All the rules that came to the Jewish people in the Old Testament were fulfilled in Jesus Christ as he took the consequences of sin upon himself because of love. After his resurrection, a new covenant was was up for grabs to anybody who wanted it. Jesus is love and love compelled him to do something about the wrath that awaited us.
Nowadays, there is no consequences for sin as far as God is concerned; however, because we are still on earth, there is. Why are there people who feel they must continue to live according to the law and most of the rules that follow? That is like living as a prisoner when you're free. When a person is in jail, all his rights and privileges are revoked, but as a free man, all of the freedoms and opportunities are his.
Paul said the Galatians became foolish when they started walking in the flesh, or man's ways of living life. Their eyes were on Jesus, knowing that he had given them life. After that, they walked as if their life could be perfected by rules.
Let's stop following the old ways of living because now there is such relationship, love, and freedom to be ours...what a better covenant with better promises!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
March 2011 update
Well folks, can you believe it, March is here and Spring is just around the corner. Sometimes I look back and can't believe how fast "time flies." It's nice to connect with you, if only on a monthly basis. Being in a far away land, one does get homesick and there is nothing that can cure it like people from home.
Hang and I find ourselves very busy this time of the year. We look to our God-inspired goals, pull up our bootstraps, and get busy. Early February brought us some time off as the whole country is off of work for nearly 2 weeks due to the Lunar New Year celebration. hang and I spent lots of time with family: cooking, eating, and some travel. Vietnam offers some beautiful sites and the food is always good.
After the new year holiday, the kids and their families are very slow to come back to school and their jobs. It is so bad that some companies have worker shortages. In order to offset that, certain companies will offer a small bonus if they return to work within a specified period of time after the holiday. I am thankful that all my students are back.
Hang is itching to go back to the Highlands. If you've just tuned in and are wondering what "Highlands" is, it is a term that refers to a mountain chain in the central region of Vietnam. There, along with the rest of VN has quite a history, but it is here that a lot of the Vietnam war was fought. Many ethnic minorities live here. There is even a small town that forbids entry to American tourists because a resident ethnic minority group that fought with the Americans and South Vietnamese have families in the USA who are trying to fund another uprising. (Shhh, little known secret: I was there and left unscathed...shhhh!) Hang has great favor in the Highlands; not only with the people she ministers to, but also with the police. She was approached the last time with a very forward policeman who was very interested in becoming her husband! Anyway, as you may know, Hang and I fully sponsored the building of a water well in one community on her last trip. We would like to sponsor 2 more this year. Each well has the potential to reach many families that are in the vicinity of a one, since fresh clean water is hard to come by there. Most of the people bathe in ditches and in order to get water for cooking, many use the same water or travel on foot to a far away source. When Hang visits, she must bathe in a pond and take special precautions to drink their water. We would love to start a "better farming practices" in this Highland region and are currently looking for material.
Hang and I wish you all the very best. We love to hear the good things that are happening in your lives and we rejoice with you. Keep on doing what you love, love God, and he will take care of the rest.
Be blessed,
Chad and Hang Chism
International Harvest
www.intlharvest.org
Hang and I find ourselves very busy this time of the year. We look to our God-inspired goals, pull up our bootstraps, and get busy. Early February brought us some time off as the whole country is off of work for nearly 2 weeks due to the Lunar New Year celebration. hang and I spent lots of time with family: cooking, eating, and some travel. Vietnam offers some beautiful sites and the food is always good.
After the new year holiday, the kids and their families are very slow to come back to school and their jobs. It is so bad that some companies have worker shortages. In order to offset that, certain companies will offer a small bonus if they return to work within a specified period of time after the holiday. I am thankful that all my students are back.
