Spiritual Advantage with Sam Stone

When I was in college in Mandalay, I gathered with a group of friends for tea and breakfast every Saturday morning. One of them had a motorcycle, and one day, he was hit by a car when riding his bike.
However, he still showed up on the following Saturday for breakfast with bandages around his head and arms. He said, “When I was hit, I thought I would die. My motorcycle was completely crushed under the car.” He described the accident vividly to us.
Then he said, “I wish I died because I have been a good boy all these days. If I died in that accident, I know I would go straight to heaven. That was the perfect moment. But now I have to continue to be good. I don’t know when I might stumble. It’s not easy to be good all the time. You know!”
Of course, he was half joking, but it gave us some food for thought. Do we really go to heaven if we die when we are being good? Can we really maintain our goodness all the time in order to go to heaven? Is it possible at all since humans are sinners?
As Christians, we know we are saved by grace, not by work. However, repeatedly in the Bible, we read Jesus said he expects to see our good work when he returns. Jesus died for us on the cross to redeem us from our sins. If we have to depend on our own goodness to be saved, then why would Jesus need to die for us?
Believers have been debating on this subject for two thousand years. Some early Christians thought they could go wild and live promiscuously since Jesus had already paid for the price of their sins. Peter, Paul, and other disciples had to write letters to those Christians to watch their behavior. For example, Paul said,
“What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Ro 6:15).
Under the law, we pay the price for our sins. Paul was not talking about the civil law but the law of God, such as the Ten Commandments. However, because of what Jesus has done for us, we no longer live under the law but under God’s grace. That doesn’t mean we are freed to live a sinful life, assuming we are forgiven by grace.
Paul said that to sin is to be a slave to sin. Now, since we are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to God, we should behave like God, living in righteousness. Paul said,
“But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life.” (Ro 6:22).
Sanctification, in a nutshell, means becoming a saint. It’s a process of becoming righteous and holy. It doesn’t mean every Christian can become purely righteous and holy, but being in the process itself is a sign that you are heading to eternal life. How do you know you are in the process of sanctification? You would feel repulsive at sin, to start with. Paul then said,
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ro 6:23).
Notice it says “free gift.” If it is a free gift, why must we work for it? Every promise of God comes with a premise. To live wisely, we must understand both the promises and premises.
Today, we will gain this wisdom through Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids.
One of the most important questions in life is, “If I died today, would I go to heaven?” If you can answer “Yes!” confidently, you have a joyful life. Great sages say, “You are not ready to live until you are ready to die.” If you want happiness, you must first solve the death problem and make sure you have a free ticket to eternal life. Let’s begin!

Do you know what Christians were called before the term Christian existed? The word “Christian” was a derogative term, meaning little Christ. It was a way to make fun of those who follow Christ. But, later, they felt proud to be called Little Christ, so they adopted the term “Christian” as their identity.
Again, do you know what they were called before they adopted the term Christian? They were called—or we were called—the “followers of the Way,” with the capital “W,” just like the “Word.” Paul says,
“I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets.” (Ac 24:14 NIV).
Paul was arrested by the Jews, accused of starting riots, and brought to Governor Felix for a hearing. He said that, as a “Follower of the Way,” he believed everything in the Law and the Prophets—meaning, as Christians, we believe everything the Jews believed. They were the ones that called us a sect, meaning they were being divisive.
Several times in the Book of Acts, Christians were called the “Followers of the Way,” or those who “belong to the Way.” This term began with Thomas asking Jesus to show him the way. Jesus said,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn 14:6).
I think the term “Followers of the Way” is fascinating because the Way indicates a journey. Unlike “Christians,” which reveals who we are, “Follower of the Way” shows where we go. Since the Chinese philosophy of the Dao also means the Way, it gives us more material for Christology—the study of the person, nature, and role of Christ.
