Spiritual Advantage with Sam Stone

I wonder if you have ever seen a golden pheasant. It’s one of the most beautiful birds in the world. They are native to Western China, but you can also find them in the Western United States. There are many breeders nowadays because they are beautiful, and people are willing to pay a good price to buy them. The Chinese regard them as a symbol of good luck because they look like the Chinese mythological phoenix, especially when they fly.
As beautiful as they are, they are still far from the status of a phoenix in the Chinese mind because a pheasant is, after all, a hillbilly bird, unlike the divine phoenix. Pheasants love fighting with one another to show who’s the boss; they have huge egos. That’s why they are regarded as rustic despite their beauty.
A Chinese metaphor describes a spiritual person or a person of high intellectual and moral status as a “phoenix.” Like the resurrection of Christ, a phoenix can rise from ashes. They are immune to adversity and are symbols of peace and resilience.
That gives us a good allegory for living our new identity as risen people. The Bible says,
“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Co 5:17).
Many similar verses in the Bible tell us that we used to be pheasants, but now we are phoenixes. The pheasant life represents a life of ego, full of greed, anger, and ignorance, but the phoenix is a life of love, joy, and peace.
In other words, to cultivate inner peace, you need an identity shift—from a pheasant to a phoenix, from being worldly to being divine. The Bible repeatedly encourages us to shift our identity—from the old self to the new self, from a barren life to a fruitful life, from being born of the flesh to that of the spirit, from living under the law to living under grace, and so on.
That’s what “repentance” means, as we discussed previously.
According to psychology, some people cannot quit smoking because they identify themselves as smokers consciously or unconsciously. The moment they shift their identity, they are set free from the old habits. If I say I have a sweet tooth, I will never recover from sugar addiction.
Many years ago, after I was diagnosed with depression, a friend told me to join his support group for depressive personality. I refused to join because I didn’t like the name of the group, “depressive personality support group.” It made me depressed just to hear the name. How could I ever recover from depression if I identified myself as a depressive personality?
I struggled with the decision for a while because he kept inviting me. Later I realized I made the right decision by refusing to claim that identity. It makes me understand why Jesus keeps calling us positive names: you are the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the children of God, the children of light, born of the spirit, not of the flesh, etc.
Jesus gives us a new identity to live a new way of life. Today, I want to remind you that you are no longer pheasants but phoenixes. It’s essential to claim that new identity, and you will find it easier to quit the old habits and have peace within.
This fallen world is a world of fighting pheasants, and we will never find peace living like pheasants. It’s their nature to fight, just as it’s human nature to sin. You may be trying hard to brace yourself against the temptations of the flesh, but it doesn’t last.
Why? It’s because you still hold the pheasant identity. Pheasants do what pheasants do. Resisting your nature is stressful, and you will give in sooner or later. The only solution is to shift your identity from the earthly pheasant to the heavenly phoenix. Then peace becomes you!
For the past four weeks, we have been studying Cultivating PEACE Within. I have identified five pillars of peace forming the acrostic PEACE. Previously we have talked about,
P – Presence: Protect God’s Presence in Us
E – Emptiness: Empty Myself (as Jesus Did)
A – Atonement: Atone with Forgiveness (nothing else works)
C – Community: Concert with the Community
E – Entertainment: Entertain Beauty
So, today we are on the fifth pillar of cultivating peace: Entertainment. The Bible reveals that the quality of our entertainment can enforce our identity and enrich our lives. With that, the God of peace and the peace of God is with us. Let’s find out!

There’s a human paradox. We all know we are social creatures, but at the same time, we often get hurt by social interactions. When I look at my emotional wounds, most of them are caused by people. Of course, there are self-inflicted wounds due to my own mistakes and stupidity, but there are many wounds inflicted by others—sometimes by strangers, sometimes by friends, and sometimes even by family members.
On the other hand, we cannot just cut ourselves off from society and expect to have peace. We all know being alone is unhealthy mentally, emotionally, and spiritually because we are social creatures. Then how do we solve this human problem? How do we be part of a community and not get hurt? I have discovered the secret based on what Jesus taught.
The secret is that “life is not a journey.” If life is a journey, the destination is the focus, and the faster we get there, the better. We want to get on the fastest vehicle in the fastest lane and rush to the end. If you treat life as a journey, your mind will concentrate on “tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow,” and you will not be able to enjoy the present moment. You cannot rush life because it has to be lived one day at a time. Jesus taught us to live for today in his Sermon on the Mount.
