Protector

Here is a little something I like to carry in my pocket:

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-
10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

The Things I'll Miss

1. The Calgary Flames

Heck, I already miss them. It's almost impossible to get decent hockey updates out here in Hong Kong, forget about particular teams. I know they made the playoffs, and I also know that they have like 15 guys injured, which sucks hardcore. My prayers are that they make it all the way this year, because if anyone deserves it, it's #12, Jarome Iginla. Good luck Iggy.

2. The beginning of the summer blockbuster movie season! Wolverine and Terminator: Salvation will both be out when I get home... and I still haven't seen Watchmen! What has happened to me?

3. The internet: Facebook, Hotmail, Youtube and The Sister's Son are on hold for two months. That's like my only form of communicado. Bizarro.

Ya, that's what I'll miss...

OH! And 4. Talking and seeing my friends and family... love you guys, heh heh!

It's Always Friday Before The Dawn

Today is Good Friday.

I'm 21 years old this year. Not particularly old or anything. Certainly not trying to boast about the fact that there is no country on Earth that I can't drink in. I'm simply counting the years that I've forgotten what Good Friday actually means.

If I'm 21 now that means this is my 22nd Good Friday right?

I missed 21 of them.

As I recall, at my Christian school we hardly ever talked about the dying part. Spare the children the brutal truth and that kind of thing right? Wrong. We need to remember.

There have been three different occasions over the last 3 months where I've been compared to Simon Peter. I take great joy in this. This is the man Jesus entrusted His church too! But I forgot that Peter had denied Our Lord, when He needed him the most, he denied him. I wish I'd remembered.

Last night I was in Yuen Long doing some last minute shopping, feeling kind of bummed out because one of my friends had left without me and I thought we were gonna chill. I let the feelings build quickly and unleashed them on someone totally different, and stormed away like a little girl who got the wrong dollhouse for Christmas. I spent the next two hours huffing and puffing around the city buying dehumidifying bags and other such trivial things one needs when traveling, in such a rage that I actually had the balls to thank God for such a wonderful day.

On my way home, I apologized to Jesus for my behaviour, but asked Him why this was happening. Why was I so upset about something so small? Why was I so sad, angry, etc.?

"It's Thursday night," Jesus said to me.

Oh no. I really am Peter. On the night before Good Friday, I'd acted as Peter had on the night he watched Jeus be put on trial. He denied Jesus. I was tested, and I blamed Jesus. And yet, I'm forgiven. My brothers whom I had yelled at or been left by and thus was angry at forgave me when I got home. They embraced me. When I told them that I'd failed in Spiritual Warfare, they aided me. And when I prayed to the one I'd hurt the most, He forgave me and instructed me.

He told me to fast until further notice.

On Thursday, I'd fasted my supper because some of us were short the fees for our Missions trip that we leave for on Monday. My plan was to eat in Yuen Long, but my anger and depression kept me from going to the restaurant called Mr. Nepali's (where they sell some of the most delicious food you will ever eat for the least amount of money you will ever pay). So my fast started at 3:30 pm on the Thursday before Good Friday.

I didn't eat supper. I didn't eat breakfast. I didn't eat lunch. I didn't eat anything in between. In Worship I cried tears for what Jesus did for me on Friday. At 3:30 pm on this Good Friday, one of my leaders approached me and said that my Outreach had been paid for. Anonymously. Not minutes later, God said I could eat again.

On the day that Jesus gave it all for me, when I finally remembered to appreciate it, He gave me even more. I'll never forget what Good Friday means again.

The first article ever posted on The Sister's Son was Chocolatey Secrets of the Rabbit's Egg, where I essentially denied what it was that Jesus did today. I take it back. I take it back.

Jesus reigns, and I won't ever deny that again. Praise the Lord, Oh my Soul Praise the Lord!

Updates and Outreaches

Preaching at a local Cantonese Church in Hong Kong

Hello again from Hong Kong everyone! I hope that this newsletter finds you all in good health and in good spirits! God continues to move here in Hong Kong during my Disciple Training School (DTS) with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). The last 12 weeks have been an incredible experience of learning how to seek God, and really depend on His love in a true relationship with Him. I mentioned in my last newsletter that God has called me to serve Him in Asia, and that has not changed. I believe He is telling me to stay here in Hong Kong when DTS finishes on June 12 and join a Far East Evangelism Team (FEET) instead of the School of Frontier Missions, so that I can really build a heart for all of Asia. FEET will take me to 4 or 5 different countries through out South East Asia where we will perform dramas and dances, and preach the Gospel to the wonderful Asian cultures. God has also put Worship ministry on my heart, and I am seeking His guidance about where I can take that. It excites me to think of the possibilities God has in store for my life!

