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JumpyKoala
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Name: Johnathan
Birthday: 9/7/1981
Gender: Male
Interests: God (although "interest" doesn't begin to capture who God is), volleyball, watching basketball (UA, Suns, Rockets), vacations, playing/listening to music, fishing, hanging out w/friends, playing cards/board games.
Expertise: Nothing that comes to mind...
Occupation: Engineering
Industry: Computers (Hardware)
Message: message meEmail: email me
AIM:  JumpyKoala
Member Since:
1/27/2005
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| Back to work, new year is starting up, the winter break was a lot of
fun. I went to Las Vegas with Bomi for a few days right before
Christmas to meet up with her sister, fiancee, and
family/friends. That was pretty fun - I never realized how empty
Vegas is around that time of year. It makes me want to go again
next year because it's cheap and not very busy. Then I came back
right before (like 2 hours before it started) the Christmas
program. That was fun, the choir song went well. Then on
Sunday a group of 16 from my church went to New Orleans for a mission
trip. That was a really good experience. It was very
different for us though, because we are so accustomed to going to the
Indian Reservation(s). This was a Chinese Baptist Church whose
members were more similar to ours in terms of background, culture, and
economic status. Additionally, the goal of the trip was not so
much evangelism as it was spiritual rebuilding and encouragement.
This was all new for us, so it required some flexibility and
adjustment. All in all, however, I think everything went
well. We had classes for the younger kids (elementary and Junior
High) in the morning, then we had some work projects (helped rebuilt
and painted their fence, helped build a playground area) and free time
in the afternoons. Then in the evening we had classes for the
high school and college kids. We spent one afternoon taking a
steamboat tour on the Mississippi River, and then the last day we
toured some of the areas that were hit harder by Katrina. Seeing
some of the devastation caused by Katrina in person is a completely
different experience than seeing it on TV. I came back and looked
at the pictures I took, and it just wasn't the same as seeing it in
person. Just driving around a neighborhood that is completed
deserted, all the houses are pretty must destroyed, trash and debri
everywhere, no power or electricity.....it's definitely quite
humbling. I can't really describe what it was like seeing some of
those areas. You'd have to go yourself to really understand what
it's like. I can't begin to imagine what it's like for people to
who live there.
Here's some pictures from Vegas and New Orleans:
In the Bellagio:
At the Venetian: (L-R) me, Bomi, Bora (Bomi's sister), Steve (Bora's fiancee)
The "O" Show at the Bellagio:
These were taken on top of the Palms, the view was really nice,
unfortunately, it's hard to get a good shot if you don't have a camera
stand because the city lights get blurred:
 
On the Steamboat on the Mississippi River:
The French Quarter in New Orleans:
Group shot in the back of the church - the playground you see is the one we built:
Some pictures of the areas hit a little harder by Katrina - the pictures really don't capture what it is truly like.
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| It's hard to remember to update this thing. Past few weeks have
been good. Went to Promise Keepers in Phoenix, that was a good
experience. I've been to several of them now, so after a while
some of the things get old, but it was still good. I always enjoy
being able to simply participate in something like this, and not have
any responsibility. Too often at church I have so many things I
need to do that I can't just sit and participate. So this was
nice to simply participate in the activities. I enjoyed the last
speaker the most, he talked about the spiritual battle at work or
something like that. It was a good reminder that I need to be a
godly witness at the work place. This can be challenging because
most people I work with are not Christians, and it is easy to forget
about God at work. It was also good being able to go with other
people who haven't been before, like Jeremy, Tommy, etc., and also
going with David and Alex in the youth group. Pacific buffet was
good; I LOVE the korean ribs......
A group of us went fishing this past weekend at Roosevelt, it was
relaxing. The fishing was a little slow, I only caught 4 I
think. It rained pretty hard the second day, so that probably
scared the fish away. It was still fun though, because you get to
spend time with everyone else. I was pretty tired afterwards
though.....the drive home sucked cuz I was kinda tired, but it's okay,
we were all tired. Then we got home and a few of us went to the
Suns scrimmage at McKale. That was fun, although I was
disappointed because Stoudemire didn't play....:(
I have to finish studying for my final, the test is due this
Thursday. I have a volleyball game tonight, should be interesting
because Superman (aka Nick) won't be there, hopefully we'll do
okay. Last time I played volleyball (2 wks ago) I couldn't walk
the next day because my knee was hurting, so hopefully it's better
now. This weekend I've got a work BBQ at Udall park, that should
be fun.