If life is not a journey, what is it? Life is a piece of music. Unlike a journey, you cannot rush to the end of the music, or it won’t sound pleasant. Just like living one day at a time, you must play every beat and every bar with proper timing and rhythm. There are high notes and low notes, happy moments and sad moments, but when you play it right, they all work together to make your life a masterpiece. Paul said,
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28).
Life is a series of peaks and valleys, high seasons and low ones. A friend said that he loves New Jersey because he loves the four distinct seasons—spring, summer, fall, and winter. They all are beautiful in their own ways because one season makes us appreciate another. We are in the middle of a cold winter right now, but it will make spring taste so delicious when it comes. It’s like a change of movements in a concerto.
I have also discovered that life is not solo music but an orchestra with God as our Conductor. As Paul said, “God makes all things work together for good,” like a magnificent concerto. I call it “life is a masterpeace,” (PEACE). So, your life is most peaceful when you play with a community that focuses on the same Conductor.
Notice the word “play.” You play through life like playing music. If life is a journey, you compete with people to get ahead. Since life is music, you play with people. When you compete with people, someone will lose, but when you play with people, everyone wins.
To cultivate peace within, you must learn to play with people. For the past three weeks, we have focused on cultivating PEACE within. We all have been through some rough three years, and we don’t know what the future holds, but if we have peace within, we can handle whatever comes ahead and make the rest of our lives the best of our lives.
There are five pillars of peace based on what the Bible teaches us, and I have put them together into an acrostic using the word PEACE. Previously we talked about,
P – Presence: Protect God’s Presence in Us
E – Emptiness: Empty Myself (as Jesus Did)
A – Atonement: Atone with Forgiveness
C – Community: Concert with the Community
E –
Today we will learn how to concert with the community to cultivate peace within based on Jesus’ word in today’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

The other day, I was with a group of parents and grandparents talking about the mistakes we made raising our children. Each of us shared our experiences and laughed our “guilt” out—we were laughing at one another’s stories but at the same time feeling so guilty for those mistakes. After hearing everyone’s stories, I felt relieved that I was not the only parent who made mistakes!
To err is human. However, some mistakes were not laughing matters because they caused permanent damage. We could brush off the small mistakes, but some big ones leave permanent scars and make us feel guilty for life, consciously or unconsciously. Even the small ones could accumulate and weigh our hearts down. The older we grow, the bigger burden of guilt we carry.
Even though we believe in a forgiving God, we just can’t seem to forgive ourselves for some regrettable issues in life. Have you wondered why it is? Even though we confess our sins to God frequently, some guilt still haunts us. You might say it’s because God has forgiven us, but we haven’t forgiven ourselves. If so, what does it take to forgive ourselves?
We cannot maintain peace within unless we resolve the guilt issue. The worse way to deal with guilt is denial—sweeping it under the rug and ignoring the role it plays in our daily life. Guilt doesn’t just disappear if we pretend it does not exist.
Guilt is an obstacle to peace. Internally guilt makes us depressed and stirs up anxiety. Externally it ruins relationships because guilty people tend to be angry. You feel like walking on eggshells around them. Guilt makes us defensive because we fear making more mistakes that might worsen our weight. We think the anger comes from the desire for justice, but the underlying guilt also triggers anger.
So, one of the ways to deal with an unreasonably angry person is to realize that it’s not you that they are attacking but the baggage of guilt they carry. Otherwise, you might retaliate and make things worse. Then you feel guilty and become an angry person—a domino effect.
Remember, “hurt people, hurt people.” This concept turns on our empathy. If someone tries to hurt you, you realize that person could be hurting inside.
Conversely, each time we get angry or snap at others, it reveals that we have something hurting inside us. All over the world, most people walk with hunched back, weighed down by the burden of guilt. Guilt triggers discords and even wars.
Throughout history, people invented many ways to atone for their sins. There’s an ethnic tribe in Western Burma nicked named “Headhunters” because they hunt for human heads seasonally to offer to their gods as a sacrifice. That’s a primitive way of atonement.
Nowadays, people go to temples to burn incents and offer alms for atonement. Some cultures sacrifice a lamb, a goat, or a calf for atonement. Some rich people give away their money for charity to atone for their guilt. A rich man in Thailand has a garden of statues, including Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, and all kinds of gods imaginable. He waters them every morning and prays to them, hoping that at least one of them will save him.
Humans do the weirdest things to cleanse their conscience. Guilt is a universal problem in this fallen world, but none of the solutions above work because they are more like bandages than cures. It’s like Lady Macbeth washing her hands. The spot never goes away.
The good news is God knows our plights and has provided a solution through Jesus Christ. John the Baptist said,
“Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29b).
