Happenings at Home: An Update

Sorry for not writing a blog post in a while. Things have been a lot tenser with parents and busier with the start of school and all. God willing, the posts should come more frequently…anyway, now for the update:

Last Sunday, my father accompanied me to church (as part of the deal that I get to go to church if I go to his hindu discussion groups). After the service, he asked me if I liked the service and I said that I did. He didn’t speak for a while, but when he did, he said, “You believe in prayer, don’t you? Then pray this prayer for me: Pray that I die soon so that I don’t see you for too much longer.”

I’ve heard a lot of things from my parents – cussing, shouting, mockery, and all other sorts of blasphemy. But I’d never heard something like what my dad said that day. Nothing shocked me more than those words…in all the months of struggle that has happened.

My father hated the service. In his arrogance, he called the people there dumb, small-minded cavemen. 1 Corinthians 4:18-19 – “If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” Not only does he hate the biblical preaching, but the godly character of the people. He cannot stand their love. He cannot stand their child-like faith. He cannot stand their godly zeal for His glory. I am not in any way surprised that he was so shocked. Personally, when I first came to that congregation I was so taken aback by the people – by their holiness and love for God. It is an honor beyond measure to have even met such brethren.

Anyway, after the service, this last week has been disturbingly quiet. I’ve essentially been ignored…which often seems worse than being shouted at. It all built up for today’s finale. The original deal was that I get to go to church on Fridays if I go to my dad’s Sunday discussion groups. So today, just before my father and I were about to leave, my mom convinced him that he should go no more. And so, my parents issued this ultimatum: 1) Go to church but leave the house or 2) Don’t go to church and remain at home.

Of course, as a minor and as a child desperate to see his parents come to Christ, I am accepting option 2. I am after all a Senior in high school, so I should be free in one year to go to church and enjoy greater fellowship. I am also blessed to have several Christian friends in school.

Most importantly, I believe in God’s sovereignty. Many claim that it makes you live a fatalistic life. The truth is that there is no greater joy than to rest in the truth of a sovereign God. When I see the promises in Scripture, I know that He will be faithful! Romans 8:28 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,who have been called according to his purpose.” What have I to lose? I may have sold all things but I have bought the field wherein lies the treasure that is God Almighty! There is none in heaven or on earth that I desire more than He! No matter my weakness, He is the strength of my heart and my eternal portion (Psalm 73:24-25)! What a glorious and everlasting God we serve?!

And also, as a brother told me today, by God’s grace, I pray that I may act in meekness and love that my parents may see the glory of Christ and His eternal worthiness in all I do! After all, was not the Apostle Paul saved when his anger and persecution of Christians reached a peak on the road to Damascus? Oh, how I pray that it will be the same with my parents!

Truly, I am grateful that the Lord has brought this trial. He is always faithful to bring me a cross to suffer on, whenever I ask Him! He is always loving and kind as a father to strengthen me when I start drifting away, by burning me through the fires of tribulation. I am grateful that God continues to correct me – and that His faithfulness and mercies remain despite my unfaithfulness and wickedness.

What love is this that He has shown to such a depraved people! In the words of King David in Psalm 8:4 – “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visit him?” He has promised us eternal glory as the bride of Christ – wherein for all eternity we may pursue the eternal spiritual treasures in our Lord! He promised such great things to men as vile as us! Oh, does not His glory resonate in this truth?!

It is my deepest prayer that in all that may come in the upcoming months and perhaps years, I may never lose sight of that glory. That He has given all to someone like me, who has given Him none. That His blessings flow into the cavernous hearts of wicked men. That love is shown to men who have cursed Him. I pray that I may never lose sight of a God so glorious – for I am confident that He who began a good work will finish it.

I thank you all for your love and friendship. It is such a blessing to meet and get to know brethren from all across the country and the world, in whom God has worked great things.

Please keep my parents and me in your prayers. Pray for their God-glorifying conversion – that they may live and die for His glory’s sake. And please pray that no matter what happens, by His grace, my faith may remain strong. May “He become greater; and I become less” (John 3:30).

To God alone the glory!

The Love of God

I’ve been thinking over the last few days about the nature of divine love. It is very sad to see how easily the term is thrown around. Nowadays, it’s used more as a bargaining chip to buy people into conversion rather than a realization of the fantastic quality of our Holy God that lets us fall into His merciful hands. John 3:16 is muttered and used in so many sermons. What we don’t seem to realize is that, in order to truly reverence God’s love, every time we say a verse like John 3:16, we ought to stop and praise Him for a love so beautiful! We ought to fall to our knees in gratitude, in tears at the infinitudes of God’s unsurpassable love – the love of a righteous God for wicked men. Oh, can we contemplate on this beautiful doctrine enough in our lives?!!