Hang is itching to go back to the Highlands. If you've just tuned in and are wondering what "Highlands" is, it is a term that refers to a mountain chain in the central region of Vietnam. There, along with the rest of VN has quite a history, but it is here that a lot of the Vietnam war was fought. Many ethnic minorities live here. There is even a small town that forbids entry to American tourists because a resident ethnic minority group that fought with the Americans and South Vietnamese have families in the USA who are trying to fund another uprising. (Shhh, little known secret: I was there and left unscathed...shhhh!) Hang has great favor in the Highlands; not only with the people she ministers to, but also with the police. She was approached the last time with a very forward policeman who was very interested in becoming her husband! Anyway, as you may know, Hang and I fully sponsored the building of a water well in one community on her last trip. We would like to sponsor 2 more this year. Each well has the potential to reach many families that are in the vicinity of a one, since fresh clean water is hard to come by there. Most of the people bathe in ditches and in order to get water for cooking, many use the same water or travel on foot to a far away source. When Hang visits, she must bathe in a pond and take special precautions to drink their water. We would love to start a "better farming practices" in this Highland region and are currently looking for material.
Hang and I wish you all the very best. We love to hear the good things that are happening in your lives and we rejoice with you. Keep on doing what you love, love God, and he will take care of the rest.
Be blessed,
Chad and Hang Chism
International Harvest
www.intlharvest.org
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Have to?
Hey everybody! We hope this letter finds you prospering in your soul and in health. It has been extremely hot here in Ho Chi Minh City, but the rainy season is on its way. I feel like Elijah in I Kings 18:41...I hear the sound of abundance of rain! The rain is coming and with it is coming many good things from Jesus!
I want to ask you something. Are you tired of the "have-tos"? You know, the things we must do. Sure, there are the "have-tos" of life: pay the bills, go to work, get a job, pay taxes, stop over-eating, drive within the speed limit, and so on. I'm not talking about those--they are necessary. Are there any other "have-tos" in your life that are not necessary--the things you say that you have to do, but actually they are illegitimate "have-tos"? What fears and hurts do we have that could be driving those "have-tos"? Are there any religious duties we attach ourselves to (i.e. the things that we say "God wants us to do," but really He has no part in)? How about the have-tos of "doing church" or loving your neighbor, or even tithing. Do we do them because they are a "religious duty type of have-to" or because we love the One who created us and out of that love relationship with Him, His desires are worked out within us.
For example, if all I (Chad) did for my wife was work, work, work (clean the house, wash the dishes, go to work, make money for the family, take out the trash, etc...) she would be happy, but not fulfilled in our relationship. If later she were to sit down with me in order to talk with me and share her life, her heart, and feelings, but I just gave her money and got up to clean the house again, she would be left feeling hurt, abandoned, and sad, right? Well, I think that situation is similar with Jesus.
Too many times we humans DO what we THINK God wants us to DO rather than BE in relationship with Him. When we do this, we have limited our relationship with Him much like my example of just giving money to my wife and cleaning the house in hopes she'll be happy.
Life with Jesus is so much more simple than we make it. Because of His forgiveness, by His grace we can bask/luxuriate ourselves in His love! Jesus didn't die so that He could give me a list of the things I must do so He won't become upset. He gave up His life to live mine with me and show me the way so we could be in constant fellowship together.
Ok, ok, please don't send me any nasty letters and if you have some "religious have-tos" that you enjoy, keep them to yourself. Jesus is our life and there is no weapon formed against our relationship with Him that will prosper.
I want to ask you something. Are you tired of the "have-tos"? You know, the things we must do. Sure, there are the "have-tos" of life: pay the bills, go to work, get a job, pay taxes, stop over-eating, drive within the speed limit, and so on. I'm not talking about those--they are necessary. Are there any other "have-tos" in your life that are not necessary--the things you say that you have to do, but actually they are illegitimate "have-tos"? What fears and hurts do we have that could be driving those "have-tos"? Are there any religious duties we attach ourselves to (i.e. the things that we say "God wants us to do," but really He has no part in)? How about the have-tos of "doing church" or loving your neighbor, or even tithing. Do we do them because they are a "religious duty type of have-to" or because we love the One who created us and out of that love relationship with Him, His desires are worked out within us.
For example, if all I (Chad) did for my wife was work, work, work (clean the house, wash the dishes, go to work, make money for the family, take out the trash, etc...) she would be happy, but not fulfilled in our relationship. If later she were to sit down with me in order to talk with me and share her life, her heart, and feelings, but I just gave her money and got up to clean the house again, she would be left feeling hurt, abandoned, and sad, right? Well, I think that situation is similar with Jesus.
