Wow what an awesome year that God has brought me through and I am overflowing with gratitude towards Him for all of the blessings and love and grace and tidings He has given me last year. He brought me first to Cornerstone where I can form real and actual relationships that are godly and purposeful!! And He also brought me to Eternity Bible College and it just totally changed my life for more joy and peace in Him and also in others rejoicing in Christ and displaying His amazing love to me!! So now as this year closes it is time that I make some resolutions for the upcoming 2010 year and what I would like to through the grace and power of God! Paul says by the grace of God He is what He is so may these resolutions come true by the power of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 15:10, Philippians 2:12-13) I humbly ask that you guys all commit to helping me fulfill these resolutions!
1. The most basic essence of the gospel and of the Christian life is that I want my life to be a showcase of the awesome grace of Christ and the wonderful lovely gospel that He brings! I want to be satisfied in God and Christ and live my life to display the life of Christ and glorify His beautiful name of love and grace!
2. This is not distinct from my compassion for the whole world and my desire for them not only to be saved from hell but also to be satisfied in the beauty and grace of Christ and His Father! Therefore I am resolved to not only speak the gospel because the gospel (by the Spirit's power) does not glorify Christ (John 16:13-14, 2 Timothy 1:10) convict people of their sin (John 16:8, 1 Thessalonians 1:5) enlighten and open minds to respond (Acts 16:14, John 1:9) and grant repentance and wisdom so that they might rest in the work of Christ (2 Timothy 2:24-26, 3:15) if I merely speak words and not live it through a life of love!! I learned that the hard way several times so I want God to refocus I fun-loving and energetic nature into acts of joyful love because that is what makes Christ stand out as a superior satisfaction as a FREE gift to all who believe!
3. I am resolved to glory in the weaknesses of my autism! When I first came to EBC, I had this attitude that I wanted to be healed of this disability because I thought that it was a thorn in my side! And I believed that because first it damaged beyond repair my social skills and my ability to not be distracted! (In other words I have extreme trouble concentrating) And these weaknesses strip me of my ability to do many things but I now see that these weaknesses are in fact wonderful love gifts from God! I desire to love the fact that God made me autistic and weak because it turned out to be my blessings and also the channel by which Christ's awesome power and grace shines. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) So I am resolved to not take anything that claims can help me with my autism such as reliv, or pray any prayer for any of it to be healed, or believe anything that sounds like a health wealth and prosperity gospel because this autism in it's fullness is a gift from God!
4. This is one I ask that you guys always keep me accountable on! I want to honor and love my parents the way Christ loved me! I have not done a good job at this and I am determined and resolved to do a better job at doing this! I know that I am apt to fail because of my sinful nature that is still there but I pray that I can claim victory by the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:13-26) and the power of the union with Christ, and His death burial and resurrection! (Romans 6-8 is a great section all about this). I want to be honest with you about this. My mother is not an easy person to deal with because she is extremely depressed and feeling hopeless about life right now and because of that she acts very self-centered and selfish. (So do I to tell you the truth) So I need to ask for Christ's power of sacrificial love and great patience to endure evil because I cannot do it! (Galatians 2:20) So I hope you guys will push me to love them for the potential reward of their worship of God and the actual reward of my sharing in Christ likeness! If I can love those who don't act loving, like my parents, I can love my friends even better than I did before!!
I ask you guys to help me to fulfill these resolutions and to keep my eyes focused on the reward in heaven and the glory to come! (Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, All of 1 Peter)
Resting in the power of Christ to fulfill these resolutions!
Kevin Chu
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Why I am resolved not to do any theological discussions anymore....
These days I have been pondering what should be more preferable in my walk with Christ for the joy of magnifying Him by the power of the Holy Spirit for all! That is what should I give my life to.... converting people to some theological system (anything doctrine or theology NOT essential to become a Christian) or loving my brothers and sisters in Christ in practical deeds to glorify Christ for the lost to see and believe. I have pondered this and I am now confident that I feel that my life should be geared towards the latter for the following reasons!
1. Paul considered church unity to be vital in the Christian faith and he was sick and tired of the divisiveness that had plagued the Corinth church. Look at his marvelous logic here in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
Look at the incredible words of Paul here! He does not want people to be giving their allegiance to any other theology than Jesus Christ. Why should we say that we are this or that when we can give our lives to the gospel of Christ!!
