by Pastor Mark Chin

The response to this question by any self-proclaimed conservative evangelical Christian is typically the following: “Yes! Absolutely!” However, before anyone can truly answer this question with any degree of integrity, there is another question that needs to be addressed. Have we seriously considered the claims of the Bible?

The claims of the Bible, if taken at face value, are outrageous – quite literally, incredible. The Bible claims that its words are the very words of the Creator of the universe – words breathed out by God Himself. Exodus 24:4 claims that “Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD.” 2 Timothy 3:16 claims that “All Scripture is breathed out by God …” Genesis 1 claims that the words that proceed from the mouth of God possess the power and authority to create the entire universe out of nothing in 6 literal chronological 24 hour days. Hebrews 4:12 claims that the Bible is a “living” entity. Isaiah 55:11 claims that the words of the Bible will not return to God empty but will always successfully accomplish God’s purposes for it. 2 Timothy 3:15 claims that the words of the Bible are able to make a person wise for salvation through faith in Christ. Psalm 19 claims that the words of the Bible are perfect, sure, right, and pure and that they revive the soul, make wise the simple, rejoice the heart, and enlighten the eyes. Jesus claims that His words give eternal life. The Bible claims to possess the power and authority, not merely to change, but to recreate and transform our world and our lives. Do we actually believe what the Bible says?

As a former physician, I used to regularly witness many people’s willingness to sacrificially spend exorbitant amounts of money to purchase and regularly consume medications that claimed far less than what the Bible does. I used to witness many people’s willingness to rise each morning and take that medication without fail. Compliance to a specific medical regimen was frequently tied to confidence and belief in the necessity and benefit of a given medical regimen. Few people take medication regularly that they believe is doing nothing for their lives. Few people take medication merely because they think it’s the right thing to do or because their physician told them to take it. Compliance typically requires some belief in the efficacy of a given treatment. Compliance with a given treatment says much about one’s belief in it. This of course, begs the question: What does our compliance with the Word of God say about our belief in it?

As a pastor, one of the great heartbreaks is witnessing how neglected the Word of God is in the lives of people who claim to believe it. One of the questions I frequently ask “believers” is “How is your time in the Word?” One of the frequent replies I receive to this question is “Pastor, I’ve really been busy lately.” Time in the Word is frequently an afterthought for many professing “believers” – what comes after everything else in my life has been taken care of, what comes when I have time to spare, when nothing else important is going on. When lives get busy or difficult for whatever reason – work, relationships, family, vacation, illness, sermon preparation, ministry demands – one of the first things to get kicked to the curb for many professing Christians is their time in the Word (the other thing is prayer). As a pastor, one of the great heartbreaks is witnessing, as D. Martyn Lloyd Jones pointed out in his seminal work, Spiritual Depression, how many people in the church, though professing to be “believers”, remain discouraged and joyless. But what is even more heartbreaking, as a pastor, is to see how unwilling many struggling Christians are to go to God’s Word consistently for help in their time of need. These trends suggest that we don’t quite believe what the Bible claims – at least not to the extent that we think we do. Our priorities and compliance frequently tell a different story from our profession of what we believe.

If we are honest with ourselves, we would admit that spending consistent time in the Word of God is frequently a struggle. Many believe that this is because we lack discipline. Many tell me that it is hard to do so. Some honestly share with me that their time in the Word is dry and uninspiring or that it simply no longer works for them. But if the Bible is truly what it says it is and does what it truly says it does – then the fundamental struggle is one of faith. Do we really believe what the Bible says is true? If the Bible’s claims are true, then it demands to be set apart and set above all other words or priorities in our life, even as it guarantees a life transformed into the image of Christ by those who truly receive it by faith as the living Word of God. The real secret to a transformative quiet time is not, first and foremost discipline – though discipline certainly has its place. The real secret is faith – faith that is a gift from God (Eph 2:8,9) – faith that comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ. So let’s repent of unbelief and pray for more faith – for ourselves and those who are struggling – that we might all see and experience the glory of God’s Word in Christ – that we might actually believe what the Bible says.

