Spiritual Advantage with Sam Stone

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!

This week, I watched a thought-provoking debate between Richard Dawkins and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Many of you know Richard Dawkins, a reductionist atheist who wrote the famous book, “The God Delusion.”  I mentioned him a few weeks ago in another message.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali grew up as a Muslim and became an atheist after moving to Europe. Ever since then, she has criticized all religions, including Christianity. She frequently appeared on CNN and other channels. Dawkins and Ali were partners in crime, promoting atheism.
However, in a truly unexpected and dramatic twist, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a staunch critic of all religions, recently underwent a profound transformation. She found solace and redemption in Christianity, accepting Jesus Christ as her personal savior. This seismic shift, a shock to Richard Dawkins, sparked a heated debate on her newfound faith.
The debate, a battle of intellectual giants, is a must-watch. It delves into the survival of Western civilization, the well-being of our children, and the future generations, all in the context of the pervasive mind virus of wokeism and Marxism.
The debate, a clash of two levels of consciousness, is fascinating. Both Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Richard Dawkins were once intellectual radical atheists. However, Ayaan Hirsi Ali has ascended to a higher level of consciousness, recognizing the destructive nature of radical atheism and the vacuum it created for the mind viruses to infest.
I have noticed in this debate that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is considerate, but Richard Dawkins is condescending. According to the Taoist philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi, persons of lower consciousness tend to be condescending and sarcastic.
For example, Zhuangzi began his book by telling the story of the Peng bird with a thousand miles of wingspan, flying 9,000 miles above the sky. A cicada looks up at the giant Peng bird flying above him and says it is stupid and useless to fly that high. But the Peng bird doesn’t care what the cicada says because they belong to two different worlds—heaven and earth.
There are many stories like this in Zhuangzi. When a person of lower consciousness can’t understand that of a higher consciousness, they try to define them using condescending terms. On the contrary, a person from a higher consciousness is considerate when dealing with them, as Paul put it, speaking the truth in love.
In the debate, Richard Dawkins constantly tries to define Ayaan Hirsi Ali using condescending words like BS, nonsense, ridiculous, etc. Dawkins's book title is also condescending, “The God Delusion.”
On the contrary, Ayaan Hirsi Ali politely invites him to see what she sees, mainly how atheism has caused the potential extinction of the great Western civilization in recent decades.
Richard Dawkins has also recently softened his stance on atheism. He now calls himself a cultural Christian because he appreciates Christian culture, art, and music. The irony is that he enjoys the fruit but wants to kill the tree. Isn’t it hypocrisy? People like this are not conscious of their own hypocrisy but quick to define others.
Jesus doesn't allow the hypocrites to define him. They called him Beelzebul, the head of the demons. Even his family thought he had gone insane and tried to stop him. Jesus prevents being defined by defining himself according to God’s definition.
The truth is, if you don’t define yourself, the world will define you. In fact, the world is constantly defining you. There are numerous Richard Dawkins, Sam Harrises, and the like who try to define you as delusional, BS, ridiculous, nonsense, and so on.
How do you define yourself? You can’t define yourself based on your own fantasy of who you think you are. The best way to define yourself is based on what God thinks you are. Today, we will look at how Jesus defined himself and defend his definition when he was being defined by the world. So, let’s begin!

