What I Believe About Jesus and Why

I believe that giving a personal testimony of faith is a powerful tool for evangelism. When we have the knowledge and true understanding of our very own beliefs, we find it easier and more convincing to show evidence to others about the foundation of our faith. In my six years of being a Christian, I have struggled with and at the same time learned many things about Jesus Christ and who He is, truths that have strengthened my personal faith in Him. Day by day I see miracles in so many little ways and I am constantly reminded of the miracles that Jesus did many years ago to confirm His authority as the Son of God. There is power in creation which reveals the nature of God and gives evidence to the infallible truth as proclaimed in the Bible. From that one and only source I draw these conclusions.

I believe that Jesus Christ is one with God the Father and God the Spirit. Jesus is the one and only Son of God who came to earth and became man. He revealed to us who God truly is and opened our eyes to repentance amidst our sinful nature. His acts of miracles, sinless and perfect life, and teachings all confirm His deity and authority on earth. His purpose for coming to earth was to show God’s love, grace, and mercy by dying on the cross as an act of propitiation, taking the sins of all mankind, and making a way for reconciliation of our relationship with God. His bodily resurrection and promise to return at the end of days are testimonies to the fact that He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

I believe that Jesus died as part of a plan of salvation predetermined by God. We need salvation because we all sin. Sin separates us from God and His desire of a relationship with us. It is impossible for us to restore that broken relationship with God by any amount of personal goodness, religious deeds, or by simply belonging to a church. It is not through our own efforts that we return to God, but by placing our trust and faith in Jesus. When we decide to pick up our cross and follow Him for the rest of our lives, we demonstrate our trust in Him. By obeying His command to be immersed in water for the cleansing of our sins, we therefore accept the grace of God that has so mercifully been given to us.

I believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and no one can go to God except through Him. When God created us, He created us with a soul which will never cease to exist. Those who choose to follow Jesus as Lord, and have a growing relationship with Him, will spend eternity with God in Heaven. Those who reject Jesus by refusing to follow Him will spend eternity in Hell. Heaven, like salvation and grace, is a gift of God. Hell is the due consequence for those who have not accepted God's offer of forgiveness. Heaven and Hell are real places.

I believe that Jesus is living water and the bread of life. He satisfies our thirst and hunger, but unlike food that perishes, He endures forever. Through Him, we can have everlasting life. If only we make the decision to bear His name and follow in His footsteps, we will receive life in eternity, as God has promised us. Jesus has so much to offer. He offers a message of truth that no other man can deliver. Everything that we long for, is subject to destruction in due time, but Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. When we embrace Him, we are guaranteed eternal satisfaction. We will be whole and complete in Him. Jesus is our only Savior.

There are many reasons why I believe that Jesus is Lord. Through His desire to serve others, Jesus showed neverending and overwhelming compassion and love in all His days on earth. Jesus led a perfect life. Jesus taught life-changing lesson. Jesus appealed to everyone from all ranks of society. Jesus led by example. Jesus performed miracles with divine authority. Jesus died and rose again. And most importantly, Jesus will return as promised.

In conclusion, the responsibility that we have as Christians who bear Jesus’ name is to be bound to Him and to live our lives by following in His examples. There is truly no other figure who commands such devotion other than Christ Himself. The gift that God has given us through His Son is so special that no other self-wrought riches could be more fulfilling than His love and His grace.

Faith on Fire

The mission trip to Singapore-Malaysia through the summer of 2005 was an eye-opening experience. We were all exposed to so many things, not only about missions, but other things about life as well, that I can truly say it has changed our very own lives. The eight of us went through our ups and downs, bumps and hurdles, embarrassments and anger, love and humility, that in the end it came down to one thing: learning to be better Christians.