2. Jesus considered the unity of oneness love to be the ONE thing that would best glorify God's love for all to everyone so that they would all believe that God sent Jesus not to condemn the world but to save it. In fact this is what Jesus Christ prayed for in the most famous prayer in the whole Bible!
John 17:20-23
I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, SO THAT the world may believe that You sent Me. "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, THAT they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
How I would long that we would all have our eyes opened to see that when we not get arguementative over non-essential theology or make it a hill to die on when we can rather realize that we are all Christians who want to glorify God! (Psalm 133:1, Ephesians 4:4-6)
3. Knowing all this theology puffs up but love edifies. (1 Corinthians 8:1)
To be blunt, I honestly do not believe that Jesus Christ is going to reward me at His judgment seat based on how much correct theology I have but rather even more so based on how much I loved my brothers and sisters in Christ (John 13:34-35) and how much I loved the lost! And I know that I can start by loving my mother and father who are not saved through action and deed. (1 John 3:18) I certainly need to watch my arrogance over knowing all these doctrines and I really just feel I need to keep them to myself and make my exegetical life private. So I respectfully ask that you guys not bring up these theological debates to me because I really do not want to get into it with anyone else anymore. I just want to be taught to love because that best represents who God is! Christianity is knowing all these doctrines but it is knowing a Person... God in the face of Christ which I saw when I became a Christian. (2 Corinthians 4:6) That's why Paul preaches Christ as he says just one verse earlier!
Striving for unity and not divisiveness over theology not essential to be a Christian for the joy of the world in Christ....
Kevin Chu
1. Paul considered church unity to be vital in the Christian faith and he was sick and tired of the divisiveness that had plagued the Corinth church. Look at his marvelous logic here in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
Look at the incredible words of Paul here! He does not want people to be giving their allegiance to any other theology than Jesus Christ. Why should we say that we are this or that when we can give our lives to the gospel of Christ!!
2. Jesus considered the unity of oneness love to be the ONE thing that would best glorify God's love for all to everyone so that they would all believe that God sent Jesus not to condemn the world but to save it. In fact this is what Jesus Christ prayed for in the most famous prayer in the whole Bible!
John 17:20-23
I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, SO THAT the world may believe that You sent Me. "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, THAT they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
How I would long that we would all have our eyes opened to see that when we not get arguementative over non-essential theology or make it a hill to die on when we can rather realize that we are all Christians who want to glorify God! (Psalm 133:1, Ephesians 4:4-6)
3. Knowing all this theology puffs up but love edifies. (1 Corinthians 8:1)
To be blunt, I honestly do not believe that Jesus Christ is going to reward me at His judgment seat based on how much correct theology I have but rather even more so based on how much I loved my brothers and sisters in Christ (John 13:34-35) and how much I loved the lost! And I know that I can start by loving my mother and father who are not saved through action and deed. (1 John 3:18) I certainly need to watch my arrogance over knowing all these doctrines and I really just feel I need to keep them to myself and make my exegetical life private. So I respectfully ask that you guys not bring up these theological debates to me because I really do not want to get into it with anyone else anymore. I just want to be taught to love because that best represents who God is! Christianity is knowing all these doctrines but it is knowing a Person... God in the face of Christ which I saw when I became a Christian. (2 Corinthians 4:6) That's why Paul preaches Christ as he says just one verse earlier!
Striving for unity and not divisiveness over theology not essential to be a Christian for the joy of the world in Christ....
Kevin Chu
Don't pray that God will be with you.....
Tonight I want to give you an encouragement regarding a new way of praying as we come close to Christmas! The reality is that we should not pray for God to be with us because it doesn't change the reality that He will ALWAYS be with us for now and forever. Louie Giglio cites from Matthew 1:23 that Immanuel means God with us dwelled on earth and said that he would ALWAYS objectively be with us till the end of the age in the last words of Matthew 28:20. So tonight I want to talk to you guys about the ongoing ministry of Christ and a new way of praying instead of asking God to be with us.
And what is that new way of praying..... the brand new way of praying is that God would LIVE IN US AND THROUGH US!! We as Christians are spiritually united to Christ and it is no longer us who live but it is Christ who lives inside each and every one of us as Paul teaches in Galatians 2:20! So why do we need to ask God to be with us when we already have Him living inside of us in the Person of Jesus Christ!! Let me share with you some awesome verses regarding the brand new way of praying for Christ to live through us! Remember that you cannot live the Christian life so JESUS must live it for us and through us! That is the unmistakable teaching of Galatians 2:20!
