christians = POOP

Christians are like manure: spread them out and they help everything grow better, but keep them in one big pile and they stink horribly.

So go out and spread the Good News. Pun intended. :)

can't wait for that DAY

In the Garden, we were ABLE TO SIN.

After the Fall, we were NOT ABLE NOT TO SIN.

After Christ, we are ABLE NOT TO SIN.

In Heaven, we are NOT ABLE TO SIN.

CELINE DION recites scripture

A little while back I was doing my Saturday morning devotional on 2Corinthians. I was going through chapter 12, when I stumbled upon verses 9-10. I meditated on it, and 'til today it's one of my favorite verses:

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.


Immediately after my QT, I went to the bathroom to get cleaned up, shave, shower, etc. Without fail, I always turn on my radio as I'm getting ready in the morning.

As soon as I pressed "Power On" on my bathroom radio, the first words I heard were "You were my strength when I was weak." [Celine Dion's song "Because You Loved Me."] Wow. When I heard it, I turned off the radio, and I left it on that note.

I love when that happens. I also love being weak, and I love having an Almighty Savior who leads me all the way.

Coincidence? I think not... :)

HEAVEN on earth

After work I walked into the most beautiful day ever.

Sunny, blue skies, with a slight breeze, on a beautiful campus.

Tuned my Ipod to Shane & Shane -- Before the throne of God above.

And as I was walking, I smiled thinking "now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."[John 17:3]

Seriously. I'm so happy. What more can I ask for?

bumper STICKER gospel

Driving around L.A., let's just say you see quite a few cars. Just a few of my faves:

RELIGION is for the weak

Today I was walking back to the dorms when I noticed this guy at a table in the middle of BruinWalk. The table had signs all over it that reads in large letters, "RELIGION IS FOR THE WEAK." I approached the table with skepticism and ends up that this guy is a Christian, a pastor named Mark. Long story short, I ended up sitting at the table with him for 2 hours--and what a way to strike up conversations! It's kind of funny, there were so many atheists and agnostics who approached us with approval... soon to encounter a rude awakening that we were Jesus lovers haha. Nevertheless it provided an opportunity for us to speak to a microcosm of the most outspoken skeptics on campus.

I'll just leave you with this: I think Christians (especially me) need to step outside of their non-confrontational Christian bubbles and talk to people unlike themselves. Get your feathers a little ruffled. If you get jacked, so be it! Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger--it'll make you want to know what you believe with more proof and conviction.


p.s. - by the way, religion IS for the weak. we are weak. that's why we need a Savior. [2cor.12:9]

p.s.s. - and you know what? God uses the foolish in the world to put to shame the wise, what is weak in the world to shame the strong. [1cor.1:27]

sometimes i don't understand God's TIMING

For everything there is a season,
and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die,
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted,

a time to kill, and a time to heal,
a time to break down, and a time to build up,

a time to weep, and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn, and a time to dance,

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together,
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to seek, and a time to lose,
a time to keep, and a time to cast away,

a time to tear, and a time to sew,
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak,

a time to love, and a time to hate,
a time for war, and a time for peace.


but I know he works ALL things together for good to those who love, so I'll bank on that.

pleasure is the measure of your TREASURE

And my treasure is Christ. [Matthew 13:44]

which means infinite joy.

:)

who invited JOB to the snowboard trip?

Since I've been back to school, everyone's been telling me "Oh my God I heard about the crazy snowboard trip. It must've been so miserable." Actually I loved it. But for those of you who don't know, here's what happened:

1) We get to Bear Mountain, and we find that Christine forgot to bring her snowboard in the trunk.
2) Phoebe rents a snowboard but as she's walking to the lift for her first run, she has back spasms and can't board for the entire day.
3) Andrew gets a nasty voicemail from the cabin owners-- supposedly the neighbors called the police on us because we were being loud, and the city called the owners. The owners had spied on us at 2 am and counted 18 of us through the window, when the cabin is only for maximum 8-10 people (there were actually 30 of us haha). And they counted 6 cars in the driveway when the max is 3 cars. As a city ordinance, we had to cut the number to 10 and the cars to 3, or else we would be kicked out that night, no exceptions.
4) Robert has to go to the E.R. because of a severe foot infection. The doctors tell him that if he doesn't treat it quickly, he could possibly die.
5) On the last run of the day, I misfire a rail and my shins land on the corner of the metal box. Then my face lands on the ice and I have a bloody face.
6) As all the cars are packing up to go back to the cabin, Alice's snowboard is nowhere to be found. Somebody stole it and ran off without a trace. And on top of that it's her friend's snowboard that she borrowed.
7) We have to move 3 of the cars to another location for the night. Even though it's snowing, and there's icy roads, we take our chances and head out without chains on our tires. Halfway there i stop, then Billy stops behind me. But Andrew's car skids on the ice and collides with Billy's rear bumper.
8) On the way back home, almost all the cars gets back safely. Jon, driving Shening's family Suburban, is the last one. As he is about the get on the 405N (which is 5 min. from UCLA), a car crashes into the Suburban. The car had been avoiding a reckless driver, and ran into Jon. And by the way, the reckless driver zooms off.