We were given so many opportunities to do God’s work throughout our stay in South-East Asia. Everywhere we turned, it seemed that there was something to be done. We started off working with little children. Innocent, curious, and mischievous little kids who required all our attention and taught us plenty about patience and kindness. The preparations leading up to the start of Vacation Bible School proved a tiring moment in time, but we were all swept away by the end result at the same time. We had covered the church in its entirety, from floor to ceiling, with grass and leaves and trees, even clouds and suns. The building was transformed into the African Serengeti, and the kids were delighted to be around the decorations. Needless to say, we were all surprised at how well it all turned out; the Singaporeans knew their crafts! While working with the children, we not only had to set a godly example that they could look up to, but also to give them comfort when they were sick, or tired, or simply uninterested. It took the most of our concentrations, and at the end of the day, sleep was all we had thoughts for. Yet as tough as it sounds, it was a very worth-while event as it gave us the much needed training for putting patience into practice.

In Malaysia, we met people who had simple questions about religion, Christianity in particular, and who expressed great interest in knowing more about God. At the youth camp we heard lessons about having ‘faith on fire’. We talked about biblical characters who portrayed such strong faith, and discussed about its applications in our lives. We knew that to be dedicated to serving God, we had to have strong faith. Merely a week into our campaign, it was apparent that there was a sea of people, lost in their manners of life and blind to ambition, who were waiting to hear about Jesus Christ. In our simple work with the campus ministry, by God’s grace we were able to reach out to so many college students and plant seeds. We were overjoyed to hear that the English classes were a success, and that the Petaling Jaya church has recently been granted a Christian Zone to group and bring the students together to learn more about Christianity. It seemed that there were Christians with faith on fire!

With our work in Penang we were able to reach out to the neighborhood in which the church was located, and send Father’s Day gifts to show the love of God. We learned of many subtle yet effective ways of gradually exposing these residents to Christianity. The many hours we spent walking from door to door under the hot sun was a hard lesson learnt. In such humbling manner we were able to learn what mission work truly is like, and how much sacrifice is needed to do it well. I was very touched by the people most involved with the campus ministry –two locals named Admen Ng and Mak Sue Ann, with their drive and dedication and strong will to do the work that God has laid out for them. They’ve embraced it with no complaints, and with fervent prayers have harvested such success that I am truly humbled by the experience. It made a lot of us realize how often we ignore the many opportunities to do God’s work, but also how much we are capable of doing once we’ve made a commitment to do it. Not only did we learn about means of spreading the love of Christ, but also ways of approaching strangers and talk to them about God. It was a very challenging experience, though with encouragements from each other we managed to get through the initial nerve-wrecking moments and interacted with these strangers. After the awkward silence and one-word greeting, we overcame our fear and through conversing with them, uncovered their curiosities for our presence on their campus. Of course, our initial goal was to hand out invitations to free English classes, but some of us also managed to go beyond that and at the same time we made friends with these students.

However, very few groups of young adults are spared from troubles in the midst of them. Ours was no exception. As we found ourselves more immersed in missions work, there came a point when a problem within the group arose, and was slowly affecting the dynamics of our group, as well as our relationships with one another. It was a problem that could not be ignored, and it was sensed that too many people were in on the hurt. With only eight people in our group, that was a big problem to be dealing with. And so with further discussion, we resolved to meet and work out the problem. Our intention was not to weed out the cause for dispute, but to work at it from a different angle and pray for common forgiveness among those involved. We prayed together for strength and guidance, and proceeded to go from one to another, telling each person only of their good qualities, and what each has learned from the trip. It was a hard exercise, but we were to shy away from any negative feedbacks whatsoever. Everyone took turns, and in the end, the guilty party made peace with the injured party out of their own will. It was such a blessing from God that we managed to get through the night without any serious word-stabbing or negative comments to cause more hurt than there already was. It was comforting to know that our prayers were heard, amidst all the angst that was present among us. We also rejoiced that we were able to handle the conflict in a Christian-like manner, instead of resolving to plain screaming and yelling at each other. From that point, we realized how much we had learned from this campaign. We ended the meeting with hugs around and tears of relief. We had experienced the love of Christ among us.