The Lamb of God is true atonement, so today, let’s examine how the Lamb of God takes away our sins and why some Christians still feel guilty and cannot have peace. This is the third message in the series of Cultivating PEACE Within. There are five pillars of peace forming a mnemonic acrostic PEACE. Previously, we talked about,
P – Presence: Protect God’s Presence in You
E – Emptiness: Empty My Ego
A – Atonement: Atone with Forgiveness
C –
E –
As I said above, guilt is a big obstacle in cultivating PEACE. It’s at the center of it and not so easy to get rid of because it keeps accumulating, but Jesus has revealed the secret. So, let’s look at how the Lamb of God teaches us to rid our guilt and cultivate peace.

One of the major breakthroughs as we enter 2023 is the increasing accessibility to AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology, especially for writing and painting. Many of you have heard in the news lately that you can type a subject or headline on the computer, and it will write a pretty well-researched essay for you. You can ask AI to write an article or a blog post in seconds.
My son told me that AI could probably write my sermons for me, but I doubt it because I write my sermon based on my personal enlightenment from the scriptures. I get the message directly from the Head Office. But if what he said were true, AI could replace me, and I will be out of my job soon. You have heard that AI will soon replace many jobs, including drivers and even doctors.
AI will affect everybody’s life, and your life will never be the same. The next car you buy might drive by itself. You get in the car, maybe in the back seat without a driver in the front seat, tell it where you want to go, “Hey Google, take me to the church,” and just sit and read your book or chat with someone on the phone, and soon you are at your destination. Would that make you nervous or give you peace?
For peace of mind, I decided to try it out to see if AI could really write a sermon for me. So, this week, I typed in the subject of my sermon on OpenAI, “How to empty yourself.” Immediately, a blinking cursor appeared as if it was thinking and researching from millions of sources on the Internet. I was extremely excited to see the outcome.
Unfortunately, it stopped and spat out a question saying, “I’m not sure what you mean by ‘empty yourself.’ Could you provide more context or clarify your question?” I was both disappointed and relieved. Disappointed because I thought it could assist me with my sermon research and save me some time. Relieved because I realized I am still not replaceable by AI. It has no access to the Head Office.
Now, I have peace! You know I am kidding! Actually, I have no worries at all because AI can assist us with thinking but cannot replace our wisdom. It can think for us but cannot attain enlightenment on our behalf because it has a brain but not a spirit. Peace comes from the Holy Spirit, as we discussed last week.
Today, I am sharing with you the second secret to inner peace. I began this new sermon series on “How to Cultivate PEACE Within” starting last week. There are five pillars of inner peace, and I am using the word PEACE as the mnemonic acronym to help you easily remember them. I hope this will kick off our new year on the right foot and probably make the rest of your life the best of your life.
P – Protect God’s Presence in You
E – Empty Myself
A
C
E
Last week, we shared that the first pillar of inner peace is “Presence,” by which I mean “God’s Presence” and that we must “Protect God’s Presence in Us at all costs.” If you have God’s presence, you have peace. We looked at how Joseph protected little Jesus from getting murdered by the tyrant Herod as an allegory for defending God’s presence in us.
Today, we will learn the second pillar of inner peace from Jesus. The Bible reveals that Jesus maintained his peace by “emptying himself.” (Philippians 2:7). What does it mean, and how does it help you maintain your inner peace? AI doesn’t have the answer, but the Bible does. So, let’s discover the secret.

Happy New Year! What are your expectations for the year? I researched the forecast for 2023 and found many optimistic predictions, even though they are more toward the end of the year. For example, the pandemic will end globally by the end of the year. The economy will also recover by the end of the year.
Don’t be discouraged by the phrase “the end of the year.” At least we know the light is at the end of the tunnel. All’s well that ends well. All you need to do is to brace for the first part of the year. Life is full of ups and downs, peaks and valleys. We should always hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.
Having had some rough years recently, we may find it hard to have a positive outlook. However, history shows that tough times are the best times to build character, develop spiritual maturity, and cultivate enlightenment.
Peace within is the most significant spiritual state we must cultivate because whatever the future holds, you can navigate through life with a smile in your heart if you know how to maintain peace within. The good news is Jesus came to give us this peace. He is known as the Prince of Peace. He said,
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14:27).
Peace is inner happiness that nothing in life can disturb. Peace is when your heart smiles even when your face can’t smile. Notice he says that the peace he gives us is different from what the world gives us because the world can only offer temporary and superficial peace. Jesus offers profound peace that can navigate the most severe storms of life.
His peace allowed him to forgive the perpetrators while suffering on the cross. That is the kind of peace we all need, and only he can give us.
