by Sam | Dec 3, 2019 | Guest Blogger, Inspiration, Teaching
by Michael Kang Dreams are powerful. A dream can shift a moment, it can even shift history. Sadly, many dreams don’t get the chance of being birthed because of fear, but what I believe is even more sad is when we don’t believe we are allowed to dream! There can be a host of reasons as to why a person doesn’t dream, but one thing I realize a person doesn’t dream is because they are told not to dream. People are told that they have to follow a plan and that is the right thing to do and let me clarify, you and I are to follow the plans of God and build His Kingdom, but what I am believing as I get older is that the Kingdom of God is built on the dreams of the saints who walk with God! We are in a season of church history where I believe God is unleashing His people to dream and the dreams will reveal a unique expression of church which only reveals new facets of God’s glory. Every dream in God is a reflection of a unique display of God’s glory and this is the time we don’t rinse and repeat what was done, but appreciate what has happened as we forge a new era of the Kingdom! To start you off in your dream journey with God, I wanted to go through a brief roadmap of the pitfalls and lessons from the story of Joseph in Genesis. May the unpacking of this story spur you on to contribute into the Kingdom what is already buried deep within...
by Sam | Nov 12, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection, Teaching
by Samuel Won I love watching movies of all different genres, especially in the theater. There’s just something about experiencing a brand new film on the big screen with immersive sound that gets me every time. I love it so much, that I actually don’t mind going by myself (don’t judge me!). However, when I do go, I don’t watch just any film. It’s usually one that I have been anticipating for a while. I know exactly what I want to watch, and I go for it. Yet, I can’t say the same when it comes to streaming services. Like I said, I love movies, but I feel paralyzed by the plethora of options available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and now Disney+. It’s not because I can’t find anything good, but rather quite the opposite. There’s just too many good films! I don’t know what I want to watch first, as a result, I don’t watch anything at all. Before I know it, I have reverted to watching something familiar like The Office because of my own indecisiveness… Anyone else have a hard time making a decision like me? Now obviously choosing what movie to watch is quite insignificant in the grand scheme of life, but what happens when you need to make a decision for your career or for your family? Many times the reason why decisions are so hard is because it isn’t always black or white nor is it good versus bad. Instead they are tough choices that need to be made between multiple good options that have the potential to change the trajectory of...
by Sam | Nov 5, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection
by Sam Won “Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.” – John 13:1-5 (NLT) Imagine you are told by God Himself that you only have a few more days left here on earth. Initially it would be quite shocking. Even scary! After this reality sinks in, the next thought would be about how you would spend these precious last days. Would you spend it with loved ones? Maybe mulling over some past regrets trying to make it right? Completing your bucket list? No matter what you do, it can be assumed that these final moments would become defining moments. How you choose to spend these last few days would speak volumes about your life and legacy. In this passage, Jesus comes to that very realization that His end has come near. He is entering the final stretch of His life here on earth. What’s even more interesting is that He has a full understanding of...
by Sam | Oct 1, 2019 | Testimony
We did it! We hosted our first ever conference, and God absolutely blew our own hopes and expectations out of the water! It is with no hype, exaggeration, or hyperbole when I say that this conference changed my life. I’ll truly never be the same again! What’s wild is that I’m not the only one who changed. Our ministry also changed. And in faith, I believe our region has changed as well. Our team couldn’t help but be moved to tears hearing some of the testimonies from our conference. Here are several of them kept anonymous and left unedited so that it can capture what God did firsthand at #PRSTCON19 … God is good. God is faithful. Hallelujah! Also check out these highlights from DAY 01, DAY 02, and DAY 03 of Pursuit Conference! I stumbled into the afternoon service on the second day of the conference because I wanted a place to worship. When Ali was prophesying over people, my heart was stirred and I started to pray to God that He would speak to me too. Right after I prayed that prayer, Ali called me out and he and his team started to speak over me. In that moment, I started to feel God light a fire inside my soul. He was reawakening dreams in me that I haven’t dreamt in a long time. He reminded me that His plans for me were bigger than my wildest dreams. He reminded me that His calling for my life is greater than my current assignment and circumstances. He reminded me that He called me because He’s good, not...
by Sam | Sep 10, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection
by Danny Kang Picture this: You’re in the middle of a deserted island. It’s been three whole days since you last ate. Hunger is an understatement to what you’re feeling. Your stomach’s growling. Your body feels lethargic and weak. You feel every ounce of strength leaving your body. You… want… food! BUT wait! *sniff sniff* What is that? What’s that smell? All of a sudden, your nose perks up as you catch a whiff of something cooking in the distance. It smells like barbecue! But not just any barbecue… Korean Barbecue! *Pause* How foolish would it be if in that moment all you did was talk about how you want that food. “I wish I could eat some of that”, “Ugh I’m so hungry”, “Why can’t someone just feed me”, “I’m so hungry”, “I wish I could just teleport there”, etc. How foolish it would be if all you did was complain about how hungry you were! If you hadn’t eaten in THREE WHOLE DAYS, wouldn’t you get up and RUN towards that smell in hopes that you can feast and eat? You wouldn’t even notice the fact that your body is weak and lethargic. The very hunger inside of you should be what gets you to start running towards the hope of being filled! The simple truth is that the HUNGER in you should force you to get up and PURSUE the very thing you desire! And yet, this seems to be the opposite of what our lives as followers of Jesus looks like. The irony is that we seem to stay content in our hunger: satisfied with...