Leading Worship at my Outreach Send Off

It is a bittersweet reality to have to report that my DTS Lecture Phase is about to come to a close. It has been a truly amazing experience, but I’m very excited about my Outreach out of Hong Kong into Asia. We will first be joining a two week Cultural exchange, where our focus will be Friendship Evangelism, which basically consists of us making friends with whomever we can and praying for opportunities to share the Gospel with them. After that, we will be splitting into two teams and seeking God’s guidance as to where we should go and what we should do. This will involve a lot of Worship times and many sessions of Intercessory Prayer, both of which excite me, as I love being in the presence of our Father. Unfortunately, I will be completely out of contact during the Outreach phase; approximately 2 months. The YWAM base in Hong Kong will be sending regular updates to my parents and my friend Darcie, so to find out more about what I’m doing, please don’t hesitate to contact them. I look forward to writing to you all again in 2 months to let you know about all of the glorious work our Father will hopefully have done through me and my team on our Outreach!

We did a second street evangelism outreach in Hong Kong, this time in the area known as Yuen Long. During our second round of dances and dramas, a group of young Nepalese students came to watch. One of our translators brought me over to talk to a group of girls around the age of 12. They asked me my name, and after I told them that the name ‘Jonah’ came from the Bible, they asked me to share the story of Jonah with them. I did, and I was able to use pieces of my own testimony in comparison to Jonah’s experiences as well. When they asked me why God saved Jonah and why He saved me, I told them that it was because He loved us, and that He loved them too. This interested them very much, so I started explaining to them that God was actually our Father and Creator, and suddenly they all wanted to pray to Him and be friends with Jesus too! I was at first taken aback because I’d never had someone ask this of me before, but I prayed with each of them individually, and they all accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts! There was noticeable change in all four of them right away, especially in one of the girls, named Kumari. She was so excited and filled with love, and was asking all kinds of questions about who God was and why He died for us etc. I have to say I was equally excited; this girl was experiencing the joy of the Lord for the first time and I couldn’t help but release my own joy and telling everyone about what had just happened! That night, God confirmed for me that doing His work is what I want, no; HAVE to do for the rest of my life.

My DTS Classmates and Staff on an Outreach

Break Yo'self to Make Yo'self

“We Three Kings of Orient are...”

Well, two of them are, and one of them isn’t. And therein lays the heart of Gene Edwards’ novella A Tale of Three Kings, a narration on the first kings of Jerusalem. So without further adieu, I’d like to introduce you to Saul, David and Absalom. First introduced to me in the Biblical First Samuel and brought back to life, literarily, in A Tale of Three Kings, to show us what it means to be king, and more importantly, what it means to be broken.

But where does brokenness fit into kinghood you ask? Seems like an odd combination doesn’t it? Admittedly, I’d never even considered the thought that the two might in fact go hand in hand, but that’s because I wasn’t focusing on the right kingdom... but we’ll get to that. What we need to be focusing on for now is our characters, for it is in their actions that the connections will be revealed. Let them teach us the insignificance of title, rank and position. Let them teach us the significance of humility, fear and love.

Saul was a somebody. He was well respected. He was good looking. And he was anointed by God to be king of Jerusalem. And king he was. A very good king in fact. But his good fortunes prevented Saul from opening up to his own insecurity and fear; that there was going to be someone better than him.

David was a nobody. He was disrespected. He was a common man. And he was anointed by God to be king of Jerusalem. He just didn’t know it yet. The youngest of 8 brothers, his father Jesse sent him off to take care of one of his flocks of sheep, and so Dave would spend many a fortnight by himself. Loneliness and heartache led David to sing to the Lord many songs, and cry out to Him for companionship. And what David found was that his life was filled with love, even as a lone shepherd.

“Alone?” David thought. “No. I am not alone. I have a constant friend in my God.”

And this is the state in which Samuel found David. And it was in this state that a wise, old prophet, having seen many things, recognized that not but a lowly shepherd boy was the anointed of God. This boy had felt things, and would do things unimaginable. Samuel couldn’t explain it, but God had told him that David was Israel’s next king.

Here is where things start to get a little bit tricky. All I’ve done so far is explain what the story is about. Let me work my way back a little bit and explain. Saul appears to have no brokenness, while David appears to have quite a bit. And there’s Saul’s dilemma. You see, God is looking for brokenness, so Gene Edwards says, because He can take that brokenness, heal it, and fill it with His presence. So he had done to David. But Saul never gave Him that chance, and so Saul sought to remedy his jealousy by breaking David even more.