So, we need to be very careful, when discussing God’s love! We must not fall into the pit of having our thoughts of God’s love become “too human” (as Luther said to Erasmus). We must not try and fit divine love, as described biblically, especially in the person of Jesus Christ – into our limited and small human understanding of the word. For starters, we must learn to revere God’s love. Reverence ought to be given to all of God’s character – including His love. In giving it reverence, we differentiate it significantly from human love. There is a divine aspect to this love – it is not romantic; it is supernatural. It transcends what humans can even fathom, let alone feel. Without treating this divine attribute with reverence, we seriously devalue what it really is.

Another thing that we should remember is that God’s love is a doctrine. This is not some mere semantic technicality! If we forget that it is a doctrine, with biblical roots and a strictly theological understanding, we end up devolving into adding human definitions to God’s love! We start adding a sensitivity and sentimentality to it that is entirely unbiblical. Carey Dye put it very well, when he said, “Jesus ain’t cho ‘homeboy’, ‘man upstairs’, ‘big guy’, date, boyfriend, or bobblehead. He’s not a dignitary, celebrity, or hero. He’s either your Lord or nothing at all. There is no in-between.” Trying to understand God’s love in an extra-biblical fashion results in the wholly irreverent and arguably heretical views seen in the quote above.

I am not by any means denying intimacy between God and His children. This is what makes fellowship with Him so sweet! This is the love that strengthens our faith! This is the ever-so-sweet connection that makes us praise God in gratitude! Intimacy is essential to the Christian walk – and I am by no means denying that! But let us remember that God is not only “our Father”, but also “in heaven” and “hallowed be [His] name”! There is a distinction between a Holy God and His people. He resides in heaven above and He is righteous and Holy above all things. His love for us does not make Him equal to us – as if He were our “homeboy”. On the contrary, we are fortunate to taste of such intimacy with a God as glorious and mighty and POWERFUL as ours!!! So let us not belittle God with our petty human conceptions of His love!

I think the main way we belittle God’s attributes is by trying to compartmentalize Him. Separating out His holiness, His love, His wrath – as if they were separate and couldn’t be understood together. You hear preachers get up and differentiate between the view of God in the OT and in the NT. Worse, some people say that “love is the feminine aspect of God’s being and His righteousness is the masculine aspect”. What a terrible lie!! God is God. He is unchanging. He is Holy. He is merciful. He is loving. THROUGHOUT ALL TIME. So let us dare not do something as wicked as trying to wrongly divide the Word – and even divide the Lord our God into pieces that can fit in our small and finite minds!

If you attitude to God is love without reverence – I would challenge you about whether you actually love God! Such a thing is impossible! You may love a ‘god’ – but it sure isn’t the one true God as described in the Bible. Moreover, I would say that the assertion that the emergent church knows more about the love of God than us old-fashioned, God-centered reformers is absolutely ridiculous. I would entirely disagree. Believing that God is love does not in any way contradict the notion that we must honor, respect, and FEAR God Moreover, reverence and fear are necessary responses to a righteous God that is also loving and merciful.

The cross is where God has shown the greatest love in all history. It is the pinnacle of redemptive History – it is the consummation of all past and future attempts to be made right with God. The cross is the means through which God may forgive while keeping His righteousness! It is where we see the love of God in giving up His own son to bear the wrath we deserve! In this, you see that the love of God and the WRATH of God are inextricably connected! Romans 5:8-9 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

We are saved from WRATH! And through the blood of God’s only Son! That is His love! If there was no wrath, than imagine how small God’s love would be! Jesus would have died nothing more than a mere death – as did the two criminals crucified with Him! Without wrath, Jesus’ death would be nothing more than a touching story of sacrifice – not an effectual act of cleansing a filthy people to justify them in the sight of God! Oh, let us not forget the pouring out of God’s wrath on Jesus! Let us not forget that God willed that Jesus be crushed under the burden of His wrath (Isaiah 53:10). God delivered Jesus to be slaughtered, so that He could be the final and ultimate “fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2) – it was for the purpose of actual redemption.

It was the real transfer of WRATH! As 1 John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” God’s love had to do with wrath. That’s what makes it so terrible that Jesus died – for He bore our wrath – as a propitiation, or substitution! So to the emergent preachers who fear that they will lose crowds if they talk about a Holy God with a righteous wrath and a powerful VENGEANCE upon evil and wrongdoing – to those who are willing to blaspheme His Holy name with small talk, I say, “Remember a wrathless God is a loveless God too. Your thoughts of God’s love are too human!”