Laozi said the Dao is like water. He says in chapter 8 of Dao De Jing:
Supreme good is like water.Water greatly benefits all things without contention.It flows through places that people loathe.Therefore, it is close to the Way. (Dao De Jing #8a)
Water perfectly describes Jesus’ way of life. Jesus brings salvation to the world through grace. Jesus goes to places people don’t want to go, especially the cross. Water follows to the lowest places, representing humility. Water is soft and gentle, just as Jesus says, “I am gentle and humble in heart.”
So, if we are the Followers of the Way, we must learn to be like water. Bruce Lee made this philosophy famous by saying, “Be water, my friend!” asking people to be fluid, flexible, humble, and adaptable. If you become water, you have no contention. Contention disrupts our peace and joy. The water state is the Way to happiness.
Today, we will learn from Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, how to be the Followers of the Way and live like water to benefit all things without contention, living in heaven on earth. Let’s begin!

Zhuangzi’s friend complained about a useless tree on the roadside that every carpenter ignored. Despite its humongous size, its trunk and limbs are gnarled, making it unsuitable to build furniture. People can’t use its wood to build boats because it would sink.
To his friend’s surprise, the sage said, “What are you complaining about? Think on behalf of this tree. Just because it’s useless, it’s still alive. If it is useful, people would have cut it down long ago and made something out of it. Now, because it’s still here, travelers like us can rest under its shade. Don’t you think it’s useful for that purpose? Don’t look at things only for their utility. Think harmoniously.”
Some days later, Zhuangzu visited a friend who enthusiastically welcomed the sage, asking his son to kill a rooster for dinner to entertain the guest. His son asked, “Dad, which one should I kill—the one that crow or the one that doesn’t?” Dad said, “Of course, the one that doesn’t crow.” (In ancient days, rooster crow at sunrise, so they were the organic alarm clocks for the family.)
Hearing the host’s order, Zhuangzi’s students said to the sage, “Teacher, didn’t you say that being useless is good when you talked about the huge useless tree? Now, they killed the useless rooster for dinner. Are you wrong?”
The sage replied, “Did I tell you being useless is always good? No! There are times when being useless is not good and times when being useless is good. You need to think harmoniously with time and situation. If you were a tree, you would rather be a useless tree so that you would survive. If you were a rooster, it’s another matter.” (End of the story.)
The point of the story is that there are times when we should reveal our gifts and times when we should be humble and keep a low profile. There are times to speak up and times to shut up. If you show off your talent at the wrong time and space, you will be cut down like a tree. If you keep silent when you are in a role as a rooster, you will become dinner. Just as King Solomon said,
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; (Ec 3:1–2).
Last year, I transplanted a few redbud trees in my yard around late fall because that was the time I was motivated to do. But they all died off in winter. The action you take should be harmonious with time and space. Sometimes harmony is easier said than done. There are two verses in the Proverbs that sound contradictory:
Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool yourself. Answer fools according to their folly, or they will be wise in their own eyes. (Pr 26:4–5).
Don’t you think these two verses are contradictory? The first asks you not to answer fools lest you become like them, but immediately, the second asks you to answer. These two verses are a great example of knowing when to respond and when not based on time and space.
The first verse tells us not to argue with fools when your argument makes you appear like a fool. The second verse tells us we should argue with fools when keeping silent would make them arrogant—thinking of themselves as wise people. You have to pick the right action at the right time and space.
These verses explain why Jesus sometimes stayed silent and other times engaged in a debate with the religious leaders. They were fools, but sometimes, Jesus chose to answer them to teach the audience or keep them from thinking too highly of themselves.
You need to choose the right time and space to apply those two proverbs. Just like Kenny Roger’s song says,
“You’ve got to know when to hold ’emKnow when to fold ’emKnow when to walk awayAnd know when to run” (~The Gambler)
This song treats life as a gamble, making decisions by looking at people’s eyes. However, Jesus taught us how to read the will of God to know when to hold and when to fold. It’s straightforward because there are only two rules to live a harmonious life.
So, today, we will explore how to live in harmony with heaven and earth based on what Jesus taught us in this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

Confucius was hiking with his disciples to visit a majestic waterfall. Even before they arrived at the waterfall, they could sense the power of it from the distance, first the rumbling sound and then the breathtaking sight of a tall and wide waterfall. It may be comparable to Niagara Falls.
