August 19, 2018

The Shepherd's Corner

THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

When our daughter asked us, how Santy and I wished to be addressed as by our newly born grandchild, we replied, “Grandpa and grandma.” We figured since we lived in the US, we should adopt the American way of calling relatives. We also assumed it’d be a lot easier for him to call us grandpa and grandma, rather than kung and pho. After all the spoken language at his home is English.

Well, we thought wrong. No matter how hard and how often we tried, we couldn’t succeed in teaching him to call us grandpa and grandma. But, the moment our daughter taught him to call us kung-kung and pho-pho, in no time, he began calling us kung-kung and pho! What can I say, his Asian heritage is much stronger than his American upbringing! Kung-pao chicken over fried chicken!

Certain things are hard to change, especially things we learned when we were little. Psychologists have known this for a long time. That’s why much emphasis on learning and character development is given to children at young age. But, there is actually something else that’s harder to change: our inborn nature. The Bible calls it, sinful nature. We don’t need a teacher or a manual to develop skewed characters. Somehow these are readily available.

It doesn’t matter how long we have been a Christian, we remain as vulnerable to committing sin as we were when we first became a Christian. God has known this for a long time. That’s why He never stops reminding us to hear and to heed His Word. His Word doesn’t necessarily eliminate the urge, much less the temptation to sin, but for sure His Word serves as warning sign and give us the strength to resist both the temptation and the urge to sin. So, come to Him and read and meditate on His Word. Without it, we’d be lost.

Pastor Paul

More Shepherd's Corner Articles

The Shepherd's Corner - June 2, 2019
THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER Those of you who liked the 1970s rock and heavy metal music might know of a band called Def Leppard, that has recently been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Personally, I wasn’t into this kind of music, so growing up, I didn’t know this group. But there is [&...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - July 21, 2019
THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER In one of his sermons, Billy Graham said, “I am prepared to die—in fact, I am looking forward to it—and when you are prepared to die, you are also prepared to live.” What a profound statement! Oh yes, we can only live to the fullest and to the deepest if we live [&hel...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - July 17, 2022
Being reduced to a smaller scale—especially to nothing— is not easy to adjust and to accept.  When I asked a friend in ministry who is now retired how he was doing, he thought for a moment before giving me his answer, “I keep reminding myself that I am retired.”  I knew what he mea...
Read More