Amazing Worship

I've just got back from visiting Thailand, my home country. I had an opportunity to worship with vibrant Thai churches, listen to heartfelt testimonies, and pray along with them. The Lord is doing a mighty work in Thailand, bringing Thai people to Himself. I am greatly encouraged to see the church's enthusiasm, their zeal to share the gospel (Good News), and their love for Jesus. What an amazing trip!

Below is another active, great Thai/international church here in Seattle area, USA. I am amazed at how God uses these wonderful people to bring hope to the world! Their music is uplifting.

The church is called New Hope International Church. Pastor Lao and Da are kind, humble servants of the Lord whose love for God and others is compelling and contagious! Their ministry has touched so many lives (including mine). Visit their website at http://www.newhic.org/



"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24)

The God Who Connected

I remember when I was a child. I was sitting in a religious room in my house praying to lifeless statues. There was no peace in my heart. The statues were made out of stones and metal. They could not hear me. They could not talk. There were no responses, no comfort.

After I became a Christian, I know that God hears my prayers and He can feel what I feel. Human sufferings are not new to God because God was here on earth! He experienced sufferings, hurt, rejection, persecution, betrayal, poverty, sickness, and everything that I've ever experienced and more. Jesus Christ is so humble and kind. He mingled with low-class people, poor people, sick people, lepers, the handicapped, and the outcasts of the society.

Jesus is compassionate. He went everywhere to heal sick people, to preach the good news. He is actually the best social worker in the whole universe. He is someone we should look up to and follow his examples. We have been looking for heroes at the wrong places---Hollywood movie stars, sports figures, singers, famous authors, our friends, presidents, kings and etc. But the real hero is Jesus Christ who suffers all things and dies for our sins so that we can have an eternal life. This is what prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 53, "He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows."

Lately, I have been reading the Book of Mark. I noticed how Jesus interacted and connected with poor and sick villagers. These people were invisible in the society---no one cared about them. They were in the background and people just walked by them. But Jesus took time to minister to them. It was amazing to read about how Jesus related to them in a special way.

In Mark 7, Jesus drove a demon out of a young girl. He then healed a deaf and mute man who begged him to place his hand on him. In Mark 8, Jesus fed a large crowd with bread and fish otherwise the crowd would collapse with hunger and exhaustion. In the same chapter, Jesus healed a blind man at a town called Bethsaida.

Jesus is welcoming everyone into God's kingdom. You don't have to be rich, powerful,educated, strong, attractive, or have a certain race. Just come to Him with a heart of repentance and believe that He can cleanse your sins and He is the only way to salvation. Only through Jesus, you will be forgiven and reconciled to God. The Bible says, "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Happy Easter Day (two days late)!!!

The Wonderful Artist

Last week, we took a vacation in Florida. We sat at a secluded beach quietly watching the picturesque sunset, enjoying our peaceful time off together. I looked at the fine, sugary white sand, the turquoise blue ocean, and the majestic seagulls. The orange sun was dipping into the waters giving a bright golden glow. The picture before me is more beautiful, more stunning than the masterpiece of any famous artists. I thought about God, the Artist behind this beautiful work of art. God is creative, kind, and truly wonderful. Next time when you see God's creation, let's admire and praise God for his kindness.

"Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;"

Someone is Loving You

Before I was a Christian, somebody was trying to tell me that there is God and God loves me. A series of uneasy questions popped up in my mind. "Where is this God?" and "Why don't I see him and who is he?" I did not want to offend the person who spoke to me so I quietly kept these questions to myself. Until one day, one important day, God revealed Himself to me through His Word (the Bible) when I was sitting alone in my apartment, glancing through the scripture with great curiosity. Some months ago, I had purchased this particular bible from Thailand Bible Society in Bangkok. Out of a sudden, all my questions were answered. After I read verse after verse from the Bible and decided to accept Jesus as my Savior, I personally knew God!

God's love and peace touched me and embraced me in a special way. There are no words to describe the depth of God's love. It's supernatural. The best way to explain is to quote this verse from Romans 8:38-39. "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Because God's love has no limits and knows no bounds, you can trust God at all times. Your family, your spouse, your friends might love you but there is no comparison to God's love. You might not know it, but God is with you and taking care of you. He is your intimate friend, your refuge, and your trust. If you still don't know Him, He is asking for your love and friendship right now. I urge you to turn to God and accept His love through His Son, Jesus Christ. God is faithful and His love is amazing.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Unattainable Goals

I remember reading 1 Corinthians 13:4 (Love is always patient; love is always kind...) to my Thai friend over the phone. After I finished, there was a long pause, and my friend commented, "Who will be able to do all that? It's so unattainable!" Yes, to be always patient and kind and forgiving is difficult to do, if at all possible. Trying to do it all by yourself is like trying to climb Mt. Everest without climbing tools. The simplicity and sincerity of my friend's question made me think of several ways that people have tried to be religious, sinless, perfect, or to be like God. However, in whatever they do, they miserably fail.

I remember praying well-memorized prayers every night at bedtime before laying down on the bed. I remember giving food to monks on my birthday every year. I remember staying in a secluded temple to meditate and to pray, trying to live a "clean" life. I remember going to temples or a cemetery to perform mindless rituals such as pouring water on your hands to atone for your sins, letting the monks sprinkle "holy" water on you, burning cut-out gold papers and donating food to my deceased ancestors.

