WitnessLA.org

Measuring Growth

Mon, 28 May 2012 09:29:00 -0700

Have you ever wondered if you are growing in your Christian life? Our editor, Touyee, shares a personal story of finding growth in Jesus Christ.

One of the best events growing up as a child was getting measured to see how much I had grown from the previous year. I could hardly stand still as my father would draw a line on the wall the few inches that I had grown. Looking at the newly drawn line on the wall, I couldn’t wait till the next one was drawn. The next morning, I would get measured again, hoping to have grown even more. To my disappointment, there was no new line. Day after day I would stand up against the wall and there was no growth. Finally, I stood on my tip-toes to achieve that new line on the wall. There was only one problem; I couldn’t stand on my tip-toes forever.

[click “Read More” below to continue]

The past several months I’ve found myself not growing in my Christian life. I was measuring myself over and over again and no new line on the wall. Being a child of God, I would say “Father, I’m not growing,” “Father, why am I not growing?” Soon I felt that I was lacking circumstances to help me grow. If I had this relationship, I would grow. If I had this career, I would grow. I was placing requirements that God had to meet in order for me to experience growth. I was expecting that once God had given me these things, my Christian growth would exponentially go up. This was me standing on my tip-toes all over again.

Experiencing fear, guilt, and condemnation because I was not growing in my Christian life, I began to vigorously turn my attention to my Christian to-do-list: repenting of sins, prayer, reading the Bible, corporate Bible study, and church attendance. By doing all these things, I believed that my Christian growth would be natural. If I did these things really well, I would find myself rejoicing “Father, look how much I’m growing.” Through these activities I did achieve growth, but it was superficial growth. Christian growth motivated by fear, guilt, and condemnation won’t change you at the levels that your Heavenly Father desires for you. My Christian growth by fear, guilt, and condemnation made me want to hide from God – not draw near to my Heavenly Father. I am a child of God, when I place myself under fear, guilt, and condemnation; I am attacking and hindering the growth of a child of God. This was me standing on my tip-toes all over again.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

Real growth offered by God is fundamental. This fundamental growth is through God’s grace in Christ. Every aspect of Christian growth is grounded in grace on the basis of Christ’s person and work on the cross. Through the grace and knowledge of Christ, those chains of fear, guilt, and condemnation are broken. When I am walking closely with Jesus, He fulfills the growth in me. It is no longer me rejoicing, “Father, look how much I’m growing,” but my Heavenly Father rejoicing, “Look how much my child is growing.”

We are all poor beggars telling other poor beggars where there is bread. I pray that my story would point you to the Bread of Life that is Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. You can find me at RealityLA 1309 Wilton Pl. Hollywood, CA 90028. Services are held Sundays at 9:00, 12:00, and 5:00. We’d love to have you!

Image Credit: davidrobertwright/ Flickr

He Remembers

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:50:00 -0700

Our Editor Rachel shares an intimate story about love from the Father of the bride on her wedding day.

Have you ever experienced an overwhelming sense of familiarity with something that shouldn’t be familiar at all? Some people call it a déjà vu while others say it could be a distant dream. However, I think it could sometimes be a vision that God has placed in our hearts.

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” – Joel 2:28

A few months ago, I had a wedding ceremony in Malaysia. Most brides would be exhilarated and beaming with joy. They would agree to many things the wedding planners and vendors propose because it would be ‘once in a lifetime’. However, this wedding was held after our wedding ceremony in California. I felt that we have already been there and done that not long ago with this ceremony being the ‘second in our lifetime’.

Thinking that I already knew it all, I took control of the wedding and gave very specific instructions to my wedding planners, wedding parties and vendors like a true bride-zilla masquerading behind a tensed smile and a pair of stilettos. No one, however, took more detailed instructions than our florist.

Our poor flamboyant florist was left with little room for creativity even though he was well known for wedding floral design. I sent photos of each arrangement I wanted with specific types of flowers, colors, heights, vases and décor. There was no room for mistakes.

On the wedding night, everything the florist did turned out exactly the way I planned except for the stage décor. He exceeded my expectations. I was mesmerized by it. I kept talking about it to my husband. He agreed that it was pretty but did not understand my obsession with it.

You see, there was a sense of familiarity with the way the white flowers hung and how it was like a distant memory to me but I could not quite put my finger on it. The night was beautiful, emotional and very epic for us. I love God, my husband, my family members and my friends with all my heart. I could not have done it without our devoted vendors.