Wow. All within a span of about 30 hours. Whenever we said it can't get any worse, it always did. Was it a lack of prayer or praise? Certainly not. This was probably the first KCM snowboard trip where we had a night of worship, devotionals, prayer, and morning QT's. A snowboard retreat haha. So was it because we did something wrong? Was it Satan attacking us? It doesn't matter. God deserves glory in every situation.

That night Billy and I were licking our wounds and whining about the woes of the trip. Why would God do this to us, it's so unfair! And that's when I remembered John 3:30--May God increase, and we decrease. We need a higher view of God. Instead of complaining and whining and blaming God, we should give praise to God for whatever the circumstance! Does God owe us a perfect trip? Are we of some worth that God is obliged to give us a smooth vacation? Not at all. God had shown us enough mercy already.

Thinking about it, things could have been much worse. We could have gotten kicked out and forced to drive home in the pitch black snowy night. Robert's toe infection could have been fatal, as the doctor had warned. I could have easily broken my nose or teeth if I landed centimeters closer to the rail. Andrew and Billy could have collided with a pedestrian or other cars. And Jon's car could have turned out to be a much deadlier and costly accident than it really was. So in a way, we are blessed.

And above all, we're saved by grace. Yet while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Talk about receiving a gift that we don't deserve. At the end of the day, grace is all I need. Sufferings, hardships, accidents can't faze us.

Soli Deo Gloria.

coincidence? i think not... [MISSIONS]

I usually don't rummage through trash cans, and I especially don't put in my backpack things from a trash can. But on the way to class today I noticed a magazine sitting in the midst of an overflowing trashcan. It caught my eye because it said The Watchtower on it, and I knew the Watchtower is to Jehovah's Witnesses what the Vatican is to Catholics. I said to myself, "Oh interesting.~ The Jehovah's Witness official magazine, I'll have a look into it later." I grabbed the magazine, rolled it up, and shoved it in my backpack.

During the KCM servant team meeting, my mind wandered while we were talking about the upcoming missions report night. I opened my backpack and started picking at the magazine. One article remarked that "God's Word needs no revision," and I chuckled to myself because the Jehovah's Witnesses find the Bible false so they retranslated the Bible into their own New World Bible translation. I flipped through other articles until one of them grabbed my attention because it said Freedom for Mayas. There was a map of the Yucatan, and I pointed to Ashley who was sitting next to me, "Oh shoot, Yucatan! That's where I go for missions every year!" When I turned the page, my heart dropped and I almost cried. I forget names easily, but I never forget a face. There on the photo was a woman I had evangelized to in a remote village just a couple months back. As soon as I saw the photo I yelled out loud "Oh my God!", and at that exact same moment Jon Kang asked me to close in prayer for the servant team about... I didn't even hear the topic because I was busy looking at the photo. I turned to Ashley and she said it was for missions, and by this time I was freaked out and shaking. God reminded me of the urgency for missions. So I prayed. Coincidence? I think not...

I remembered a quote I read on my friend's wall who used to play varsity soccer. It read something like: When you're not training, someone out there is. It's similar to the mission field-- because when Christians are neglecting missions, then somebody else out there is spreading false doctrine and leading people to hell. I don't care if it's Jehovah's Witnesses (who preach that Jesus Christ is not God), or Mormons, or Muslims, or Buddhists. When we as believers make excuses not to go on missions, then cults and false religions are happily there to fill the lack. Not only do they spread demonic doctrine, they undo the missions work that you have done in the past. Just like the lady who I shared the gospel to, somebody else is spreading the Jehovah's Witness gospel to the same people. It's continual spiritual warfare. So I urge you, Christian. Promote missions. Don't be afraid to share your testimony. Support missions. Go out on missions. It's no joke.

The Watchtower is read semi-monthly by almost every Jehovah's Witness in the world.

The same woman that me and Missionary Yoo shared the gospel with in July 2008.