help but to notice something funny. Jack enters the church and finds his father’s casket in a room full of all kinds of religious statues. But C’MON, a buddha inside a church?! You could see all the world leading religion symbols on the stained glass window in the ante room at the church. Whatever religion you are, there is a place for you “in the light”. It implied “whatever you believe in will save you in the end!”(Oprah MESSED UP minds of many americans)

This is sadly the reality of our society in view of religions. The popular idea of ‘equality for all’ does not apply in finding truth and salvation. Jesus is the only way. There is no other way. It reminds me of the story in the bible when the idol statue Dagon fell, broken, faced down before the ark of God.(1 Samuel 5)

All other religion beside Christianity is man-made religion. By attempting to place their made-up gods in the same platform with God ‘I AM” they’re trying to get even with God. We need to turn to God’s word about idols. (Exodus 20:1-6 “You shall have no other gods before Me.”)

⁵ Like a scarecrow in a melon patch,their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.”(LOL basically they’re good for nothing!)

⁶ No one is like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.(Jeremiah 10:5)

One day ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Philippians 2)

Too bad the idols can’t even do that. Because they’re MUTE.

read more on Joshua Kim's blog:  http://iamjoshkim.tumblr.com

Those who do not give believe that they have very little. They are always complaining that they don’t have much. But those who believe that they are given plenty will give much out of gratitude.

Everyone saw the rich man giving a big sum of money. He had his rewards then. The rich man who gave a lot was probably still attached to the amount of money he was giving to God, even though it was a very little portion of what he owned. He did not give generously.

We think the poor widow’s two coins were very little, but for the widow, those two coins were plenty. Because she did not depend on the two coins but rather on God’s provision. She believed that God’s provision is plenty enough to provide through two coins. Therefore, having those two coins in her pocket or not didn’t really matter to her much since God was going to provide for her anyways.

She believed that she was blessed with plenty from God. Probably no one saw the look of joy on her face as she gave the ‘little’ she had. She gave generously.

The word "wealth" (NIV) or "abundance" (KJV) is Greek perisseuo, "to be in abundance, abound." It is used in contrast to "need" (NIV) or "penury," which translate the Greek noun husterma, "the lack of what is needed or desirable, frequently in contrast to abundance, need, want, deficiency."

Since she believed that God met all of her needs, her life was in abundance.

read more on Joshua Kim's blog:  http://iamjoshkim.tumblr.com

How do we tell what the world is thinking? In these days we don’t have to look further than in churches in our country. Many mega churches are preaching messages that sound like ‘self-help’ books. How to improve your lifestyle, How to grow your finance, How to be healthy and happy.

If anyone mentions words such as ‘sin’ and ‘hell’, people will automatically call you a ‘legalist’. They will be quick to judge you by saying that you’re judging them by pointing out their sin. Most people have wrong understanding of legalism. "Legalism" is thinking that one can merit justification through keeping the law. But "people think any reference to the law whatsoever is legalism."(Tim Conway) No one can rebuke(out of love) anyone in churches anymore.

Was Jesus a legalist?

Jesus in numerous occasions reproved people of their sins and preached message of repentance. Every time Jesus said, “your sins are forgiven”, it implied that the person was a sinner, and that he must repent and turn away from his sins. Often many people got upset at His preaching and they even tried to kill Him. Jesus offended many people every time He preached because He preached the truth.

We read the words of Jesus as he warned about Hell.(Mark 9:43-48) Money(financial matters) is mentioned more often in the Bible than prayer, healing, and mercy. The topic of sin, however, is addressed more frequently than finances, with even the specific word "sin" and variations on it appearing nearly 600 times!

It would be very hard to preach the bible without mentioning ‘sin’. God takes the topic of sin very seriously, so should we. Sin was so serious that God killed His only Son on the cross with incredible pain, suffering and humiliation. Cross manifests both the depth of God’s love and gravity of our sins. How can we express God’s love for us without expressing the heaviness of our sins?

Christ loved me so much that He didn’t want me to be cast into hell forever. Christ loved me so much that He didn’t want me to live in bondage of sins. “Go, sin no more.” Christ loved me so much that He died on the cross so my great sins will be forgiven and that I would be ‘saved’ from eternal punishment of hell.
By love all of God’s holy wrath for my sins has been poured unto Jesus on the cross. Now I am legally righteous in the eyes of God even though I am a wretched sinner. Am I a legalist now?

Gospel is not about improving quality of your life, being healthy, being financially secure, having good relationships, or finding happiness.

Gospel is… Once I was dying and blindly walking into hell but now I am SAVED!
Gospel is… I was once DEAD but now I am ALIVE~!
THANK YOU JESUS!