Indeed, the “love” that these modern, preppy, man-centered pastors talk about is not the love of God. It is the attempted expansion of a human view of love to the divine. It is a sentimental love. It’s the “God loves you and wants you to live a successful life” love. It’s a love that makes you address God in prayer with a vile and irreverent “yo, wassup, bro”. It’s a love that makes you think that God doesn’t mind your sin – that he “loves you anyway”. It’s easy-believism. Because we have strayed from a biblical understanding of divine love, we have added this romanticized human version. We forget that there is no comparison between love humans show for each other and the love God shows for us! It is inherently distinct because the latter is the love of a Holy being for an unholy and inferior people. It is not a love between equals – it is a supernatural love! It is a love that existed before we even existed! He loved us, before we even existed! He foreknew us before our birth – He made us out of love and made us for love. This is a love that breaks through the barriers of time! Surely, we cannot try and limit a love so glorious because of our human inadequacies!! Let us simply glory in the fact that we serve a God whose love is so marvelously supernatural and incomprehensible to feeble men as us!

As I said, I am not denying that God’s love is difficult to understand. The very essence of what I am saying is that we cannot HOPE to comprehend the entirety of His love – virtue of His infinite nature and supernatural glory! There is mystery in the Bible. And we must not avoid theological mystery to try and satisfy the intellectual needs of our minds. We must simply look at Scripture and exegete – for therein lies the magnificence of God’s glory! In the smallness of our human minds we glimpse at a glory far beyond our understanding – and the more we realize this, the more we look at His face in awe!!!

In fact, God’s passionate and happy desire for His own glory is the foundation of this love. He loves because He delights in loving us! In this, we have an assuredness of His steadfast love – because we know that His love is undiminishable because His passion for His glory is never-ending! We see this most greatly in redemption. For example, Micah 7:18 says, “He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.” Love is not only an attribute of God, but the reason it is so pervasively part of Him is because He loves for HIS GOOD PLEASURE! So in essence, we are glorifying God by being loved!

How marvelous it is to be made in such purpose for the fulfillment of His glory and His love! How joyful it is to be known from the beginning of time by our Creator and loved by Him since eternity and for eternity! How I delight in the mystery of the infinitude of this love! How I delight that it is so great that my mind cannot ever come close to fully grasping it! Brothers and sisters, can we not serve a God as magnificent as this??!!!

Away for a Week

Just to update y’all on some stuff. I’ll be gone this Thursday and Friday on college visits. Immediately after, we’re going on a week long trip to Maine. Apparently, some reclusive and relaxing place in Northern Maine. I’m not sure whether or not I will be able to keep blogging/tweeting in the meantime, but I’ve changed the comment setting so all comments are posted. No moderation – but be sensible.

Also, apologies for those who were expecting my testimony posted up this week. I was hoping to get it ready by this week, but the chaos last weekend didn’t help too much. I will try and get it up as soon as possible. Thanks for the patience!

Finally, please keep us in your prayers. May God be glorified in all that comes to pass.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Update

Over the last few days, I have seen many things: my personal failure, “gutsy guilt”, sweet redemption, and above all the power of Almighty God at work.

I’d just like to inform all of you following that, by God’s grace, I’m still at home and the situation did not get too bad.

By Friday morning, after a night of prayer, I had been strengthened in my will not to go and worship their statues and ‘gods’. I am assuming that when I told them on Thursday night that I would not come to their ceremony, they didn’t believe me, because when I told them again of my decision on Friday morning – they completely blew up and threatened even to send me back to India (I am of course fairly sure that it wasn’t a serious threat). Nonetheless, after seeing all this, they offered the concession that I could simply sit at their ceremony (which was in our house) – without forcing me to worship or perform any pagan offerings.

I will say, that at the time, I was terrified. In retrospect, it seems easy to understand that their threat to send me to India was absolutely ridiculous…but in the midst of it all, I was terribly afraid. Moreover, I do not think that simply going to the ceremony was wrong – it was the idol worship I had to avoid…so, I accepted their concession and went.

