I was dead for 23 years.

Ephesians 2:8-9

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Looking back on who I was 6 months ago, I could only say one thing: I was dead. I never really taught of that until I met Jesus. For 23 years of existence, I was physically healthy, I think. But on the inside, emotionally and spiritually, I was as good as fertilizer. I was just rotting away.

Many people, especially young adults like me, don't consciously realize this because they are too preoccupied on seeking things that would make them happy superficially. They spend their time, energy and/or money on things that seems to bring momentarily happiness (e.g. gadgets, parties, work and even relationships). But at the end of the day, when you're all alone in your room, there's always this feeling of longing and sadness that you just can't seem to explain. You constantly seek to find the answer yourself, but always end up being lonelier and sadder the day before. You seem alive on the outside. But in reality, you are dead on the inside.

The idea that we people can't find the answer ourselves suddenly dawned at me. We just can't. What I realized is that the answer needs to find us. And that answer is Jesus. Maybe you would ask, "Why does He need to find us?" The reason is because we are closed to the idea that we need Him. We constantly reject Him. We deny the idea that He exists. It's OK for us to be sinners because we need to live "this" life to the fullest. And most off all, we consider ourselves as the God of our own lives.

The answer is echoed in Ephesians 2:8-9. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will be saved. Not by our works, but because of His grace. Not because we deserve it, but because it is a free gift. It took me 23 years to realize this truth. Last Sunday, June 24, 2012, I decided that I want to be part of Jesus' church, submit to spiritual authority and just plain serve and love Jesus. I got baptized. Though baptism does not directly save you from death and God's wrath, it symbolizes 3 things, mainly: death, burial, and resurrection. Before, I was dead in sin. Now, I am alive in Christ. 

The moment we accept our faults, admit that we are sinners, and profess that Jesus is the only one who could save us, He'll find us. He'll change us. He'll save us. Once we belong to Jesus, our once dead bodies will be raised into a new life. We'll be made alive through Him.

Reflect on this: Do you often feel lonely and sad without any particular reason? Did it ever come to your mind that Jesus might be calling to you to open yourself to Him? Are you always rejecting and closing your heart to Jesus? If not, how does Jesus help you feel alive?

Prayer: Father God, thank you for the words of Ephesians 2:8-9. Indeed only by having faith in your Son can we be saved. Through your grace we are made alive. This is not something we worked for or we deserved. You gave it to us for free. And I thank you for that.

Lord Jesus, it is my prayer that we always instill into our minds that we are dead because of sin but was raised to life through Your death. May we seek to honor You, serve You, and love You in everything we say, think or do. Empower us, Holy Spirit, to serve others and share the Gospel. May You lead, guide, and instruct us to do what is pleasing to you and what can be beneficial to us. In Jesus' good name I pray, Amen.

Life is a marathon...with hurdles.

2 Thessalonians 3:13

"And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good."

Have you ever imagined yourself running in a marathon? Well, if you're going to ask me the same question, I'll answer you with a proud, "No". It's quite tough for a non-athletic person to run at least 5K straight if he's not physically conditioned. What more if you try a 42K race? Sure, it's possible. But, have you ever imagined running a 42KM race with hurdles? Now, that's the question.

This idea got stuck in my head during our small group meeting last Saturday at our Pastor's house. We were discussing a lesson about trusting God despite of adversities in life. One particular quote mentioned was from John Piper. He says that, "The Christian life is not a 100m sprint. It's a marathon with hurdles." I was like "Wow, definitely true." I have no idea in participating in marathons or races, but I do know what living a Christian life is.

Some people say that the way of Christianity is the easiest because it just requires you two things: Repentance and accepting Jesus Christ. Sounds simple? Not really. If you're really the kind of person who's full of pride and self-esteem, it's more likely that you'll have a hard time accepting the fact that you're a larger than life sinner.  Well, we're all sinners, so you're not alone. Being a new believer myself, I would say it's not all bliss when you're a Christian.

When you become a follower of Jesus, you know that your old self must die (sinful nature) because He already took it and put an end to it at the Cross (Col 2:14). So, your thoughts, actions, behavior, and everything else in between must be renewed in Jesus. However, since we were born sinners, we all have the tendency to commit sin, every once in a while that is. We were not guaranteed a sin-free life. It's more of a having a sin-proof one because you now have Jesus to save you and the Holy Spirit to lead you.

