Spiritual Advantage with Sam Stone

There once was a king who sought advice from a sage about how to govern his kingdom so that it would enjoy peace, progress, and prosperity and be free of crimes, violence, and wars. The sage said, to govern your kingdom that way, you must govern yourself first. As the Son of God said,
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Mt 3:66).
The king said, “I know, but the kingdom of God is too far. I don’t have the vehicle to go there.” The sage said, “As a king, if you don’t have the vehicle, who will have it, and who can attain the kingdom of God?” Then the sage added, “The vehicle to the kingdom of God is simple: a humble spirit.” As Jesus said,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3).
Poor in spirit is an Aramaic idiom for a humble heart. The sage implied that the king couldn’t attain the kingdom of God, not because he didn’t have the means to seek it but because he was full of himself.
This reminds me of another parable.
A professor hiked up to the high mountain to ask the sage to impart his wisdom to him. He introduced himself as one of the most accomplished professors in the country’s best university. The sage asked him to slow down and sit at his tea table and began serving him tea.
The cup became full, but the sage continued pouring tea into it, and it began to overflow and spill onto the table. The professor laughed at the sage’s clumsiness,
“Oh, old man, don’t you see the cup is already full? You can’t fill it anymore.”
“You are right,” the sage replied. “When the cup is full, you can’t fill it with anything. Please come back when your cup is empty.” With that, the sage turned away the professor, implying he was not ready to learn because he was full of himself.
I often wonder how often we approach God and ask God to give us what we want without leaving room for God to provide. The king wants to develop his nation without developing himself. The professor wants more wisdom without humility.
In today’s scripture lesson, Mark recorded two incidents Jesus encountered that revealed the secret to answered prayers. It’s an open secret that everyone knows but fails to put into practice. The secret is humility, but it’s easier said than done. Even the great Benjamin Franking admitted that he failed in this aspect.
Today, we will learn how Jesus answered the prayers of two situations so that we can improve our prayer life as well. So, let’s begin!

Many years ago, I met an elderly lady in our neighborhood. People said she was a good Christian and knew the Bible thoroughly. I was impressed. She held a Bible study group in her house, and people came to listen to her teaching.
However, my perception was shaken when I heard about her strained relationship with her in-laws. Given her role as a Bible teacher, I had assumed she was in the right. Yet, when I met her in-laws, I discovered they were devout Christians. I didn’t know who was wrong and who was right, but it disturbed me to see Christians don’t get along with Christians.
One day, someone brought her to our church. Since her church is much farther away in another town, it was much more convenient for her to attend our church. After a communion service, she said we shouldn’t use the normal bread because bread has yeast, which symbolizes sin in the Bible. As Jesus said,
“Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” (Mk 8:15b).
Respecting her age and biblical scholarship, we tried to accommodate her by changing the bread to matzo since it’s even simpler to prepare. However, a few months later, she left the church despite our hospitality. Later, I learned she didn’t just couldn’t get along with her in-laws but almost everyone around her.
I was naïve thinking someone who knows the Bible would be the most gracious person. In fact, in the Bible, we see Pharisees who treated the Bible seriously and taught the Bible to others. They were quite difficult to get along. Their heads were filled with biblical knowledge, but their hearts were rotten. They eventually crucified Christ.
Have you ever wondered how a person can be so religious and so vicious? It serves as a warning to all of us. With all the warnings Jesus gave us, why do some Christians still become like Pharisees? It’s a reminder that we, too, can fall into the trap of righteousness without grace. Jesus said,
“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20).
It was a tall order because the Pharisees were strict practitioners of righteousness. The Hebrew term “righteousness” is quite complex because it means fulfilling God’s commandments. But Jesus made it simple with the Great Commandment, covering the Old Testament: Love God and love people—nothing more and nothing less.
In other words, if we don’t have love, nothing matters. Even if we can recite the Bible from cover to cover, we miss the kingdom of heaven. As Paul put it impactfully,
“If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1 Co 13:1–3).