The next day, I sent a personalized email to our florist to thank him, specifically praising him for his creative work on the stage. To my surprise however, he texted me back saying,

“Thank you but I cannot accept any credit for the stage décor. I only came up with it 5 days ago when I dreamt about your wedding and saw the stage in my dream’.

When I read the message, a drop of tear rolled down my cheek and I felt God’s strong presence in my heart. I realized that the stage décor was not something that I have seen but it was something that I daydreamed about when I was a little girl.

How amazing is it that? God would go to such great lengths and give dreams to a non-believer to send me His personal wedding gift. As I was just a little girl, I have totally forgotten about it but God remembers our dreams, even dreams that we have long forgotten.

“He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations…” -Psalm 108:5

God can do great things like saving the world but he also likes to be very personal in his relationships with us. Not only did He deliver our dream weddings twice in Malaysia and California, He also tailor made a personal present neatly wrapped in a bow for me because he knew that it was my style.

While I know that there is nothing too big for God, I also learnt that there is nothing too small for Him either. He showed me that He was there watching me from when I was a little girl and He has never forgotten me, not even the little dreams in my heart.

“Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb”- Genesis 30:22

And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark- Genesis 8:1-3.

God would not even forget the birds, the mammals and the flowers, why would he forget about us? What I’ve learnt from my past experience is that God does not forget about our passions and dreams because He was the one who placed them in our hearts in the first place. Don’t be afraid, hang in there with me and just believe.

Image credit: Edwin Tan

The Call to Europe

Mon, 14 May 2012 15:39:00 -0700

Have you ever asked God for a loud and clear confirmation for your career? Our foreign correspondent Alex shares an amazing story which comes all the way from Europe.

How do you hear from God? For the longest time I was so frustrated because I always heard people around me “getting downloads” while I was apparently deaf.

Everything changed about a year ago. I was really seeking God’s direction and guidance, I was faced with several big decisions, one of which being a big career move – leaving LA and transferring to Europe. This made me uneasy and I was absolutely starving for God’s direction. I went back to what I knew and that was the Truth from the Bible. Jesus says,

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10).

And boy did I start knocking.

This was very important to me and I decided to go all in – if I am going to pray and seek God’s wisdom, I really wanted to do it. That means 3 things: Serious prayer, spending time in the word and fasting in order to cut out distractions. I started pretty light – my prayer was very simple:

“Lord, I really want this, but if you’re not going there with me, I don’t want to go. Please give me a really clear and tangible sign on what I should do”.

Hey, it may not have been the most complex prayer but God heard me and He answered. Loud and clear, multiple times.

It was the day of my first meeting in regards to the new role – I was facing a massive uphill battle. Before driving to the office that morning, I sat down and had breakfast reading my bible – just going through my plan in the New Testament. The reading that day was from Acts 16. My jaw dropped as I read the title – I am attaching a picture from my bible that I read – the title of that day’s reading was “The Call to Europe”. How awesome is God?! Yep- that was clear enough that even I could get it:) That was exactly the encouragement I needed. My meeting went great and some time passed and as I began my interviews and process of transition I started fasting, praying and seeking God even more.

What followed was nothing short of extraordinary – God answering and giving confirmation at every step of the way in ways that really makes sense to me and are quite obvious. There was sign after sign, confirmation after confirmation. EVERYTHING worked out perfectly in His Grace. Long story short, got the job, gave away most of my things, hopped on a plane and followed my dreams. [Side note- as a result of this experience I highly recommend fasting to everyone. Combined with a dose of prayer and faith- it’s absolutely amazing]

Im writing to you today from my flat in West London. It’s been about 9 months since I moved here, and God has been amazing. Of course there have been tough times, but what I decided to do was whenever I was in a bad spot: Just worship more and more. And worship away the bad times. What I thought was going to be a limited experience to Europe has turned into a Global adventure: Everywhere from Tokyo to Mumbai to Paris to San Francisco. And I can share with you there’s nothing in this world, nothing, like the feeling of being on an journey 1:1 with the Lord and fully immersing yourself in His Grace.

Be encouraged! God is good! He has a perfect plan for you with perfect timing. I am not sure what’s next for me. But with the Lord as my rock and my compass, I can’t wait to see whats next: He has a perfect track-record :)

Janice vLog: A Leap of Faith - Moving to Hong Kong!