They could see the mist from the fall reaching miles away. As they approached the fall, they knew the powerful current would not allow even fish or turtles to survive. But suddenly, they saw a man dive into the water. Confucius thought he might have fallen accidentally into the water, so he asked his students to try to save him.
The man disappeared in the water and reappeared about a hundred feet away. He jumped back on the shore and sang aloud with joy as if he just had a great exercise. As he walked by, Confucius stopped him, saying,
“Gentleman, I thought you were a ghost because I didn’t think a man could swim under this waterfall. How did you do that?”
The man answered, “Oh, it was a piece of cake because I followed the current. As I jumped into the water, I sensed the spinning torrent pulling me down to the bottom of the river. I didn’t resist it. Instead, I went with the current, knowing it would turn the other way around when it reached the riverbed, pushing me back to the surface.”
Confucius asked, “How do you know the nature of the current? Can you teach us?”
The man said, “I grew up near this fall and have been playing and swimming under here since I was young. I discovered that, by resisting the current, I would run out of breath and strength to swim. It naturally takes me to the other side when I don’t manipulate the current. I can’t tell you more than that because I learned by experience.”
(End of the story.)
That is an allegory by Zhuangzi, depicting the core Taoist philosophy of “Do Nothing” (无为). It’s counter-intuitive to our overworked society. We believe we must strive and scrape to achieve success. So, the concept of “Do Nothing” is often misunderstood, ridiculed, and ignored by most people.
According to the story, “Doing nothing” doesn’t mean doing nothing at all, but it means not manipulating or disobeying the Tao. What is the Tao? (I mentioned it last week.) The Tao in Chinese means the Word, or the Logos, in Greek.
The Chinese translation of John’s Gospel says,
“In the beginning was the Tao, and the Tao was with God, and the Tao was God.” (Jn 1:1).  
In verse 14, John said that Jesus is the Tao became flesh, or Jesus embodies of the Tao.
In the story above, “the current” symbolizes the Tao, the Word, or God. In the Bible, we notice that Jesus doesn’t go against the current but goes along with the current and accomplishes his mission on earth—to save humanity from sin.
Please note that by current, I am not talking about the popular trends of society, but God’s Current or God’s Word. It’s like surfing the wave, not the wave of the world, but of God. Jesus frequently mentions that everything he says or does is guided by God.
The only time he wanted to go against God’s current was when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking God to let him pass the bitter cup, meaning he would rather not go to the cross if it was God’s will, but he went to the cross with obedience.
Today, we will learn from Jesus how to obey the current of God and swim to the other side, accomplishing our mission and having a great deal of fun doing it. Let’s begin!

I’m sure you have heard the saying,
“If Satan cannot make you bad, he will make you busy!”
I used to take it lightly because I thought it was just a cute little joke. After years of observing busy people and personal experience, I discovered that saying is profoundly true. The truth is that busyness can be as bad as bad. Busyness can be a distraction from what matters most and our higher calling.
Bad people are likelier to hit a wall one day, wake up, repent, and change. But busy people are less likely to wake up because they think they are busy doing important things, so they don’t see the need to change. Maybe that’s why God hates lukewarmness. Lukewarmness is not bad—not cold, but not good enough—not hot enough.
When you ask people, “How are you doing?” They used to answer, “I’m fine.” But nowadays, more people like to answer, “I’m busy!” It makes them sound important and productive. However, busyness is not productivity. In fact, busyness could be an obstacle to real productivity that fulfills our calling.
A horrible war broke out between Israel and Palestine this week. I think wars are the ultimate example of busyness. What’s more important than defending your country? Laozi said,
“When the world lacks the Tao,Warhorses give birth on the battlefield.” ~Laozi
With a simple sentence, the sage describes the horror of war. Imagine pregnant mares are taken to fight the battle and have to give birth on the battlefield. Animals cannot talk, but reasonable people can feel their pain. He pinpointed the cause for war—the lack of the Tao.
