by Sam | Mar 5, 2019 | Reflection
Dear Pursuit NYC, As you know, we are transitioning out of Pursuit to focus on our local church and personal ministries. In any season of change, we always want to take a moment to look back and reflect on the journey completed and look forward to the path ahead. May this remind us of God’s faithfulness and blessings. That one fateful retreat in 2013 was the birth of a beautiful Kingdom partnership. Although we had departed shortly after to serve in Korea, we knew that there was more to come; the best was yet to come. There is much that has changed since then and much that has not. Something that has changed: the major breakthroughs and heights reached in the ministry. From witnessing a gathering of a few people to over a hundred, the fruit of the ministry started to visibly be shown. The exponential growth of Pursuit was inspiring to those involved and those looking from the outside. Something that has not changed: friendship. If there is one thing we are walking away with, it is that we have made eternal friendships with you brothers. Beyond strategy and productivity, the foundation of our ministry rested upon the precious relationships that were built here. The kind of hilarity that would occur in our staff meetings might be seemingly insignificant, but were the most treasured memories. Reminiscing about some of those moments now makes us want to laugh. Those times will especially be cherished and missed. We want to remind you that each of you, unique in your identity and giftings, are a tremendous blessing to all those around you. We believe He...
by Sam | Feb 19, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection
by Josh Kim In part one of this blog series, I shared that it is always God’s will to heal due to the sacrifice, or atonement, of Jesus. The atonement of Jesus through the cross purchased full salvation for our entire being: our spirits (reconciling humanity with God), our souls (forgiveness of sins and renewing of the mind), and our bodies (healing of sicknesses and suffering). In part two of this blog series, I want to briefly explain the various reasons that may perhaps prevent healing. But ultimately, I want to clarify the nature of the kingdom of God, and the time we are living in, to help make sense of the mystery of divine healing. FACTORS PREVENTING HEALING Having faith in God’s will to heal is the biggest factor for healing as I have mentioned in part one. But it is often human tendency to oversimplify things that we do not fully understand. So when healing does not take place, our tendency is to create over-simplifications, such as a particular person was not healed due to their lack of faith. This only produces false guilt within people, which is never God’s will. In order to avoid these simplistic answers or approaches to healing, here are a few reasons why a particular person may not be healed (for more in-depth descriptions, you can refer to a great resource for healing called Healing by Francis MacNutt): Lack of faith. In Matthew 17:14-20, the disciples are rebuked by Jesus for not being able to cure a epileptic demoniac due to their lack of faith. Everyone, even for those who do believe...
by Sam | Feb 12, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection
by Josh Kim Does God always heal? I have personally struggled with this question for the majority of my life. We hear and read stories in Scripture about God performing miracles, being powerful, and even being willing to heal (Luke 5:13). Yet when we look at the world around us, there are still many believers and non-believers suffering with all different kinds of sickness. In this part one of a two blog posts series, I want to share with you my personal journey of God’s healing, give a biblical overview on healing and sickness, and confirm that God is good, powerful, and always willing to heal. PERSONAL JOURNEY Back in 1998, I was a normal second-grader who contracted chickenpox like most kids at that age. As I was quarantined in my house for 2 weeks, all I looked forward to was playing baseball outside with my friends once I was healed. Eventually, the doctors cleared me and I played outside all day. However, when I came back to my house, my mom freaked out because I had blisters all over my face and body. We went back to the doctors to get re-examined and we found out that I had a skin condition where my body reacted to the sunlight with fever blisters. I was no longer a normal second-grader, but a second-grader allergic to the sun of all things. It changed my life in many ways. Initially, my parents and church members all prayed for healing over me saying, “God, you love him so out of your power, heal him.” But when nothing changed, the prayers eventually...
by Sam | Jan 8, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 The weekend had been circled for over a month, and it couldn’t have arrived at a better time. I was just coming off a brutal stretch of traveling and working mixed with holiday busyness, where I just knew I needed this. One of the rhythms I wanted to set in my life was to regularly go away on personal retreats, but it had already been a year since my last one. The past year had been marked with tremendous growth and fruit, but also difficult tests and trials. A change of pace and scenery to slow down and rest was imperative. But honestly once I got to the retreat center, I found it extremely difficult. My greatest temptation was to capitalize on the momentum of the previous year and get work done. It was to plan and strategize for the sake of ministry. Yet the whole goal of the...
by Sam | Dec 26, 2018 | Reflection
Our ministry began with an invitation to dream with God and dare greatly for Him. There was a green light from the Lord to go after the things He’s placed in our hearts. He didn’t give us a map, but rather a compass to keep following Him as He leads. As such it’s been an incredible journey with both ups and downs. There have been times of being stretched beyond what we’re used to and even being tempted to throw in the towel. Yet with each step and in every season, we’ve seen God come through time and time again. If I’m honest, the greatest temptation I’ve faced since beginning Pursuit NYC was to quit. I’m so thankful that the Lord prevented us from doing such a thing! Because on the other side of pressing through and persevering, we’ve seen God do the incredible and the impossible. I believe with all my heart that we are now just scratching the surface of all that God has for us. We are starting to get a glimpse of His promises coming to pass. Although we are now getting ready to enter into our fifth year, 2018 felt like the first. It was the first time we did a full year of monthly gatherings. It was the first full year of our leadership team. Pursuit NYC is now an officially registered organization! (Another first!) It was the first full year of consistently delivering podcasts and blogs. (The hardest first, haha!) We launched many new projects and endeavors such as a training and gathering for leaders, a team for volunteers, consistently providing a...
by Sam | Dec 18, 2018 | Reflection
The story of Joseph in Genesis has always been one that has spoken to me in different seasons of my life. Recently, I’ve been going through some challenges and tough circumstances, and these trials have brought me back to this familiar story. Yet this time, the story yielded something new. Isn’t that always like God? His Word is alive and active, which means it’s not caged to our past understandings or even interpretations. It teaches us of what God has said, but also, it always reveals to us what God is saying now. It dawned on me that when Joseph entered Egypt, it was the beginning of the end. He would never again leave this foreign land. He would never get to go back to his hometown. His former life was gone forever. When I realized this, honestly, it made me sad. Joseph had no idea that the day he would be sold into slavery by his brothers was going to be his last day home. It would be his last day of “normal”. He never got a chance to prepare himself for what would change his life forever. He never got a chance to say goodbye. And he never would. Isn’t that like life? Things come at us that can change our lives forever in just a moment. Difficulties can be around the corner at every turn. I can’t imagine what it was like for Joseph. I wonder how I would feel or respond in his place. What would my heart be like when things seem like they are finally getting better, but instead they actually take a...
