About Me
Hey! What's up? My name is OJ. I'm a Christian. I love the Lord Jesus Christ and I am very grateful for what He did for me. He saved me. He died for me. He took the punishment that was supposed to be mine.
Everyone who is guilty is required by justice to receive his due punishment. I am guilty. We are all guilty before God. We're all sinners. The punishment due to us is Hell and the only way out is for someone else to take the punishment for us. We can't wiggle our way out of it. And we can't bribe God with our pathetic "good works". And we can't just say SORRY either. Sorry doesn't work. Sorry does not fulfill the requirements of God's justice. God being just cannot violate His own nature. Someone... I repeat... SOMEONE HAS TO PAY THE FINE. And what is the fine? The wages of sin is death. In other words... SOMEONE HAS TO DIE.
And that's what Jesus did. He was sinless, holy and righteous. He did not deserve to be punished. And yet he freely and gladly took upon himself the punishment of the cross for our sins, in so doing, taking our place. He died in our place. A substitution unlike any other. It's God's love, God's wrath, God's mercy, and God's justice... all displayed... all fulfilled in one singular event... Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
God Himself paid the price for our iniquity. He didnt have to. He had absolutely no moral obligation to save anyone. He could have just said, 'Ok, enough with these rebellious creatures.' and zapped us into eternal punishment. Instead He sent His only begotten son, Jesus Christ to bear our sins. There is no salvation in any other, only through Jesus Christ. If there was, then God would not have had to send His Son to suffer. There's no other way.
God is offering you this same salvation, my friend, if only you would realize for yourself your own sinfulness and helplessness, repent (decide to turn away from your sins), and believe in what Christ did on the cross, trust in Him alone for your salvation, and accept Him as the Lord of your life... which means you would obey everything that He wants you to do... all of which is contained in the Bible. Read it. Live it.
If you reject this, please be aware that if God did not spare His own Son the punishment for sins that were not even His own... how much more would He not spare those whose sins are very much their own? Think about it...
The "Good Person" Test:
More about me:
Well, I'm ethnically Filipino. I grew up in the Philippines and I came to this country when I was 19. Yes, I spent my teenage years in mybeloved Philippine Islands. The Philippines is very different from the United States but believe me when I say that the 'teenage angst'is the same. Teenagers over there go through the same things teenagers over here go through. Maybe the details are different butthe underlying struggles are pretty much the same. At least that's what I've discovered.
What causes this commonality? It's the sin issue. We're all sinners in need of the same thing... Jesus Christ. No matter what countryyou're from, what nationality you are, what style of music you listen to, how you dress, we do the same things and make the samemistakes, thereby on a large part we go through the same pains, because of the same sin that permeates our very being. Sin is universal among men.Therefore we have one universal need... and that is salvation.
By God's mercy and grace, I grew up pretty much in church. My family converted to Christianity from Catholicism when I was 5 andfrom then on, I grew up knowing church, going to Sunday school, singing songs, doing Christian things. I loved God from when I waslittle. I remember praying to Him, telling my friends about Him, and desiring to just please Him, to know Him. God was very real to me. Iknew He was there.
During my teenage years, things changed a little bit. My love for God grew cold and I found myself drifiting away from the faith that Igrew up with. I wanted to do my own thing. I just wanted to hang out with friends and date non-Christian girls. For some reason, non-Christian girls seemed more attractive to me. Yeah, I had a HUGE circle of friends and I wanted nothing but to hang out with them.
I never did anything like sex, alcohol or drugs. Looking back, I'm really suprised that I didn't. This was all by the grace of God. Yes, I was one that society could say,was a "good kid." Yes, OJ was a "good kid." The funny thing about it was I knew in my heart that I was not. My mind, my heart, and mysoul was filthy. I was distant from God. I was intellectually rebelling against Him. I was trying to push Him out of my life. I felt dirty. I knew my heart was dirty.
Why are we sinners anyway? Is sin doing drugs? having premarital sex? pornography? murder? These things are all sins, BUT sin is not just those things. What do I mean by that? Well, if sin are just those things, then since I don't engange in those things then I would be considered good, right? But I'm not good. I'm a sinner. So what is sin? According to 1 John 3:4, "sin is transgression of the law"... in other words, sin is violation of the Law... God's Law. God's moral Law is the 10 commandments. We are sinners, because we have broken God's Law. Everytime you lied, everytime you lusted (which is adultery), everytime you hated (which is murder), every time you dishonored your parents, etc... you have violated God's law and therefore incurred His righteous wrath. If you've ever done any of those things, then you, my friend, are a sinner in God's eyes. It's not just doing those things that are considered by society as heinous... it's doing those things that violate God's Law... yes even the little things.
So After high school, the Lord allowed me to go through some of the toughest trials that I've ever faced... all for the purpose of revealing Himself to me, and bringing me back to Him. My friends and I parted ways. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I turned down my scholarship to the university that I dreamed of going. Me and my girlfriend (who was the world to me) broke up. I came here to the U.S. not having any friends. I was in pain. I've never felt so alone in my life. I had no one to turn to but the Lord. It's almost as if the Lord was telling me, "My child, all these things that you think are good for you are going to lead you into a lifestyle of sin, and to your destruction... they're going to lead you away from me. I love you so much and I cannot allow that to happen. I will remove them from you. It's gonna hurt for a while, but it will be better for you. Because we will be together."
Yes. He graciously brought me back to Himself... for which I'm very truly grateful for. I now serve the Lord at Calvary Chapel Cornerstone. It's so awesome to think how God has filled my life with forgiveness, peace, and joy that comes from Jesus Christ. He has brought me into this church family that I absolutely love. He has blessed me with some of the richest friendships that I've ever known. I'm so unworthy of all of this. I'm so unworthy of His death on the cross. And by His grace and power, I try to live my life for His glory out of the gratitude of my heart for Him saving me. Am I perfect? Ha! No. Do I still face trials and sufferings? You betcha! But it's ok. What's the difference? This time, I'm with the Lord and my life is in His hands. There's nothing better than that.
I know, my story is kinda lame. I don't really have a compelling conversion story. I don't really remember when I gave my life to the Lord. I've never had a traumatic/dramatic conversion experience like others who were... say heavy into drugs and then got saved. Like I said, I grew up in church. But you know what I figured? There was definitely a time when I was growing up that even though I was going to church and I was sincere... that I wasn't a Christian. You see, going to church, doesnt make you a Christian. Doing 'christian' things and hanging out with 'christian' friends don't make you a Christian either. It's the Gospel that saves. It's knowing and realizing your own sinfulness... realizing that you can't save yourself... realizing that you need help... you need Someone... you'r heart crying out,"God save me! I repent!". It's knowing that you need a Savior, turning away from sin, and understanding what Christ did for you and putting your faith in Him that you get saved. And then living your life with that constant gratitude. Only after realizing this and falling on my knees in repentance and giving my life to the Lord did I truly become a Christian. I am saved! And that is the greatest thing in the world.
What about you? Do you go to church just for the sake of going? Does God seem less than real for you? Are you still playing with sin thinking that it's ok? Is that you right now? Do you know if you're saved? The Bible talks about true and false Christians. Which one are you? Examine yourself to see if you still are in the faith... before it's too late.
~xxx~
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