God's Story

Since I last blogged, my life has changed a bit! I'm now officially at Biola University! For one of my classes, I had to write and share my testimony. What better way to share it then through social media! Am I right? Well here it goes!

What is sin? Sin literally translated means failure to hit the mark.  Most people say, “I haven't committed a crime or killed anyone, therefore I am not a sinner.” Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Because God is just, he can not leave our sin unpunished. It confirms in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Titus 3:4-7 reminds us,

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,  whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

God, in his mercy, sent His holy righteous (meaning without sin) Son to die a humiliating death in our place. But that's not all! Jesus didn't stay dead! He rose from the grave showing His amazing power. He reigns over death, so that we, as His children, might reign with Him. Romans 8: 16-17 declares, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

I grew up reading the Bible with my family, going to church on Sundays, and being deeply involved in weekly activities at church. When I was about 7 years old, I attended Vacation Bible School at Calvary Church of Santa Ana. During our lesson time, we learned about Gideon in Judges 7. God used 300 men to defeat the armies of the Midianites and the Amalekites. God is more powerful than we could ever imagine! Hebrews 2:9 states, “But

we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with

glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste

death for everyone.”‭ Since the all powerful God created me and loved me so much that He

took my sin upon himself and died in my place, then I wanted to do my best to love and please

and glorify Him! I gave my life to Jesus that day, but it wasn't until junior high school that I really

started to personally grasp what Jesus did and is still doing for me. I will always look back on my junior high small group, taught by Leigh Valencia, with fond memories. We spent many wonderful evenings diving into God’s Word, growing our spiritual relationship with God, and growing life long friendships with others in the group.  During that time, I really learned how to read scripture, interpret it, and practically live it out.

The past 4 years have not been easy. My maternal grandfather passed away from lung

cancer in August 2013, my mom has been struggling with Lyme Disease and other health issues since summer 2014, my paternal grandmother lost her 5 year painful battle with ALS in February of 2015, and out of the blue my older sister started having seizures later that same year. Thanks to our wonderful Savior, my grandfather trusted Christ for salvation before his passing and my sister is doing better and has been seizure free for over a year! On top of it all, in March 2016 my maternal grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer and lost her battle in January 2017. There were times when I questioned my faith and why God would allow these things to happen to my family! Doesn't everyone have those kinds of thoughts? It’s what comes out of the questioning that counts! Does it deepen faith and relationship with God or does it cause one to walk away?

James 1:2-4 states, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have

its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” My life is a story designed by and for my creator who wants to receive the glory for His accomplishments in and through me. Through trials and tragedies, God is making me more like Jesus, changing and transforming me into the person He created me to be. I’m learning to depend on Him daily for I know He is faithful and we know from Romans 8:28 that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. God never said this

life would be easy. In fact the Bible emphasizes that we will have trials and tribulations, but one thing that gives me hope is that nothing can separate me from His love, just like God’s Word assures me in Romans 8:31-32. Every day is a spiritual battle, but Jesus has been victorious over sin and death. There are times when I just don’t feel like reading the precious and powerful words of Christ or I just want to hold on to my stubborn and rebellious attitude, but God leads me in His paths whether I’m willing or not. I will be forever grateful that He looked upon me a sinner and showed me His mercy to save me and will never leave nor forsake me. Ephesians 2:4-10 states it well,

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

A passion for missions is one way that God has really grown me in the past 4 years. I travelled to the Dominican Republic with my youth group to put on an amazing drama called

Speechless, which presents the gospel through acting and music. I had been to Mexico

several times to build houses and work at an orphanage my church supports, but when my

dad decided our whole family would be going to South Africa in 2013, I was totally against it! I believe God hardened my heart to teach me a lesson. Much to my dismay, no pleading or begging would change my dad's mind. Even as we were boarding the plane, I was still voicing my opinion about how I did not want to go! When we finally made it halfway around the world I was pretty intent on being miserable and making sure everyone knew it. Somewhere in those next 10 days, God changed my heart and I found myself actually enjoying it. I have proceeded to travel back to this place I have grown to love three more times and most recently in February-April 2017. God can do amazing things through anybody with a willing submissive heart, and I know he will continue the work that he has started in me!

Many of my summers have been filled with adventures out of the country and with friends from church. In the summer of 2016, I walked the very same steps that Jesus walked. Thats right! I went to Israel! It was an amazing and humbling experience. Seeing the strife between Muslim and Christian, Palestinian and Israeli was heartbreaking. This past summer I had the opportunity to attend Hume Lake Christian camp for the first time. It was a wonderful week of encouraging my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  All week we talked about where we put our trust and where we find our identity. Something our speaker said that really resonated with me was, “Kill comparison or it will kill you.” I should be more focused on what God thinks of me and wants me to be, than what my friends or society think and tell me. Another way I like to think about this is to be grateful for the gifts God has given me instead of envious of others. As I enter into this new stage at Biola University, I humbly pray God would continue to grow me and reveal Himself to me in new ways as I study His Word and serve Him with my life.