Paul was a recovering Pharisee, and he knew what the Pharisees had missed. Their heads were full of biblical laws, but their hearts were short of divine love. As Jesus said, we cannot enter heaven without love.
Do you know the distance between heaven and hell? It’s just about 18” apart—the distance between your head and your heart. It’s upside down, of course. Heaven is where your heart is, and hell is where your head is. Interestingly, all four of these words start with “h.”
This doesn’t mean biblical knowledge is unimportant. It is vital for our lives but must go beyond our heads and flow to our hearts. When the Bible goes to our heads, it becomes knowledge. When it enters our hearts, it becomes wisdom.
Today’s scripture lesson taught us about Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees, who criticized Jesus’ disciples for breaking the rabbinic law. But Jesus revealed that the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. This story allows us to self-search and evaluate our hearts to see whether our hearts are in the right place according to God’s law. Let’s begin!

I am not fond of SMART goals because they are too mundane and meager. In case you don’t know, a SMART goal means using the word SMART as an acronym to set goals. SMART represents Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
It’s a good starting point, but not for leaders because leaders set problem-solving goals. They identify a problem and try to solve it. Sometimes, a problem can be enormous. In that case, the SMART goal strategy doesn’t apply because it requires you to set “Achievable” goals.
We are in an election cycle now. You don’t hear the candidates talking about their SMART goals. Each of them tries to solve some monumental national or regional problems. Whoever has the best policies and capability to solve the issues will get my vote.
What problem are you trying to solve? Last week, I talked about Bob Peirce, who felt called to solve the massive orphanage problem after the war and founded World Vision. Young and penniless, if Bob Pierce had set a SMART goal, he would have concluded that solving the orphanage problem was not SMART because it was beyond his ability to achieve.
However, Bob Pierce knew, it was achievable by relying on God. Jesus wants us to solve significant problems rather than set SMART goals. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus tested Philip by asking him how to feed a crowd of five thousand people following them.
When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” (Jn 6:5–6).
According to Mark, Jesus was training his disciples to become apostles. Disciples are followers, but apostles are leaders. (I mentioned this last week.) Jesus was teaching them to be leaders who solve problems. He wanted them to be scholars rather than students.
How would you solve the problem if you were Philip?
Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” (Jn 6:7).
I checked online, and the average monthly wage in the United States is about $5,000. That means even $30,000 worth of food would not be enough to feed them. Philip used the SMART goal, and he knew it was not achievable. They couldn’t afford it.
Jesus doesn’t allow his disciples or apostles to have a limited mindset. Have you ever settled for less because of your limited mindset? I am sure we all do, but Jesus wants to stretch our mental limits and think far outside the box.
What problem is God calling you to solve, and what limitation are you encountering? Time, talent, or treasure? Do you have limited time? Limited talent? Or limited finance? Jesus wants us to think outside of those limits.
Jesus doesn’t want us to set SMART goals. He wants us to set Miracle Goals. That’s what godly leaders do. They make miracles by thinking outside of human limits—not just thinking outside of the limits but acting outside of the limits.
When you think and act outside those limits, you discover that they don’t exist at all and realize that you arbitrarily set those limits. When you have a breakthrough like that, you witness a miracle. Jesus wants us to set Miracle Goals.
In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus fed five thousand people using minimal resources. We will learn from this miracle the profound lessons of discipleship leadership to solve insurmountable problems and to move mountains. Let’s begin!

Do you know that one of the best-selling nutritional supplement categories is energy supplements? If you search for energy supplements on Amazon.com now, you will get over 20,000 items. Three years ago, I did the exact search and got 8,000, and I thought that was too many. It grew almost three times in three years. What does it tell you?
It tells me there is a shortage of physical energy, and many people have become dependent on energy supplements as a quick fix. I heard about people getting extremely rich by selling energy supplements. The market seems ever-expanding.
For example, everyone today knows Red Bull—the energy drink sold over twelve billion cans in 2023, almost two cans for every human. A can of Red Bull costs $0.9 to make but sells at $3 or more. The wholesale price is around $1.80. So they make nearly 20 times the profit.