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:27:50 -0700

Would you drop everything and move halfway across the world if God told you to? Our Voice Janice shares a very personal vLog of taking a leap of faith and following the Lord to Hong Kong.

It’s inspiring to see someone follow the dreams and convictions on her heart and to just go with faith that God will provide everything she needs. And it serves as a challenge for all of us: when was your last God adventure? What do you need to give up for Him to give you what you’ve always wanted?

Janice will be updating us from time to time from Hong Kong, but in the meantime, let’s pray for her that “the journey and the destination will be just as amazing.”

Eternal Love: Beyond "Happily Ever After"

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:58:00 -0700

Have you ever wondered what love looks like outside of fairy tales and romantic comedies? Our Voice Sherea shares with us what it means to love someone through the challenges of real life.

This November, my husband Brian and I will celebrate our twenty-first wedding anniversary. However, in 1997, we separated for about eight months. That was by far the worst thing – and also the best thing – that ever happened to our marriage.

[click “Read More” below to continue]

It was that separation that showed me who I was not, and who he really was. Instead of focusing on my husband’s weaknesses, I took inspiration from his strengths. Instead of focusing on our financial situation, I was awed by our situation of being in God’s favor. Instead of focusing on what we never had, I was able to see more clearly what we had all along. It was during that time that I really understood that we will never have it all together, but together…we can have it all. So when we reunited and re-committed ourselves, I made some adjustments to how I would do things from that day forward:

One. I never talk down about my husband in public, or in any group setting, or to anybody. Period. No jokes, no sarcasm, nothing. My husband is always my king, always reverenced and respected. (Now at home and in the car, I might change it up a bit. But I’m still working on that.)

Two. I am always happily married – and everybody knows that. If there is ever a moment when I become unhappy, I only tell two people, my husband and God, ‘cause those are the only two that can do anything about it.

Three. I’ve got three marriage tools: Crisco oil, Clorox, and Midol. Crisco, so I can fry up some good chicken and always keep his stomach full. Clorox, so I can keep a clean home in a peaceful space. And Midol, so I will never say, Not tonight honey, I have a headache.

I’d like to dedicate this poem to my husband Brian, my Eternal Love.

Eternal Love by Sheréa

In the movies

my daughters see fairytale weddings

I DO

choose you

to live happily ever after

There is no sickness

There’s only good health

In the movies

girl meets boy

boy marries girl

carries her off

into the sunset on a white horse

Things only get better

They never get worse

In the movies

the HANDSOME prince shows up

buys the girl a beautiful dress

and one slipper

he truly adores her

No bills, no worries

There is only rich

but never poor

In the movies they talk for hours on the rooftop

holding each other till morning

they love the same things

they never disagree

There’s only sunshine

never rain

But when the movie is over and

after the credits roll

behind the scenes

that’s when the real story

starts to unfold

To have and to hold

From this day forward

For better, for worse

For richer, for poorer

In sickness or in health

To love and to cherish

‘til death do us part

Love

Eternal love

I mean,

the good, the bad, and the ugliest

unemployment, foreclosure, cancer scares, stress

childbirth then weight gain, this house is a mess

oh, this is when marriage vows are put to the test

It’s behind the scenes

where the greatest lessons are

those I learned from slammed doors

longs walks and

sleeping on the couch

It’s when I’ve opened my mouth

too much for too long and

made a comment where

even my kids say

ouch

It’s those behind the scenes where

“nice” mommy is mean

and fried chicken and collard greens

never make it to the table because

I’m not cooking this week

and you know what else I’m doing, right?

But then

I remember that

I do love you

To have and to hold

From this day forward

For better, for worse

For richer, for poorer

In sickness or in health

To love and to cherish

‘til death do us part

Love

Eternal love

Not the

buy-me-a-4-karat-diamond-ring-so-I-won’t-leave-you

love

or being the-best-housewife-in-Atlanta love

or the three-hour-wedding-on-reality-TV kind of love

But the

To have and to hold

From this day forward

For better, for worse

For richer, for poorer

In sickness or in health

To love and to cherish ‘til death do us part

Love.

Eternal love.

Whenever I’m confused

about my love

I’ll remember that

It’s the kind of love that makes me

open that slammed door.

It’s the love that makes me

turn the car around after the long drive

It’s the love that makes me

come back after that long walk in the rain

It’s the love that makes me

forgive through the pain

It’s that love-after-war kind of love.

