"GOD'S CALLING"

NJ UBF Summer Bible Conference 2011

Genesis 15: 1-21 (6): "Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness."

Heavenly Father! Thank you for blessing our Summer Bible Conference so abundantly with your word and your Holy Spirit's work. Thank you for calling us out of darkness into your wonderful light and giving us your grace to live as your children and mission to preach the gospel to all nations. Help me to give thanks and hold on to one word you gave me as I write this testimony. In Jesus' name. Amen.

I. Preparation and invitation

This Summer God blessed us to prepare the conference in a special way by intensive Genesis Bible study. Thank God for M John's serving with Bible study, which sometimes lasted until after 11pm. Many coworkers came after work with thirst for the word of God. Genesis is the foundation of our faith, teaching about Creator God and his Sovereign rule. We also prayed that we may teach Genesis to one campus student this summer. So our mothers of prayer with young children made a schedule to come to the center with children almost every day, so that some could babysit and the others would go fishing. I am really thankful for such coworking and environment. God sent several new Bible students as an answer to our prayer.

During the conference preparation time I was busy with my children and interviewing for a full time teacher job and going on a family visit. Finally, the day before the conference, after I dropped our children off with Sh Jason's parents, I realized that even though S. Auxilia was coming I did not even help her to be raised as a Bible teacher. But praise God who does not work according to my faithfulness or abilities, but according to his mercy. As I prayed for invitation, God gave me a heart to remember one high school student I had some conversation with while teaching her class as a long term substitute. At that time I even asked coworkers to pray for her since I saw how troublesome and dark and wandering she was. Then I decided to find her on Facebook and sent her a message, which she replied to within 20 minutes, willing to attend our conference! It was indeed the work of the Holy Spirit. Through this I was convinced that my long term sub in school was God's leading, not only that I may look for a full time job, but that I may look and see his lost sheep.

I thank God for all coworkers who worked hard to prepare all the programs and worked behind the scenes to make this conference a feast of God's word and a spiritual harbor in the time of hurricane Irene.

II. The word of God

Thank God for raising 7 gracious and powerful messengers. Each message was focused on the theme "God's calling". From Joseph Lee's message on Ge 1:31 I learned that God created everything very good for his own glory and called us to be stewards of his creation. It is our happiness and purpose. From Sh David's message on Ge 6 God called Noah to build an ark to save his family and remnant. God's calling is the same for us, it is a great privilege to receive God's calling because he calls us to be saved and save his remnant. Though the remnant might seem too small, it is the remnant that God really cares about and continues his salvation history though. From M Martin's message on Luke 5 from Peter's calling, I learned that Jesus' calling makes us truly great. Peter wanted to catch a lot of fish to just provide food for his family, but Jesus called him to catch men. I also was a petty and fatalistic woman, but Jesus' calling made me a part of his salvation history of catching young men and women out of the sea of sin and death. I thank God for 2^nd gen John Park Jr's main message on Ge 12. Maxine liked his message most because his free style and deep meditation on God's word, relating to his and college students' life. Through his message I learned that Abraham became great not because of some personal abilities or activities, but because of God's calling. As he mentioned, many people think of God's calling as a burden, but in fact it is a great privilege to be called by God. I can already testify that when I left my sinful and humanistic life style, God began to work in my life. From a source of fatalism and discouragement, God has been transforming my life slowly into a source of blessing. Without God's calling I would have suffered from the power of sickness and death and either married an alcoholic husband or went crazy about physics. But God had mercy on me and called me into his wonderful light. I praise and thank God who keeps his promises and that his promise goes above my mistakes and shortcomings. He fulfilled his promise by sending Jesus and offering him in my place so that I may have confidence to come to him. I cannot be a blessing for others with my selfishness or anger, but when Jesus lives in me, and his name is praised, others may receive His blessing.

I thank God for bless Sh Jason to prepare a message on Ge 15 "Abraham's righteousness". His recent struggles with advisor losing tenure and vague direction in his PhD made us a little worried and caused us to question God's will. Why is it happening again to us after so many years? At some point I wished we stopped praying for him to be a professor shepherd and that he would just find a stable job and feel accomplished. But I was greatly challenged and moved when Sh Jason asked us during his own message: "What one thing do I need to become a professor shepherd?" Mine and many people's response was "A PhD", yet he answered -"FAITH". God trained Abraham for many years not just to solve his life problem of "no son"- "no PhD". God wanted to give Abraham greatest gift - God himself. Ge 15:1 says, "Do not be afraid, Abraham; I am your shield, your very great reward." I repent that I often measure God's reward with visual things. Yet when I see somebody who is suffering with sickness or hardships or serving as the only family in their tough mission field, they have something that no worldly reward can give - true peace that comes from Jesus in their hearts.

