Fakers

I guess in our lives, we met a lot of fakers. Almost everywhere, even in church.

During school days, when you asked you friends how had they prepared for the test, they would most probably said, 'Nah, I haven't read anything.'

And I know well that you and I despised these kinds of fakers because we always think relationship is ought to be honest and true after all.

This is something I heard from the movie 'To save a life' during CF just now, a youth pastor was telling the youth, 'Church is a place where you should be who you really are but not coming to pretend that you got all well.'

But most of us carried this feeling to church, to CF, to any meeting with brothers and sisters so that we looked fine to them and then we went back to another miserable week.

And I thank God that because of the LOVE He had showered upon me for the years I had been with Him, I realized that hating the fakers won't help them at all.

Frankly, before I met Christ, I would give you the same answer, 'Nah, I haven't read anything' if you would ask me.

Now, maybe you do not feel honesty from the person telling you this, but don't you ever want to have a guess that maybe this person talking to you right now is faking because he/she just doesn't have enough confidence to tell you the truth.

Fakers are but a group of people lacking of love and is earning love from people by hiding who they are because they too are ashamed of themselves.

And the part you see in me isn't the me being religious. No, Jesus is not a religion to me. He is a friend.

I got a friend who always telling me in a sarcastic manner that I am religious.

Now if I'm telling you that if I am still following the law and I would try to accomplish by obeying the law, then I'm dead!

Because it's IMPOSSIBLE!

It's impossible that you can follow the law to a standard where you can make right with God.

The part of my life you see in me, loving my God, putting my God first, avoiding things that would offend my God is actually given by Jesus Christ Himself.

I'm saved by Grace, not by law. Law is just telling me what mistakes I made.

Sometimes I would make mistake. But God is merciful. He allowed space for failure. But as fast as I can, I turn back to Him and He would hold my hand again like a Father, guiding me towards the right path.

So, if you see a faker today, you should feel how insecure is it inside of him/her, it is to a degree that he/she has to deny his/her own self worthiness.

God doesn't make us to feel unworthy.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Only His LOVE can give us the true security, not the person we try to please, not the person we try to earn approval from, not the public we have to purposely behave towards, not the fame, the money, the status or a bunch of friends that would show up only if you can do them any good.

If you see people faking today, remember how Jesus had came to die for you and them.

From my experience, I guess the biggest hindrance for us to reach out is our inability to accept people weakness and to replace judgment with love.

The most striking question I got from the movie today, 'Who had you judged today?'.

Do we really have to squeeze in so much to the world culture that we start to develop our attitude, our speaking manner, our socializing skill based on what the magazine, TV, vampire diary and gossip girl told us?

Do we have to XOXO when gossip girl is doing XOXO?

Do we have to shout fighting fighting when korean pop stars are doing the same thing?

It's not like the whole world is faking but we are not.

But Jesus Christ can give you the freedom from all these things.

You just have to let the light meets the dark.

I guess this song will help you know more about it:)this is not the whole Christian thing after all, this is about finding who you really are, the one God created you to be.

He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

I never felt so loved by God before. I remembered I told my friend I was going to blog about the joy that came upon from Lord, but before I closed up the two posts that I had written few days ago, I couldn't wait to write about God again. It's like endless story of His presence with me. Even if now, I am sure He is beside me when I wrote about this.

How can I explain myself now? I feel like much more clear of who is God and nearer and nearer to Him as if the One I always called Father in church, CF, prayer meeting and Bible study is my Father. It wasn't just a mere recognition of Him as my Father anymore, no, but I felt deeply the relationship between us and He demanded a reply, even just a mere 'giving thanks'.

And I really felt the love He had promised, the love that I never felt so real in the past two years as a Christian. He is not only the Father that sits on the throne in the Heaven like I visualised in the past, watching me being weak and sinner, no! He is the loving Father beside me, telling me not to give up!

Let me share an amazing experience here,

I was in a struggle to hear from God. For the past one year in campus, I was always unsure about who I am, who am I? And because I am too afraid to know the truth, I shut away from God, never dare to ask Him.

I came to church and the Pastor began to preach about John 1o.

³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

God wants me to follow His voice and He loves me.

Then, Hebrew 12 was mentioned which gave me a real shock!“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, ⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

I was so excited yet so scared when God just spoke to me!

I was so reluctant, stubborn and doubt about myself

But when I watched Kungfu Panda 2, and surprisingly, the Panda in the movie said, 'You've got to let go of that stuff from the past because it just doesn't matter . The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now.'

I cried so much in the movie and I bet the audience around me did the same but they never knew I cried for other reason.

When I came back and opened up the Facebook, the God wants you to know app again was saying the same thing,

... that you don't go to find meaning in life, you bring meaning to your life. Meaning isn't something out there waiting for you to discover. The meaning of your life is what you infuse it with - beauty or ugliness, happiness or sadness. It is totally your choice, and God wants it to be your choice because God gave you free will.

Amen!

If God had spoken to me for so many times, yet I didn't respond, what more can I say?!

Thank you Lord for everything!!!

Thank You for the cross [what does Easter means to me]

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.[John 20]

Tomorrow is Easter Day.

I have seen vids and articles posted online, expressed by brothers and sisters all around the world about how they feel about this day and what does Easter means to them. The church might as well displayed the Passion of Christ again to remind people of the day Jesus Christ was humiliated for us and then being lifted up as all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him.