But of course, as you would expect, there was a lot of deception in it. I guess my definition of “sitting there and not worshiping idols”, didn’t quite concur with my parents’. It was when they/the Hindu priest began asking me to do wicked things like pour oils/throw rice on the statues (idol worship) that I could simply not obey! Such actions, clearly a form of pagan worship, are no different than the worship of the golden calf and other acts clearly condemned biblically. I could feel the Spirit greatly grieved and I left immediately – pretending that I had a headache…I know from now on, never to accept such compromises. The holiness of God is uncompromisable and spiritually, I’m not sure how I would be right now if I had remained with my parents in that room.

I will say however that my actions satisfied my parents. They didn’t seem to care too much that I left 2-hrs early from their ceremony, which I know is because of the marvelous grace of God in restraining their anger at me. So as of now – I still have a home, parents, and a family, praise God!

With respect to my parents – I have told them that there can be no compromise about things as serious as ceremonial worship of statues. They call me intolerant, narrow-minded, bigoted etc. They liken me to Al-Qaeda…because clearly evangelical Christians blow themselves up to earn their salvation…Whatever they say, I pray that God will not let me fall into their secular, humanistic, pluralistic lie. We serve a Holy God, and certain things CANNOT be compromised, no matter how minor we, in our depraved states, may think. I don’t think I can be accused of legalism here; it’s simply a matter of appropriate biblical hermeneutics. When the Bible says, “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:5), it means “You shall not bow to idols”. Fairly simple to understand…Perhaps it is intolerant; but does not true love – true BIBLICAL love – come from a hatred of sin?

In light of all this, I refuse to even give RESPECT to idol worship – I love my parents IN SPITE OF their paganism and not because of it. Moreover, I understand how appealing such religious rituals are to unregenerated people – because they serve as such effective tranquilizers and ‘drugs’ against the wickedness they try and suppress in themselves (I was so devoutly a pagan until I was saved). So I pray that they would see the marvelous freedom of CHRIST, where no such silly rituals are necessary, for the blood of Christ is ENOUGH! Maybe it is intolerant – but it is an intolerance that gives life!

I guess the second part of the story is about what happened after the event. I asked my mom to go to church that evening, hoping that my acceptance of the “concession” may have appeased her. Sadly, it didn’t. She asked for my pastor’s number – and she arranged to have a personal meeting on Sunday.

So yesterday, my parents and I went to visit our pastor, and in brief – my parents have 3 concerns. First, they don’t like my “intolerance” – aka, my belief in exclusive salvation. Second, they don’t like the idea of me getting up at 4 to pray and doing other such “extremist” actions like fasting. Third, they have consulted Hindu astrologers and they believe that by February 29, 2010 something disastrous is going to happen to me. Let’s just say – it is both hilarious and extremely sad to see their faith in things that have no power.

In addition, my parents want to teach me the gita…the hindu ’scripture’. Personally, I am more than happy to discuss with them, in the hope that God may show them their foolishness and unveil them to the glory of Christ! We can only pray and trust in the sovereign grace of God to do as He pleases with whom He pleases! So in this confidence, I go forward, with the hope of sharing the Gospel with my parents, these upcoming months. Please keep us in your prayers – that I may be spirit-filled and that I may speak as I ought to, that God may grant my parents new hearts of faith.

On a final note, I would like to thank you all, for all your prayers. Thank you so much for your emails/comments/tweets/fb messages. I am so greatly blessed. As children of God, we are bound supernaturally by the blood of Christ – and it is the very love of Christ that holds us all together. I am blessed and grateful to God and all of you, beyond measure – they were greatly encouraging in a difficult time. Thank you!

Trouble: PLEASE PRAY!

The post I put up 2 days ago about my parents being willing to let me go to church…today all that changed. I asked them to go to church today and they were angry. Very angry. My sister’s birthday is tomorrow and they are having a Hindu ceremony, and they want me to come. To come and bow before the idols and worship with them.

But, oh I cannot! I cannot, for my conscience is bound by the Word of GOD! The living GOD! He is Holy and I dare not slight Him in disobedience, for HE IS SUCH A HOLY GOD!

I told my parents that I would not come – and anger was loose. They shouted in my face, shook me as if I was a madman, and said blasphemy against a Holy God. I was quite. Didn’t want to speak. They told me I was illogical and all the rest…then I just told them that Jesus was worthy of all suffering for HE IS A TREASURE BEYOND MEASURE! NOTHING CAN DESCRIBE HOW SWEET HE IS!!!

More blasphemy ensued. I told my mom that without Jesus, she would go to Hell. She spat on me. They cussed. They said that pastors are nothing more than child-rapists (oh – how the Catholic Church has ruined the view of the true CHURCH)…My parents then began to beat me…but thanks to God’s mercy I’m not dead or anything! More mockery and finally they left me.