To have and to hold

From this day forward

For better, for worse

For richer, for poorer

In sickness or in health

To love and to cherish ‘til death do us part

Love

Eternal love

Whenever you get confused about love

Look in the mirror and ask yourself

Am I patient?

Am I kind?

Am I envious?

Am I angry?

Because real love

Real eternal love

Is patient

and kind.

Love does not envy

Love does not boast

Love is not proud

Love does not dishonor others

Love is not self-seeking

Love is not easily angered

Love keeps no record of wrongs

Love does not delight in evil

but rejoices with the truth

Love always protects

Love always trusts

Love always hopes

Love perseveres

From this day forward

For better

For worse

For richer

For poorer

In sickness or in health

Until death parts it

I do love you…eternally!

Image credit: Villa de Amore / Flickr

God Even Loves Gangsters

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:16:00 -0700

Watch this amazing testimony from Henry, a former gangster, as he shares his journey from dwelling in anger, violence and fear to living with the fire of the Holy spirit. This reinforces that God has special plans for you, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Open Thread: What Does Easter Mean to You?

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 19:17:45 -0700

With Easter Sunday just one day away, many of us are planning various ways to celebrate this glorious day. However, do we REALLY know what we are rejoicing and what significance this Holy day holds? Perhaps it is the Easter Egg Hunt or trip to see the Easter bunny that gets your family excited. Maybe it is one of the few times you visit the church each year because you feel this day is more important than any other Sunday. Perhaps you’re celebrating the resurrection of Jesus and honoring God for the ultimate sacrifice that He made for the human race. With no right or wrong answer, feel free to share what Easter means to you. I’ll start…

Before Easter Sunday, there was Good Friday. Good Friday marks the day of pure sacrifice, eternal forgiveness and divine love. On Good Friday, God paid the ultimate price for EACH and EVERY one of us by sacrificing His only son, Jesus, to be the payment of our sins… back then, today and forever. I don’t have children yet, but if I did, I would struggle so intensely about sacrificing my ONLY child so that the rest of the world could have a future. Jesus didn’t have to die for us… He was Jesus! He could have done many miraculous acts to avoid being hung on the cross. Jesus chose to die for us. The public humiliation, pain and heartache He endured was a choice that He made for us. He bled for us, He cried for us, He was ridiculed and mocked for us and eventually, He died for us. To me, Good Friday marks the ultimate forgiveness for our sins and defines the love that God has for us.

Easter Sunday is God’s reminder of His promise to us, His promise that “Never will I [God] leave you [us]; never will I [God] forsake you [us].” Hebrews 13:5. Even after everything that Jesus stood for seemed to come to an end, He rose from the dead. This tells me that even in our darkest times when all hope seems lost, the faithful and good will prevail. If God can raise Jesus from the dead, imagine the miracles He can perform for us! All we have to do is believe.

Image credit: Blue Lotus / Flickr

Forgiveness: Easier Said than Done

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:44:00 -0700

How do you forgive someone who has wronged you? Our Editor, Deborah, shares a personal struggle on the over simplified concept of forgiveness. God teaches us to forgive those who wrong us. While it may be hard to always follow God’s direction, the reward for our obedience is far greater than our momentary discomforts. Is there someone you need to forgive today?

Often times, it is easier to sweep things under the rug and cross your fingers that the hurtful memories will disappear in due time. But this never works. Eventually, the damage will come back and haunt you… if not now, then later. We, being sinful and broken human beings, make mistakes that frequently seep over into other areas of our lives, including areas that affect others. We say and do things that hurt people who we love and who love us. Easy for the person who did the damage, right? A simple, “I’m sorry” should do the trick. It is always the person who experienced the hurt that has additional healing and mending to do. The hurt one is always left with bruised feelings, frustration and the struggle of having to forgive the one who had inflicted such pain. If you think about it, it’s almost like losing out twice: you get stabbed by the hurt stick and then you are left with the sole responsibility of having to forgive and forget. I recently experienced how difficult it is to truly forgive.

[Click “Read More” Below to Continue]

I had someone dear to me hurt me so deeply that for a moment, felt like something beyond forgiveness. I struggled with believing that such cruel words could come out of someone’s mouth with the goal of piercing my heart. I was shattered by how such hurtful actions could come from a loved one. The words said and the way it was brought up echoed in my head for weeks to follow. For the longest time, I didn’t know whether forgiveness was possible.