As it came time for us to say our goodbyes, the dynamics of our group had changed, and we were closer to each other than we had ever been since the start of the summer. We could not help but express sincerity towards each other for the edification and encouragement within the group. I, myself, was impressed by the amount of work we had accomplished in only six weeks. Despite certain irregularities, it was by all means an uplifting experience nevertheless. I cannot stop short of informing others of what we went through this summer, because all in all it was one of the best summers of my life. In all fairness, it was an account easily told of without a breathless moment for so much had happened in so little time. Ultimately, I was glad that it made a meaningful impact in our lives. We simply learned to be better Christians.

SINGAPORE-MALAYSIA SUMMARY

Here is a brief summary on what we did throughout the six weeks of our campaign.

Week 1
We arrived on Tuesday, May 18th, early in the morning. We were greeted by Mark McCurley and Dave Hogan and a few locals from Moulmein Church of Christ at the airport. We were sent straight to our host families, and slept til morning when we visited the Chinese temple next door, shopping centers at City Hall and Toa Payoh. Our host Vivien had a life group that night; the lesson was, “Faith without works is dead”. Wednesday, we visited the Asian Civilization’s Museum at Armenian Street, learned about Babas and Nonyas and the Peranakan culture. We saw displays of clothing, decorations, furniture, etc. We walked most of downtown Singapore, from one end to the other, by the riverfront. We visited Chinatown with its cheap local crafts. Thursday, we visited Little India, Hindu temples, the Botanical Garden. We were surprised to see line dancing Singaporeans in boots with their country swings. Friday, we went to Tanah Merah where the Changi Chapel and Museum was, and learned about the history of the Japanese invasion. We attended church on Sunday. Vacation Bible Sschool prep officially started. Theme: Serengeti.

Week 2
Monday was our visit to Campus Ministry Headquarters in support for Korean missionaries to Japan. There was a Christian bookstore and Taekwondo exhibition to raise funds. VBS practice continued in the evening. Tuesday – Friday, we worked on decorations for VBS. We worked mainly on putting up brown paper, painting animals on the walls. We covered the entire building with Serengeti decorations. Leaves, trees, animals, water, etc. The youths hosted a Harding welcome party on Saturday at the Hogans.

Week 3
More Serengeti preparations, but was officially over on Wednesday. VBS spanned over three days, from Thursday til Saturday. We were all Serengeti trek leaders and had 5 little kids in each of our groups. We started each day early, went through the different stations that were set up which included Sing and Play Roar, Chadder’s Adventure Theater, Wild Games, Watering Hole Snacks, Bible Expedition, Critter Crafts, and the Mane Event. VBS ended in a closing ceremony on Saturday.

Week 4
On the first three days we did library work, filing tapes, cataloging books, and sorting out film strips. Thursday, we crossed the border into Malacca, Malaysia with the Moulmein youths for the Singapore-Malaysia Youth Camp at Gunung Ledang Resort. We were all group leaders, and had responsibility over seven youths. The theme was “Faith on Fire”, with Mark McCurley as the keynote speaker. We had group discussions, lessons, devotions, and worship, including one at the foot of a waterfall. We worshipped Sunday at the Petaling Jaya Church of Christ. After worship we went tracting around the neighborhood.

Week 5
This was our retreat to Fraser’s Hill from Monday – Wednesday. We had a lot of time to relax and take breathers from the previous four weeks. We mostly spent time reading and enjoying the fresh air up at the highland. PJ church had a gospel meeting from Thursday to Sunday. Gordon Hogan was the speaker. During the day we worked with the campus ministry at a local college, headed by Admen Ng. We had lunch with the students and gave them invitations to a free English class at a college nearby. It was a challenge to work up our courage to speak to the students when we didn’t know them.

Week 6
We finally made our way to Penang, where it felt like we did the most work for God. We went tracting the entire time we were there. We visited the high-rise apartments in the neighborhood and knocked on doors to give invitations to free English classes. It was hard work especially since very few spoke English, and ran into trouble several times with security around the buildings. We also helped to decorate the church building, as they had just moved in recently. We accomplished a lot in only three days, and overall we were happy with the work done. Thursday was the last day of our campaign, and we parted ways heading in different directions, some for home, some for free travel.

Empty

"Smoking is bad, smoking can kill you."
"No, liver cancer kills you. Smoking just speeds it up."