What is the Tao? The Tao in Chinese means “the Word” or “the Logos.” So, the Chinese translation of the Gospel of John says,
“In the beginning was the Tao, and the Tao was with God, and the Tao was God.” (Jn 1:1).
In other words, Laozi was saying that horrible wars break out when people don’t have God. Being religious doesn’t necessarily mean they have God. Jesus dealt with many religious people who didn’t have God. He was eventually crucified by religious leaders. So, religious people are not equivalent to godly people. John said later in verse 14.
“And the Tao became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1:14).
That means Jesus Christ is the Tao in human form, who reveals God as full of grace and truth. There is no grace in a war. So, there is no God in a war. Wars don’t resolve the root of the problem. It will make us busy and distract us from solving the root of the problem. War is a shortcut that masks the symptoms but doesn’t cure the disease. The disease is,
“When the world lacks the Tao (or God),Warhorses give birth on the battlefield.” ~Laozi
What a busy scene in a sentence! If Satan cannot make you bad, he will make you busy! Busyness blinds us from seeing God and makes us resolve to violence and warfare because we think we are important. By busyness, I am also talking about mental busyness. I have ADHD. H is for Hyperactivity. While I don’t appear hyperactive physically, I am hyperactive in my mind. My mind is always busy.
So, this topic is not only for those who are physically busy but also mentally or emotionally busy. Jesus came to open our eyes to God’s grace, teaching us how to relax and be immensely fruitful by fulfilling our higher calling.
So, today, we will look at the danger of busyness that blinds us from fulfilling the divine calling based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

Legend has it that the vast battleship, USS Montana, was sailing in the Atlantic Ocean at night. The captain suddenly saw a blinking light on its path. Assuming it was another ship, he sent out a Morse code with the light from the battleship, signaling, “Starboard, starboard, 20 degrees north,” asking the other vessel to turn away to avoid a collision.
However, the light on the other end did not comply but responded with a similar signal, “Starboard, starboard; you must turn 20 degrees south to avoid a collision.” The captain was furious at the response, so he sent another signal saying, “Listen, I am the mighty USS Montana, the battleship. You must move out of my way.”
The light on the other end replied, “I am the lighthouse!” (End of the Story).
There are many lighthouses around the world guiding ships to avoid dangerous territories. In the same way, there are guiding principles in life that we must follow to live a good life. The lighthouses are lifesavers, not our enemies. However, some people ignore the lighthouses to their own detriment.
Jesus uses a different metaphor. He compares himself to the cornerstone. He says,
“The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” (Mt 21:44).
He is saying ignore him at your own risk. We cannot destroy a lighthouse or cornerstone by crashing against it. We can only crush ourselves by ignoring it. Of course, Jesus does not want to see us destroyed. He said he came so that we may have life and have it abundantly.
He has given us some important life principles to live an abundant life. One of them is to recognize that life is borrowed, not owned. If we can maintain that attitude, we will live a joyful life. We don’t possess our life; it is a rental unit. We must pay rent, but it is worth it.
For some people, it might be hard to accept the paradigm that life is borrowed but not owned. But this paradigm shift is so important that it is like the light from the lighthouse or the cornerstone upon which to build our lives. It will make your life much happier if you adopt this guiding principle.
Today, we will explore Jesus’ teaching from this week’s scripture lesson about the truth that life is borrowed, not owned, and how this attitude can help us live an abundant life free from stress and anxiety but filled with purpose and meaning. Let’s begin!

A less retold story about Jesus is when he cursed a fig tree for not bearing fruit. Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem riding a donkey. He visited the temple and drove off the merchants and money changers, accusing them of turning the house of prayer into a den of thieves. Then, he spent a night outside of the city.
The next morning, he returned to the city, and on his way, he felt hungry. He passed by a fig tree and looked for fruit to eat, but he found no fruit at all. He was more than disappointed. As we know, Jesus hates fruitlessness. The Bible says,
Then he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. (Mt 21:19b).
