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Oct
14
Written by:
Keith
10/14/2009 1:40 PM
1 Peter 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
I am not ashamed to say it. I am a Christian who believes that Jesus is God, that He died for my sins and rose for my salvation, substituting Himself for me, so that He received the punishment I had earned, and I received the salvation, grace, and cleansing that He gives. In light of the truth that Jesus is for, and not against, me, I have no fear of death, demons, Satan, Hell, man, or failure. Jesus is my prophet, my priest, and my king. I believe that the life of a Christian is the best life, full of everlasting joy because of Jesus, and that glorifying the God of the Universe is the most satisfying, life-consuming purpose that anyone can have. God the Father is love, ruling and reigning and calling those He has chosen into His kingdom, Jesus Christ is the only way to God, whose blood and sacrifice on the cross purchased the salvation for many, and the Holy Spirit lives within every child of God giving them the very power that empowered Jesus during His ministry on earth. Of these statements I will never recant. As Paul says in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Hallelujah.
But less than two years ago, things were very different. I was not a Christian. I did not know Jesus; I only knew about Him. Since age 7, people were telling me about Jesus, about how He loved me and died for me. I even took a picture cut out of Him and taped it to the ceiling over my bed, imaging that if I did so, He would protect me during the night. I knew you were supposed to be a Christian so that you wouldn’t go to hell. I had prayed the prayer asking Jesus into my life. I knew about all of that. I even organized all of the Youth Group trips, headed the Youth Worship team at my church, and paraded around with an instrument of torture, the cross, around my neck, in an effort to show God and others how good I was. I called myself a Christian, acted morally and upright with holier-than-thou attitude. I thought I was great, blissfully ignorant of what Jesus says in Mark 10:18. And this pig-headed, arrogant, prideful, boastful, idiotic, poisonous, sinful attitude pervaded and invaded consumed me for almost 17 years of that disgusting life.
Then God happened.
One late night, I was browsing YouTube, religiously looking for videos to post on Facebook to tell ‘friends’ how bad they were, when God pointed me towards a sermon called ‘The Shocking Youth Message’ by Pastor Paul Washer. Linked here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cncEhCvrVgQ In the most intense, real, life-transforming hour of my entire life, every shred of my false hope was ripped away. For the first time in my life, I was afraid of God, afraid because I was so small, so insignificant, and that I had insulted Him beyond belief with my pompous betrayal of His name. For the first time, my sin was real to me, real because I realized that God saw everything I had done, and should be very, very righteously angry. The things I was doing with my girlfriend were unspeakable. The thoughts I was thinking about my friends were worthy only of damnation. Jesus says that lust of the eyes is adultery, that hate is murder, that even sinful thoughts violate the holiness of God. The Lord knows how filthy I was. That night I spent the most productive hours of my life crying like a child, pleading with a holy God to have mercy, to have mercy, on an ill-deserving, rebellious, pompous, religious jerk like me.
I don’t remember falling asleep that night, and I don’t remember the next day. But I do know this. The only thing that brought me peace was God’s incredible grace. The hardest thing for me to believe was that I was Jesus was not only offering what I was undeserving of, but that Jesus was offering something I was ill-deserving of. I hate God, and He dies for me? My sins drive the nails, bring down the whip, scourge the flesh? (Isaiah 53:5-6) He says, “Forgive them.” I run away with His blessings and spend them selfishly on myself, and then turn around and tell hypocritically people they need to be better, like me? He welcomes me home with a feast, and calls me to repent. (Luke 15:11-32) That night, I died to myself. And, He caused me to be born again. I was finally, finally, new. I am, finally, finally new. Once an enemy of God, but now an adopted child. I had Christ. I have Christ!
For me, knowing that my good Father in heaven has chosen me, given me what I needed rather than what I wanted, stirs in me an inexpressible joy and peace beyond any explanation other than Jesus is alive. He chose me, knowing who and what I was and wasn’t, knowing that it would cost His Son’s life, displaying His infinite love, grace, and mercy on me. I don’t deserve anything good, and in fact deserve everything cursed. Yet I am given all blessings (Romans 8:28 ). I have nothing to fear except for God, nothing to worry about because God has a better plan for us, nothing to be concerned about except pleasing my Lord God. Life is no longer a struggle without purpose; life is a struggle with the cause of growing in Christ and glorifying the Father, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
Immanuel,
Keith Fong
1 Peter 1:3-9
Worship. Love. Rejoice.
Tags:
6 comment(s) so far...
Hi Keith,
Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy college schedule to blog about your thoughts and experiences. I am pleased to see how your personal relationship with God affects your relationships with others and your schooling. Your willingness to share will undoubtedly touch many. It has touched me.
Also, I am happy to hear of your involvement in AACF. I was fortunate to get involved with this group in it's first year at CAL (more than 25 years ago)! It was a wonderful group that helped me grow in my personal relationship with God. I trust you will find it to be the same. I look forward to comparing AACF stories with you next time you return home.
Take good care. Know you are in my prayers.
Uncle Michael
By Michael Wong on
10/18/2009 3:32 PM
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Keith,
Thanks you for sharing. I'm glad to hear you are part of AACF. All my prayer and hope to see you the next time your at home. God Bless Daisy
By Daisy on
10/22/2009 7:08 AM
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Hey Keith!
Wonderful testimony! I was delighted to have you as a fourth grade student, but am even more glad to find that you have discovered His grace and forgiveness. I will be praying for you regularly.
Mr. D
Your website is still up, I think, and I have wonderful memories of the fun together we had learning.
By Pat Davis on
11/3/2009 7:36 PM
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Hi Keith, thanks so much for sharing your life and testimony to the glory of our God. Glad to hear you are participating with the AACF ministry at Cal. Say hi to David Fong (AACF staff leader at Cal for many years) who was a teen/college age at the Oakland Chinese Independent Baptist Church when I served there as the English Pastor from 1981-88.
It was good seeing you back here at CCC a few times already during your first year away from home at Cal. We will continue to keep you in our prayers. Thanks for coming home next Saturday to share a testimony at our 85th Anniversary Dinner. See you soon!
By Pastor Louis on
11/7/2009 10:38 PM
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Uncle Michael: Thanks for taking the time to comment! It lets me know that people read these things :). I'm actually not in AACF anymore, not because anything was wrong with it but I prefer to learn from a pastor/someone older than me rather than discuss with peers. It seems more structured that way to me. But the AACF ministry is going well. I joined Evangel Bible Church's on campus fellowship. Things are going well, I hope to see you more over winter break.
Mrs. On: I'm glad you liked it! You're super tech-savy—I'm impressed. I look forward to seeing you at church as well.
Mr. Davis: Well first of all, HI! Long time no talk/see! I'm happy to hear that you're still teaching 4th grade, and happier to hear that I'll be seeing you in the next life, if not this one as well. What a joy we have! That website is absolutely hilarious. I already sent it to Marcus, Bradley and the rest. I'm sure we'll have a lot of good laughs. I hope to get back in touch with you soon. Have fun with the little fourth graders.
Pastor Louis: As always Pastor, it's a joy. As you'll find from my message to Michael, I actually switched fellowships, but I did mention your name to David Fong, and he remembers you well. Thanks for the constant emails, encouragement, advice, and consultation. It helps more that you'll ever know. I look forward to learning more from you as I grow up, and I'm excited for Urbana! Less than a month away!
-Keith
By Keith on
11/30/2009 12:55 AM
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