John 14:15-17
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He ABIDES with you and will BE IN YOU!
Ephesians 3:14-21
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit IN the inner man,so that Christ may DWELL IN your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be FILLED UP to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works WITHIN us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Colossians 1:25-27
Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory.
Just remember the awesome privilige that we bear that we have JESUS CHRIST living in us through the power of the Holy Spirit so let me just close this note with a prayer...
Dear Father, I am sorry that I have not savored the reality that You are not only with me but also that Your Beloved Son, who is your perfect delight is dwelling in me. So I want to ask You that Your Son in me would always glorify You and make You known to all who do not know you so that the love that You have for Your Son and the love that the Son has for You may be in them and also that Jesus Christ would be in them all as He is in me. And I pray that I can make my joy in seeing Your Son in them and also in their unspeakable joy of having Jesus in them because that is Your joy Father. So my Christ shine in me and glorify You for all to see. In Jesus' name Amen!
And what is that new way of praying..... the brand new way of praying is that God would LIVE IN US AND THROUGH US!! We as Christians are spiritually united to Christ and it is no longer us who live but it is Christ who lives inside each and every one of us as Paul teaches in Galatians 2:20! So why do we need to ask God to be with us when we already have Him living inside of us in the Person of Jesus Christ!! Let me share with you some awesome verses regarding the brand new way of praying for Christ to live through us! Remember that you cannot live the Christian life so JESUS must live it for us and through us! That is the unmistakable teaching of Galatians 2:20!
John 14:15-17
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He ABIDES with you and will BE IN YOU!
Ephesians 3:14-21
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit IN the inner man,so that Christ may DWELL IN your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be FILLED UP to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works WITHIN us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Colossians 1:25-27
Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory.
Just remember the awesome privilige that we bear that we have JESUS CHRIST living in us through the power of the Holy Spirit so let me just close this note with a prayer...
Dear Father, I am sorry that I have not savored the reality that You are not only with me but also that Your Beloved Son, who is your perfect delight is dwelling in me. So I want to ask You that Your Son in me would always glorify You and make You known to all who do not know you so that the love that You have for Your Son and the love that the Son has for You may be in them and also that Jesus Christ would be in them all as He is in me. And I pray that I can make my joy in seeing Your Son in them and also in their unspeakable joy of having Jesus in them because that is Your joy Father. So my Christ shine in me and glorify You for all to see. In Jesus' name Amen!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Remixing my prayer regarding blessings!
Last night I watched a sermon by Louie Giglio about prayer and he has convinced me that I should not pray for blessings as much as I should pray to enjoy the blessings that God has already given me in Christ!! So the point of this note is to explain why I should ask God to heal me of the weaknesses of my autism when in fact He has given me everything in Christ! Why do I need some physical healing??? Here are the blessings that Louie explains that we ALL have IN CHRIST ALONE!! (That is as Christians united to the Beloved Son!)
We have the blessing of Abraham given to all Gentiles in Christ!
"in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Galatians 3:14)
We have EVERY spiritual blessing in Christ!
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ," (Ephesians 1:3)
We are chosen in Christ to display the holiness of God!
"just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him . (Ephesians 1:4)"
We have everything we need for godly living!
"seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." (2 Peter 1:3)
We have superabouding grace from the fullness of the Christ!
"For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace." (John 1:16)
We are heirs of GOD and co-heirs with Christ! (This means that we get every blessing that Christ gets!)
"and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." (Romans 8:17)
We are MORE than conquerors and overcomers and victorious in our lives!
"But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37)
God will supply us glorious riches in CHRIST!
"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
We are seated at the RIGHT HAND of God in the heavenly realms with CHRIST!
and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6)
In light of all that I have in Christ... it is completely rebelling against the sovereignty of God to ask Him to heal me of my autism and it's weaknesses. I want the burdens of it because they are God's GIFTS!! So please do not try to help me overcome this disability, help me to glorify God and all the riches in the verses listed above. Let my prayers start to gear towards that end! And keep my autistic God... your glory in those riches above will shine brighter in this condition.
We have the blessing of Abraham given to all Gentiles in Christ!