by Pastor Patrick Cho

August 7, 2016 is a date that will forever be etched on my mind. That was the day that the Lord took Emily Taylor Choi home after a long and hard fought battle with stage four neuroblastoma. August 7 is the day after my birthday, and I know it seems petty and perhaps even self-centered to make that connection, but that is what Emily did to people. That was the way she touched pretty much everyone she came into contact with. You wanted to have any sort of connection with her, however small. Because of the way her parents, Aaron and Tina, graciously and selflessly shared her with the rest of the world through their Facebook page, many came to love Emily as their own.

I honestly didn’t even know what neuroblastoma was until I first heard about Emily’s condition, but since then I have learned what a devastating disease it is and how it affects so many families each year. Apparently, it is the most common form of cancer for small children. Emily was first diagnosed in December 2014 when she was nineteen months old.

One conversation I had with Pastor Aaron particularly stood out to me. It was about a year ago when we were visiting with the Choi’s. Aaron had mentioned to me that many people were commenting through conversations and social media about how encouraged they were at how strong he and Tina had been. But, he replied, he wasn’t strong. If anything, this trial revealed how weak he was and how he needed to depend on the Lord for every step of the process. What he said that afternoon resonated with me, and I did not make the connection then, but it also resonated with the teaching of Scripture.

So often we emphasize our weakness and insufficiency to make the point that in Christ we are strong and in Him we have our sufficiency. But perhaps the point is not to demonstrate the strength that we have in the end. Sometimes, through the Lord’s sovereign dealings with our lives, we are simply and plainly shown to be weak. And it is okay for us to be weak. This may be one of the key lessons to learn from passages like Psalm 82:3-4, “Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” It isn’t so much that the Lord makes weak hands strong, but that He helps those who are weak with His strength. How encouraging is the psalmist’s conclusion in Psalm 109:27 after he calls upon the Lord for help and confesses his weakness, “And let them know that this is Your hand; You, LORD, have done it” (Ps. 109:24-27).

Weakness so often characterized the ministry of the Apostle Paul. He writes to the Corinthians, “I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). He does not say this to demonstrate how God made him strong, but instead to show how the Spirit’s power is made manifest through what he preached. The conclusion of his life and ministry was to boast in his weakness (2 Cor. 11:29-30). He gladly accepted his weakness because it allowed for Christ’s strength to be put on display all the more.

Perhaps we need to be re-instructed in our theology of weakness. It is especially in our trials and hardships that our weaknesses are emphasized, and it is okay for us to be weak. God is not degraded or dishonored by our weakness. Sometimes it is best simply to confess our weakness to the Lord and to call out to Him to be strong for us rather than in us. It is in light of this truth that I am particularly encouraged by Christ’s taking on flesh for us and understanding our weakness. Hebrews 4:15-16 reminds us that He sympathizes with our weaknesses so that He can better grant mercy and grace in our time of need.

To Pastor Aaron, Tina, their son Silas, their families, their friends, their church, to all who have been following the events and details surrounding Emily’s sickness and death, and to me: we are weak. As we confess our weakness, we hurt with this family in their loss and we pray that God would continue to be their comfort and strength.

I will never forget the moments our family was able to share with sweet Emily. We wish it could have been more often but sadly distance separated us. She absolutely glowed with her brilliant smile. I won’t forget that. I will also always remember her incredible strength to endure all the treatments to fight her cancer. She certainly was resilient. Emily, we love you and miss you dearly. We cannot wait to see you again. Praise God that the fight is over and now you can rest. Praise God that the sickness is removed. Praise God for the three wonderful years we had with you. They were God’s grace to us. And praise God that we can trust and rejoice in the hope of a glorious reunion one day in Heaven.