I also thank God for M Zechariah Choi's powerful message on Paul's calling. Paul went 14,000 miles on foot in order to preach the gospel to all people. He became great not when he trusted in his background or education, but when he met Risen Jesus and gave his life for Jesus' name's sake. I also was so moved by M Zachariah's 5 children who seem so honest in their pure love for Jesus and God's special calling for them as 2^nd gens and shepherds for their siblings and classmates.

Finally, I thank God for Dr Junhee Lee's message on Heb 11. He explained well how the substance of hope is faith, even from his knowledge of physics. Praise God who opened the door for their house church to become a post doc in Princeton and move next to the Princeton University main gate. May God bless many servants' prayers around the world and restart his great salvation work and raise Princeton as a missionary sending campus through raising 1000 professor shepherds. Amen.

I also thank God for raising testimony sharers, including Auxilia. She still is not sure if she will go back to Zimbabwe or stay, but I pray that she may hold on to Ge 12:1,2 and live as a blessing. I pray that God may open the door for her to stay to cowork in Princeton and NJ. Maxine was not yet ready to open her heart. Coming from a Jewish background, she only liked to listen to Genesis and she read through the whole book of Genesis during the conference, going into Exodus. I gave her my Bible so that she may study the word of God and hear his calling. Hearing about her terrible life and experience, I felt so bad that I just wanted to rescue her from her bad environment. After the conference I heard that she went back to stay with her mom. And though her mom is against her studying the Bible, I am so glad to hear she is not staying in that terrible environment she put herself in. I continue to pray that she may seek the truth and resolve to study the Bible until she meets Jesus and is fully saved.

III. One word of God

God spoke to me through Ge 15:5 and 6. God's treatment to Abraham in time of discouragement was to look and count the stars. God wants me to come back to look up in the sky to see God's almighty power and majesty and glory. "Abraham believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness." Here righteousness is so important. What we really need and what God wants to give us is righteousness. Here, righteousness does not mean just some moral standards and character. There are many moral and humanistic people in the world, yet the Bible says that there is no one righteous, not even one. There are many self-righteous people. In fact people want to be righteous. So they suffer, changing between self-justification and self-condemnation. This is really the description of me, which shows my spiritual ups and downs, depending on what I have done or not done. Yet humanly we are all hopeless sinners. Only God can give righteousness, because he is the only Righteous One. He gives us righteousness though Jesus' precious blood shed on the cross to atone for our sins. Jesus bore our condemnation, so that we may become right with God and receive the right to be called children of God. In the name of Jesus we can come to the throne of his mercy and receive his forgiveness, cleansing and his love. This righteousness was credited to Abraham because he believed and became the ancestor of faith, though whom God kept his promise and sent Jesus. What we really need to be righteous or to be right with God is faith. Jesus also said that the only work God is this : to believe in the one he has sent. (John 6:29). I praise Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Lord of Lords who took up my infirmities and sins, sin, my shame, my lust, greed, complaining, selfishness and laziness. I confess that Jesus is my Lord and I am his eternal debtor. I tried to please him by doing some works, but I met so many limitations, both others' and my own. Yet in him I am a new creation and chosen by him to carry his word and the gospel in my generation. I lost my tears for sheep and was concerned only about my own things. But he restores my heart by sending Maxine and Yetzenia, truly wounded and suffering sheep. Through our struggles with finances, work, and children's health, I can see that God wants me to have living faith in Him. I will hold on to God's calling and believe the Lord, so in his grace he will make me righteous and a source of blessing for others.

I pray to hold on to his word in the Fall semester and live by faith to please him only. I have many prayer topics: for Auxilia to live as a missionary , Yetzenia , Danika, and Aminah to resume Bible study and meet Jesus, for Maxine to overcome persecution and temptation and come to Bible study to meet Jesus as her Messiah. Yesterday I also heard from the school finally that they hired someone else. Though I am humbled to be rejected, I am not discouraged, trusting God's leading to use me even as a sub and be Jesus' witness in every way. I pray for sh Jason to live by faith and be a shepherd for one soul. I also pray for the Ukraine UBF 20 year pioneering anniversary, that God may bless his precious servants who gave their lives for saving many souls and that God may use Ukraine as a missionary sending nation.

Lord, thank you for your grace and calling. I will look at Jesus and persevere to live by faith. Restore my first love for Jesus and give me your compassionate heart. May your Kingdom come! Amen.

O.W. - M. Anastasia believed the Lord and it was credited to her as righteousness.