Why do people lack energy? Can instant energy pills or drinks leave long-term damage down the line? They do, but people would rather risk their health for an instant energy boost. Some drink it for entertainment, and others for productivity.
Today, I would like to introduce a natural energy booster that doesn’t cost anything. It’s part of the Leadership Spirituality I have researched for decades.
Humans are composed of body, mind, and spirit. Our physical energy comes from healthy nutrition, mental energy from sound learning, and spiritual energy from proper devotion. When all three are well integrated, we have wholeness, which gives us the most energetic state without the Red Bull.
Conversely, three things drain our energy: eating wrong, learning wrong, or devoting wrong. Energy supplements cannot replace these mistakes. Supplements should be used as supplements but not as substitutes. Instead of reaching out for a quick fix, we should figure out what is draining our energy.
I’ve discovered that nurturing spiritual energy is crucial because no matter how well you eat or how smart you are, life without devotion is meaningless.
For example, what activity in life requires the most energy? Childbearing. Where do mothers get that amazing life-giving energy to bring a new life into the world? Love and compassion. Love is spiritual.
Some might want to say love is an emotion, but it’s part of the spirit. The Bible says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are spiritual fruits, but they manifest as emotions. A healthy spirit produces healthy emotions.
If you are spiritually nourished, you will feel energetic even if you don’t have time to eat. We read in the Bible that there were times Jesus did not have time to eat because he was busy healing and helping people, yet he appeared energetic as if he had already eaten.
For example, when Jesus reached out to the Samaritan woman at the well while the disciples went into the city to buy food. The disciples returned, and the Bible says,
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” (Jn 4:31–32).
What food did Jesus eat? At the beginning of this story, Jesus was already tired after a long journey, but now he appeared nourished and satisfied without eating physical food. What did he eat that turned him from tired to triumphant? What’s his secret?
The context shows that the secret is love and compassion, but you might wonder how you can consume compassion as nutrition and how it can immediately reenergize an exhausted body. Love and compassion can make supermen and superwomen out of ordinary people.
In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus trained his disciples to become leaders and showed them how to become “energizer bunnies” because leaders on a mission sometimes may not have time to rest. We learn that even the disciples didn’t have time to eat but continued to work long hours energetically.
Today, we will explore compassion as an energy booster through today’s scripture lesson and learn how to naturally and spiritually energize your life without sugar water or Red Bull. Let’s begin.

Once upon a time, a woodcutter was chopping wood by a river. As he swung his axe, it slipped from his hands and fell into the river. The woodcutter was poor and could not afford to lose his only tool. Desperate, he sat by the riverbank and cried.
Suddenly, the angel guarding the river appeared and asked why he was crying. The woodcutter explained his plight, and the angel dived into the river, emerging with a golden axe. “Is this your axe?” asked the angel.
The woodcutter, with tears in his eyes, shook his head. “No, that’s not mine,” he said. The angel dived again and came up with a silver axe. “Is this your axe?” asked the angel.
Again, the woodcutter shook his head. “No, that’s not mine either,” he said. Finally, the angel brought up the woodcutter’s old, worn-out iron axe. “Is this your axe?” asked the angel.
The woodcutter’s face lit up with relief. “Yes, that’s my axe,” he said, his voice filled with gratitude. Impressed by the woodcutter’s integrity, the angel rewarded him with all three axes. (End of the story.)
This allegory might sound childish, but it edifies those seeking wisdom. Integrity may sometimes sound silly in a situation like this, but God rewards those who have it.
First, let’s define integrity because most assume integrity means honesty. Integrity is more than honesty. It means being integrated. It’s similar to wholeness—being whole and complete.
In telecommunication and IT, “system integrity” means every part of the hardware and software functions as intended to complete the tasks.
In humans, integrity represents wholeness, giving us a healthy and harmonious body, mind, and spirit. So, integrity is more than honesty. It’s congruency among our actions, thoughts, and beliefs. A person without integrity acts incongruently from their thoughts and beliefs.