Since this incident, I experienced the aftermath of what it means to be unforgiving. I found myself being jaded and cynical. I let this incident rob me of all the good that God has given me because I’ve been so fixated on how I’ve been victimized. It wasn’t until very recently that I realized that the only person punishing me was myself. Because of my inability to let go and move on, I marinated in that one incident too long. When I arrived at this realization, I knew I had to move on and the only way to do it was to truly forgive the way God forgives us. I didn’t want to live in the past, nor did I want to live for the past. I refused to do as Lot’s wife did and look back only to become a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26).

The choice is clear: hold onto the pain and dwell in the past, or let go of the hurt and move on. If you honor God and His teachings, and if you value your self-worth, then you would opt for the latter. The only one who will suffer from lack of forgiveness is YOURSELF. To overwhelm yourself by another’s wrongdoings by depriving yourself of the joys that God places in your life is a waste and a contradiction of what God tells us to do. Yes, it will take time to heal. Yes, you will need confirmation that the one who hurt you is truly sorry. Yes, you might hold grudges and feel angst for awhile. But at the end of the day, if you let someone else’s mistake eat away at your peace and steal your joys, you are the sole contributor of your pain.

My prayer is that if you’re struggling with forgiveness or if you’re confused as to how to mend a relationship where you have been hurt, you will ask God to help show you the forgiveness that can only come from Him. Ask God to teach you the lesson to be learned so that you are made a stronger person, not a weaker one. Ask God to show you how much He loves you so that no mortal words can bruise you beyond repair. Ask God for His grace and strength to make you whole. If your heart is willing and open, you will forgive.

Image credit: hang_in_there /flickr

Down to My Last Dollar

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:08:17 -0700

Have you ever found yourself completely broke? Without a dollar to your name, or any money coming in? Our Story Editor Alix shares a powerful modern-day fishes and loaves story of how when he was at the end of his rope - literally down to his last dollar - he prayed to God in thankfulness and received a financial miracle.

“Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.” (John 6:11 NIV)

It was warm, early December afternoon as I walked through the entrance of In-N-Out burger. In less than a few minutes I could be seen exiting those same doors, having found out that I did not have any money in my account and thus could not even buy a hamburger. Upon returning to my car I sat idly for quite some time thinking of what my next move would be. Thankfully this was not a life and death situation as I could always ask to my borrow money from my parents, but as a 24 year-old college graduate my pride would not allow for that.

Frustrated, distraught, and hungry, I pondered my misfortunate circumstance. I thought about my business attempt from the summertime which appeared to have been an utter failure. I worried about how I would get to my minimum wage paying job the next day without any gas money. I thought about my friends who were doing big things and making the big bucks, in comparison to how I only had one measly dollar. In that moment of distress I posted this tweet, “Down to my last dollar. 2011 giveth and 2011 taketh away I guess. By the grace of God I’ll be back up”.

Shortly after posting the tweet with my car still parked in the In-N-Out lot, the Lord began to minister to me. He reminded me of time when He was faced with the challenge of feeding the 5,000, when the only food available was a small boy’s lunch: five loaves and two fish. I was reminded of how the Lord did not respond to this crisis with worry, stress or frustration. As a matter of fact He didn’t even acknowledge the lack that He was faced with. Instead he responded in a peculiar way. He lifted up the small amount of loaves and fish to Heaven and gave thanks to His Father. He didn’t complain to His Father about the problem, He responded in faith and gave thanks to His Father: knowing that God was willing and able to do the impossible. And we all know how the story goes, God did just that. All of the 5,000 people were fed as the fish and loaves were multiplied, and there was food left over! With this fresh on my mind, I reached into my wallet, grabbed my only dollar, lifted it in the air, and gave thanks to God for that dollar. I also thanked Him for many other wonderful blessings, such as family, friends, and good health.

Looking back on this day four months later, God truly has conducted a fish and loaves miracle upon my finances. Back then I had just one dollar and a minimum wage paying job, where I barely made enough to afford the gas it took to get to work. Now, I am in a leadership position for the number three solar energy company in the United States of America. I have been promoted twice since beginning work in mid-December. I will spare the details but needless to say, God has miraculously multiplied my finances many times over in a short period of time!

To God be the glory! His grace is sufficient for me!

~Alix

Image credit: MoneyBlogNewz / Flickr

Sweet Child of Mine

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:52:43 -0700

Do you ever miss home? Our Editor Dan shares a touching story about the tenderness of the Father’s Heart for those who are living far away from family and friends.