"in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Galatians 3:14)
We have EVERY spiritual blessing in Christ!
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ," (Ephesians 1:3)
We are chosen in Christ to display the holiness of God!
"just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him . (Ephesians 1:4)"
We have everything we need for godly living!
"seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." (2 Peter 1:3)
We have superabouding grace from the fullness of the Christ!
"For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace." (John 1:16)
We are heirs of GOD and co-heirs with Christ! (This means that we get every blessing that Christ gets!)
"and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." (Romans 8:17)
We are MORE than conquerors and overcomers and victorious in our lives!
"But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37)
God will supply us glorious riches in CHRIST!
"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
We are seated at the RIGHT HAND of God in the heavenly realms with CHRIST!
and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6)
In light of all that I have in Christ... it is completely rebelling against the sovereignty of God to ask Him to heal me of my autism and it's weaknesses. I want the burdens of it because they are God's GIFTS!! So please do not try to help me overcome this disability, help me to glorify God and all the riches in the verses listed above. Let my prayers start to gear towards that end! And keep my autistic God... your glory in those riches above will shine brighter in this condition.
The Difference between Jesus Christ and Santa Claus
As I continue to press on in my walk with Christ towards my Heavenly Father for my everlasting enjoyment I start to see God as my all-satisfying Treasure that I desprately want everyone to have which John Piper calls Holy Greediness in Desiring God! And now that I have seen the all-satisfying beauty of God, I can now fully understand the ugliness of idolatry that happens in the world because you reject God as your satisfaction and embrace some other false god to fill up your heart. Jeremiah describes it as exchanging a full cistern for a broken one that cannot hold any water. (Jeremiah 2:11-13) And the Apostle Paul describes it as exchanging the glory of the IMMORTAL God for the glory of man and reptiles and four-footed animals. (Romans 1:18-25) This is a sad tragedy that breaks God's heart.
And now as I move into Christmas season I have come to realize that false gods have been worshiped in place of God and the gift of Jesus Christ which is divine love and grace and mercy INCARNATE! (John 1:14) Now people worship Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer and especially Santa Claus. To tell you the truth Santa Claus has been attributed many attributes of God. These days people deem Santa Claus as omnipotent and sovereign and omnipresent because he can get to every house in the world and get down every chimney without effort. And people seen him as eternal and immortal because he never changes and never dies. He is the same yesterday today and tomorrow. But there is one crucial thing that Santa lacks and Jesus has..... unconditional love grace and mercy!
Santa Claus comes to town and you better be good because otherwise if you make the naughty list you will not get a present. Does this not represent a works-righteousness salvation in Christianity. You get a "present" based on your deserving it. This is not biblical Christianity for the following reasons.....
1. Santa never sacrificially loved anybody as enemies. However, Paul says that Jesus died for us while we were yet SINNERS! (Romans 5:6-8)
2. What Jesus came to give is a FREE GIFT! (Romans 6:23) We do not deserve this free gift because if we did it would not be a free gift. But there are two better foundations for God's free offer and extension of grace than our "merits". The first is that God is unwaveringly and ultimately committed to glorifying (showing off) His splendor and majesty! This is the very definition of righteousness. And the second foundation (which is not properly distinct from the first) is that God is unwaveringly committed to the unbeliever's enjoyment of the eternal God which is consummated and put to the max in God's showing off His splendor and majesty through Him! And as Piper and Louie Giglio have helped me to see, these two foundations are the very ground and warrant of our salvation and not some silly "merit and deserving" in us. So why worship a false god called Santa Claus who gives "gifts" based on our "goodness" when we can receive the best GIFT of God in Christ (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus says that those who come to Him will NEVER be cast out! (John 6:37) So come let us adore Him who applies His unfailing mercy to ALL to come to Him!
I will close with these quotes from Louie Giglio!
"God says check this out..... It's grace, it's mercy, it's kindness, it's forgiveness! It's God saying I LOVE YOU! (Psalm 103:8)"
"If you know you are the most beautiful Being in the universe and you allow people that you claim you love to turn their hearts affections away from you than you in that moment are not loving anymore"
And now as I move into Christmas season I have come to realize that false gods have been worshiped in place of God and the gift of Jesus Christ which is divine love and grace and mercy INCARNATE! (John 1:14) Now people worship Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer and especially Santa Claus. To tell you the truth Santa Claus has been attributed many attributes of God. These days people deem Santa Claus as omnipotent and sovereign and omnipresent because he can get to every house in the world and get down every chimney without effort. And people seen him as eternal and immortal because he never changes and never dies. He is the same yesterday today and tomorrow. But there is one crucial thing that Santa lacks and Jesus has..... unconditional love grace and mercy!