If you were that woodcutter, how would you react when the angel showed you the golden axe? You might say, “It’s not exactly mine, but I don’t mind using it. Better than nothing!” Don’t you think it’s both honest and humble? You don’t want to trouble the angel to dive down the river for you again.
I have seen people like that woodcutter. They are down to earth. They don’t take what’s not rightfully theirs. If you have such people among your friends, you are blessed because they make reliable friends, and you can trust them for life.
Integrity has at least two major benefits:
It gives you peace, and you will sleep well.
It gives you the power to influence people.
A Chinese proverb says, “Those who don’t act against their conscience in the daytime will not fear ghosts knocking on the door at night.” (白日不做亏心事，半夜不怕鬼敲门。) Integrity makes you sleep soundly at night because you have a clear conscience.
Secondly, a person with integrity emits subliminal power over people. They influence good people and intimidate bad people. Those who lack integrity fear people with integrity. They are like a bright light shining into the darkness, so the darkness hates them.
We live in a world that promotes compromise. Maintaining integrity in this fallen world is not easy. But we must strive to attain and maintain our highest integrity because it makes you sleep well and gives you the power to influence good people and intimidate bad ones.
Today’s scripture lesson tells the story of a man of integrity, John the Baptist, against dark and violent tyranny. John died with integrity, but he didn’t lose; tyranny lost. Jesus said,
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mk 8:36 ESV).
When someone loses integrity to gain worldly profits, they lose their soul. So, today, we will explore how to protect the power of your integrity and wholeness when the world tries to compromise you. Later, I will also share what it is like to be at the pinnacle of integrity. So, let’s begin!

I’ve discovered that life is limited by the capacity of imagination. Imagination is what makes us different from animals. It’s God’s image in us. The question is how we can stretch our imagination far enough to have no more limitations.
In 1990, when I was about to leave for the U.S. from Burma, I called my aunt in California, asking her what I should bring to America. She said, “Don’t bring anything; we have everything here. Just bring yourself.”
Still, since the flight allowed two large pieces of luggage, I filled them with the best thing I could get from Burma, thinking my American relatives and friends would love to have them. When I arrived in the U.S., most of them turned out to be useless. It’s a waste of time, money, and energy to carry them across the globe.
It’s difficult for someone from a third-world nation to imagine what the first world is like. Believe it or not, I have heard someone from Burma migrate to America with a sack of rice, thinking there’s no rice in America since the Westerners eat mainly bread.
Even though I was not that ignorant, my best imagination of America was still far shorter than reality. I had already been to other countries and had seen many American movies. Still, what I put in the luggage revealed my third-world limited imagination. Einstein said,
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” ~Albert Einstein
By that, he didn’t mean knowledge is not essential, but we have a limited time and capacity to acquire the knowledge. Only creative imagination can help us fill the knowledge gaps. Optimal imagination is like the ability to see the future. It turns you into a prophet.
What would you stuff your luggage with if you were traveling to the kingdom of heaven? Most people know you cannot take your procession with you to heaven. But what other abstract things do you carry? For example, emotional baggage, such as guilt, grief, and grudges,
I often mentioned my favorite philosopher, Zhuangzi, the grandmaster of imagination. For example, he spoke about the Peng bird with thousands of miles of wingspan, flying at 90,000 miles high above the sky. Can you imagine a bird that big?
Jesus further stretched our imagination by introducing the kingdom of heaven to us. What would God tell you if you called Him on the phone, asking what you should bring to the kingdom in your luggage?
As Christians, we are on the journey to the kingdom, but many carry unnecessary baggage that limits their lives of freedom and joy. Jesus wants those carrying heavy burdens to come to him and take on his burden instead because his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.
Jesus wants us to travel light. When we empty our luggage, our imagination is set free, and Providence steps in. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus teaches us how to move on from life’s limitations by setting free our imagination. Let’s begin!

One of my most joyous moments in life was when my first daughter, Cassy, was born. I can never describe how happy I was when the nurse put her in my hands as soon as she landed safely on this earth. I started counting her cute little fingers and toes. It was December, so I regarded her as God’s best Christmas gift for me.