Not sure what else to write, I just thought I should write something because I haven't in a while. :)
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| Here are some pictures from MI:
Karaoke...
At the lake in Kalamazoo:
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| I just got back from Michigan this morning - it was a really fun trip. Tracy and I met up with Wendy in Detroit to visit our friend Chuandi. The trip went well, it was very relaxing and laid back. It was my first time in Michigan - the weather was AWESOME this time of the year, although apparently it gets a lot worse in the winter. We spent a day in Kalamazoo, where Chuandi's parents are. They were very nice - they kept cooking all this food for us.  I'll post pictures later when I get them off my camera.
An interesting thought from class last week....we were studying Genesis 22, where God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac. This led to a discussion on the purpose of the testing of our faith. It's commonly believed, preached, and taught that our faith is tested to strengthen it, but Biblically that's not correct. The primary purpose of the testing of our faith (in both the OT and the NT) is to reveal our faith, not to strengthen it. The strengthening of our faith is often the result of testing, but it is not the purpose.
In Genesis 22:12, after Abraham passed God's test by showing his willingness to sacrifice his son, God tells him to stop, because God now "knows" that Abraham fears Him. The Hebrew word translated here as "know" actually means to experience something. Thus, God tested Abraham not because He didn't know of Abraham's faith, but rather because He wanted to experience Abraham's faith. Put simply, God tested Abraham because He wanted the pleasure of experiencing Abraham's faith in Him - God simply enjoyed it! In the New Testament, Paul confirms this when he writes that our faith is proven, not strengthened, by testing. He compares it to gold - gold is never strengthened by fire; the gold has always been there. Rather, the gold is revealed by the fire. (I Peter 1:6-7) He summarizes by stating that the purpose of the testing our faith is to give honor and glory to God.
What a profound concept....it truly puts things into perspective. We were created ultimately for a single purpose: to give honor and glory to God, in any way, shape, or form God deems appropriate. Who are we to question why something happens? If something tragic happens, and through it, God is glorified, who are we to question God's ways? What if God puts us through a horrendous ordeal (think Job) because God is glorified by the revelation of our faith in Him? Wow! It takes a lot of faith to believe and accept this. It reminds me of the awesome sovereignty of God and the insignificance of my own life. Yet, as insignificant as you and I are, Christ still died for us. Pretty amazing, huh? | | |
| I had my first day of class yesterday, and we discussed something that I thought was really interesting. It wasn't something I didn't know before, but my professor definitely presented it in a way I've never seen before, and I think he did a good job of explaining things. Althought it wasn't the main subject, the discussion helps answer the question "How can a loving God send someone to hell?" Here's the gist (sp?) of it....I apologize if it's a little confusing......
Emotions in and of themselves are neither good or bad; they are simply emotions. For example, anger in itself is neither good or bad, it is simply an emotion. Anger becomes a sin when we allow it to influence us in a way that is contrary to the will of God. For humans, it is a constant struggle: trying to balance our emotions with our thoughts, words, and actions. God is the only one who can perfectly balance the feelings and emotions He experiences with the sovereign will of...Himself. God can fully experience emotion and yet still choose to follow through on His will in every situation, even if His will is contrary to what His emotions may dictate. As humans, we cannot do this. God recognizes that we can't do this; that's why He sent the Holy Spirit. If we could resist what our emotions drive us to do, then we wouldn't need the Holy Spirit.
To put this in terms of heaven and hell, God does not take pleasure in sending anyone to hell. The Bible is clear that God desires for all to know Him, and none to perish. If so, why does He send so many people to hell? Why is the gate to heaven "narrow" and the gate to hell "wide"??? I know many people struggle with this issue, because they can't understand why a loving God would do this. But we must understand that God does not enjoy it. He feels great sorrow at the prospect of sending someone to hell, more sorrow than we could ever feel at the prospect of a loved one going to hell. I mean, God loves people exponentially more than we could love people, so He must feel that much more sorrow than we would. However, He does not, cannot, and will not allow the emotional aspect, regardless of how strong, to override His sovereign will. And His sovereign will includes honoring His justice - sin must be punished. Chris died for all sins, but if someone has not accepted the gift of God's forgiveness through His death, then that sin must be punished....thus, that person must be sent to hell. So even though God may emotionally be against it, His sovereign will overrides his emotion EVERY TIME in perfect harmony, and that is why God will send that person to hell. That is how God can be a loving, merciful God and still destroy entire nations (as we see in the Old Testament) in the blink of an eye. What an awesome God we serve! | | |
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