The deal was clear that my parents gave me: “Either come with us and worship as a family the idols of the Devil – and be in our family, OR keep your Jesus and you lose us.” I think they will still keep me in the house – as law provides – but they said that I will lose all love and caring of parents.

But oh, brothers and sisters – I HAVE JESUS! I’ve never seen my father this angry before, so I think he might be serious. I may have lost my family, but I HAVE JESUS! Oh, could there any other thing this special than to SUFFER AS HE DID! Being spat on and cussed and mocked – oh, that CHRIST may be glorified in this all!!!!!!!

I know God’s been preparing me this last week for this. First, Rifqa and her inspirational story. We must suffer for Christ. Then, prayer and conviction of my sinfulness and of the sinfulness of the world. Then, my conviction for baptism. Oh, how God has strengthened me these last few days, till making this CRUCIAL decision.

I cannot succumb to my parents. I CANNOT dare deny Christ. For He is so worthy. Amazingly HOLY! Wow…I can’t imagine how I thought this day would never come. Tomorrow, I lose my parents. I may be thrown out. I pray that I won’t but I know not what God has in plan. But I know one thing: I have Jesus. With HIM on my right hand, I SHALL NOT BE MOVED (Psalm 16:8)!!!

As a fellow sister in Christ proclaimed, “It is finally the day to TRULY proclaim that JESUS IS LORD!” Not an empty profession, but a profession in joyful pain! Oh, He is SOO worthy! Glory be to His name! She continued, “Funny, what power those three words have.” Yes, indeed! Jesus IS LORD! ALL PRAISES BE TO THE BLOODY LAMB!!!!!

I don’t know if I’ll ever get to blog again. I don’t know how long it will take. But brothers and sisters, it was a pleasure knowing you and seeing God’s work in you. Please, live for His glory and HIS GLORY ALONE! ALL PRAISES TO THE GLORIOUS LAMB OF GOD!

I now leave you with some powerful words: They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and the words of their testimony, for they did not love their lives in the face of death (Revelation 12:11).

God bless you all and to Him alone be the glory!

My Prayer for the Fires of Tribulation

Honestly, today there was a great conviction on my heart and a painful understanding of this world, that God mercifully gave me. I’m hearing these marvelous stories of our brethren in persecution and I’m listening to sermons on suffering for the Gospel – and how unbearable it seems to not be out there with them!! How sweet and glorious they show Christ to be! We have so much to learn from our fellow brethren for whom the persecution has already begun. I couldn’t stand the pain and restlessness in my heart at the oh so comfortable lives we live, and I began to cry out to God. Please pray with me:

Lord, my life is indispensable. Take it as you please. You gave it and You may take it. It was yours from the beginning, and it still is, O most High God.

Lord, this world is DEAD! We are a country, a people, and a race that is utterly depraved of ANY innate goodness. We are so black that the midnight sky would seem like the SUN compared to us. Oh, how dead this world is, Father. And I know from your Word that there is only one way it can be made alive – that is the Gospel. The bloody, gory, painful, suffering Gospel of Christ. Lord, every time I see a person get on TV and ‘preach’ the Gospel in 2 minutes and then they go back to their multimillion dollar home in a BMW, I WANT TO VOMIT. Oh, how filthy and vile they are to DEFILE your most HOLY NAME. Oh God, but for your mercy this land would be consumed by your wrathful fires, for oh how WICKED a people we have become.

Lord, I am but a babe in Christ. Daily, I face my wickedness. These are not mere shortcomings, Lord. These are the adulterer’s affairs with the world – even though I daily sip from the fountain of life and gulp the sweet-tasting waters, I then go out and oh, how I so easily RETURN to the ways of the world. Oh Lord, but for your mercy and your promises, I could not live with myself, for how much I offend a God as Holy and loving as thee.

But Lord, I speak to you now what my heart feels. I hear of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering their lives for your sake. 2 women in Iran could be murdered any day now by a tyrannical government. 12 Christians laid their lives down today for the Gospel in Nigeria. Oh Lord, even in our own country, a young girl has her life on the line for her profession of faith in You. And in the meanwhile today, I sat working on petty matters regarding my school, in my room for some 8 hours, a time in which OVER A MILLION souls may have descended to HELL.