Easter, Easter, Easter!!! How excited to ponder on this wonderful grace by God for He so loved the world and gave His one and only Son to save us!

It is a lot more excited than egg and bunny if people know the grace behind the day, the kind of connection God urge to make with us.

Imagine His love is so great that He urge to have a relationship with us through Jesus Christ.

By Jesus' death, our sins are cleansed and once we believe, the reconciliation is done! No need filling up form or buying any forgiveness letter.

How amazing it is, to connect to God in such a way!

A day where Jesus Christ resurrected to proclaim that He is God and He had overcame the cross and a day which enable you to cry out, 'Abba Father.'

Like a reunion of a Father and His children which He had longed for so long and everything is part of His plan.

To me, Easter is a testimony, a good news and the grace that commenced on that day and came with the day now happen every single moment.

Every single moment, a new person who bowed down and believed can be connected to this day, to the grace and most importantly to God.

Soon you will realise, everyday is Easter.

Everday you will remind yourself,
nothing cannot be overcame when Christ had overcame the cross on Easter,
no sins cannot be forgiven,
no authority is greater than Jesus',
and no grace and love is greater than God's,
and you must take up this cross and walk with Him everyday but not just on Easter day.

and this grace is life-long and eternal just like the promise in John 3:16.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever. ---Psalm 23


Thank You for the cross, my Friend...

Out of Love

What should I write?

I had been going through hard times. I'm not sure some of you would have that thought popping up to you and say,'This is really not for you.' when you are studying.

Then I had a fight over phone with Mom. And a regret planted.

I told Mom my ambition. But she reminded me few months ago, I told her, 'I really wish to be a doctor'. What if when I felt tough when she gave me a second chance, I would tell her I want to be other thing again? Therefore, I don't have the gut to fight.

I felt appreciated when friends around me were asking, 'Are you okay?'

But the thing was, it wasn't that I'm stressed of study, but the time that limits me and also I lost the combat to fight for my dream.

Doctor is a stable job.

But isn't God say that, 'Do not worry about your life, what you will drink or about your body, what you will wear.' But Mom still kept saying, face the reality.

Then, I understand.

I remembered in previous lecture, a lecturer questioned, 'What is the purpose of life?'

I repeated the question to my friend again and expected her to give some feedback like, 'To study.' That would be very appropriate for this stressful season.

But she answered me sarcastically, 'To be Christian.'

Erm, an answer by a non-Christian who always thinks I'm a very religious person.

I would like to protest, everyone equally-sinned and when they all come in Christ's love, they do what God want as they love God.

There's no 'religious' in Christianity.

God prefer a flexible relationship. We pray, we commit everything to Him, we cast all our anxiety to Him and we don't do things our Father dislike, out of love. Out of the reason that we know this is not 'religious', but this is choosing Him.

A guy said on his blog, 'Ask Jesus to come, prove to me, then I'll be His follower.'

People love to see miracles.

I had a few testimonies in my life too. But God is not a brand, it doesn't mean that you don't buy Him anymore, when things you want do not come. If you seek for why, pray and ask Him.

Out of anger, I became determined.

But I realized, I had done so many things that let God down. Isn't I'm the one who pray to be doctor in future?

God say, 'Seek first my Kingdom and righteousness.'

Yes. Cuz they are more important than anything would be in your life.

Like what James 4:14 says, 'Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.'

I'm not sure I'm good at using examples.

It's just like a board game. The one who invents the board game set up the rules. But none of the players follow it, they think breaking the rule is cool and awesome, instead they listen to the next person who come and intervene the game, so the game is ruined. Only those who follow it, reach the goal.

I'm studying now by faith on Him and prayers.

Not by the concept that, 'Owh, life is so hard. It's my duty to work hard for that. This is life!'

I cherish very much that God love me and pick me. At least, I'm less worried than anyone. But His grace is abound.

And there's something more I wish to share,

1st Corinthians chapter 13,

¹If I speak in the tongues^a]">[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^b]">[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1. 我若能说万人的方言，并天使的话语，却没有爱，我就成了鸣的锣，响的钹一般。

2. 我若有先知讲道之能，也明白各样的奥秘，各样的知识，而且有全备的信，叫我能够移山，却没有爱，我就算不得什么。

3. 我若将所有的赒济穷人，又舍己身叫人焚烧，却没有爱，仍然于我无益。

4. 爱是恒久忍耐，又有恩慈；爱是不嫉妒；爱是不自夸，不张狂，

5. 不做害羞的事，不求自己的益处，不轻易发怒，不计算人的恶，

6. 不喜欢不义，只喜欢真理；

7. 凡事包容，凡事相信，凡事盼望，凡事忍耐。

8. 爱是永不止息。先知讲道之能终必归于无有；说方言之能终必停止；知识也终必归于无有。

9. 我们现在所知道的有限，先知所讲的也有限，

10. 等那完全的来到，这有限的必归于无有了。

11. 我作孩子的时候，话语像孩子，心思像孩子，意念像孩子，既成了人，就把孩子的事丢弃了。

12. 我们如今彷佛对着镜子观看，模糊不清（原文作：如同猜谜）；到那时就要面对面了。我如今所知道的有限，到那时就全知道，如同主知道我一样。

13. 如今常存的有信，有望，有爱这三样，其中最大的是爱。