Where Amazing Happens

I love these NBA commercials. They actually debuted in 2007. It’s crazy to think that its been about 3 years since then. It was a great idea then and still is, even though the nba has moved on to another marketing campaign since then. What could be more amazing than watching a high-flying dunk, a last second buzzer beater, or a d.rose fast break lay-up?

Why do I bring this up? A few days ago, I was amazed when I went to a Wendy’s and they had this…

It’s a Coca-cola “freestyle” vending machine. It’s a fountain drink dispenser with an LCD touch screen and boasts 106 different flavors of coke-based products. I didnt even know there were 106 flavors. Its count comes from the different combinations of soda and the various flavor shots (e.g. cherry, vanilla, orange, etc.). Its definitely a neat idea, a pretty amazing machine.

Just to continue with the amazing idea, I got an iPad for Christmas (thanks Lizz). I love it. I think its great. Its amazing. It does pretty much everything you could want. If you can think of an idea, there’s probably an app for it. I find myself saying that line more times than I realize. :-X Amazing device, voted top device of 2010 by many magazines and websites.

As I was thinking about these things the last few days, it struck me at yesterday’s Ambassador’s Praise night. When was the last time I was amazed by Jesus? Not amazed at Jesus but by Jesus. I think that more oftentimes than not, we are amazed at Jesus than by him. What do I mean? I believe that we often settle for the impersonal relationship with him. We know who he is, we know what he can do, we know him…but from afar. We are amazed at who he is and we are satisfied with that.

So I had to ask myself, when was the last time I was amazed by Jesus? When was the last time my relationship with him was personal in that sense. The fact that he wasn’t just performing a miracle for someone else as I stand and watch but he actually was in my life? I ask this but this is no fault to Jesus by any means. We aren’t called merely to stand by and wait our turn for him to amaze us. We’re supposed to get personal. As we come to him he will bless us, he will change us, he will amaze us.

Too often we are too easily amazed at the things in this world. Sports games, vending machines and iPads. I don’t want to look back on my life and say I was amazed by these silly things. I want to be amazed by Jesus.

7 years ago

This past weekend was the annual CFC revival. It was here that I first came to know and accept Christ into my life. I know that Oct 15 was the exact day I became Christian. It’s actually funny how I know that. By coincidence (or not) when I was living in the dorms during college, the resident coordinator would send out little slips of paper to people on their birthdays. For whatever reason, when I was entering my personal information before entering college, I guess I put Oct 15. Maybe, maybe not. It wasn’t until the sophomore year of college that I began receiving the little slip of paper that said “Happy Birthday” on Oct 15. It’s funny because I remember getting that paper and laughing thinking that it wasn’t even close to my birthday. I remember checking the calendar and realized that it was a year ago on that day I gave my life to Christ. So it is to this day and forever, I will remember that as the day I was born. I think it was God’s way of reminding me.

Reflecting upon that faithful day 7 years ago, I realize how fast time has really gone by. I still remember it like yesterday yet I must admit that it is much harder to live like I remember it like yesterday. I thought I’d share my testimony here just as a reminder again for myself how seemingly random events transpired to bring me to that Revival meeting.

I grew up my whole life without church and the thought of a God was never a big deal.  I never saw a need for it, I was a good kid, I got good grades in school and I stayed out of trouble.  There was nothing I couldn’t get on my own.  Besides, none of my friends went to church.

However, this changed in high school. Some of my good friends began to go and they even prayed before meals.  It was through them that I slowly began to see what going to church meant. Why were my friends, who had no business going to church, going to church?  I wanted to know more.  My search for an answer eventually led me to a church camp that summer.  My excuse for going was because it was going to be my vacation that summer.  My non-Christian friend who went last year told me it was fun as long as I could deal with reading the Bible every morning. That wasn’t going to be a problem so I went.

It was during this time that I got a firsthand look at what churchgoers were really like.  To my surprise, they were really nice and genuine people, nothing like the judgmental people I thought I was going to see.  Overall, the week was interesting but enjoyable.  I left the camp having questions about God that I never considered before.  I didn’t even know if there was a God. I didn’t become a Christian after that, but I made a commitment to find out more.

However, I was soon entering college and I didn’t really know anyone who went to church that I could talk to.  I attended a few different campus church groups for the first weeks but eventually I lost interest when there was no one to go with.  I found myself in my dorm on weekends doing nothing.  It was nothing like the fun I imagined I’d be having in college: parties, drinking and tons of friends.

The only people I hung out with were my high school friends and somehow I found myself going to a PSA meeting with them.  I went because of the free food but I ended up signing up for an investigative Bible study at the end.  I never went to a meeting but I continued to get the emails.  It was through the emails I found out about CFC Revival.

I went to Revival with the wrong impression.  I thought it was going to be a night of songs and skits but it was nothing like I thought.  What scared me were the loud cries of prayer but I was struck by the passion of the guest speaker.  I remember him talking about God and just the way he spoke made God so real. Something about that got me going again the next night.

The second night was different from the first.  Maybe it was the loud prayers, the sermon, or the songs.  It was on this second night that I felt the presence of God.  At that point, I felt God in my heart and I knew He was real.  This was when I decided I wanted to commit to Him but I didn’t know how.  I left Revival different than I came but not committed to Him yet.

At this point I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, but God answered my call.  After the weekend, a friend from high school instant messaged me.  She asked me how I was doing and I told her about my weekend.  She also asked me how my Christian life was.  She didn’t know I wasn’t a Christian so I told her and I asked how I could become one.  She said it was as simple as making a prayer.  And with that, I ended up praying that night to God and committed my life to Him.

Since then, God has continued to work in my life.  It was his guiding hand that brought me to this church where He continues to reveal His overflowing love.  I admit living a Christian life is not as easy as I imagined it to be.  There have been many struggles and hardships over the past few years, times when I have just felt like giving up.  However, He has never failed to give me the strength I need to go on.

I thank God for the way He revealed himself to me through friends, strangers, people’s prayers and even a simple email to bring me to where I am today.  My only hope is that I will remain faithful to Him just as He has remained faithful to me all my life even when I didn’t know Him.

Think (and read and write)

I recently attended the 2010 Desiring God conference in Minneapolis. The theme was “Think” and one thing I was inspired/convicted about was just wanting to read and write more. Hearing some of the speakers talk about the importance of critical thinking and how writing helps that along made me realize how little of that I do. However, in order to write, you need stuff to write about. There’s where the reading comes in. It’s hard to write stuff if there is a serious lack of reading being done. I admit, I’ve been slacking in my reading. I have tons of books but hardly any of them have been read. (I actually came back from the conference with at least 6 new books) Here’s the first entry of hopefully more writing to come. Hopefully this is the start of something good.