Last Friday my wife Rachel was feeling especially homesick. Being from Malaysia and coming to a whole new world and life out here in LA, she sometimes needs a little taste of home to keep her going. So we decided to have a late dinner at The Spice Table in Little Tokyo, one of our favorite restaurants and one of the only places in LA where you can find truly authentic Malaysian / Singaporean flavors.

We’re regulars there, and we almost always order the same thing, but this time for some reason we decided to try something different and ordered the Kaya Toast - which is a buttered toast with coconut jam that you dip in a mixture of soft poached egg, soy sauce and white pepper.

It had been a hard day and a long week for Rachel.

She was missing home, trying to make sense of why God had taken her from everything she knew, her whole life, family, friends and career - her everything - only to have here out here in LA for a reason she couldn’t yet see or understand. Earlier that night, just a few hours before, she cried harder and longer than I’d ever seen her cry. A cry of frustration, sadness, disappointment all balled into one. As a husband, your heart breaks when you see your wife like that - you try to comfort, but you feel helpless.

With that still weighing on both our hearts, our dinner was nearing its end when the Kaya Toast finally came. Pausing a minute to inspect it for authenticity, Rachel finally took a cautious and slow bite. She squealed with delight.

“Oh my God!” she said, “This is EXACTLY like what my mom used to make for me for breakfast each morning back in Malaysia!”

A huge smile washed over her face, as if all the tears from the night before had been cleansed away in just that one bite.

And just at that moment, we could hear a song playing in the background in the restaurant:

“She’s got a smile it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything
Was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that special place
And if I’d stare too long
I’d probably break down and cry

Oh, oh, oh
Sweet child o’ mine
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Sweet love of mine”

“Did you notice that? The song playing?” I asked her. “‘Reminds me of childhood memories?’ That one’s from God for you. He’s speaking to you. That you’re His ‘Sweet child o’ mine.’”

Rachel’s eyes starting welling up. Then a single tear. But this time a tear of joy. We laughed as Rachel patted at her eyes with her napkin.

As my friend Alex used to always say, God’s timing is perfect. God, our ultimate and perfect Father in Heaven, knew every last tear Rachel cried. He knew where she was at, what she was going through, and most importantly - what could make her feel loved and restored again.

It’s amazing to me, this Father’s heart, this Father’s love that transcends everything. That regardless of what our earthly parents are or are not, we can still experience the love of a Father, the embrace from above. The warmth and healing presence of Love. Perfect love that casts out all fear.

Do you see that love in your own life? Can you hear it? I promise you, it’s there. He who has ears let him hear.

Image credit: HiStyley / Flicker

2x2: Little Babushka Doll

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:49:00 -0700

WitnessLA is proud to announce its ongoing partnership with our friends at 2x2. 2x2 is a platform for everyday people to stand up and share how God is speaking to them and through them. Why “2x2?” The concept is that often times people don’t think they have anything worthwhile to share until someone encourages them to speak up.

This week, our sister Jennifer talks about what it means to be hidden in Christ like a little babushka doll.

The Cry Hollywood is Today!

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 22:45:15 -0700

Do you believe in the power of prayer? Do you want to be a part of a movement to turn Hollywood and the entertainment industry back to Jesus?

Please join WitnessLA.org and our friends and partners for TheCRY Hollywood - a day of prayer, fasting and worship for our city and for Hollywood on March 15th at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City. It will run all day from 2pm-midnight, and will bring churches and ministries together from around the city with a heart for this monumental cause.

It’s not a conference. It’s not a concert. It’s a cry. More information is available on TheCRY Hollywood’s official website or in the videos below:

Sweet Tea and God's Graces

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:37:00 -0700

Do you have a story that is too painful to tell? What if God asks you to share it with a perfect stranger over an afternoon tea?

It’s a Saturday afternoon in LA and I was at a fashion show with my girlfriend in support of a noble women’s cause. What better way to spend your girls- only -weekend! After the inspiring speeches given by women warriors from the biggest movie studios and entertainment agencies to bring domestic violence to an end, my friend and I were both fired up to move for God.

Click ‘Read More’ below for the full story

After the fashion show ended, we took our passionate discussions about God and the entertainment industry to the Bloomingdales Café over frozen yoghurt. After 30 minutes or so, a woman who was at the table next to ours started talking to us. She told us that her name was *Lydia. She was seemingly well- to-do Jewish woman in her 50s. I remember the big question that she asked us,

‘Excuse me, I don’t mean to be rude but I overheard your conversation about God. I am Jewish and my daughter is a fervent observer of Judaism. But sometimes, I wonder where I will go when I die. You are Christians. Are you sure of where you are going after death?