History has taught us that when someone gets hit, that person will always hit back. As Edwards’ likes to put it:

“When someone throws a spear at you, you wrench it out of the wall and you throw it back at them.”

That isn’t brokenness. That is rage, that is response and that is retribution. History was accurate in all but one telling. Because David didn’t throw spears back. Even when he had the opportunity to, he didn’t throw them back. David knew that if he were to throw a spear back, he’d be just like Saul. Even if David could have overthrown Saul with the simple action of throwing the second punch, he wouldn’t do it, because nothing was worse than being like Saul.

How can that be so? Saul was King of Jerusalem! KING! Ah, but friends, he would not open up his brokenness, he would not allow the presence of God to enter him and heal him and piece him back together. He tried to keep his image one of a strong man and a confident leader, while David lived in caves and became the laughing stock of Israel. But as he hid and cried and feared, so too did he learn to love God even more, and so, as years passed by, Saul’s insecurities led to his downfall, without David striking against him even once. Saul went so crazy that he did multiple things he swore on oath to God as king he would never do, and eventually killed himself. And so David, the ‘broken’ one, walked right into Jerusalem and took his place as God’s anointed king.

Do you see what it was that David understood, and what is was that Saul could not grasp in his mind? Their kingdom of Israel was insignificant in comparison to the Kingdom of God. David knew this, and therefore understood that all he truly needed was his relationship with the King of that Heaven. Saul didn’t understand that, and gave God the backseat as he pushed harder and harder to gain control of a land he was already in control of. This certainly begs the question then: “Who was really the broken one?” David may have been broken, but Saul, in his desperate attempt to avoid his brokenness, ended up breaking permanently.

David was able to stick to the same principles he’d had as a shepherd and as a refugee when he became king, and while he certainly made many mistakes, some more horrible than others, he never lost sight of the fact that he was a broken man in the hands of a Healing Father, and it was because of this openheartedness that his reign over Jerusalem was so plentiful and protected. David conquered many foes, but never sought vengeance. Even when a second Saul entered his life, in the form of his own son, Absalom.

Absalom was a somebody. He was well respected. He was prince of Jerusalem. But he was not anointed by God to be king of Jerusalem. But Absalom wanted what David had. He failed to realize that David didn`t even want what David had. Edwards put it best in the form of an old man who served with David:

“As far as David’s authority: Men who don’t have it talk about it all the time. Submit, submit! That’s all you hear. David had authority, but I don’t think that fact ever occurred to him. We were six hundred no-goods with a leader who cried a lot! That’s all we were!”

You see, it was David’s brokenness that had gained him his authority. His subservience to the Lord guided him through grace into his position of authority. Absalom, like Saul, failed to realize this. And so he hid away his own brokenness, the brokenness of a son in the shadows of a father, and plotted and struck against David. What would you have done if you were David? With not but a single word David could have destroyed the work of Absalom, just as he could have obliterated Saul with the simple action of returning a thrown spear. But that would have turned him into Absalom. That would have turned him into Saul.

No. David did once again what nobody could understand, that I think, secretly, even he didn’t fully understand. He did nothing. He took hold of his brokenness, and gave it back to God. And sure enough, Absalom failed. He did battle with his father’s troops, unbeknownst to his father, and was killed, to the great dismay of David. Absalom’s shame mirrors Saul’s insanity, and in that we see the resonance of their brokenness.

So what does it mean to be broken? Does it mean to be lonely, despised, disrespected? Maybe. People certainly thought so of David. But I like to think that it was truly Saul and Absalom who were the broken ones. For you see, David took his hurts and his misfortunes and he gave them to God and God rewarded him for them. He guided him through the darkness and brought him into glory. Saul and Absalom refused to admit their brokenness, refused to admit that they might be weak, that they didn’t have authority, and so instead of receiving healing from God, they instead broke even more. One went insane. One hung from a tree by his hair.

So I invite you now to be like David. It certainly is the harder path to follow, but in the end, it is worth it. Embrace your brokenness. When you get hurt, let it hurt. When someone insults you, love them. When someone hits you, don’t throw a spear back at them. And who knows? Maybe one day you’ll become king too. One thing is for sure: If we hand our brokenness to God and let Him have it, we will certainly all become kings in the true Kingdom, that is, the Kingdom of Heaven.


“And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak”
2 Samuel 3: 39a