Santa Claus comes to town and you better be good because otherwise if you make the naughty list you will not get a present. Does this not represent a works-righteousness salvation in Christianity. You get a "present" based on your deserving it. This is not biblical Christianity for the following reasons.....
1. Santa never sacrificially loved anybody as enemies. However, Paul says that Jesus died for us while we were yet SINNERS! (Romans 5:6-8)
2. What Jesus came to give is a FREE GIFT! (Romans 6:23) We do not deserve this free gift because if we did it would not be a free gift. But there are two better foundations for God's free offer and extension of grace than our "merits". The first is that God is unwaveringly and ultimately committed to glorifying (showing off) His splendor and majesty! This is the very definition of righteousness. And the second foundation (which is not properly distinct from the first) is that God is unwaveringly committed to the unbeliever's enjoyment of the eternal God which is consummated and put to the max in God's showing off His splendor and majesty through Him! And as Piper and Louie Giglio have helped me to see, these two foundations are the very ground and warrant of our salvation and not some silly "merit and deserving" in us. So why worship a false god called Santa Claus who gives "gifts" based on our "goodness" when we can receive the best GIFT of God in Christ (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus says that those who come to Him will NEVER be cast out! (John 6:37) So come let us adore Him who applies His unfailing mercy to ALL to come to Him!
I will close with these quotes from Louie Giglio!
"God says check this out..... It's grace, it's mercy, it's kindness, it's forgiveness! It's God saying I LOVE YOU! (Psalm 103:8)"
"If you know you are the most beautiful Being in the universe and you allow people that you claim you love to turn their hearts affections away from you than you in that moment are not loving anymore"
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Eternity Bible College and the First Semester
Well I made it through a spiritually challenging semester of school here at EBC and I will be turning twenty in less than one hour and I am now going to give my thanks to all who have been so good to me made my life at EBC a trophie of God's amazing grace! (Phillipians 4:4-7) I have confidence that I will be a overcomer through faith in Christ!
God
O Father I am just so grateful and for all that you have done for me and through me!! You gave me twenty years on earth and the reality is that all of these years are GRACE!! It is a free gift for me just to have another breath and I want to ponder that reality and realize that I am being treated better than I deserve and you delight in doing so because you are an all-glorious GOD! Thank you for all of these twenty years and what you did with me during them (including my unsaved years) Thank you God for just being loving to me in my darkest hours!! Thank you for showing me that autism and ALL of it's weaknesses that I must painfully endure are in fact a gift meant to show off your GRACE and LOVE! Thank you for helping me out of my lonliness I had as a child and putting me in a godly family where grace reigns and unity is possible! (John 17:20-26) And best of all..... Thank you for providing the gift of YOURSELF through your beloved Son Jesus Christ crucified and risen for my justification and adoption!! Thank you are you ARE a loving gracious God and I want everyone to know that! You are all-satisfying and loving and keep me eyes focused on you and help me to taste your sweet love!!
Mike Clark
Mike you were just an awesome and sweet friend just to have around and I will never forget the times that we had. Thanks for showing me "faulty doctrine." Thanks for just holding me accountable when it comes to my parents because I know I will fail and also four your bluntness when it comes to them! Thanks for never giving up on me! Thanks for letting me stay at your apartment and for all of your theological discussions because it was a pleasure to have them with you! I pray that we can continue to have them in the future as our relationship goes!
Josh Lewis
Man Josh I will never forget the first time that I met you when we went to Collide together. You were a blast and I want to express my thanks for holding me accountable for all the silly things that I do. Thanks for defending my message of Christ when Mike Peters was mocking me for it and thanks for showing me to real gospel living is! And thanks for just being a sweet friend because I throughly enjoyed your company.