When I was in college, a friend invited me to join a Wisdom Society. We were required to write a philosophical essay every month, and the best essay received an award and was published. The first assignment was titled “God Created Humans or Humans Created God.”
It was thought-provoking but not as easy to write as I had expected. Even though I didn’t win the contest, the topic stayed in my head for over 30 years: Did God create humans, or did humans create God? I’m open-minded, and I like to investigate the truth. Wrestling with this topic does expand your wisdom.
I’ve discovered that the best way to answer this question is by figuring out the second part, “Did humans create God?” because it’s easier to prove than the first.
If God created humans, God is the higher intelligence. It’s harder for the lower intelligence to understand the higher one.
If humans created God, we are the higher intelligence, and it would be easier to reverse-engineer our creation to figure out why and how we created God.
As humans, we create things to meet necessities. We made airplanes to meet the necessity of traveling faster and farther. We created countries and territories to meet the necessity for security. Otherwise, we could have lived in a global village without borders.
We created kings and presidents because leadership is necessary. We need someone to call the shots; the buck must stop somewhere.
If God is also our creation, what human need necessitates our creation of God? I’ve discovered that humans need a moral compass or a North Star to orient our lives for meaning and purpose. God meets that human need.
Then, it becomes a catch twenty-two situation. If we need God to have a moral compass, the moment we realize God is our own creation, the magic stops working because we are following our own artificial North Star.
When you say, “Humans created God,” you become an atheist instantly? You can’t have it both ways. You can’t be a theist and be a creator of God. Atheists don’t believe in God because they believe God is a human invention.
They also argue that human belief in God evolves with time. They say, “If God is true, why does theology evolve along with human evolution? If God existed, he wouldn’t have changed over time. Therefore, God is a human creation.
That’s also a catch-twenty-two logic. If belief in God is part of human evolution, then wouldn’t it make atheists less evolved? In fact, some cultures do believe atheism to be barbaric. Civilized societies are God-believing societies.
If you think deeply enough, there is no logical argument for “Humans created God.” Instead, the need for meaning and a moral compass are clues that God created humans.
John Calvin said we are born with a sense of divinity and a seed of religion. That’s why you see religions and philosophers all over the world in search of the Creator. Saint Augustine put it succinctly,
“You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” ~Saint Augustine
We didn’t create God to rest our restless hearts; our hearts are restless because God created us to rest in God. After digging into the great minds from past to present and East to West, there is only compelling logic to argue for “God created humans.”
If “God created humans” is more logical, why do we have atheists, and some of them are pretty smart? After talking with many atheists, I discovered that organized religions turn them off. They can’t differentiate religions from God.
God created humans, but humans created religions. Religion is not equivalent to God. The atheists got it wrong. God is not a problem; religions are. When religions corrupt, they blame it on God. They say, “If there’s a God, why can’t he even keep his church in order?”
What they don’t understand is that God created humans with responsibility, not as puppets. God created humans with free will so our love can be genuine.
Jesus didn’t come to establish a religion but to rekindle our relationships with God and with people. So, Christianity is not a religion but a relationship. That’s what Jesus’ Great Commandment is about—love God and love people—nothing more and nothing less.
Religions set rules, but relationships sow love. We see Jesus frequently breaking the rules, triggering the religious leaders’ anger. He didn’t break the rules to be rebellious but to show us that corrupt religions turn people off by valuing rules above love.
So, today, let’s explore how Jesus broke the rules and why so we can learn when to break the rules to maintain loving relationships and avoid loveless religiosity based on this week’s scripture lessons. Let’s begin!

There’s a Chinese proverb, “Men do not pass 8x8; women 7x7.” This saying comes from the Yellow Emperor’s Internal Medicine Manual, written in the 5th century B.C.E. What does it mean? It’s about the pattern of physical changes in males and females. Men grow in an eight-year cycle and women in a seven-year. Let me explain by referring to the Internal Medicine Manual.
A boy changes his teeth when he is 8. By sixteen (8x2), he has the reproductive capability. By twenty-four (8x3), he is fully grown. By 32 (8x4), his body quality reaches its peak. By 40 (8x5), his energy starts to drop. By 48 (8x6), his hair begins to turn grey, and his skin begins to wrinkle.
By 56 (8x7), his legs become weakened and slow down. By 64 (8x8), his hair and teeth start to fall. That’s the end of his prime and productive years. (Yike, I’ll soon approach that age!) A man after 8x8 (or 64) is deemed old, not according to me, but according to the Internal Medicine Manual.
It also says that females change in a seven-year cycle. A girl changes her teeth by 7. By 14 (7x2), she has the reproductive capability. By 21 (7x3), she is fully mature. (Girls mature sooner than boys.) By 28 (7x4), she reaches the peak of her development. By 35 (7x5), her physical state turns downhill.
By 42 (7x6), her hair starts to turn grey. By 49 (7x7), she loses her reproductive capability. That’s the end of her prime and productive years. It’s the nature no one can avoid, according to the Internal Medicine Manual.
So, the saying, “Men don’t pass 8x8; women 7x7,” means men’s most productive years don’t go beyond 64, and women 49. If you are still active beyond that point, you are blessed. Many of you are far beyond that point and truly blessed to live in times like this to enjoy the longer and stronger golden years.
That’s physical, but how about mental and spiritual since humans have body, mind, and spirit? Mentally, we don’t have a pattern like that. Your mental maturity depends on how much you learn. The average person reads only four books after graduating from college. So, if you read more than four books a year, you are above average. Many brilliant people read about a book a week, fifty books a year.
Spiritual maturity is even more nebulous. You can measure your physical growth by age. You can also measure your mental capacity by taking an IQ test. How do you measure your spiritual maturity? It can be measured by the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
However, there’s a caveat. Jesus said we are branches. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself without attaching to the vine. Jesus said he is the True Vine. He said without him, we can do nothing. (Jn 15:5). It’s a strong statement, warning us that a branch doesn’t even have life without attaching it to the vine.
An atheist told me, “Well, I don’t need God or Jesus to live by love, joy, peace, patience, etc.” I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but then I discovered his life behind the scenes was a big mess. So, fat chance! Communism is the largest experiment to bear the fruit of the Spirit without the Spirit. They do good without God. History shows they failed miserably, building a utopia without the creator. I don’t have to elaborate since it’s well-recorded.
Branches don’t have life unless it’s attached to the vine. Furthermore, the Bible says a branch that connects to a poor-quality vine bears poor-quality fruit. That’s why Jesus said he is the True Vine. It means other vines are not true.
You might wonder, “Isn’t it arrogant or insensitive to say he is the only true vine, and we can do nothing without him? There are so many religions out there.” Jesus said by their fruit, you will know them (Mt 7:20), meaning, “Look at the evidence!” Ignore him at their own demise. Good luck, utopians!
Today, we will explore how to become a branch of the True Vine. Jesus uses parables and metaphors because spiritual reality is metaphysical. We need physical analogies to understand metaphysical reality. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus uses another metaphor to describe how the branches emerge from the True Vine. He says,
“Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (Jn 3:3).
To be born from above is like being born as a branch of the True Vine. It’s a spiritual rebirth. The initial outcome is seeing the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the alternative living. We live in a fallen world of suffering, but there is an alternative world, the kingdom of God, the Promised Land filled with the fruit of the Spirit, so we can live life to the fullest despite this fallen world.
To live in that kingdom, we must first see it. To see it, we must be born from above. So, today, let’s look at the mystery of this eye-opening rebirth that allows us to see the kingdom of God based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

