Friend For Life

I have the most wonderful friend in the whole world. I believe what I am today and what I have become is the result of the friendship that I shared with my friend, Tan, when we were in college back in Thailand.

I remember when I first knew her, my world was brightened. Suddenly, classes were not that boring and I had the new motivation to show up and learn. At that time, my self esteem was pretty low. I was about two years younger than my classmates and the university I attended was one of the best in Thailand. I was thrown into a sea of the brightest and the coolest students who did not know me and probably did not care to know about me. I was afraid; in fact, I was frightened. But, oh, how Tan's presence brought me comfort. After class, we shared precious time eating delicious supper in the school's cafeteria, which was near a soothing river. We dug our heads into old, dusty books and made a corner of the library our home. We had a great adventure taking trips outside Bangkok together. Tan is an adventurous type, and I couldn't resist her. The moment that I will never forget is when a male classmate teased me and mocked at my leg (I contracted a polio virus when I was two and it weakened my left leg and made me walk with a slight limp). I was deeply upset. Tan was there at a bus stop to comfort me and cheer me up. She even tried to take the same bus with me even though her home was on the other side of Bangkok.

There was time that I doubted her loyalty to me. We had an argument, and I hurt her feelings. But Tan always forgave me. Not only that, she always encouraged me to write, to pursue my dream of being a writer. I kept on writing today because of her.

After college, career and a busy life separated us, but we continue bonding through long-distance phone calls and e-mails. Still like in the old days, Tan listened to my thoughts, my dreams, my goals, and sometimes my frustration with great patience. She came up with positive feedback with a good sense of humor.

I believe God gave me a good friend like Tan to laugh with, to cry with, and to bring me through difficult time. I am not sure I would ever graduate from college if it hadn't been for her encouragement. The bible is right. 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 says, "love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." I have learned the meaning of love and true friendship from my sweet friend who shares her life with me.

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To read Tan's musings on life, nature, Thai food, cultures, and different perspectives, visit her unique blog, The Intercultural Life.

The Gentlemanly Savior

In my life, I have never met anyone who is as kind as Jesus Christ. Jesus' kindness amazed me and radically changed me. I remember seven years ago when I perused my newly purchased bible with great curiosity, trying to find out who Jesus Christ really was. I was alone in the quiet apartment in one late afternoon. Kneeling down on the floor, I kept reading the bible until I came across this scene about the arrest of Jesus on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:47-51). On that important day, a band of armed soldiers came to arrest Jesus. One of Jesus' followers stepped forward and struck the servant of the High Priest with a sword. It must have been a gruesome sight with blood dripping, the cry of that servant, the pain, and the shock. I imagined everyone present expected the worst to happen. Maybe an ugly fight that left many dead. However, with His great mercy and kindness, Jesus simply said, "No more of this!" And He touched the man ear and healed him.

Can you imagine healing your enemy who is trying to murder you? Have you ever seen anyone so forgiving and kind? Later, Jesus was badly tortured, whipped, and scorched. The soldiers crucified Him on the cross and mocked Him with rude insults. But Jesus prayed for them and said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."

I knew a Thai pastor whose life was touched by what Jesus said on the cross in Luke 23:34 and consequently prayed to receive Jesus as his Savior. The pastor said that if anyone could forgive this much, He must be God! Well, after I read and reread the bible, I did the same thing. I cried out to Jesus, "Lord, I'm sorry. I didn't know that you are God." I repented of my sins and invited Jesus into my life. Things have never been the same since!

Jesus is so kind and so polite. He is the gentlemanly Savior. Read about Him and find out by yourself what kind of person He is. Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." (Revelation 3:20). He is waiting to come into your heart and be your friend. Will you open the door and let Him in?

Our Body in Orissa

Not many Christians in America know about the vicious violence against their brothers and sisters in Christ that broke out in Orissa, India in August. But the magnitude of their sufferings is horrific. As of today, hundreds of Christian homes and churches have been demolished or burned to the ground, and estimates put the total number of Christians murdered near 50. Close to 20,000 Christians are living in unsafe refugee camps and more are hiding in jungles.

As the killings spread out to nearby states, little has been done by the Indian government (local and State) to improve the situation. I am wondering if and when our major media will pick up this news and report it as they are supposed to? Since Christian persecution has never been their forte, the answer might be "never." However, we, as Christians, can do a lot for our own body. The Bible says that the body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body (1 Corinthians 12:12).

During my prayer time this morning, my eyes laid upon this scripture in 2 Timothy 3, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Do you know that those believers in India live righteously and follow Jesus boldly even if it cost them their lives? That's why the Hindu extremists are filled with jealousy and hate towards them. The Hindus murdered our brothers in the most gruesome ways. They set fire to homes when Christians were inside. They ordered them not to return home unless they converted back to Hinduism and paid a huge fine to perform a conversion ceremony. One elderly man was forced to burn his own Bible in front of everyone. The Hindu mobs demanded that pastors and Christians stop converting local people and slaughtering cows because cows are considered sacred in Hinduism. A young woman who tried to stop the mob from attacking children in an orphanage was thrown alive into a burning building.

What will you do if parts of your body are set on fire? I don't believe you would just sit and let your whole body burn. I also believe that the Church needs to step up and help their family in a crisis like this. Paul wrote to the Romans and gave this instruction, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love." And "Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn."