Matt Enns
Matt I cannot even being to describe with words just how wonderful you are when I can just hear your wisdom! And I am just grateful that you have always been accepting of me and who I am because every time I sleep at your place... I feel loved by God. And I just want to thank you for your kindness in Christ and your challenge for me to fight through my trials when it comes to my parents or to school because the joy of glory is coming! (1 Peter 4:12-13) Mark Balyulet Man Mark this semester has been fun just going to parties with you and hangouts and just chatting it up with you! Thanks for trying to get me involved when you can and for making sure I have a place to sleep for the night. It has been a wonderful pleasure getting to hang out with you in the EBC lounge! You are a true brother in Christ and I just earnestly desire to get to know you more as a brother in Christ!
Dan Morris
Dan you are a guy that is unique in a lot of ways. But one thing that always sticks out about you is how you have been so good and accepting to me while we have been going to school together. In particular I felt really welcome over the weekend that I spent with you and your Sunland buddies Tom Garcia, Christian Judy, and Jamin Mckeever when I came over. I am so grateful that you welcomed me and took care of me when I was there and God's grace and gospel shines through you!! I pray that God will use you well in counseling because you just have the ability to dig deep into the hearts of people!
Brooke Remund
Brooke I just want to say thanks for being so loving and sweet to me when we have hung during my time here at EBC. I feel so loved by God through you and thanks for just bothering to notice me when I am here at school. I pray that God will use your beautiful loving heart just to touch others!
God
O Father I am just so grateful and for all that you have done for me and through me!! You gave me twenty years on earth and the reality is that all of these years are GRACE!! It is a free gift for me just to have another breath and I want to ponder that reality and realize that I am being treated better than I deserve and you delight in doing so because you are an all-glorious GOD! Thank you for all of these twenty years and what you did with me during them (including my unsaved years) Thank you God for just being loving to me in my darkest hours!! Thank you for showing me that autism and ALL of it's weaknesses that I must painfully endure are in fact a gift meant to show off your GRACE and LOVE! Thank you for helping me out of my lonliness I had as a child and putting me in a godly family where grace reigns and unity is possible! (John 17:20-26) And best of all..... Thank you for providing the gift of YOURSELF through your beloved Son Jesus Christ crucified and risen for my justification and adoption!! Thank you are you ARE a loving gracious God and I want everyone to know that! You are all-satisfying and loving and keep me eyes focused on you and help me to taste your sweet love!!
Mike Clark
Mike you were just an awesome and sweet friend just to have around and I will never forget the times that we had. Thanks for showing me "faulty doctrine." Thanks for just holding me accountable when it comes to my parents because I know I will fail and also four your bluntness when it comes to them! Thanks for never giving up on me! Thanks for letting me stay at your apartment and for all of your theological discussions because it was a pleasure to have them with you! I pray that we can continue to have them in the future as our relationship goes!
Josh Lewis
Man Josh I will never forget the first time that I met you when we went to Collide together. You were a blast and I want to express my thanks for holding me accountable for all the silly things that I do. Thanks for defending my message of Christ when Mike Peters was mocking me for it and thanks for showing me to real gospel living is! And thanks for just being a sweet friend because I throughly enjoyed your company.
Matt Enns
Matt I cannot even being to describe with words just how wonderful you are when I can just hear your wisdom! And I am just grateful that you have always been accepting of me and who I am because every time I sleep at your place... I feel loved by God. And I just want to thank you for your kindness in Christ and your challenge for me to fight through my trials when it comes to my parents or to school because the joy of glory is coming! (1 Peter 4:12-13) Mark Balyulet Man Mark this semester has been fun just going to parties with you and hangouts and just chatting it up with you! Thanks for trying to get me involved when you can and for making sure I have a place to sleep for the night. It has been a wonderful pleasure getting to hang out with you in the EBC lounge! You are a true brother in Christ and I just earnestly desire to get to know you more as a brother in Christ!
Dan Morris
Dan you are a guy that is unique in a lot of ways. But one thing that always sticks out about you is how you have been so good and accepting to me while we have been going to school together. In particular I felt really welcome over the weekend that I spent with you and your Sunland buddies Tom Garcia, Christian Judy, and Jamin Mckeever when I came over. I am so grateful that you welcomed me and took care of me when I was there and God's grace and gospel shines through you!! I pray that God will use you well in counseling because you just have the ability to dig deep into the hearts of people!
Brooke Remund
Brooke I just want to say thanks for being so loving and sweet to me when we have hung during my time here at EBC. I feel so loved by God through you and thanks for just bothering to notice me when I am here at school. I pray that God will use your beautiful loving heart just to touch others!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)