Starting today, for the next five weeks, we will make this year the best year ever by cultivating peace within. In fact, if you have true inner peace, you can make the rest of your life the best of your life.
There are five pillars of peace, and I put together a mnemonic acronym using the word PEACE to help you easily remember these five pillars. This week, we will start with the first letter of PEACE:
P is for Presence, meaning the presence of God. If you have God’s presence, you have peace in the present.
As you know, Jesus’ middle name is “Emmanuel,” meaning “God is with us.” That means his presence is God’s presence. The problem is you must not only nurture his presence but also defend his presence in you because this fallen world love to sabotage God’s presence in you.
So, today we will learn how to effectively nurture God’s presence so that you have peace within, your hearts will never be troubled, and you have no fear for whatever the future brings. Let’s begin!

An expert in human development told me that a person’s foundation of faith and character is solidified by about 14 years old. That means if your child receives proper nurturing, discipline, and education, including attending Sunday School regularly before age 14, they are likely to turn out well.
After 14, they may go astray and explore dangerous territories like most teenagers. You will feel frustrated as parents as they stop listening to you, but rest assured because they will turn around later and build their life on the foundation they received before 14.
The spiritual journey of humans is somewhat like salmon fish. Young salmons leave home and travel all over the oceans, but no matter how far they go, they still find their way to their birthplace to spawn. They don’t waste time looking for another habitat.
Therefore, do everything you can to nurture your children, grandchildren, or any children under your care before they are 14, and don’t worry after that because you cannot do anything about them anyway. You can only give them non-anxious nudges, pray for them, and leave the rest to God.
If we review our own childhood, we will find this pattern pretty accurate. We all meander through life after 14, but our spiritual anchor stays in the same place, with few exceptions.
I wonder how God arranged a perfect habitat to raise his Son on earth. If God chose Mary because she was the perfect mother for Jesus, God must have chosen Joseph because he was the ideal father for Jesus’ forming years.
I hardly talked about Joseph because, during the Christmas season, we mainly focused on Mary—her faith, courage, and sacrifice to be the mother of Jesus. During this season, we are also busy with special music and celebrations that often crowd out our attention on Joseph as if he was just a minor role in the Christmas pageant.
However, the role of the father is almost equally important to provide stability in raising a healthy child physically, mentally, and spiritually. According to psychologists, a child growing up without a father could be devastating, even though not as devastating as without a mother. I grew up without both during those years, so I know what they mean.
Some might argue that Jesus doesn’t need an earthly father since he is God’s Son. So they treat Joseph as a non-essential figure in Jesus’ life. However, since Jesus was also “fully human,” as he is fully God, he also needed a normal family to grow up healthily.
Even though the Bible doesn’t give us much information about Joseph, we discover he could be a model of a loving husband and a great father based on what we know about him. The last time we read about Joseph in the Bible is when Jesus was about 12 or 13.
Some historians discovered Joseph died in a construction accident. The Bible says he was a carpenter, but he could also be equivalent to today’s architect because the term “architect” came from Greek, ἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn), from the root, τέκτων (téktōn), which means “carpenter,” “builder,” or “master of art and engineering.”
As a man from the Davidic lineage, he was likely to be well-educated in the Scriptures and responsible for teaching his children. We know Jesus also learned carpentry from him as well as the scriptures.
Even though we don’t know how Joseph disappeared, at least we know he was there for Jesus’ forming years and played an essential role in Jesus’ physical, mental, and spiritual upbringing. He was chosen to bring up Emmanuel—God’s presence—on earth.
Since the Scripture lesson for today, the Fourth Sunday in Advent, focuses on Joseph, let’s learn why God chose him as an earthly father to raise Jesus. Along the way, we will learn how to be a person chosen by God to fulfill God’s purpose on earth. Let’s begin!

Legend has it that when John Lennon was in kindergarten, his teacher asked the class what they wanted to be when they grew up. Each kid stood up and voiced their dreams. “I want to be a doctor!”  “I want to be a teacher!”  “I want to be an engineer!” “I want to be a firefighter!”
When it came to John Lennon’s turn, he said, “I want to be happy!”  The teacher said, “John, that’s not my question. What do you want to BE when you grow up?” Lennon said, “I want to BE happy!”
“John, you don’t understand my question,” the teacher said disappointingly, but Lennon replied, “Yes, I do, but YOU just don’t understand my ANSWER.” (End quote).
One important thing we need to learn from children is their confidence and lack of doubt. Doubt is a big killjoy and takes away our sense of humor and creativity. Doubt also hinders our potential. The Bible says,
“For the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:7-8).