You can easily do what Apostle Paul did by devoting yourself to the body of Christ now! Prayer is our first weapon as Christians. Pray fervently that the Lord will protect and comfort Christians who are suffering in India. Pray that despite the horrid situation, the number of believers in India would grow. You can also send your financial help to Christian organizations to help rebuild homes, orphanages, and churches that were destroyed. Write to the media to inform them of this situation and request that the crisis be immediately reported to the world. Lastly, you can contact Indian government officials to ask for protection of Christians in Orissa and request that the Christians are treated fairly.

For more information and an update on Orissa Christians, please check International Christian Concern and Gospel for Asia websites.

This article appears on International Christian Concern's Blog.

The Hope of the World

Mutita was young and beautiful, coming from an exceptionally well-to-do family. She attended the most prestigious university in the country and graduated with honors. In college, she was popular and was called a "star." Later, she lectured at a famous university. She had all the things that the world sought and honored: good look, health, wealth, education, and a promising career. But what really happened to this young lady? On March 21, 2008, Mutita's story appeared on the front page of every newspaper in Thailand. She committed suicide by jumping from the tenth floor of a parking lot building. The police later found her dead body with a diary describing her depression and hurt from a broken relationship with her boyfriend.

According to Asia Times, this state of hopelessness was not uncommon among the youth of Asia. In 1998, 32,863 Japanese committed suicide, which was a huge 35 percent rise over the year before. What they lacked were not material things that the world offered. They did not have hope, joy, and peace that could only come from God.

Before I was a Christian, there were times that I opened my eyes in the morning and wondered what the meaning of getting up and keeping on going. There was no hope of living. My existence was as meaningless as a fly on the wall. After I knew the Lord personally, He transformed me. I have changed and I have hope, not only hope in heaven, but also hope while living on earth!

Jesus said that He is the light of this world and everyone who follows Him will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life (John 8:12). Jesus is the world's only hope. He is the Hope of this hopeless world. When you open your heart to Jesus and receive Him as your Savior, He will give you peace and hope that transcend all understanding. No matter how big your house is, no matter how much money you have in your bank account, or how high your education is, you will not find true peace in your heart until you know Him.

Love is an Action Word

People often asked me why did I become a Christian. Well, the answer is easy. I know that God loves me and I love God deeply. He is everything for me and vice versa. Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." (John 15:9) But God did not only say these words to be impressive. He demonstrated His love to me by sacrificing His own life on the cross. I know that His love for me is real because of his action.

When I was young, my mother took care of all of us kids by washing our dirty clothes. At that time, we did not have the convenience of a washing machine like today. Every evening after school, I would see my mom sitting in front of soapy bowls, scrubbing our clothes by hands. Another time, we did not have enough food or money in our house. I remembered we only had an apple in an empty refrigerator. My mom let me eat that apple, while I knew that she was also equally hungry.

Those were touching experiences that I will never forget. My mom often told me that she loved me but those actions in the past imprinted in my mind more than her words. Her sacrifices demonstrated her deep love for me over the years.

God's love is unconditional, personal, and unfailing. For God, love is not only composed of empty words. God took action by reaching out to us and sacrificing everything for us, even His own life. I would like to invite anyone who hasn't known God personally to open his heart to Him. He is an action-taking God who will not fail you.

Kha Nom Jeen and Cheese Pizza

Yesterday, while I was driving back home from work, I was pretty hungry. All day long, I had been running around, taking care of people at the library with light snacks in my stomach. While I was thinking about what I would have for dinner, my friend called me on my cell phone. She invited me to eat Kha Nom Jeen at her house. My friend is an unparalleled cook of Thai delicacies and her authentic Thai dishes are, well, delicious! For those of you who don't know what Kha Nom Jeen is, it is a typical Thai dish of rice noodles topped with aromatic spicy chicken or fish gravy. It's one of my favorite dishes! I immediately drove to her home and had dinner with her lovely family. Before I left my friend's place, she packed me some more Kha Nom Jeen in a ceramic pot and I was rejoicing in my midnight snack!

I called my husband, who was still at work. He told me that before he left home, he was so busy that he grabbed only a small bag of chips for his dinner. For other days, he usually brought a sandwich and other foods to go with it. Miraculously, that evening, a customer ordered many kinds of pizza and gave them to the staff. My husband ate the cheese pizza and enjoyed it. We marveled at this blessing as we thanked God for His wonderful provisions.

Do you remember when Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish(Matthew 14: 13-21)? God is the constant Provider who takes care of our needs. He is lovely and awesome. He even knows exactly what we like to eat! Two thousand years ago, Jesus treated the Israelis with bread and fish. Yesterday, He treated us with a nice delicious dish of Kha Nom Jeen and cheese pizza.

"I Am The Way"

I still remember my nerve-racking adventure in Washington, D.C. as if it was yesterday. There I was, first time in the capital city, with a set of keys fresh from a car rental office, and the name and the address of where I was to attend a meeting. I knew what highways I would take but unfortunately, I did not have a map of Washington, D.C. With sweaty palms turning the wheel, I started to pray that the Lord would lead me to His people so that I could accomplish what I was there for. The meeting was set up by a Christian organization for its volunteers and it had started in the morning even before my plane arrived. I did not want to get lost in the big city and missed out the whole thing.

True to His promise that He would take care of me, God steered me to the right direction and I found the church where the meeting was conducted. It did not take me long at all. I had to make turn after turn and covered a long distance but I finally arrived safely at my destination.

In our life, God is the One who leads us. He is the Only Way that will lead you to your home in heaven safely. Even though you are now faced with great difficulties and it seems like you can't go on anymore, God is always with you and He is in control. Obstacles and problems might look like dead end streets and you might have to take several turns. But God will do exactly what He promised. He will lead you home because He is the faithful and almighty God.