God definitely works in mysterious ways. There we were at a glamorous fashion show in support of our fellow sisters and 30 minutes later, we received our first test. My friend started to talk to Lydia about faith but I kept quiet at the beginning. Something was stirring up in my heart. I knew God wanted me to tell my story but this was a story that was too painful to bring up.

It should be noted that I have been with our sister blog, WitnessHK since its inception but I never found the courage to go to that place of sorrow and write down my story. God was preparing my heart to revisit that place and with His perfect love, I finally found the courage. I was struggling inside but Lydia asked me for the third time, I opened up and told her my story.

I told my most feared testimony to a complete stranger who was Jewish, seemingly had it all together. After she heard my story, she opened up and told me that she was lonely, divorced and is looking for answers from God.

At first, I was hesitant to pray for her in Jesus’ name due to her background. But in my heart, I heard a voice asking me to pray for her. So my friend and I did. There we were, two girls praying out loud for a stranger in Bloomingdales café over a sweet afternoon tea.

When I started out my story, I wondered why God make me revisit my most painful memories to reach out to someone I did not even know. It would be unbearable for me and I did not even know if she would be touched. But after I shared it, I realized that God was also doing it for me. I was keeping a black box of painful memories. The bible tells us that when there is Light, darkness must flee. God shone His Light on my black box which was buried so deep and He healed me in areas I did not even realize need healing.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”- 1 Peter 2:9

God can turn any tragedy into triumph if we could only let Him be the author to write and rewrite every single chapter of our lives.After I shared my story with Lydia, I found courage to write and publish it. It became my debut story for WitnessLA.You can read it here: http://bit.ly/wUcR9y

Drawing Heaven

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:42:00 -0800

Would you be able to draw a portrait of someone you have never seen or heard of? Akiane Kramarik, a 15 year old untaught art prodigy and daughter of former atheists, shares her dreams of Jesus and heaven through art.

My Pain is My Platform

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:18:00 -0800

Our Editor Rachel debuts in WitnessLA with a story which brought her back to one of the darkest times in her life.

A few years ago, I was at the bottom of my career in Hong Kong entertainment. The company I joined was seemingly established with the biggest stars and 30 years of history but all of a sudden, it closed down. When I was drowning my sorrows in Shanghai with my friends, I met an accident which caused me to be hospitalized. That same weekend, I broke up with my boyfriend of three years. When I thought I was at the lowest point of my career, love and friendship, a close friend of mine sent me emails, asking me to come home to Malaysia, where she would be there for me. Her name was Shu.

Shu was the girl with the beautiful hair and features. She had a smile that would light up the entire college hallway. Even when she was going through tough times, she would tell me her stories with a great sense of humor. Her optimism was an inspiration to me.

I was supposed to be resting until my physical wounds healed. But I didn’t. I still tried to party my failures away. One day, I partied until 4.00 am and had a bit too much to drink before I went to bed. It was noon when I woke up and I noticed several text messages and missed calls on my cell phone.

As I read the messages, my hands started to shake. They read,

‘I’m so sorry about your loss’.
‘Babe, are you okay? I’m really worried. At least, answer my calls’.
‘My condolences about Shu, I’m sure she is at a better place’.

With my hands still trembling, I managed to dial a number to Shu’s good friend. I remember screaming at the guy on the other line saying,
‘Tell me it’s not true. Hey, this is not funny at all! This is really not funny! Please, I beg you tell me it’s not true”!

I did not get what I hoped to hear. The tragedy was true. Shu was walking on the curb when she was hit by a car. It was a hit and run. She struggled for a few hours and returned to the Lord. I realized that while she was fighting for her life during her last few hours, I was wasting mine away because I met a few challenges in life. I was the last one to hear about her passing because I was drunk at home acting like it was the end of the world.

Looking back, I think Shu’s passing was the last straw to my string of failures in career choices and relationships. I cannot exactly recall what happened after I confirmed her passing. I was told that I started screaming and crying out loud on the floor. Allegedly, I screamed at God and told him I hated Him and that I had to be held up as I blacked out for a while. Never have I ever experienced such depths of sorrow and level of shock.