by Sam | Aug 13, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection
by Kevin Kim Before I begin… I’d just like to set the stage with the inspiration behind this blog post. Lil Wayne was being interviewed by ESPN’s Josina Anderson when they got on the topic of some of the dark times he’s gone through during his music career. While describing one moment, he said, “Nothing brings reality to you like a conversation with your mother. Because you are no longer what you are to the world, you are no longer what you are to your friends, you are no longer what you are to yourself. You are who you are and what you are to your mother when your mother is speaking to you, and you are her son…” Mic drop. (If you got what I got through that quote, I feel like you don’t have to read any further… If you have any reservations at all, please continue on.) Hearing God’s voice is vital to strengthening yourself in the Lord. I think the quote above captures what hearing His voice can do near perfectly… Let me explain. He’s not talking about God, but if you replace the parts he’s talking about his mother, with God, it’ll all make sense. Nothing brings reality to you like a conversation with God. In this life, what reality is can get pretty confusing. Lil Wayne is arguably one of the most talented artists of our time, and whether you like him or not, you can’t deny that at one point in the 2000s, it seemed like he was literally featured in every song on the radio. I’m not condoning or agreeing with...
by Sam | Aug 6, 2019 | Inspiration, Teaching
by Josh Kim In the Gospels, Jesus’ disciples are witnessing miracles left and right by being with Jesus. Matter of fact, even the disciples experience miracles themselves when Jesus sends them out with power and authority. After they return in Luke 11, we come across an interesting moment between Jesus and His disciples. Rather than asking Jesus to teach them how to heal better, cast out demons more effectively, or perform greater miracles, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Now the disciples aren’t the brightest group. They often miss Jesus’ point and misunderstand a lot of things. But they’ve been around Jesus long enough to observe that Jesus got up early in the morning to pray, sometimes prayed all throughout the night, and even withdrew from the crowds to prioritize being with the Father instead. When they connect the dots, they realize that it was Jesus’ lifestyle of prayer that empowered Jesus to do all He did. And in the same way, they too will have to learn to establish a lifestyle of prayer like Jesus if they are going to continue doing the will of God – healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons (Matthew 10:8). RHYTHM OF PRAYER But if I’m being honest, as much as I know the significance and importance of prayer, it’s hard for me to establish a life of prayer. Some of the challenges are about not being consistent (time and place) as well as not being persistent. But one of the challenges I recognize in people stuck in prayer is not knowing how to pray...
by Sam | Jul 23, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection
by Lisa Song In the sweltering summer heat, all I want is the cold winter breeze. In the frigid winter blast, all I want is for the summer sun to warm my face. Wishing and wanting have made so many seasons go by without fully enjoying them because I was always looking forward to the next season. In our walks of faith, there are seasons of favor and seasons of swimming against the tide. In Ecclesiastes 3, King Solomon describes that there are seasons of satisfaction and seasons of disappointment. There will be a time to plant and a time to uproot (verse 2). There will be time to mourn and a time to dance (verse 4). There will be time to be silent and a time to speak (verse 7). But even in the midst of these polarizing seasons, Solomon gives credit to God, saying that God is the author of all seasons from beginning to end (verse 11). Every season is a gift from God. Don’t waste your season Self-awareness is a huge tool in learning how to assess your current season. Being self-aware is not just about understanding who you are now, but why you are the way that you are. Your past seasons have shaped you for the present, but with self-awareness you have an opportunity to shape your future. What season are you currently in? Identify it, pray through it, and learn from it. Self-awareness leads to understanding and understanding leads to learning. There is always something to learn in the destination of every season. Praise is the highway, but complaining is the detour....
by Sam | Jul 2, 2019 | Reflection
I can’t believe the first half of 2019 is already over! Time flies by and we are so blown away by God’s continued faithfulness towards Pursuit NYC. Even in the first six months alone, we have seen many milestones: We had our biggest gathering ever! We see over 100 people per gathering each month! The reach of our podcast grew like never before! Our events have gone all the way from Queens down to Central NJ! We held our first ever workshop! Along with the milestones, we have gone through some growing pains as well. To share openly and honestly, there have been challenges and adjustments we had to make along the way. We have seen transitions as well as having to pause and go back to the drawing board for projects we pioneered last year. Overall though, we are super excited for what lies ahead, namely, our first ever conference! I’ve asked each member of the team to share about their favorite memory from the first half of 2019 as well as what they are looking forward to and sensing for the rest of the year. “My favorite memory of 2019 so far is all of the friendships with individuals, ministries, and churches God has brought us. This has been the year where our team connected with people on a real personal level from all over the world, whether it’s leaders from Bethel Church, leaders from the recent Korean-American Gathering in Kona, or individuals from our region that we were able to build connection and friendship with. With that being said, I believe that God is bringing people...
by Sam | Jun 25, 2019 | Inspiration
How can we expect our nation to be united when our churches aren’t united? It starts with us. It starts with me. I believe now is the time when the Joseph’s, Daniel’s, and Esther’s of the world will take their rightful place in history. No longer will you be able to tell who is a follower of Christ by their behavior, who they voted for, how they talk, how they look, etc., but only by the fruit of their lives. Only those who know how to be innocent as doves and shrewd as serpents will be able to shape culture and shift nations. All of creation is groaning for the revealing of sons and daughters (Romans 8:19). Now is the time for us to be who God calls us to be. Will it be challenging? Costly? Of course, but nothing has been more toxic to the Church than comfort. It’s then an invitation to rely fully on our Comforter, the Holy Spirit to navigate these times. May we be people of tremendous, supernatural hope for it is rooted in our identity in God and our citizenship in Heaven. Those who have the most hope always have the most influence. Carry hope. Be hope. Be Jesus with skin on. Make a difference! Make an impact! It’s our birthright as children of God. This is the finest hour of the Church. Time to arise and shine. Time to be salt and light. In darkness, light shines brightest. Not to show off, but so that others can simply see in dark places. Jesus is coming back for a body that is in...