This week, I saw a video of an interview with Richard Dawkins, the famous atheist renowned for his book, “The God Delusion,” and his recently published “Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide,” teaching young people how to outgrow religion. He is a retired professor of Evolutional Biologist at Oxford University. Currently, he is on a tour around the world to promote his ideology.
Like most popular atheists, Richard Dawkins likes to reduce Christianity into a straw man to tear it apart. He is a perfect example of a “reductionist,” reducing a whole truth to part of the truth or making part of the truth the whole truth. For instance, he says if you believe in science, you can’t believe in religion, and vice-versa.
That’s completely false because the majority of scientists are Christians. Oxford University, where he taught, was founded by Christians. Christians love science because God assigns us to be stewards of this world, and we must study this world to be good stewards.
Sure, there were exceptions in Christian history, but a real intellectual would not use the anomalies to represent the entire Christianity. On the other hand, there is no shortage of scientists who manipulate data for profit or popularity, but no one accuses all science of being false. Anyone who does is called a reductionist.
Scientific reductionism is the same as religious fundamentalism. It is the root of all evil because when you reduce the truth into part of the truth, you can never discover the truth. Knowing the truth is essential to freedom, primarily mental and spiritual freedom. Jesus said,
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (Jn 8:32).
Freedom is a human right given by God. That’s why our founding fathers built this nation on the God-given unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our pledge of allegiance ends with “One nation under God with liberty and justice for all.”
We treasure liberty, and Jesus shows us that liberty stems from knowing the truth. To know the truth, you must avoid religious fundamentalism and scientific reductionism. Then what is reductionism?
Everyone knows the famous fable of the Blind Men And The Elephant that we learned when we were young. That fable is to teach us the ridiculousness of reductionism. The first blind man touches the elephant’s truck and says that the elephant is like a snake. The second touches the tail and says an elephant like a rope. The third touches the leg and says an elephant like a tree. And so on.
Every blind man in this story gets hold of part of the truth but not the whole truth. Children find it funny and silly, but we should not forget this fable because it has a profound lesson. Humans are like those blind men regarding the truth because the truth can be too complex for our minds to contain. A reductionist is someone who insists that that part of the truth they know is the whole truth.
Then how can we know the truth? A solution is to resist reductionism and humbly gather more data to create a more complete picture. However, as the fable shows, a pair of eyes that can see the whole picture is better than a hundred blind men trying to feel it.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Recently, something went wrong on the roof of my home. It’s too dangerous for me to climb up to see what’s happening. I have a drone, but I have never learned to fly it. I broke my first drone the first time I flew it by hitting a tree. We have too many trees around. Mine was old, but I know the latest drones are much smarter. They can avoid obstacles by themselves.
Drones are like extensions of our eyes to give us pictures beyond what human eyes can reach. The good news is that Jesus promised to give us a Super Drone that sees what God sees, hears what God hears, and transmits the truth to us to set us free. Jesus nicknamed this Super Drone “The Advocate.” Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit.
I might be oversimplifying the Holy Spirit as a Super Drone. But, based on what Jesus told us in today’s scripture lesson, it functions like a Super Drone, serving as an extension of our eyes to see the blind spots.
Most importantly, it transmits the truth and sets us free. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus says this Super Drone will reveal three common errors that keep us from knowing the truth. So, let’s find out what this Super Drone does and how to own it. Let’s begin!