Since the very moment of my sinful birth, my Christian family sought to counteract my ungodly nature with a strongly biblical upbringing. My first few words as an infant was not only “mommy,” “daddy,” and “yummy,” but phrases like “hallelujah” also garnished my vocabulary. As soon as my father thought I was old enough to intellectually comprehend the words of the Bible at around the 3rd grade, he started a 7-year-long, father-and-son daily devotion time with me. Looking back at those sleepy mornings and my dad’s teachings that I didn’t always pay attention to, I am extremely grateful that my father showed his love for me by taking me through this discipline with him.
As a “missionary kid,” I spent the best days of my childhood “growing up” in church. Not only was attending church more than once a week considered “basic,” I feel I was almost expected to have a greater knowledge of Scripture as well as better behavior compared to other church kids. From a human perspective, nothing in my “perfect” Christian upbringing could have possibly caused any sort of rebellion in my heart against God. By the time I reached my early teenage years, I still thought merely acquiescing to the gospel and not verbally denying Christ as Lord would somehow rescue me from sin and God’s wrath—I never denied Christ to be Lord, yet I neither trusted Him as Lord. When my spiritual leaders weren’t looking, I defied God by fiddling with the lust of my eyes, the lust my flesh, and the pride of my life as much as a Christianized 14-year-old could without being completely given over to the depravity of the world.
I can’t recall an exact period of time or even any strong sentiments surrounding my conversion, but at some point in my teen years, my depravity became real and consequential to me and God’s grace took a hold of me. He showed me that my Christianized upbringing and my church attendance contributed nothing to make me more “save-able.” The only way for me to make a “U-Turn” on my way to hell, is by embracing Christ’s redeeming work on the cross—His victory over death and sin was the ONLY way I could breakaway from the chains of my death and my sin!
After being baptized in high school, I eventually moved away from home to study at UCLA and started attending Grace Community Church, which is in my opinion, one of the best churches in the world! God deepened my faith and love for Him through the wonderful ministry of the college Bible Study, and even to this day, God is teaching me so much more about Himself at the young-married fellowship group at church.
Looking back at the short 25 years of my earthly life, it is so evident to me that God has kept me from wandering away from Him by confining me within the “fence” of His grace. My loving parents, my Christian upbringing in the church, my early exposure to biblical truth, the strong college bible study I attended, my friends who are also by brothers-in-Christ, my godly wife, our covenant in marriage—although these did not save me in it of themselves, God was so merciful to bind me to Himself through these acts of grace until I came to a saving knowledge of Christ, and He continues to use them this day to mature me in Christ. Praise God for His glorious and amazing works in our lives!
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above!
As a “missionary kid,” I spent the best days of my childhood “growing up” in church. Not only was attending church more than once a week considered “basic,” I feel I was almost expected to have a greater knowledge of Scripture as well as better behavior compared to other church kids. From a human perspective, nothing in my “perfect” Christian upbringing could have possibly caused any sort of rebellion in my heart against God. By the time I reached my early teenage years, I still thought merely acquiescing to the gospel and not verbally denying Christ as Lord would somehow rescue me from sin and God’s wrath—I never denied Christ to be Lord, yet I neither trusted Him as Lord. When my spiritual leaders weren’t looking, I defied God by fiddling with the lust of my eyes, the lust my flesh, and the pride of my life as much as a Christianized 14-year-old could without being completely given over to the depravity of the world.
I can’t recall an exact period of time or even any strong sentiments surrounding my conversion, but at some point in my teen years, my depravity became real and consequential to me and God’s grace took a hold of me. He showed me that my Christianized upbringing and my church attendance contributed nothing to make me more “save-able.” The only way for me to make a “U-Turn” on my way to hell, is by embracing Christ’s redeeming work on the cross—His victory over death and sin was the ONLY way I could breakaway from the chains of my death and my sin!
After being baptized in high school, I eventually moved away from home to study at UCLA and started attending Grace Community Church, which is in my opinion, one of the best churches in the world! God deepened my faith and love for Him through the wonderful ministry of the college Bible Study, and even to this day, God is teaching me so much more about Himself at the young-married fellowship group at church.
Looking back at the short 25 years of my earthly life, it is so evident to me that God has kept me from wandering away from Him by confining me within the “fence” of His grace. My loving parents, my Christian upbringing in the church, my early exposure to biblical truth, the strong college bible study I attended, my friends who are also by brothers-in-Christ, my godly wife, our covenant in marriage—although these did not save me in it of themselves, God was so merciful to bind me to Himself through these acts of grace until I came to a saving knowledge of Christ, and He continues to use them this day to mature me in Christ. Praise God for His glorious and amazing works in our lives!
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above!