(1) He does it for the believers, the “elect”, without taking it for granted that they are already secured in God’s salvation.  He recognises the earthly need for them to be sanctified in…

(2) …the “knowledge of the truth” which is the only source of authoritative directives for godliness which is called for in the believers on earth representing God as the truth bearers.  This is the only way to guard against mere “appearance of godliness” [Cor.2].

(3) What fuels Paul’s ministry is “hope of eternal life” which he received directly from God in Christ.  This hope is grounded in what was long promised (“before the ages began”) AND manifested in His Word.

(4) Word and its power is manifested through preaching, therefore the hope is also confirmed.  Paul preaches the gospel by Christ’s command, and his hope is also affirmed by the preaching.

(5) Paul is therefore able to offer to Titus, “Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour” in v.4.

[Titus 1:1] Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, [2] in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began [3] and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; [4] To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

What is this all about?  Well, it’s not easy to remain faithful in the task of living for the gospel.  There are many distractions–too many to even begin to name.  But when we stay focused, it can be better than merely adequate.  We can thrive in the hope!  Oh, to live with divine purpose, and to stay the faithful course over time, to finish the race as Paul has!

Is “hope” good enough?  When it’s from God it is.  It is better than anything else we might think reliable here on earth.  If it isn’t all would be lost even to the ultimate things.

We have folks in Sydney running on this hope as do we.  Across the “big pond” of Pacific Ocean, we hope to unite soon to continue to run together the race Christ marked out for us.  Ultimately, it is a redemptive race.  But it isn’t necessarily an individual race.  ”The hope” by itself is strong enough because it come from God.  But hope shared is stronger from where we tread.

After much hesitation, haggling, weighing the pros and cons of taking a baby camping, Claudia finally relented and we went camping with my side of the extended family.  It was a relatively short excursion to Kings Canyon in Sequoia National Park.  We camped at Lodgepole camping ground, right next to an amazing, ice-cold, fast running stream.  We hiked to the waterfall, and had a couple of bear sightings, and enjoyed two nights of sitting around open-pit fire.  There’s nothing like sitting in front of good fire out in nature!  Come Monday morning, when all excursioners attempt to make it back to civilisation from all sides of L.A. and Orange County, we packed everything in the car literally at the first light, and hightailed back home.  It was awesome to beat all traffic, AND still have enough of the day for Lucille’s BBQ and fireworks!  God bless America!!

I can’t believe it’s already been a month since I attended my first PCA General Assembly!  It’s sad that it took this long, but being out of the country has this effect.  The theme was “Christ for the World,” which always peaks a missionary’s interest.
 It was in Virginia Beach, and I stayed in a hotel all by my lonesome self.  Wife and E stayed back in Irvine, CA.  And even though GA was held beach front, coming from CA and Aus., I wasn’t looking forward to some beach recreation in VA of all places, so I didn’t even bother packing my swimmers.  The conference and all the meetings kept me plenty busy though.  God’s been super gracious to allow one great meeting after another.  The speakers were excellent, and it was encouraging to be worshipping with thousands of other PCA elders.  May the Lord bless and continue their faithful gospel work!

Literally, I ran in circles at UCI.  I’ve been on this campus numerous times in the past, and now I live on it.  But I never bothered to explore the full layout of the campus–never cared to, nor needed to.  But I decided that it was high time, and running for exercise seemed like a perfect way to kill two birds (curiosity and fat) with one jog.  So, I got on the main strip of the campus, and started running in one direction.  I was quite familiar with the first few buildings, then I started passing the ones I’ve never seen before.  They were very nice, architecturally speaking.  There were so many…  I never thought the school was this massive!  Of course, at this point I thought I was running in more or less straight line on just one side of the campus.  Then as I was thoroughly impressed with the school I thought I knew but totally underestimated, I reached a place entirely familiar–exactly where I started.  What a let down!  And how stupid I felt!  Ha!  But it turns out UCI was exactly the size I had thought.  I didn’t discover a Narnian portal to a whole different side of the campus after all.

The lesson is this:  (1) If you don’t know where you’re going, you could be running in circles–wholly unproductive if it wasn’t purely for exercise and diversion.  (2) Gradual curves in a winding road can amount to a 360 degrees before you know it, so note to self: “gradual changes matter in a long-run!”

I thoroughly enjoyed this interaction.  Even though it seems outdated, the steely yet gracious composure of Rev. Billy Graham is truly marvellous.  He affirmed and encouraged WA on several occasions.  ”God thinks you’re beautiful.  He wants what’s best for you.  You would make a fine minister.  God bless you!”

But ordering coffee in Australia can be tricky.  Besides the standard espresso, latte, cappuccino and americano, which the Americans are familiar with, and are common throughout Europe, Australians have their own batch of brew concoctions that vary slightly, but offer more options than your typical “joe”.  And some just go by different names.  Behold:

“flat-white” = (my favourite) Somewhere between cappuccino and latte, but without foam on top and less milk than latte.  Typically, it’s one shot of espresso mixed with steamed milk.  If you want double-shot of espresso, ask for “strong flat-white”.  Or, ask for “strong” for anything requiring double dosage of espresso.

“affogato” = Italian coffee dessert.  Usually a scoop of vanilla ice cream or gelato with a shot of espresso over it.  Best I found is at Campos in Newtown.

“short-black” = Espresso.  This is the foundation for all coffee-based drinks, a pressurised steam extraction of finely ground coffee beans.  Choosing a good bean and barista is key to a good coffee experience.  Our favourite beans are by “Piazza D’Oro“.  It has intense roasty coffee flavour without the bitter or sour aftertaste.  Beans have good oily sheen without being too oily or dry, lending to a beautiful shot of espresso with a golden float.

“long-black” = Basically, an Americano.  Like a strong filter brewed coffee, but actually, it’s an espresso with hot water.

“cappuccino” = Cappuccino.  Same, but in Australia, you can order it anytime unlike in Italy where it is exclusively a morning drink.  I had the “pleasure” of being laughed at for ordering it past 10am at the birthplace of this drink.  Yes, I’m an American.  Guilty!  ”Scu~si!”

Speaking of guilt and coffee:  My guilty pleasure in Australia, whenever I miss the U.S., is to go to a local Starbucks (despised in Europe and Australia) and get a “venti drip”.  Nothing says “America” than a burnt-tasting flat brew coffee with a bastardized name!  Ah, the creature comfort…

Did you know?  The land size of Australia is about the same as U.S.’s 48 contiguous states.  But compare the population:  The U.S. has 315 million people compared to 21 million in Australia.  Only 6.5% of Australia’s land is arable.  Close to 90% of all Australian population lives in its 8 major cities (Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, and Hobart).  These cities are sparsely dotted along Australia’s vast coastline.