Oh God, I know not your wise and perfect plans; I know not the calling you have bestowed on me; I know not whether I will even be alive the next moment. All things are but in the twist of your fingers, O Great God. This world is fleeting to the human eyes. But oh, I ask you God, do not let me fall into the petty, middle-class, American Dream life! Have mercy, and take me from such wickedness. Oh, when I die and rise up to your throne and fall at your feet in reverence – when I enter your presence, Oh God, I cannot bear to THINK what I would say to Your burning face if I would live such a life of comfortable, shallow, riskless WORLDLINESS.

So I beg You Lord to rise up a fire in my heart that cannot be put out, no matter the temptations of Satan and the callings of the flesh; no matter the luring of the world and the mocking of friends; no matter the cost of a life and the winds of suffering – oh, burn and refine me through it all, that your name may be exalted! That your glory may be seen brighter amongst the heathens. That the supreme LOVE of the CROSS may be seen by men in a way as never before!! Oh, may your Kingdom come, Lord and shatter the childish impressions that we foolish men have!! OH, I PRAY THAT IT COMES, O LORD!

Lord, I thank you for what small suffering and persecution you have given me. But Lord, my plans are still secure, my future is still secure, my LIFE is still secure. Take all this away, Lord. Leave me with nothing. Nothing but a Cross to bear in the middle of the wilderness. I know not where you want me Lord or even what you specifically want me to do, but I ask, you, Lord:

Make me restless; make me reckless; make me RASH in my passion for your glory! Make me as joyful as the men of old when they would bear beatings and torture for Your glory. Make me cautious to stand on the rock of Christ and look unto the Cross, as men turn their eyes away and the Deceiver whispers in my ears on the pleasures of this world. But oh, above all, Lord, place in my heart such a conviction that I may never even dare think of a life other than this!!!

And all for your glory, Oh Lord, for your eternal exaltation and magnification – and for my Supreme satisfaction IN You Oh GOD, I pray in Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

My Song of Praise: God delivers!

I cannot explain the indescribable joy that has come upon me, brothers and sisters. I’ve just come out of a stern discussion with my father, and this could very well mean that I may have complete freedom to worship! As some of you may know, so far, going to church has been a matter of sneaking it, by God’s grace, as my parents would not allow it. Yet, thanks to the Almighty power and grace of God, He has changed the will of my father, from stubbornness to concession – and it looks like my parents will freely allow me to go to church! Better, they’re going to allow me a certain time weekly to teach them the Word, and God willing, they may be given new hearts of repentance and faith! Such fortunes as these are not coincidences. I am convinced that they were made through the supernatural power of God, and my words can’t describe how glad I am. Of course, nothing is certain yet…my parents have to reach a final agreement after talking with my pastor, so please continue to pray with me, that God willing, religious freedom may at last arrive!

This poem is a literary overflow of the joy in my heart that can only result in praise! Apologies for the lack of theological backbone, the numerous forced rhymes, and the somewhat immature tone. Nonetheless, I pray that you may be edified. After all, can God not show His glory all the more as He works through the least of His servants?

[Note: The freedom referred to in the poem is not the freedom from Sin (regeneration), but the freedom from the legal and family restrictions limiting the extent of my local fellowship.]

Soli Deo Gloria!

********************************************
O, Lord: Listen to the heart of your joyful servant!
All praise and glory be to your most Holy name!
I am but a beggar, and my sword is blunt,
But I am covered by your eternal glory and fame!
I am so weak; I dare not look above,
But you looked upon a prostitute with eyes of love!

And now, O God, with your Spirit you fill,
And I see the Sovereign power you wield at will,
I craved and craved for fellowship,
And you gave me what came out of my lips!
I doubted and struggled and justified,
You vanquished them all with a “In me you abide!”

O God, you have been so good to me,
These words so terribly describe what you’ve done to me!
When I could hardly trust the power of prayer,
In but a week you answered something so rare!
I struggled to pray; I fibbed, and left,
But your grasp is UNMOVING upon your Elect!

And now I know the joy that the Psalmist felt,
As I see your mighty Hand having swept
Over stubborn hearts to weaken them still
To give to your children a glorious thrill!
You answered an unsure and petty fool,
To show the grandeur in the manner you move!

At last, at last, you have set me free
And as I look upon your work with glee,
My heart is uplifted, for in this there was no fee!
In me an overwhelming joy abounds,
The upwelling water of praise I have found,
As I stand unmoved on solid ground!

Glory be to You alone!

Amen.

Pray for Rifqa Bary

Persecution is beginning to increase, even in America. I came across a story, today, of a young girl, called Rifqa Bary, from Ohio whose life is at stake because of her conversion from Islam to Christianity. The link to the article is below. Please pray for her. Her father threatened her life because of her faith in Christ and after she fled to Orlando to a pastor she knew there, the father has returned to take custody over her. The courts have ruled that she be put into foster care for the time being. Pray that she may not be returned to her father and that her struggles may glorify the name of our most Holy God.