In the place where I'm from, people refrain from eating meat on certain months of the year. Young men enter monkshood when they are eighteen so their parents can go to heaven. There are five precepts to keep for laymen and for clergy, 227 rules and regulations to live by. Of all my life, I've never seen anybody successfully keep even one rule out of those 227 ones!

I have seen people try to impress other people by acting and sounding "religious." They are dressed in impressive suits carrying the big book around citing scriptures anytime they have a chance. They act very important, making sure people know they never miss church services and that they tithe big amounts of money. They look down on other people who seem to be less "religious" than they are. They are shrewd, selfish, proud, and unkind. These are people whom Jesus call the Pharisees or the hypocrites, who recited long prayers, wore long robes, and made a big show of giving.

Isaiah says, "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." Paul emphasizes this truth in the book of Romans, "they exchanged the truth of God for a lie." (Romans 1:25) We are all sinners, helpless, and prone to committing sins. However, there is the Good News. The bible says, "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace." The book of Galatians made it clearer, "a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ...because by observing the law no one will be justified."

Righteousness doesn't come from ourselves, it comes from God. No matter how many rituals you perform, how many "good deeds" you think you do, they don't bring you closer to God. On the contrary, they distract you from God's goodness and grace. The only way to God and to be saved is through repenting of your sins and turn to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Through Jesus, the unattainable goals become attainable, for as He himself says, "nothing will be impossible with God (Luke 1:37)."

Where are Our Babies?

This week Barack Obama reversed the previous administration's abortion policy that bans giving our money to "family planning" groups overseas that provide abortions and counseling about abortions. His radical decision will directly result in many more deaths of unborn babies, not only in this country, but also in developing countries all over the world. For Obama, who is a stauch supporter of abortions and infanticide, this is just another move to fullfil his radical agenda. Obama had successfully delivered his promises to Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and other pro-abortion groups. For Obama, lives of unborn children, disabled, sick people, and people with down syndromes are as worthless as used tissue paper. In the name of womens' rights, he endorsed the killings of children who can not protect themselves.

However, for Jesus, each life is precious and to be treated with tender care. He said in Luke 18:16, "let the children come to me; and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of God." Jesus always treats children, women, sick people, and the outcast with love and utmost care. Jesus went out of his way of showing love to the underprivileged. He healed sick people and felt compassionate toward them, when others turned a blind eye.

The statistics of abortion in the US. is staggering. I don't understand why the people of this country let the genocide of this multitude happen and continue. Are we so busy in our daily life that we don't have time to speak and stand for our precious babies? Or do our hearts become cold and indifferent to other people's circumstances? How long will we let this continue?

I advise all women who plan to have an abortion to watch a video of actual surgical abortions and see for themselves how cruel and inhuman the procedure really is. The baby in the womb feels pain, anger, hurt, and fear as much as an adult does when his or her body is being shredded or cut in pieces. It's a terror beyond words. Pregnant women should be informed that it's a child's life that they are taking away, not a blob of tissue or a tumor. An alternative to abortion is adoption, either by a close family or by loving parents who want to take care of children.

I said that and will say it again. Every single human being's life should be respected and we, as a society, must cultivate the value of human life.

**************************************
Join the Pro-Life Action League's grassroots resistance to Obama's pro-abortion agenda and help restore a Culture of Life in America. Go to:
http://prolifeaction.org/

Visit American Life League's website to learn more about the issue.
http://www.all.org/

Sign a petition to stop Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion chain in America, from receiving taxpayer dollars to fund abortions. http://www.stopplannedparenthoodtaxfunding.com/

Priests For Life has an extensive list of what you can do. I find their list very useful.
http://www.priestsforlife.org/brochures/youcan.html

Watch a Youtube video about why abortion is bad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIJZATxUVLg

49,515,832 deaths since Roe v. Wade
Estimated killed by surgical abortion since 1973

One in Christ

In Matthew12: 46, while Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers were standing outside waiting for him. Someone told him about them, but Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matthew 12:48-49.)

Several years ago when I first read this passage, coming from an Asian background where family is closely tied, I felt it was odd that Jesus declared that other people who were with him were his real family instead of his biological mother and brothers. However, as I grew spiritually over the years, I could see why. We, Christians, are adopted into the same family ---that is God's family, and we are united by love and hope in Christ. I could see why bonding with the church is so important and why I should spend more and more time with my spiritual family.

There's so much comfort, love, and encouragement, in spending time with your brothers and sisters in Christ, with someone who loves God and is passionate about Him as much as you do. Someone who has the same goals and priorities in life. I spent my weekend with my family in Christ and I felt lifted up. It was so nice to just talk and share a meal with a friend who knows Christ, who knows biblical truths, and applies them to his or her life. Also, sharing, reading the bible, and worshiping together with the church is a heavenly time for me.

God has spoken to my heart this week that these are the people whom He deeply loves and cares about, and I am to be there to encourage, help, and share my life with them. Christian life is never a life of isolation. I feel blessed to be surrounded by caring Christian friends who love God and who devote their lives to serve Him and others.