1 john 2:18-27

v.18- "children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. therefore we know that it is the last hour."the last hour refers to the time between Jesus' resurrection and His second coming. there are many antichrists/ false teachers/ false prophets (2 thessalonians 2:1-10) who Jesus warned of (matthew 24:5, 24)- most will appear genuine, but ultimately, what defines an antichrist is his denial of Jesus as Christ (v.22). 
v.19- "they went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. but they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us."
john addresses those who had recently left the church by saying that they were never genuine believers (acts 20:30). this implies that once a person is truly saved, he will never abandon Christ nor will he lose his salvation (jude 24, john 17:12). God made it plain (1 corinthians 11:19) that those who left were not His so that the church would be sanctified. church is for believers and therefore, the church should not try to appeal to the world. 
v.20~21- "but you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. i write to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth."
those who have been transformed by the Holy Spirit live by the gospel (2 corinthians 1:21). john writes this letter to remind Christians to go back to the knowledge they have been given (john 14:26) and to abide in the teachings of Christ (v.27). 
v.22- "who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? this is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son."
it is obvious to believers when the antichrists deny Jesus as the Christ, (2 john 7) but the devil will try to deceive the elect by disguising himself and by twisting scriptures. 
v.23- "no one who denies the Son has the Father. whoever confesses the Son has the Father also."
since the Son and the Father are both God, no one can have one and not the other. Jesus is the only way to the Father (john 14:6).
v.24- "let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. if what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father."
the gospel message which we heard calls us to love God and those who love Him will obey His commandments (2 john 6, john 14:23). 
v.25- "and this is the promise that He made to us- eternal life." 
God will keep those whom He predestined (john 17:2) to be saved, because He is faithful to His promises. therefore, we who have been saved can stand confidently before God on the day of judgement.
v.26~27- "i write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. but the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. but as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie- just as it has taught you, abide in Him." 
in this context, john means that believers have all the knowledge they need from the gospel (jeremiah 31:34). this implies that knowledge/ education which is not based on true biblical doctrine is not necessary. hence, we should study the bible to discern what is the truth (john 14:17) and what is a lie from the devil and his antichrists.       

a seal named wayne

constantly, i am reminded of my call to love first God and then to love second those around me, everyone from my parents to homeless people in china. we are told that it is important to love God first because we cannot truly love others without God's love, agape love, within us. and this love that we show to others comes naturally to us believers, by His grace, so it should be easy, right? we think...who would reject a love like this? one that is not condemning, one that is selfless, one that is so unconditional? it would be illogical, we think, to reject something so pure and good as agape love! now, pause. what is good? according to the world: anything that makes you feel good- money, sex, drugs, power, fame- just as long as you have a genuine heart. it's no wonder why so many in the world ask the question, "why do good people die?" and completely miss the fact that that only happened once. that is, only when our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross did a good Person die. after reading 1 thessalonians today, i've been reminded of something precious and essential to evangelism. paul tells us that we as Christians are not to be people-pleasing people who speak with flattery, but to do good to all. but if we are told to do good to all, wouldn't that mean that we are to try to please everyone? no, this is not a contradiction, but a clarification. what paul clarifies is that we, as God's children, are to do good- what is good according to His word- to others and sometimes, if not most of the time, doing good to others, showing them agape love, sharing the gospel will not please them, but rather they may even retaliate with hatred.
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i've already accepted the fact that i can't change you nor can i save you.
not a day goes by that i do not think of you, because i love you so much.
but you've chosen to live a life of partying, drinking, and lawlessness.
you've chosen to hate my God and so i must say, you've chosen to hate me.
however, since that day, there has not been a single doubt in my mind.
no matter what you've chosen, i will choose to always love you. always.

go get 'em

sigh...we're all going off to live our separate lives in various places now. but i'm excited. there's not a doubt in my mind about it. come what may.

so k.o.

sprinting with emmanuel = possibly pulled hamstring.
well, i guess i'll be focusing on upper body strength for a while.