In 2 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul wrote to the church of Thessalonica to tell them things about idleness and waiting for the Lord Jesus Christ's return. Specifically, in Chapter 3 verse 13, Paul instructs them to "never tire from doing good". It's an encouragement for us to follow Jesus Christ regardless of the things that may happen in our lives. That we continue to walk with Him and do good because this is what He wants us to do. But sometimes, life hits us in the face like a brick wall. We try to change but our sinful nature gets the best of us. We fail on our own efforts to become righteous in front of God's eyes.

This is where we go wrong. We don't change and become righteous ourselves. Jesus does that for us. And as long as you don't submit yourself and your sins to Jesus, the Lord of lords and King of kings, you'll just stumble in the hurdles while trying to crawl your way to finish the 42K run you just joined. But if you do, though you may stumble at times and you may grow weak while running the Christian life, you have Jesus dragging you and helping you through the race. So choose, will you run alone or run with Him?

Reflect on this: How do you face the stumbles and falls of your daily race in life? How does Jesus help you to run confidently and jump above the hurdles you encounter every day?

Prayer: Gracious God, first of all, I would like to thank you. Thank you for being with me all this time though I haven't been with you from the start. Though unworthy and unrighteous, you bore all of my sin so I could be worthy and righteous through you, Lord Jesus.

Forgive me Lord, for I have failed you far too many times and you know this. Though I repent and seek forgiveness, the tendency to sin is still there. Oh Lord of lords and King of kings, I submit to you all of my sin and all of myself. You clearly know from the bottom of my heart that I want to walk with you and serve you. So, Lord Jesus, I call to you to cleanse me of my sinful nature. Put to death my old self and bring me to a new life through your blood which was shed on the Cross. Only you can do this, Oh Lord, for I am utterly hopeless and weak. Only by your Grace can I be saved. And this I pray in your good name, Amen.

The light that never goes out.

Psalm 91:5

"You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day"

A couple of days ago, I had this really bad dream of someone I know hurting one member of my family. I woke up literally shaking and all soaked up in sweat.

I don't know if it's coincidence or not but earlier that same day, I was listening to one of the sermons of Pastor Mark Driscoll that I downloaded. The sermon was about Christ crushing our enemies, particularly Satan and demons. All throughout the sermon, Pastor Mark enumerates how Satan works his way into our lives. He can work in us through pride or self-esteem, physical abuse, or accusations. That very night, I recalled all of what I've heard and learned in the sermon and prayed before I sleep.

And to my surprise, there I was experiencing, in a way, Satan crawling in me through my dreams. I was so scared. I was tired. It felt real and I can't do a thing. The moment I woke up, I washed up my face with cold water and got back to bed again. There, before I lay and return to sleep, I prayed. I prayed to the Lord Jesus to guard me, my family, my friends and loved ones from those whom might hurt us. I prayed to Him to protect us from Satan and his works. Afterwards, I fell asleep again. This time, I was safe and sound.

Looking back on what happened, I look at Psalm 91:5 for encouragement. Here, the psalmist tells that "we will fear not the terror of the night". If we have God in our life, and sincerely believe that He is sovereign and has total control, why should we fear anything or anyone in particular? Indeed, nightmares can be realistically scary, but we should not forget that God is with us so we should not fear anything (Isaiah 41:10). God is always there as our light when everything seems dark (2 Samuel 22:29).

But I think, what's more important is that as Christians, we should look to God as the only source of light that casts away the darkness in our lives. By believing in Him, we can have the courage to face even the darkest of nights. In a way, when we sleep, we may be putting out the lamps in our room which causes total darkness, but note that God is our light that never goes out, so we can be rest assured to sleep peacefully.

Reflect on this: In what way does God help you sleep peacefully at night? How does God help you to have courage and not fear?

Prayer: Father God, thank you for being our light. Not literally, but by being the light in our lives. In you, our darkness is cast away. Lord, thank you for the encouraging words in Psalm 91:5! Thank you for the strength and courage that is found only in you.

Lord Jesus, be our guiding light, always. Be our light before we sleep, during, and after. Light our path as you light up the world. Through you, the world which was and is still enveloped in darkness, can find the only source of light. May we seek you in everything and every way possible so we could know what living in the light means. All praise be to you. Amen!