Too many times we humans DO what we THINK God wants us to DO rather than BE in relationship with Him. When we do this, we have limited our relationship with Him much like my example of just giving money to my wife and cleaning the house in hopes she'll be happy.
Life with Jesus is so much more simple than we make it. Because of His forgiveness, by His grace we can bask/luxuriate ourselves in His love! Jesus didn't die so that He could give me a list of the things I must do so He won't become upset. He gave up His life to live mine with me and show me the way so we could be in constant fellowship together.
Ok, ok, please don't send me any nasty letters and if you have some "religious have-tos" that you enjoy, keep them to yourself. Jesus is our life and there is no weapon formed against our relationship with Him that will prosper.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Monday, December 22, 2008
Christmas
This is the time of year when people who celebrate Christmas are busy running around to parties, shopping malls, stores, and all kinds of places near and far. For what?
There is a lot that we DO as humans. Most of the time we are human doings instead of human beings. We are made in the image of God and to celebrate the birth of Jesus is to celebrate the wonderful freedom and victory we have because of Love. It will suffice to say that to be is to abide and Jesus told us to abide with Him, being fully God. He said that we are the branches and He is the vine. We get our life from Him and more importantly, we are so intimately and intricately connected to Him that to try to DO anything would be not abiding, thus killing!
This season and forever, abide in Jesus. Let life freely flow to you and simply be in Him.
There is a lot that we DO as humans. Most of the time we are human doings instead of human beings. We are made in the image of God and to celebrate the birth of Jesus is to celebrate the wonderful freedom and victory we have because of Love. It will suffice to say that to be is to abide and Jesus told us to abide with Him, being fully God. He said that we are the branches and He is the vine. We get our life from Him and more importantly, we are so intimately and intricately connected to Him that to try to DO anything would be not abiding, thus killing!
This season and forever, abide in Jesus. Let life freely flow to you and simply be in Him.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
what in the world are you living for?
Really? Have you thought about it? This world promises us so much: happiness, anything we want on credit, the praise of men and recognition, high place of leadership after "serving your time," grandeur, houses, cars, land, buildings, possessions galore...but it cannot deliver. When those promises are chased after, the result is the pursuer's disappointment, their emptiness. When you, pursuer, chase after better promises, you will be filled. Those are the promises of joy, peace, comfort, a very present help in trouble, never being in lack, having the assistance of angels, seeing and knowing Truth...even in your inward parts. These promises are found in a man. The man is Jesus Christ. The man is God. Jesus is the pursuer of your soul. He pursues your life with a zealous passion. This passionate pursuit never ends. He is always knocking, always speaking, always loving--> YOU. He longs to bring you the desires of your heart. He wants to share the delight of His promises. Jesus is not wanting to pound you on the head with a hammer for your mistakes and sins. He loves and loves perfectly.
He pursues you. All you have to do is say, "Yes."
He pursues you. All you have to do is say, "Yes."
Monday, August 20, 2007
Huh?
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10), so listen to this testimony--> Wabash, IN
An elderly man was in my view who had hearing aids in his ears. I told him to take them out because God has healed him. He took them out, put them both in his pocket and can hear!!!!!
The doctors told him he had 20% hearing left, but Jesus made a choice over 2,000 years ago to heal all of us. Its ours for receiving. God didn't tell me to tell this man anything. In fact, God never said do this and I'll do that. He already told me, through His Word (the Bible), that He has healed Him, so I was making that truth a manifestation in his life.
Jesus is awesome... read on...
An elderly man was in my view who had hearing aids in his ears. I told him to take them out because God has healed him. He took them out, put them both in his pocket and can hear!!!!!
The doctors told him he had 20% hearing left, but Jesus made a choice over 2,000 years ago to heal all of us. Its ours for receiving. God didn't tell me to tell this man anything. In fact, God never said do this and I'll do that. He already told me, through His Word (the Bible), that He has healed Him, so I was making that truth a manifestation in his life.
Jesus is awesome... read on...
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