As you probably have heard, we recently added a new family member at our home. She is not a human; rather she is a puppy, named Hazel, now about six months old. We can say she is almost housebroken. She still cannot let us know if she needs to go outside, but she can hold it until we let her outside. So we assumed she was under control.  Well…let’s face it. Every dog owner knows that whenever you say “my dog is housebroken,” in fact it really isn’t. We’re going through that reality with Hazel at home.
A couple of weeks ago, we had the pleasure of having our son Chris visit from Japan. He had come home for his cousin Jonathan’s wedding. I had just come home from church, and as I was passing by the stairs that lead to the basement, I could smell something like the stench of rotting meat. So I asked Chris “Do you smell something?” And he said “No.” But when I looked down the stairs, I could see several chunks (11 to be exact) of dark brownish chopped off sausage like stuff strewn all over the small flat area half way down the stairs. You guessed it right. Those were Hazel’s poop. I usually get really irritated when something like that happens. But this was so out of character, totally unthinkable and unimaginable, my mouth just dropped and my brain literally became frozen. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t get mad either, and instead just started laughing. If you had seen it, you probably would’ve reacted the same way.  I should’ve taken a picture of it before I cleaned it up.
I believe this how our loving God the Father would react whenever we make mistakes in our lives. I am sure that He just smiles and laughs when He sees our mistakes because He knows how incomplete and mistake-prone we are. Then some of you might ask, “Didn’t He say, be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect?” (Matt. 5:48).  But God also said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). See, we only can be perfect through God’s grace which is in Jesus Christ. So God leaves us room to be human where we can make mistakes. In Jesus, God provides an environment where we can make mistakes so that we can learn from our mistakes and grow. Of course, our puppy Hazel had no clue about what she did and never will.  Will she learn and grow through this experience? I will let you guess…
Often, people can become easily entangled with some absurd notion that people expect them not to make any mistakes. You must give yourself a break or others a break. Mistake-making is actually a part of growing up. Mistakes will happen for people to grow, develop, make changes, and become better and successful. And this is so true in the church all the more. We need to make sure we’re supporting a safe environment in the church that allows a little wiggle room. Growth cannot happen in a place where mistakes cannot be tolerated. If you only reward perfection, people won’t be willing to push beyond anything that’s not “safe,” which can be crippling. Plus, if you are constantly holding back to try to be perfect, you’re going to be under constant stress and there will be no joy in your life.
I believe God wants NCFC to have a safe environment where people can come and make mistakes and not be judged. When we see someone making mistake, we shouldn’t be mad at them or disappointed in them or criticize them harshly or wish God would punish them for their mistakes because our God isn’t like that. God is not mad at you. Sure, His brain may freeze for a moment, but He is always madly in love with you and won’t reject anyone who comes to Him. He is not waiting to punish you. Rather He wants you to come to Him and receive His abundant grace so that you can learn and grow from your mistakes. This is the environment that God wants to create in NCFC so that we can grow as a believing community, and in order to do so, we all need to be more gracious toward one another as our God is gracious to each one of us.

From Pastor Neil’s Heart
October 12, 2014

Hurry up!  Have these words ever driven your life?   Many parents say it quite often every morning at home for getting their children ready for school.  I often find myself hurrying from one place to the next - always with my eye on the clock – sometimes only to end up behind an old couple leisurely driving 20 miles an hour on a single lane street, and find myself murmuring loudly “Come on, hurry up!”, but more than once I thanked them for saving me from getting ticketed by the police who was waiting at the very next corner of that street.
We’re living in a fast paced world.  The world desires instant response; fast food restaurant, speedy oil change, instant coffee, and etc.  Nowadays with ever growing internet access such as instant messaging, texting, Facebook, and others the world is ever so close to each other.  Information is flowing at lightning speed.
But on the contrary, there are also drawbacks that come with this fast paced lifestyle, and one that really stands out is a lack of patience.  People are definitely becoming less patient these days.  Most of us don’t have much trouble getting ready to meet the urgent needs of life.  But, how many of us are good at waiting?
We often try to look for a short cut in order to get things done quicker.  We, even as believers, get frustrated unless we are constantly moving ahead, and sometimes we try to compromise the way we do God’s ministry for the sake of getting things done.  We just don’t want to wait.
Speaking of being in a hurry, the Israelites felt the same way after they came out of Egypt.  There was no doubt the Israelites wanted to march right into Canaan as quickly as possible. They just experienced incredible power and the wonders of God that devastated the Egyptians, and they walked right through the Red Sea as God parted the sea.  They wanted to go all the way.  Their confidence level was at its highest!  But God wanted them to go slowly. Why? God wanted to teach them that there were other more important things that they needed to learn than just quickly conquering the Promised Land.
You have probably had experiences when God was being silent on your prayer for a lengthy time. You wonder whether God has heard your prayer, and didn’t understand what was going on.  Where are you God?  Well…  God may have wanted you to learn to wait on the Lord and be patient.  Why?  God may have wanted to teach you there were more important things that you needed to know.
James 5:7-8 says, “Be patient, brothers, until the Lord’s coming.  See how farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm.”  God wants you to know who is in control.  God is the one who makes the rain come. God wants to get rid of your self-reliance. You can’t make rain come.  Also, God wants to increase your confidence and faith through more discipline and training, and it takes time.  Your confidence and faith cannot grow overnight.  Also, God doesn’t want anyone to be left behind.  If you go to too fast, not everyone can keep up with you.
God often remains silent because He wants to usher you into a new experience with Him which you have never previously experienced in your life.  Do you really want to experience God’s presence in your life?  Then, learning to wait on the Lord and being patient is a must.  God knows you the best, and He knows exactly what, when and how things need to be done for your life.

