For the Suffering Saint

I know in mind and heart that this is your most difficult birthday just yet. How it feels to have an ever gnawing pain with you when you wake up in the morning, and when you go to sleep at (mid) night,
and every single time you let your thoughts wander far enough during the day.

Maybe you also feel sometimes that you have to "suck it up and get on with it" because "it's been months," and you can't do anything about the past, so you just have to move forward. It's hard and difficult and painful, and the task before us is looming and terrifying. I mean how can life be not terrifying when so much has changed?

But He who promised to us life and life abundant, in this world and the next, is faithful. And somehow this thought gets me through the hardest nights. Hoping it would also be of comfort and soothing balm to you. I love you, and happy birthday.

I'm always praying for you, and for the day when we'd all cross beyond the River to our eternal home, with all our beloved saints who went on before us. As for today, let's press on. 💖

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Salvation Testimony

[I presented this testimony earlier this year to the congregation for an evangelistic night. An evangelistic night is a vesper service modified to accommodate the sharing of the gospel to unbelievers, and one part of it is the sharing of the members' testimony of how God saved them. I was one of the first ones to share.] A friend once asked me just a few months ago for my written testimony when I applied for this church. I didn’t think there was any problem, but when I thought more about it, I realized that my testimony I wrote for the church 6 years ago is not something I could share anymore. Not because my salvation story then wasn’t true, but because a lot of God-given, life-changing lessons happened after I was saved. I guess the first thing I realized is that testimonies are always changing because God never stops writing our story. For this afternoon I would like to share who I was before I knew God, what God did to save me, and what God taught me after being saved. ...

An Open Letter To All My Unbelieving Friends

To all my unbelieving friends, I’m sorry. For so many things. I’m sorry for not being brave enough. Sorry for not being the kind of friend you need the most. I’m sorry for letting so many opportunities slip by while being well aware that it might well be the last one. I’m sorry if you felt safe and secure and if you’re placing your trust in all the wrong things. And I’m sorry for knowing better and yet not doing better. I apologize for having the treasure of the good news—the only thing you need!—and keeping it all to myself. All because I’m not brave enough. All because I lose the battle that’s first fought in the mind. Sorry for being weak. I’m sorry for knowing that you don’t know Christ—and acting as if that’s okay for now. As if we still have time when, in reality, that’s never guaranteed to us. Sorry for knowing that your image of God is something different from the God of the Bible—and not telling you all about it. I’m sorry for failing to point you clearly to the one truth that...

Faithfulness in the Lens of Genesis 24

Faithfulness is denotatively defined as the quality of being steadfast in affection or allegiance; to be firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty; to be true to the facts, to a standard, or to an original. (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, n.d.) This term nowadays usually has the connotation of simply staying consistent with what one has originally said. Faithfulness, however, is not simply staying true. The word faithfulness is derived from the Hebrew word ‘e-meth— a word contracted from the Hebrew word ‘âman, which means to build up or support; figuratively, to render firm, to be permanent, or quiet. Being faithful, then, according to its Hebrew origin, is about one’s trustworthiness. To be a faithful person is to have certainty in truth. In the Scripture, the word “faithfulness” appeared 75 times, with “faithful” appearing just about as much—78 times. If one searches for all the occurrences of the word ‘emeth in the original translation, ...

Reminiscing Truths ⚓

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