Bible tells us this undeniable, universal truth: What you sow, you will reap.(Galatians 6:7) If you sow(invest) in the things of this earth that are only temporary, you will reap the benefits and glory of this earth that are temporary. But if you are wise enough to invest in the things of heaven, you will reap the glory of heaven that will last eternity.

A rich young man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" The young man has kept all of the commandments but he was storing up his treasure on earth. His mind and heart was tightly bound to his earthly career. (Matthew ch.19)

Jesus, being the best financial adviser, told the young man to sell his possessions(nice house, luxury car, his stocks and bonds, his early retirement savings, etc.) to invest in eternal life. Jesus guaranteed the young man that he will have a much greater return in heaven.

Only then, Jesus told the young man, “Then come, follow me."
Because Christ is eternity-minded, His followers must also be eternity-minded. Christ didn’t die on the cross so we can enjoy this earthly life only, but Christ died for us for eternity.

Jesus was trying to save this man from the American Dream.

Jesus is not telling you to be simply carefree and not investing anywhere. Remember how the master cast out the wicked servant who dug a hole in the ground to bury his master's one talent?(Matthew ch.25) But Jesus is telling us to be smart and invest in the right places where the return will be the greatest. In order to understand this, we must have the eternal perspective. We must know that our lives are very very short even if we somehow get to live this earthly life avoiding all accidents and illness. Our supposedly healthy 60, 70, 80years of life is like a tiny speck in the line of eternity we will live. Perhaps if our lives on earth was the only life to live, all of our current pains and sufferings are so meaningless. But because there IS an obvious eternal life after death, our current sufferings are like our investments toward our glorious eternal future.

“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29)

Excerpt from CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/28/greene.flu/index.html)

When the first news of the swine flu outbreak, and of its potential implications, arrived, it didn't quite fully register.

A possible pandemic? In a world as scientifically and technologically advanced as ours?

Aren't we supposed to be able to keep such catastrophes at bay?

There is an analogy to this: It is a little like when a mighty river, after flowing peacefully for decades,

angrily overruns its banks and destroys the towns that are near it. We may have gazed distractedly at that river for years,

and not have given it a second thought. We fool ourselves into thinking we have control over the water -- until we don't.

Then comes the reminder: There are forces bigger than our power to harness them, and we are ultimately very small

in the face of nature's whims.

That is how it feels when, at moments like these, epidemiologists give voice to the idea of a pandemic.

Isn't our civilization far enough along that such things are inconceivable?

Haven't we, over time, come up with the necessary defenses to obliterate such possibilities?

For a long time now, we have talked with some pride about how small we have succeeded in making our world:

how borders have become all but meaningless, how the globe has shrunk, how we all, in essence, now breathe the same air.

(By Bob Greene, CNN Contributor)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This reminds me of a story in the book of Genesis where civilized men tried to

build a tower so high that would reach to the heavens to defy the power of

God.  They used their 'high-tech' equipments, knowledge and skills to get in

equality with God so they could be their own gods.  

³ They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them

thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then

they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to

the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves.  -Genesis 11

How vain and futile it is for us to make a name for ourselves. Perhaps in the

process of pursuing excellence in our lives, work and ministry, we are

sometimes building ourselves up without knowing.  God is a jealous God who

would not allow His glory to be shared with any creatures in His universe.

Let us hear the warning of Apostle Paul:

¹⁴May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through

which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. -Galatians 6:14

 -People Die When They Lose Hope-

"...we have no job and five children under 8 years with no place to go. So here we are," the note said.
At the bottom of the note, Lupoe wrote, "Oh lord, my God, is there no hope for a widow's son?" (Associated Press Jan. 27, 2009)

This should give us Christians an urgency to tell the hope of Jesus Christ to our desperate neighbors facing tough economic times.

Isaiah 40:30-31

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

"God tests His people through hardship and sometimes the darkest and hardest of days turn out to be the best of days." (John Piper)

How do we as Christians respond to our nation's hard time due to economic downturn? Could this be the golden time for us as Piper says? It's easy to say that we trust God to provide when we have plenty and have money in our bank account.  But when we are in times of desperate needs, does our faith really stand firm?

I want to praise God because 'Give us today our daily bread' becomes reality in these hard times.

Philippians 4
11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength. 19And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Have you ever been on a moving sidewalk at airports?  It's made for us lazy, couch-potato Americans so we don't have to walk with our heavy luggage.  Recently on my flight to my home in Florida, I stepped on one of those slides with my luggage hoping to get some rest for my weary flesh.

But you know what? No one actually  just stands still on the moving sidewalk. Some even run on it as if it's a gigantic treadmill.  They will give you a dirty look if you just stand there blocking their path.  Some will even push you aside to pass through. Why are we Americans so busy? We can't even seem to just stand still on a moving sidewalks or escalator.

"Be still, and know that I am God..." (Psalm 46:10)