Work Heartily as to The Lord

Written by Elkana Chan

We spend a lot of our time on this earth working; I feel easily preoccupied by it and spend a lot of time thinking about it too. It seems that there is constantly more to do. I often fear, and sometimes even despair, How am I going to do all the things I have to do? And how can I work for the Lord, when I’m not even sure I can finish all that is placed before me? Honoring God in my work feels elusive and I struggle to work heartily for the Lord.

Yet God has shown us the gospel of grace that pervades all aspects of life, including work; I hope that in repeating these truths that He continues to teach me and apply to my heart may likewise encourage you and direct you to worship Him.

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Testimony of the Week – Jeremy Tran

Jeremy is a second year statistics major who enjoys reading, napping, playing guitar, wearing sweaters with polos, and trying to understand cultural references.

Before I was saved, I was stuck in a life of pride and selfishness. Even though I grew up in the church and was praised as a good kid who said the best prayers, I did not truly understand the weight of my sin or my need for a savior. Instead, I placed my pride in being spiritually and intellectually superior to my peers, so I had little love for God and for others. At home, where there were no friends to see me, I rebelled against my parents and pursued pleasure above all else. I vainly sought satisfaction in video games, social status, and lusting. But evening in finding their failure to bring me true joy, I still did not want to commit everything to Christ. I “knew” God but did not honor Him as Lord.

Does God Hear our Prayers?

Written by Jesse Fenn

Does God hear our prayers? Whether you’ve grown up in church or you’ve never stepped foot in a church, you know that the answer of the Bible is a resounding yes. But perhaps a better question is “How does God hear our prayers?” I live on a busy street, so I hear noises constantly, yet If you asked me to recount what I heard, I wouldn’t even know where to start because I rarely, if ever, give any thought to them. Parents will tell you that they hear children’s screaming differently as parents then they did before they had kids. When a friend from school talks to me about national security, I hear it much differently than when I hear the president of the United States talk about national security. I hear things that my parents tell me differently than I hear things that strangers tell me. We hear things differently depending on many different factors. So how does God hear our prayers? Does he hear them as white noise? Does he hear them compassionately, judgmentally, indifferently?  The Scriptures answer these questions for us. Specifically, the Scriptures teach us that God does hear our prayers and hears them as both a sovereign king and a loving father.  

To Love as He Loves

 

Written by Victoria Ng

The word “Christian” means “little Christ.” We, who follow Jesus, desire to be more like Him, to reflect Him and give Him all the glory. John 14:15 says, “those who love God will keep His commandments” and in the gospels, Jesus gave us a new commandment, “to love one another as He loves us” (John 13:34). Being called to belong to Christ is no small calling. We strive to be like a God who is perfect in every way. Though we fail to be holy, we desire to joyfully pursue holiness, trusting that the Lord will continue to perfect us until that last day. But do we forget the height of the standard God has called us to?

Testimony of the Week: Rachel Lin

Rachel is a third year biology major who loves cows (they’re cute and also delicious), Narnia, dancing, and that really cute walking kinesin protein!

I was born into a Christian family, going to church every Sunday, raised on gospel children’s songs, Vacation Bible School, and John 3:16. I prayed the sinner’s prayer at an early age, but there was a crucial misunderstanding of Christ’s saving grace–I prayed the prayer about 4 times before someone stopped me, since I thought weekly prayer was necessary to be saved by Christ.

Testimony of the Week: Nathan Chau

 

Nathan Chau is a first year Peach player in Smash, second year mechanical engineering student, third year movie actor wannabe, fourth year volleyball fan, and nineteenth year germaphobe.

I grew up attending various Roman Catholic churches near San Francisco that shaped my spiritual beliefs for the first eighteen years of my life. I believed heaven existed, but that it was attainable through my own merit—by my human effort to refrain from wrongdoing. And that was such good news to me because in my own ignorance, I believed that I was a righteous and moral person. I undoubtedly thought that God reserved my spot in heaven because I would never do anything wrong enough to condemn myself to hell. I fed myself this comforting lie so much that nothing I ever did became “wrong enough” in my own eyes, let alone God’s eyes. This pride of mine justified no need for God in my life, and so for eighteen years I shamelessly paraded around as god of my own life. The reality is that my hard and impenitent heart was storing up an unfathomable wrath for myself on the day of God’s righteous judgment (Romans 2:5). I did not know my Creator, much less love and fear Him.