To read more about Rifqa Bary’s plight,  click here

Tweet to the Glory of God!

So we’re in the 21st century – and daily whiz-kids are coming with new innovations. There has been an explosion in just the last few years, especially with social media. Blogs, facebook, MySpace, IM, Twitter are suddenly so popular that everyone seems to be doing them. In face of this rapid growth in online media, I think that the Christian has a legitimate dilemma. Aren’t these symptoms of the shallow American desire to be less human and more virtual? Are we not feeding into the secular drive of instant-gratification? Are we not pursuing the worldly path of self-empowerment and individualism? If so, I and all of you reading this post are seriously disobeying Paul’s admonishment: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).

So, can our minds be renewed through these latest technologies? Can we be transformed and made more like our Lord and Savior? I believe so. Traditionalists who oppose all change (and who also made up the large majority of the KKK) are seriously wrong in making large, unbiblical claims about technology. I think making any absolute judgment on the use of social media would be far too legalistic. There is nothing INNATELY wrong with the media type itself. Social media is NOT the equivalent to something that would be inherently sinful like X-rated movies or sexually immoral websites. I think the fact that many Christian pastors (distinguished from numerous legalistic cult groups) either blog or have fairly large media ministries supports this. I also think that it helps greatly in providing edifying resources to those who are in distant countries, to those who are persecuted, and to those who can’t afford it.

So the question is “How does a Christian use social media?” I’m going to specifically at Twitter and compare it a bit with blogging. Both have been great blessings to me – and I endeavor to show that Twitter helps with other means of ministering (like blogging), rather than to show that Twitter. They’re different and they have different purposes. I’ve read two excellent justifications for the use of twitter. One at Cal.vini.st and the other at John Piper’s Desiring God. They give great reasons themselves, so I’d recommend their sites. I’ll sort of look at other reasons.

Twitter COMPELS you to use less than 140 characters.
At first this seemed a) impossible and b) pointless. Can’t you post short posts on blogs too? I don’t know about you, but if you look down this blog, I have an invariable tendency to have long posts! I’d be lucky to get a post into 2 pages on a Word Document. Personally, I can attest to the great insecurity I have about short blog posts (even though I tend to appreciate them on other blogs =)) – and I’ve never resorted to it on my blog, to the probable misery of many a reader.

1. Twitter forces you to be concise. Now what does this do, especially to the Christian tweeter?

a) Most obviously, it gives me an incentive to tweet short illuminations that I received in prayer or meditation on God’s Word. Regularly, when reading the Word, you receive understanding that would greatly edify fellow brethren. Analogies that clarify a difficult passage in the Bible, a new way of looking at orthodox doctrine, connections to other verses in Scripture etc. Yet, they’re far too short to post on a blog. Twitter solves this by letting you post a 1-2 sentence tweet that’s concise, yet often carries more truth than a whole blog post.

b) It often moves you to connect several different verses together, so that you can complete your thought, helping you see the Bible as a whole (which of course, greatly helps in Bible study). I think an illustration would help:

“Obedience > Knowledge of God’s will > Courage to pray > Answer to prayer > Our joy > God’s glory (Rom 12:2, 2 Sam 7:27, Jn 16:24, 14:13)” (@phil2v13)

This tweet covers so many topics that it is unlikely to ever make it into a blog post. Yet, if you look at each of the verses, they directly relate to each other in the way indicated. And ironically, I picked up at least 2 of those verses from other peoples’ tweets that day.

c) It actually forces you to think specifically about what you are going to say. With blogs, it is often easy to get carried away in somewhat unnecessary side-information (at least for me), which detracts from rightly dividing the Word of God. While I believe this is a symptom of our natural human inability, I think twitter does help lessen this problem and focus us back onto Scripture, which is after all the source of our faith.

d) Short posts tend to be more edifying. Now let me explain. I dare not reduce the Gospel to a mere 140 characters. I dare not reduce the work of Christ on the cross. I dare not reduce any marvelous doctrine of Truth from the Bible. Yet, I think that generally, when people want to make a point in 140 characters – in striving for conciseness – they make a point that is short and powerful that leads us TO Scripture. For example, the above example of the chain from “obedience” to “God’s glory” by itself has only limited use. Yet, when we use the tweet as a springboard to then studying the verses cited, we gain a much greater understanding of biblical truth. The tweet thus HELPS this process by providing an easy-to-understand and available springboard. Twitter is not for complete biblical exposition. It is not for detailed theological debate. But it nonetheless can greatly bless and lead us TO the Word of God, which we pray would be on our minds throughout the day.