This is an opposite version of a miracle. Jesus’ miracle usually restores health or life, but this is the reverse. It killed a life. The disciples were impressed to see the tree withered in front of their eyes and asked how it happened.
Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” (Mt 21:21–22).
This brief moment with the fig tree precedes a profound teaching at the temple a moment later. There are three important messages revealed here.
First, Jesus hates fruitlessness. The fig tree was supposed to bear fruit according to its season. The fact that Jesus looked for its fruit means it was time for it to bear fruit. Jesus had told another parable about a fruitless fig tree in a vineyard, which the owner ordered the gardener to cut down for not bearing fruit.
The second important message is about Jesus’ authority. When he cursed the tree, it withered. It shows nature is under his authority. That is profound! That means He did not need to come to earth to save humanity. Since humans did not bear fruit as they were supposed to, he could just scrap the earth and start over, like he did with Noah’s time. But God promised Noah never to do it again.
Still, the crucial point here is that he had the authority to curse the world to death like that fig tree and recreate a new world. But he did not, keeping his promise to Noah, and now he came to save humanity through grace. Remember, we live and survive due to Jesus’ grace. He expects us to grace it forward, as we mentioned last week.
The third important message is that this authority has been given to the believers. He said, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” This is huge!
Most people interpret this passage as a matter of faith. When you put it in context, it’s not about empty faith but faith that bears fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Faith without fruit is futile. Jesus emphasized this point repeatedly on many occasions.
We can talk about faith all day, but if we don’t have fruit to prove it, we are just like that fig tree, which contributes nothing to society. Jesus’ brother James said, “Faith without work is dead.” He said,
“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.” (Jas 2:26).
He said faith without work is just like the body without the spirit—a zombie. Faith is futile without fruit.
Jesus nailed this point in this week’s scripture lesson. After studying this scripture lesson, you will never talk about faith without thinking about fruit. So, let’s begin!

One of the most fascinating stories ever told among engineers is about a transaction between Henry Ford and Charles Steinmetz. Steinmetz was a brilliant engineer born in Germany and escaped to the United States in 1888. General Electric discovered his talent and recruited him.
He was only four feet tall due to deformity, but people called him the “Little Giant” because of his outstanding inventions and scientific contributions to electrical engineering. He could listen to the sound of a complex machine and pinpoint the malfunctioning part. The story goes like this:
Henry Ford’s automobile manufacturing plant in Dearborn, Michigan, had a problem with its gigantic generator, but its engineers couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. Henry Ford reached out to Charles Steinmetz at GE for help. Steinmetz came and asked for a notepad, a pen, and a cot to sleep on. He listened to the generator for two days and nights and scribbled computations on the notepad.
On the second night, he asked for a ladder, climbed up, made a chalk mark, and left a note asking the engineers to open the plate at the mark and replace sixteen windings from the field coil. They did, and the generator performed to perfection.
Henry Ford was thrilled because his factory could resume production and stop losing money. However, he was stunned when he received an invoice from GE for $10,000. You know, $10,000 in the early 1900s is a significant amount. I checked it out and found it could equal $500,000.
How could a simple chalk mark on the machine cost so much money? Ford admired Steinmetz’s talent but balked at the figure. He asked for an itemized bill.
Steinmetz itemized the bill the following:
Making chalk mark on generator: $1.
Knowing where to make the mark: $9,999.
Ford paid the bill. (End of the story.)
Even though $10,000 was significant, it’s nothing compared to the loss each day the factory was not running.
Would it be nice if someone could put the chalk mark in this broken world and show us exactly one thing we need to fix to restore a harmonious world? How about our own life? Would it be nice if someone could put a chalk mark on our life to show us one simple change we can make to make our life run smoothly?
The good news is that Jesus has put a chalk mark on our lives and shown us one thing we must change to find inner peace and joy. It’s a very simple change, but it may not be easy. Simple doesn’t mean easy, but it’s always good to know that we don’t have to make a complicated effort to find peace and joy.
Today, we will explore Jesus’ teaching of the top secret to inner peace and joy based on this week’s scripture lesson and discover how to live in heaven on earth. Let’s begin!