Hello friends! I hope and pray that you are all doing well. Summer is sure going fast. Speaking about going fast, our lives are also going fast. This past week I came across two news stories of women in NJ who died at age 71. Since I’m 51, I thought “wow that’s only 20 years away from me.” Whatever years that we have leftover, no one knows except God. One certain thing is that we all will die. I pray that rather than building your house on the sinking sands of this world structure; you are building your house upon the only foundation that holds and matters eternally – Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
As a newbie follower and without a clear path paved by a close family member, I wasn’t sure what it looked like to follow Jesus Christ. Whatever that I read from the Bible wasn’t pleasant sounding too. Also, as I read history accounts of the Christian apostles and martyrs; their endings were even worse sounding to me. Christians in the USA have it super easy compared to many other countries. I hope you know this and thankful.
I was saved at a summer middle school retreat hosted by Korean churches. I was powerfully touched by the Holy Spirit in a morning service. A handsome high school leader, Steve saw that I was being touched by the Holy Spirit and led me to say the salvation prayer. Whatever Steve said to do, I would have done. My salvation was indeed a free gift! But I think for those who come to salvation without understanding sin and why we are all sinners needing a Savior, there will be a very tough wrestling ahead. I’ve been on and off the wrestling mat with God since age 12. Finally, at the age of 38, I decided to stay wrestling with God just like Jacob did in the Bible. God is so merciful and good to not give up on me and my lack of interest. https://www.gotquestions.org/Jacob-wrestling-with-God.html
As I saw that God was reaching out to me to reengage with Him again; just like the Christmas Carol story, He showed me my future if I didn’t choose Him over the fleeting pleasures of the world. I was with the “in crowd” of the popular moms in town. We all had successful husbands, big homes and healthy, young children. One early night, I went out with my daughter to eat at a new Korean restaurant in town. There were about 6-7 older couples dining together. They appeared about 60-70 years old. They all raised their wine glasses and said “Mazel Tov!” (A Jewish Hebrew word for congratulations.) As I looked at their celebrating together, I realized that they didn’t look very appealing or sexy, because they all looked old. It was at this moment; I made a decision to go back into the wrestling mat again with God. I didn’t make any announcements with my popular mommy friends, but little-by-little they stopped including me in their social activities and parties as I entered into the wrestling mat with God and the Bible. In my loneliness and wrestling fatigue, I sought out community groups at my church.
I don’t credit myself for choosing God since He is the one who always pursues me first. I don’t know why I’m sharing my story with you in-depth but perhaps it’s for someone in our group who is on the fence about choosing God’s path wholeheartedly. I totally understand where you are coming from. Following God’s principles of living life are not easy.
I visibly saw my future if I chose friends, popularity and my self-will over God. I am so glad that I chose God and His path! Shutterfly started sharing old pictures with me once a week and if I didn’t build myself on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ for the past 13 years, I know that I’ll be super depressed about my aging looks. Rather now, I look at these old pictures and think how young I looked 13 years ago. I also remember how stubborn and prideful I used to be. I remember trying so hard to stay and climb higher on the social ladder too. Gosh, I’m so glad that I’m not climbing that ladder anymore! If anyone here is struggling to obey God and His revealed will for your life, please know that I’ll be praying for you and I completely understand your struggles.
As a Korean Christian, I’m always keeping my eyes open to news from North Korea. I was so surprised to read that the gospel of Jesus Christ is spreading during Covid times! Wow. Please pray for North Korea’s freedom and that somehow one day the two countries will finally be reunited peacefully and in freedom. Their citizens are enslaved and suffering immensely for far too long. Thank you for caring and praying 🙏.
(I read CBN news to balance out secular news. I hope you do likewise if you read news often. Our permanent citizenship is in heaven not here on earth. Therefore, the BIBLE needs to be our daily reading before any newspapers. It’s our Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. If you are short on time, then read your Bible before any news or novels.)
I read from one of Stormie Omartian’s prayer book that her dad was a big wimp with doctors and physical pain in general. No matter what she said, he‘d refuse to go to doctors for regular checkups. He loved the Lord and served God; and he would pray regularly for himself that he would die peacefully and without pain. He was healthy all his life and never set foot in the hospital. God granted him his wish and he died in his bed one night at the age of 90-something. Like Stormie Omartian’s father, I am a big wimp about physical pain (lol, my church friends know how much I depended on them for prayer and support when I had to go in for a tooth work few years ago.) After reading about Stormie Omartian’s dad, I now pray regularly that my passing will be pain free. (By the way, I get annual checkups with all my doctors.) If you are also worried about how you will die, please pray about it regularly. Bible teaches us to pray about everything and if this subject worries you, then you should pray about it. However, one thing that you should not worry about is when you will die because you are ready to meet your Maker at any time, and absolutely certain that your name is written on the Book of Life. If you are not certain, then please listen to any of the Times Square Church sermons. They always end their sermons with an invitation to receive salvation.
Times Square Church in NYC l Tim Dilena Senior Pastor l Carter Conlontsc.nyc
Any of Billy Graham’s evangelistic sermons have an invitation to receive salvation at the end too. This one about The Brevity of Time is a very good one. It was delivered in Buffalo on 1988. My advice to you is accept your ticket to heaven now, and wrestle with God about theology and all your questions about life, fairness, free-will, etc. afterwards.
World Youth Day in Portugal was this past week. In case you are wondering why I am marveling about this World Youth Day is because after studying a little bit of church history; Catholics and Protestants have been at war, hostile and suspicious of one another for the past 500 years since Martin Luther, the Catholic monk protested against the Catholic church’s theology and hence the Protestant movement developed. For the Catholic church to open up their World Youth Day to Evangelical Protestants is historic! This is a big deal. My friend who is there with her church as a volunteer is a charismatic, evangelical Christian. I look forward to hearing her report from her ministry week there. Reports say that over a million young people attended this week’s event. Thank you if you have been praying for Lisbon, Portugal throughout the week. I have been praying and I am so happy that nothing “bad” happened with their security which is my biggest concern for any big gatherings of people. Praise God!
Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. – 1 John 2:28 (NASB)
Bible Gateway passage: 1 John 2 – New American Standard Biblebiblegateway.com
Journal of Faith 