little speakers

one month left to go until a new stage of my life begins. i can feel the tense worries of my parents creeping up on me. it's hitting them hard i assume, because soon, the world will eat me up. i'm sure some of my friends and mentors have their concerns for me as well, because from what most people conclude about me, i'm still a simple, complacent, naive, optimistic, gullible, nonchalant, too-kind-for-his-own-good kid. i've grown accustomed to that description and i'm quite stubborn, so changing drastically is not likely for me. but, that doesn't mean that i won't change at all in college. yes, i may not be the most cynical person, but at the same time, i know that everyone is evil, so don't think that i will be so easily fooled by seemingly "good" intentions. even if people say they are Christian, i will be sure to double check with the Word- this is actually the area in which i'm most critical. as for my motivation, i may not love the thought of being an engineer, i may not even love math or physics, but i love my Jesus! and in everything, i will try not to complain, so pray for me to have joy in the work that i do. and to address those that my parents warn me about, those that may hurt me in the future, those that may hate me, i hope that i may be a blessing to you all.

what do?

ice cold dong gua cha + reading ephesians (again) = a splendid afternoon!
yesterday, we were bored at the ho residence, so i invented a card game.
it's called "cards." i think my game-improvising skills are improving.

major/minor

"but all our lives, we’ve been treading paper in the space between the words.
and there implied’s the thought that we are barely more than bodies for the birds, carrion.
they say that we’re just accidental atoms beating air, carrying on and on,
unwitting orphans of an unyielding despair. but our hearts tell a different story; our hands feel a different pulse.
if anything means anything,
there must be something meant for us to be, a song that we were made to sing.
there must be so much more than we can see. 
something fathomless, deeper than our pride can dive; numinous, higher than –
our hearts can rise; transcendent, further than our thoughts can reach; immanent, closer than the air we breathe." -dustin kensrue, treading paper

bruce springsteen

you've gone a million miles
how far'd you get?
to that place you can't remember
and you can't forget.

ears that ring

yesterday, i got my car washed, climbed suicide hill, watched batman, ate chick-fil-a, and went to a concert at the house of blues. it was quite an eventful day and now my calves are sore. whether the soreness is from jogging up suicide hill or from standing still for about 3 hours while listening to music at semi-obnoxious volumes, i do not know. i must save money for reals now. spontaneous spending is not a good habit to enter college with. and the food has one trend: unhealthy. i'm looking forward to tuesday.

araneus diadematus

as i approached my side gate after a day of playing,
i noticed what felt like a branch brush my face. of
course, it wasn't a branch, because it stayed on my face
as i stepped back. i thought to myself, "web? can't be..."
then, a thick strand floated across my field of vision.
at that moment, i slowly ducked to an angle which i
could see what was in front of me more clearly. a dot.
a dot with legs. eight cringe-inducing legs. at least,
for someone who is afraid of spiders. instead of jumping
or screaming, i politely excused myself from its home.
"oh, hello there. i hope you don't mind me passing through.
sorry for destroying half of your home with my face."
usually, out of habit, i put my hand in front of my head
whenever i walk in places that are dark and or are likely
to have webs. however, today, i let my guard down.
you know what that means. it's about time for ninja training.
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summer bible study #3 is ready to go! time and place?

jenga solitaire

look! it's a
backward pyramid!
otherwise known
as a structure
that gets wider
as it gets higher.

a nerd's cry

it's august already. what is this anxiety that i'm feeling?
perhaps it is because half of summer has flown by or maybe
because my classes are almost over. i've been caged
by my parents' desire for me to get ahead- seems more
like i've been behind. my potential was held back and
i have learned nothing from those two classes. i've been
waiting, like a feral beast locked in a cage, to be let out.
to be challenged. to go explore. oh how i've missed math!
haha...maybe my introduction to engineering class was
designed to piss off potential engineers, because there is
no room for any practical use of math and physics.
oh would my brain just pick a side already! rest or work!
but alas, i am forced to choose neither. because the
tedious tasks that my teacher requires us to do neither
allow my mind peace nor allow my mind growth.
give me a textbook to study at least! all we've used thus
far is google- i could do that on my own for "research."
honestly, i'm just not going to do the homework. instead,
i'm going to build. honestly, legos do far more for my mind.
so there you have it, a future engineer's vacation involves
going back to the building blocks of every childhood (literally).