See, that’s serious! Doubt can deny us our wishes from God. Doubt is not unbelief but between belief and unbelief. That’s why James said they are double-minded and unstable, wasting mental energy on ambivalence. Jesus wants us to pray with faith, not with doubt.
Children are happier because they don’t have doubt, but as we grow older, after encountering disappointments, setbacks, and tragedies, we begin to doubt the possibility of the pursuit of happiness. I wonder how many people have developed crippling doubt after the prolonged pandemic.
Now and then, you hear people say, “You cannot pursue happiness. Chasing happiness is vanity.” I was curious about why they came up with such a conclusion. Our national motto includes the God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, distinguishing us from the rest of the world.
After some research, I discovered that those who discourage you from pursuing happiness are mostly unhappy. Misery loves company, so they don’t want you to have what they don’t have. They cast doubt on you, putting a stumbling block on your pursuit of happiness. Ignore them.
The Scriptures reveal that God wants you to be happy. Over and over again, the Bible says, “Rejoice always, and again I say rejoice.” Christianity is the only religion that sings at the funeral. Nowadays, some other religions try to copy us, but they are just copies.
When our children are unhappy, we parents feel like a failure. It’s the same with our heavenly Father. Jesus came to rescue us from this sea of suffering to the place of true happiness called heaven. He also teaches us how to live in heaven on earth. Jesus said,
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”  (John 15:11). 
Jesus has joy despite persecution and wants us to have the same joy to the fullest.
Today is the third Sunday of Advent, and we light the candle of joy and sing “Joy to the Word.” If you want to live with joy, you must eliminate doubt. Maybe that’s why Jesus wants us to be like children to enter the kingdom because they don’t have doubts but are full of joy.
We doubt when tragedy strikes or when we hit a setback. When he was in prison, John the Baptist began to doubt whether Jesus was the Messiah at all. That was a big deal because you would expect, out of all people, John must be the last one to doubt Jesus’ identity.
The good news is, based on Jesus’ answer to John’s doubt, we can discover four ways to overcome doubts. So, let’s begin!

As we entered December, I heard people talking about their New Year’s resolutions already. Even though I’m a last-minute planner, I admire those who plan early. Some want to eat healthily in the New Year. That’s a great habit because food is medicine, and if you eat right, you will prevent many troubles down the line and save a huge amount of money on medical costs.
Some want to quit a bad habit, and some want to develop a good practice. Gym memberships usually increase at the beginning of the New Year. Whether we can keep our resolution is another matter, but it tells us something about the human desire to change for the better.
It’s a paradox. We all want to change for the better, but at the same time, we also fear change because we don’t want to leave our comfort zone. Some people buy a smartphone because dumbphones are no longer available. As for me, I don’t like to wear new shoes because old shoes are the most comfortable. I liked to wear them until my wife secretly threw them away.
Here’s the paradox: people desire and fear change at the same time. As a result, people don’t change until the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change. We often call it hitting rock bottom. For those who resist change, hitting rock bottom is a good thing.
The question is, do we have to really wait until we hit rock bottom to change? What if it turns out to be too late when we hit rock bottom?
In 1988, when the entire nation of Burma rose up in protest for human rights and democracy, I told people with excitement that we had finally hit rock bottom, and the only way from then on was up. But a friend told me, “No, no, no! We will dig a hole under rock bottom and keep going down the abyss.” He was joking, but sadly it turned out to be true.
The lesson is we can’t rely on hitting rock bottom. For those who resist change, there is no bottom! My counselor gave me a word of wisdom on change, “If not now, when?” The “when” will never come; now is the only time to change. If you have something to change in your life, do it now. Don’t wait until the New Year. Figure out a way to overcome resistance right now.
Do you know the spiritual term for change is “repentance?” We often think repentance means regret, but it’s more than regret. The Hebrew word for repentance, “naham” means “regret and change.” Coincidently, the Chinese word for “repentance” is composed of two words, “悔改” (huigai), meaning “regret and change.”
Furthermore, the Greek word for repentance, “μετάνοια” (metanoia), also means “changing of heart and mind.” So, in conclusion, regret without change is not repentance.
The human desire to make New Year’s resolution reveals a deep spiritual longing for repentance—“regret  and change.” In today’s scripture lesson for the Second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist, the greatest man ever born of women according to Jesus, said,
“Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” (Mt 3:8).
It means fruitfulness is evidence of repentance. Don’t you want your New Year’s resolution to bear fruit? We all want change to live our divine dreams. Your desire for a New Year’s resolution is God’s whisper to you to live a fruitful life. Let’s nail it once and for all so we don’t have to make the same resolution over and over again year after year. Let’s begin!