For the following years, I was in the clouds, reading books to her at night, taking her to the Zoo every week, and riding the mini choo-choo train around the park. Even after a long day at work, my stress faded away as soon as I saw her cheerfully greeting me at the door.
I know many fathers like me have shared the special blessing of the indescribable joy of having a Daddy’s little girl. Yesterday, Paul Simon’s song “Father and Daughter” popped up on my timeline, leading me on a trip down the most beautiful memory lane. I wonder how many of you know that song.
Have you ever wondered how God feels about His daughters? Some of you might have heard of this unwritten version of the creation story. Do you know why God created Eve after Adam? Why wasn’t God satisfied with Adam alone since he was created in God image? Why did God need to create a woman?
Here’s the behind-the-scene story. After creating Adam, God looked at him and was pleased, but God wondered, “Hmm, I think I can do better than that!” So, God created Eve!
Then, when Moses wrote down Genesis, God told him not to include this behind-the-scene story because He didn’t want Adam to suffer from an inferiority complex. Being a man, Moses agreed, so he kept this story off the record, letting the men fantasize they were superior creatures.
That may be a joke, but the proof is in front of your eyes. For example, women, in general, live longer than men. Visit any nursing home, and you’ll see more women than men. The latest data show that women live five years longer than men on average.
If longevity does not prove women are a better creation, here’s another example. Harvard Business Review published a research report showing “Women Score Higher Than Men in Most Leadership Skills.” Out of 19 leadership abilities, women scored higher in 17 of them.
Most importantly, women are more spiritual. You see more women in the church, Bible Study groups, or fellowships. The first persons who discovered Jesus’ resurrection were women because they loved Jesus and visited him at the tomb while the men were probably still sleeping. You know the resurrection story.
Numerous pieces of evidence show women are God’s little girls. Of course, we know God loves everyone, but women seem to have a special place in God’s heart.
In today’s scripture passage, we read about a tale of two daughters, which teaches us two lessons: 1) God loves His little girls and 2) how to turn adversity into advantage. So, let’s begin!

Home, sweet home! I am back from the Gift of Life mission trip in Vietnam. It’s a medical mission that provides heart surgery to children with congenital heart diseases who can’t afford it.
This week, I had the privilege to observe the cardiac surgery of a 16-month-old child up close. It was quite an experience to be with a team of dedicated doctors and nurses working skillfully on a living human. They looked like they were having fun practicing their art and science to save lives.
The surgical team was kind enough to give me a prime spot where I could also take pictures and record videos. I won’t show you those pictures and videos because they are quite graphic and not for the faint of heart to see.
It was a complicated case, but the surgery was successful. I also took a couple of pictures of the child's face during the surgery. Under the magic of the anesthesiologist, he slept through the entire surgery peacefully. He didn’t know his body was pried open, his heart cut apart, blood flow redirected, and his heartbeat was stopped before they fixed his problem, and then they put everything back to normal.
He slept through a storm of life!
When he woke up, he would not remember anything that had happened in those hours. He will feel some pain for some time, but he will be healthier and stronger than before. Had he been awake during the surgery, his fear would have been insurmountable, and his pain would have been unbearable.
It’s a blessing to sleep through the storms of life. In fact, we all sleep every day, and many things happen during our sleep. Our digestive, respiratory, and healing systems continue to work hard when we sleep. We have no control over them, and we don’t have to. God doesn’t want us to.
Unfortunately, many can’t sleep through the storms of life because they want to control everything. Part of the Serenity Prayer says,
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,The courage to change the things I can,And the wisdom to know the difference.” ~Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr
“Things I cannot change” include the storms of life. I am sure everyone has been through some storms in life. At times like that, we must learn to sleep peacefully through or ask God to grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change.
In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus shows us how to sleep through the storms of life and teaches us how to maintain serenity, accept things that we cannot change, and have the wisdom to know what to do and when to do it. Let’s begin!