Sometimes it’s the simple gestures that mean a lot. Last Saturday I went to get a couple bibles in my office that we keep for gifts. There weren’t any more there but then it dawned on me that we had last used a bunch of books from our shelves, including the shrink-wrapped gift bibles, for the Christmas Banquet decorations. If you recall the lobby ceiling was decorated with that sheer curtain drapery centerpiece. The delicate fabric was not pinned to the ceiling but was weighted down with books on the ceiling overhang. I had just assumed all of the books had been returned afterwards. But I still wasn’t sure if the bibles were still up there in the lobby ceiling.
So I just happened to see Kim Il Doo Jip Sa Nim (Deacon) in the hallway at church and I asked him if he by chance happened to know if the bibles were still up there in the lobby ceiling from the banquet. To my surprise he had noticed they were actually still up there from when he had changed lobby lightbulbs.
So once he confirmed they were still there I went off looking for one of the ladders to fetch the bibles on my own. I wasn’t able to track down a ladder and a short while later Il Doo Jip Sa Nim asked me if I got the bibles down from the ceiling. I told him no not yet. So at that very moment he dropped what he was doing and he and another KC (Korean Congregation) gentleman went and got the big 12-foot tall ladder and hauled it into the lobby. Then one of them climbed up the ladder and began to retrieve the bibles for me.
I really appreciated his gesture to stop what he was doing and go out of his way to do this for me. I wasn’t expecting nor even asking for his assistance and besides, it was odd and a little embarrassing to be asking him about stacks of bibles left up high. And yet he didn’t hesitate in assisting. This from a man whom, you may not be aware, sustained a serious back injury about 2 years ago as a result of a ladder accident at church. The three of us had a good laugh at how bizarre it was that they were climbing up a tall ladder to retrieve books still squirreled away in the lobby ceiling.
So I walked away from that incident last Saturday grateful to God (and Deacon Il Doo) fully appreciative that their gesture was not out of duty or obligation but simply because they had a heart to do it. It reminded me that gestures such as this, however large or small, make such a difference towards the greater harmony and cooperation of this local church body.
The English and Korean congregations are usually each busy tending to their respective ministries. I think it sometimes reduces the opportunities for meaningful fellowship and interaction between the two congregations. But even though there are differences in language and culture between KC and EC, nevertheless here in the midst of those differences there are congregation members who recognize that we all love the Lord regardless of culture and can work together as one body in Christ. It’s a comforting thought imagining how God will use us to further his kingdom when we have this perspective. Amen to that.

From Pastor Mark’s Heart
August 3, 2014

Have you ever felt like there was not enough time in the day to finish everything you needed to do?  Have you ever been overwhelmed with so many things on your task-list that at times you felt the best way to deal with life is do to nothing at all?  Have you ever said “I’m so busy” or “I’m too busy for [insert activity of secondary importance here]” to someone or even yourself?  Have you ever forced yourself to sleep by pure exhaustion of thinking about what you have to accomplish in the next day or week to come? 
I do.  When my Google calendar begins to look like a coloring book of a 2 year old boy and each days’ appointments and tasks looks like an encrypted message from a spy movie, sometimes I want to throw all electronic/communication devices out the window and travel back to the Stone Ages where things seemed so much… simpler.  I’m sure I’m not the only one but if I am, you can stop reading now.  But professionals, students, fathers, mothers, friends, volunteers, etc. know what I’m talking about.  We all come to a point where things get ridiculously busy or maybe you’re so used to busy-ness that all the above has become normal.  Summer time is one of those times for me; juggling preparations for youth Friday activities, Sunday school materials, young adult evenings, planning meetings, worship songs, sermons, counseling meetings, my personal studies and squeezing in family and friends… sometimes become daunting and joyless tasks.
But God brings us to a “wake up and smell the coffee” moment.  For me, that came in the most unexpected place, an episode of Duck Dynasty, a show that I never watch but happened to watch with a few friends.  The episode was about Mia, the daughter of one of the Robertson’s (star family of the show) who was going in for her fifth procedure for a cleft issue.  In efforts to rally around her to encourage and love her, her parents had decided to gather family for a time of food, fun, and fellowship (sound familiar?).  The evening seemed enjoyable except for the reality that this whole production was to bring some smiles and happiness to a young girl who had been dealing with a physical deformity all her life.  Can you imagine what her parents were feeling - the fear, anxiety, worry, and sorrow to have their precious child go through this?  Wow.  As the end of the event came to a close, Mia’s father invited her up to the stage.  Little Mia nervously took a note out of her pocket to read a letter to her friends and family that she had prepared in advance.  She thanked everyone for being there and began to share briefly with everyone her fears, struggles and other sentiments.  Her father and mother were at the brink of tears (as I’m sure many viewers were as well).  But what really struck me was the wisdom, faith, courage, and love that was displayed as she read her closing statement and I paraphrase, “My favorite verse is from Psalm 46, ‘Be still and know that I am God’ because I know He’s with me and will take care of me.”
Friends, there is no doubt in my mind of how busy you and I are and will be.  We all have responsibilities to undertake and will most likely be bombarded by the sinking feeling of “too busy”.   But we must remind ourselves in the midst of busy seasons and lives, to be still and know that God and Him alone is sovereign and supreme, He is worthy of our FULL attention in worship in EVERY moment of our lives, and invites us to love the people around us by giving and sharing our LIVES to one another in LOVE as He first loved us, which brings Him glory (1 John 4).  Let’s make room in our lives and hearts for the Spirit of God to truly move and work.  He is worthy of it.

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

From Pastor Keeyoung’s Heart
July 27, 2014