From Pastor Neil’s Heart
July 13, 2014

We’re in the midst of studying through the book of Nehemiah on Sundays.  I’m really enjoying it immensely because I sense that God is speaking to our congregation through this book.  God knows well what we’ve been through as a church, what condition we are in, and to where He wants to take us.  Someone asked me the other day, “What is our vision as a church now as we move forward?”  I simply replied that the vision that God had given to NCFC from the beginning still remains the same, “Make disciples of all nations and glorify God.”  No matter who’s at NCFC, the original vision that was given by God to NCFC should continue on because the head of NCFC is always Jesus Christ.  People change but Jesus never changes.
Yes, we’ve been experiencing some glitches recently, and some portions of walls and gates have been broken down in the city of NCFC.  But God says He will restore the broken down walls and gates of NCFC.  Then, how does He want to do it?  I truly believe that God is revealing to us how He wants to restore us through the book of Nehemiah.  It’s almost like He is giving us a manual which provides step by step procedures which we can follow to resolve problems.
What really fascinates me is that Nehemiah was a layperson like you who lead the task of rebuilding the broken wall of Jerusalem which seemed to be an insurmountable task.  How was he able to do it as a layperson?  Nehemiah caught God’s vision because his heart was focused on God’s heart.  And he cared so much about the wellbeing of Jerusalem that he was weeping and praying for the restoration of Jerusalem.  His heart was so focused on it. 
Do you see the broken walls and gates of NCFC?  Can we do the same as Nehemiah has done?  I would really like to invite all of you to come out to our Saturday morning prayer and monthly praise and prayer meetings to come together and cry out and pray to our God for the restoration of our church.  As Nehemiah began to cry out to God, He began to move and opened the door.  Do you know our prayer can move God?  Prayer moves God because it is partnership with God.  It is not an act of forcing God to do what is against His will.  But as we ask for what He wants to carry out, He begins to move.  Does God want to restore NCFC?  Is it His will?  I have no doubt it’s indeed His will.  Then, let us cry out together and reach out to Him.
God also mobilized everyone to do the work of restoration through Nehemiah.  God knows one person cannot do the restoration alone.  Can you imagine Nehemiah and a few others trying to do all the repairs of the broken walls and gates of Jerusalem?   God wanted everyone to come and work together.  Everyone needs to be involved.  I talked about “divide and conquer” last week.  Everyone gets an assignment.  It’s much easier and faster to do it together.
When we work together, everyone feels they played a part in the restoration and contributed to make a difference.  Also, God’s blessings and rewards are shared.  God wants to bless as many people as He can.   And in fact, if one or a few people do everything, those few may end up taking God’s blessing away from others.  In the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-7) describes God’s desire to bless as many people as He can.  A landowner went out again and again to hire workers for his vineyard from early in the morning until the late afternoon.  Verses 6-7 say, ‘“And about five o’clock that afternoon he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, “Why are you standing here all day without work?”  They said to him, “no one has hired us.”  He said to them, “You go and work in the vineyard too.”” 
How about you?  Are you still standing without work because no one asked you?  The vineyard at NCFC is in need of many workers who are willing to come and work.  The harvest is plentiful, and workers are few.   Come and let us work together!

From Pastor Neil’s Heart
March 16, 2014

This week, most of us will gather with families, relatives and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.  We will have a lavish dinner with roasted turkey, fried chicken instead if you don’t like turkey like I don’t, pies, and a just little bit of fruits and vegetables (I don’t like too much fruits and vegetables…).  You will enjoy a great meal with people that you want be with and spend intimate time of fellowship with lots of laughing and fun in your cozy and warm home.  For those family members, relatives and friends who haven’t seen each other for some time, this is a wonderful time to catch up on lost time and reconnect with each other.
What does Thanksgiving Day mean to you?  How are you planning on spending your Thanksgiving Day?  The true meaning of Thanksgiving Day has certainly changed over the years as people enjoy more prosperity and comfort.  The entire Thanksgiving Day is filled with having good times, such as watching football games and shopping for bargains more than ever before.  Some stores will be opening at 6:00 am on Thanksgiving Day to lure people into a buying spree.
Nothing is wrong with finding great bargains and watching football games.  However, when it comes to Thanksgiving Day, this is only one day out of the year that families, distant relatives and old friends can come together to share meals and spend meaningful time together.  Are we going to let great bargain shopping invade into our Thanksgiving Day and take away the time we can spend more meaningfully?  It seems that slowly a careless and a thoughtless lifestyle is stripping away the true value and meaning from Thanksgiving Day.
Of course, thanksgiving should not be limited to one day a year, and it should be a daily occurrence.  But especially on Thanksgiving Day, let us not forget to give thanks to God who is always so generous and full of love, and make God be the center of our gathering.  We are too often focusing on ourselves on Thanksgiving Day rather than focusing on how blessed we are for having our God who loves us unconditionally and provides us abundantly with all good things.
This year, many people who are affected by the Super Typhoon Haiyan in Leyte and Samar, Philippines will face a very sad and grim Thanksgiving Day.  It is reported that about 5,600 people have died or are missing after Haiyan tore a path of destruction across the country, and many of them lost their loved ones and countless of people lost all of their belongings and homes.  The devastation is really horrific, and it’s a great human tragedy.  We all need to keep them in our prayers for God’s comfort, provision and speedy recovery, and they also need more than a prayer.  James 2:15-17 says, “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed.” But does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”  So let us not only keep them in our prayers, but also we need to share what we have with them and give our helping hands to meet their needs.
I pray that all of you would have a great Thanksgiving gathering with your families, relatives and friends, and enjoy delicious meals and spend intimate time together.  

Have a wonderful and a happy Thanksgiving!

From Pastor Neil’s Heart
November 24, 2013