by Sam | Jun 18, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection
The year is 1543. After much work and writing, Nicolaus Copernicus is about to change the world. But first, he will cause much controversy and ruffle many feathers by challenging the status quo. He will go on to say that the earth isn’t central to the universe. In fact the earth actually revolves around the sun, and not the other way around. Copernicus’s discovery is a given today in modern science, but at that time his claims were offensive. How dare he say that the universe doesn’t revolve around us! Yet today, even though people know the earth revolves around the sun, many tend to think that the world revolves around them. In essence, that’s what it means to be entitled. According to the dictionary, to be entitled means, “believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.” With it comes an air of arrogance, which is nauseating for all who get a whiff. Now of course, everyone wants special privileges and treatment as well as perks and upgrades. Sure, who doesn’t? But not at the expense of others. Or do we? I mean, no one wants to be described as entitled, right? However, our generation is becoming known for its entitlement. As a result, we are only harming ourselves and setting the generations that follow us up for failure. You can’t be self-absorbed and look to God at the same time. Click To Tweet So how exactly is being entitled harmful? Since entitlement makes it all about us, we become too fixated on the self. You can’t be self-absorbed and look to God at the same...
by Sam | May 28, 2019 | Reflection
by Sam Won I love the NBA Playoffs! It’s been a dramatic few weeks filled with buzzer beaters, overtimes, game 7’s, exhilarating wins, and heartbreaking losses. Teams are competing at the highest level for a chance to become champions. Superstars separate themselves from the rest of the pack in the postseason. This is the time when players make a name for themselves and seal their legacy on the court. Unless of course you are Kevin Durant. I’ll explain. First of all, let me begin by saying that Kevin Durant, a prolific scorer on the Golden State Warriors, will go down in history as one of the greatest to ever play the game of basketball. Not only that, when the NBA Playoffs began this year, the general consensus was that he was the best player in the world today! His team was a sure lock-in to win it all thanks to his excellent performance. Unfortunately, a couple weeks in, he injured his calf, which has sidelined him with no clear date for his return. When that happened, it became doom and gloom for his team, and struggle seemed inevitable. Instead of struggling though, his team went on to win five games in a row and hit their stride. All of a sudden, the same analysts on TV and fans on social media who were proclaiming Kevin Durant as the best player in the world, were now wondering if his team was better without him. Wait, what?! You don’t have to be a basketball fan to know that you can’t be considered the best in the world and an asset to...
by Sam | May 7, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection
by Sam Won Not too long ago I was returning to my car in downtown Nyack, a small village that’s a suburb of NYC, west of the Hudson River. I was minding my own business walking past different bars and restaurants, when a man smoking a cigarette outside complimented me on my shirt. It caught me off guard because I forgot what I had even put on that morning! So when he said that, I looked down and saw that I was wearing a Pursuit shirt. As soon as I said thanks, he started peppering me with questions on where I bought it, if it was available online, and the meaning of the shirt. All in all, he just wanted to have a shirt of his own with that design. With that, I said thanks, ran back to my car, grabbed a remaining shirt, and walked into the bar he was standing in front of to find him. When he saw me walking in with the shirt in hand, he had a big look of surprise then a huge smile. I told him he could have it for free because I just wanted to bless him. He was ecstatic! After exchanging some info, we embraced and went our separate ways. Creativity helps us reach the world around us with language that words can’t express. Click To Tweet Most likely this man’s beliefs and lifestyle are different than mine. We probably would have never interacted if it wasn’t for the shirt I was wearing. But that’s why we create! That’s why we do what we do. We pursue excellence and...
by Sam | Apr 30, 2019 | Reflection
by Danny Kang For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to do amazing things for God. My prayers when I was younger were along the lines of, “God, I want to be in the NBA…for you. God, I want to be popular…for you. God, I want to have a girlfriend…for you. God, I want to do things…for you, etc.” I really wanted to do incredible things for God. As a matter of fact, I wanted to change the world for God. Starting about three years ago, there were more opportunities to do things for God. In fact, these were incredible opportunities where I got to do amazing things for God. I got to go to different parts of the world and throughout the U.S. to tell people about Jesus. I got a chance to pray for people and see God heal them in incredible ways. (I’ve seen deaf people hear again. I’ve seen people who came limping into cafés with crutches and then walk out without them. I’ve seen people who were tormented by evil spirits set free and experience freedom!) And as the years went on, there were even more opportunities to do things for God. But I was missing something. Here’s what I thought: “Because I am doing a lot of things FOR GOD, it must mean I am doing what God wants me to do.” The more I did for God, the more godly I thought I was and the more “radical” I thought it made me. But to be completely honest, during those moments when I did many things for God, I...
by Sam | Apr 16, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection
by Kevin Kim Have you ever wandered into your kitchen just moments after having an entire meal and opened the fridge looking for something to eat? Your stomach tells you that you’re still full, but something inside of you has a need to be filled, and your mind takes you to what would normally feed you. It’s hard to explain because you know you’re not actually hungry, but for some reason, you find yourself in a place looking to eat yet again. What you need to understand is that even though you are physically full, the hunger you have is VERY REAL. Dr. Rob Reimer (doctorate in preaching, not in nutrition) describes this phenomenon as us mistaking our hunger for something physical while it is actually spiritual. Our souls are hungering to be filled and we don’t realize that we are hungering for God… so instead we proceed to pour a bowl of cereal or grab a stick of cheese. We’ll get back to this in a little bit… Have you ever heard of imposter syndrome? Well if you haven’t, here is a quick definition from one of the most reliable resources out there (Wikipedia): Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds, and do not deserve all they have achieved. Individuals with “impostorism” incorrectly attribute their success to luck, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent than they perceive...
by Sam | Mar 26, 2019 | Reflection
by Faith Eury Cho I will never forget the first time the Holy Spirit touched me. My body physically felt the warmth of His Presence and I was utterly moved to tears. I knew it was supernatural. I knew it was real. And after the moment was over, I had a hunger to know how to return to that encounter, to know how to sustain it for even longer. I wanted more than a moment with Him. I wanted a relationship. As a pastor, I think one of the most common questions I’m posed with is, “How do I grow in my relationship with God?” As a child, I always imagined that a close friendship with the Spirit meant that all your prayers were answered within the second and that you have this powerful best friend you can tangibly sense at all times. However, in the earlier stage of my Christian walk, I actually experienced the contrary. It was almost as if He was a flaky friend rather than a good one. It seemed like He only came when He wanted to come. He moved only when He wanted to move. He didn’t always answer prayers in the way I asked. He didn’t always speak in loud, obvious ways. Later did I realize that it was not that my standards were too high for God. Rather, they were just too narrow. In fact, God cannot be boxed by the limitations of my soul. James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and He will come near to you…” This is a promise. If you take a step towards Him,...