2. Related to the conciseness of Twitter posts is that, simply by nature of their sizes, a person makes more tweets than blogposts. This has two remarkable and blessing consequences:

a) Psalm 1:2 tells us that the blessed man “delights in the law of the Lord” and “meditates upon it day and night”. Since tweets are fairly regular, twitter gives you access to the verses/quotes/ideas posted by fellow Christian tweeters – helping us constantly minister to each other and helping us all meditate on the word of God throughout the day!

b) Another thing that Twitter lets us do is to see the daily walk of godly men and women. I think we do gain a lot from studying the lives of men and women of God in our times. Tweets really do some up what is on your mind and what you do every day. If you spend much of your day studying the word of God or simply walking the true Christian life in any profession, it comes out in your tweets! Looking to brethren in Christ, who have greater experience in the Christian walk, has a great benefit to us.

3. Fellowship and building up the body of Christ.

a) First off, I think that it would be wise to note that the smallest group of twitter users is the youth (age 15-25). The rapid growth in Twitter, interestingly, is NOT from the young people. What does this mean for Christians? First and foremost, it means that we have a new outlet to spread the Word of God that has not yet been completely conquered by the enemy. As John Piper puts it, we need to “saturate” twitter with “a passion for the Supremacy of God”. This relates specially with the youth of our generation. As a Christian teenager, I feel great anger but also great sadness for my wicked and unbelieving generation, which in me a great passion to fight the war against postmodernism (and moralistic therapeutic deism). If we can “infiltrate” Twitter with godly tweets for the glory of God, before modern youth enter in their junk, perhaps we could overthrow this largely secular outlet. Surely our Sovereign God could do this, amen?!

b) Twitter allows you to reach and get to know a much larger group of Christians, than blogging could. This is simply because you can follow anyone you want and because of the usual “chain” of following someone your friend follows and so on. While people may think that you form shallow, virtual relationships in Twitter, I would strongly disagree. Children of God have a love for each other that drives us closer together beyond the virtual relationships of unbelievers. A recent example would be yesterday’s “Follow Friday” where we thanked God for our fellowship with other tweeting Christians (thanks JM).

In these ways, Twitter extends the valuable fellowship we gain from blogs and other media outlets – and I think strengthens it by giving us access to tweets throughout the day.

There’s a lot more to why Twitter is useful (See the cal.vini.st and Piper posts from above), but I just looked at some of the ways God has used twitter to bless me. You can see my tweets to the bottom right.

A personal note on my blog

As you may notice – my blog address has changed, and to clear some things up, I just thought I’d explain why.

Last Monday (July 27, 2009), it came to my attention that my Hindu parents (who are not too fond of my faith) had finally found out about my blog. They were Google searching my name for an article I was mentioned in, and the on the first page of results was my vodpod video collection, which had a link to my old blog (the americanconservative address). Of course, after reading some of the posts, especially those on Hinduism, their already vehement opposition to my faith wasn’t alleviated much. So they told me to delete the blog – and I really had no choice.

Yet, I do very much feel a calling to continue blogging and write about the great glory and power of our Lord! Thanks to God’s great mercies, He has given me this new blog address and I pray that it may fulfill its sole purpose, which is to magnify and exalt His most Holy name!

I’ve transferred all the relevant old content (posts, comments, and style etc.) to this new site. At the same time, I have removed all traces of my name to this new blog address and the amount of personal information I’ll be putting up will be limited, for the time being at least. However, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me (see the “About Me”) page. Several people have done so over the last week and I have been greatly blessed – so please don’t hesitate if you have any questions!

In the wake of this latest setback, I have great reassurance because of the glorious Truth of God’s sovereignty. As Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps”. No matter how much we try and control our lives, we know that He directs our steps – not us. And this brings me great comfort because when all things are in His hands, I know I can trust in Him to overcome all the obstacles I may face.

God works all things according to the counsel of His infinitely wise will and He shapes all things for the purpose of His glory. The trials that we face ultimately help to strengthen us and draw us closer to God – ultimately for our own good. As my pastor shared with me from Romans 8:28, “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”. I know how utterly feeble I am and how powerless I am in controlling my fate – much less the fate of this blog, but “because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8). No enemy can ever hope to derail us from the path God has made us to walk on. He is a Almighty and Sovereign, and to Him be all the glory!