Haha! I love it! Grey's anatomy is fast becoming my favorite.

Simple Thoughts

Sometimes it's hard to write my thoughts down. I can be emotional one moment and calm the next, and when I think of what to write, suddenly I'm so overwhelmed by what I feel that words seem not enough to describe... it all becomes blur, and I'm left wondering, why?

As the day goes by I know that I'm worrying about things that will not seem important in years to come. But where do I find the strength to let go? I know that I'm powerless, I know that God takes care of my worries, but sometimes I feel the need to take control... and it's not the best decision I should come up with. I pray that God will give me the faith in Him and the strength to put my trust in Him.

How surreal can life seem sometimes when I feel the day passing by without me being in it. I walk around and I talk with my friends, but I don't feel myself completely living it. And at times when I'm in solitude, I find comfort in music and my cozy covers, amidst all the storms of life and whatever else the baggage is out there. It's good to just cry out and say, God help me... because the Lord is my comfort and my shelter.

Life trials are challenging, but they give me invaluable lessons that are incredibly strong and powerful. Sometimes it's a blow to the head, other times it's a funny thing. But all in all I pray that I'll learn to realize what the message is above all... Only God knows when I'm ready to take on harder things. Until then, all I've got to deal with are simple things that I need to learn from...

Side-note

How often do we imagine about a perfect world, where rivers never run dry and ages never change? How often do our daydreams make something deep and profound? How often do we cease to run but walk and look towards blue skies?

It's been months since I've sat under a tree to read a book. It's been forever since I've taken pictures of flowers and rainbows. Why, time passes by, yet I don't feel it. Is life playing a trick on me? How can I miss these many precious days without a hint of day changes? I guess this is where the phrase life is a breeze becomes a paradox.

Just a little thought for the day passed by...

Love Bears All Things, Believes All Things, Hopes All Things, Endures All Things

I hadn't realized the value of real friends until I'd faced moments of stupidity and uselessness, that I started to long for avenues for relating my thoughts, my feelings, and my words. I've since grown more appreciative of strong relationships, people whom I've come to care for and trust.

Even so, there are times when I feel like I've been so pricked to the heart by the ways some friends are. As much as I love them, I've had the thought that sometimes life is just better without anyone else to think about. Simplicity doesn't hurt. Loneliness doesn't suffer.

But I know deep within me that this isn't true. Love never fails. Patience and gentleness are such needed aspects of our life. Sometimes we just need a little breath and a frozen moment to reexamine our souls, and whatever's hidden beneath the surface will be revealed.

Ult li albi bissaraha,

Hayya nab'idil karaha,

Syakkireena a' kulli ni'ma,

Ba' ideena anil fattana.

Many times I just feel that too many words are unnecessary. Whatever dogma, sarcasm, sardonic remarks, cliches... serve no better purpose than to downplay someone else and instigate self-doubt and defense of the psyche. And this is what I struggle with daily; the need to think before I speak, to be aware that what I say might affect someone in a negative way, or merely just to listen to the silence between us all. Words can be powerful, but so hurtful at the same time.

I look at myself and I pray for strength daily. Strength for myself, and others around me. And I pray that we'll be able to comfort and help each other in our individual shortcomings, that ultimately we will bear the aroma of Christ within us.

Thunderstorms And Tornados

I love the feeling of water drops on my face, wet hair hanging loose, clothes drenched, and make-up running from the rain. The sound of thunder and watching lightning illuminating the sky. It's awesome, and I love it! Thunderstorms remind me of home; there is no other smell than that of rainwater, wet ground, mud, and leaves when the real storm hits. It's great weather that welcomes deep sleep and great dreams...

The day began early in the morning. Too early. I was prepped for observing surgery; with cap and mask and scrubs on, I looked like a first-year intern.

I managed to follow through 2 hernia surgeries and 2 colonoscopies in just under three hours. I was elated to sit in on my first real-life surgery in the OR itself. So excited that I missed the first 10 minutes of my chemistry class later...

There's a tornado warning and Andy's college is having a lock-down. fun!