The next day, I took flight back from Hong Kong to Malaysia for her funeral. The three days at the funeral were blur in my memory. Part of me tried to erase those moments. From time to time, painful memories would still surface.

On some days, I would even check my emails several times, clicking the ‘check mail’ button hoping for a reply from my last conversation with Shu. My actions were not rationale but I felt so helpless and hopeless. The last time I saw her body was when I left her a white rose at the funeral. It felt like that part of my heart left with her. Those were memories I collected and hid away in a black box.

At that time, I shut God out because I was so angry at Him. Not only have I lost my career and relationship, I lost Shu because He had taken her away. She was only 24 years old. By completely shutting myself from God, I entered into the darkest point of my life. For two weeks, I would throw up everything I ate. I was not bulimic but after a while, I gave up eating altogether because I did not see the point so I would just lie in bed for days.

When I hit rock bottom one day, I picked up an earmarked book out of the blue. I was not looking for God. I picked it up because I was wondering why I did not finish the book although I was only two chapters away from the end. At the chapter where I left it two years ago, there was a story. It was a story about King David in 2 Samuel 12:14-22.

When King David’s son was ill, King David fasted, prayed and spent nights lying on the sack cloth on the ground. He refused to get up from the ground and would not take any food from his attendants.

But when he found out that his son had passed away, he got up, washed himself, put on lotions and changed his clothes. He then went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. When he was served food, he finally ate.

His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”
He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.

When I read that story, I knew in my heart that I had to be good so I can go where she has gone. Right at that moment, I felt the hole in my heart close up. I broke down in tears and thanked God because He loved me so much that He would plan two years in advance to reach out to me at that very moment. Oh, how He loves!

I got up, took a shower and for the first time in a long while, I told my mother that I was hungry. She quickly served me a bowl of noodles. When I finished the entire bowl, tears rolled down my mother’s cheeks. I thanked her for her delicious noodles and I have never thrown up ever since. I decided that I did not want to wake up one day and find that I let all these years go by, wasted. And so I cleaned up my act and went on to live my life with God.

Many people ask me how I can be sure about my faith. I tell them, after you experience the presence of God, you do not need scientific or historical proof of His existence. No alternative theories or challenges against the bible can change what I received from God on that day, which is His Presence.

God does not cause our grievances but He collects our tears and redeems our suffering. If I did not know pain, I would not have gained compassion, understanding and love for others. I am called to be a witness and my worst pain would become my biggest platform. As the co-founder of our sister blog WitnessHK and editor of WitnessLA, I now know that this story was only my beginning.

In loving memory my dearest friend, Shu (16 October 1983 - 6 January 2008)

"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.” Proverbs..."

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:23:39 -0800

“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.” Proverbs 27:2 (NIV)”

Healing - I’m a survivor because of prayer

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:32:59 -0800

Our Voice Sherea has a family history of cancer. She was recently tested for this illness. Her family and friends prayed the sickness would not go down the family-line. Please read the incredible story of how prayer helped Sherea overcome the odds.

Do not be afraid of tomorrow; for God is already there.

Most people, who know me, know that I absolutely hate everything about going to the doctor. I hate hospitals, medications, giving blood, tests, making appointments, co-pays and everything else that come with it. However, in the past year or so, I have been to the doctor more than I have in the last 10 years.

I have been trying very hard to be “better” to my body, listen to my doctor and give blood with a smile. Last year, some of my tests showed that it was a possibility that I could have cervical cancer. A few weeks, and a couple mood swings later, my test results came back in my favor (Praise God!).

This year, I took my first mammogram. Follow by another one and another one, then an ultrasound. The doctors found two lumps in each of my …(you know)

Since my mom is a (breast-less) cancer survivor, I was a little worried. I knew that, no matter what happened. No matter what the results. I would be a survivor, just like my mom!

The day that I was supposed to find out the results; I prayed with my family, I sent out a prayer request to the staff at my church, the moms prayer group and to my facebook family. The only two things that kept me sane was knowing God and knowing that I had people all over praying with me and for me.

Although I went in alone, I felt like I took an army with me. The doctor is 98% sure that I am cancer-free, but I still need to come in for routine visits every few months.

I am a survivor …not because I beat Cancer. But because prayer beat Cancer first.

The Miracle on HWY 6

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:56:07 -0800

The incredible true story from the people who saw two miraculous recues after a fiery head-on collision on a rainy Texas highway.

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. Psalm 9:9-12 (NKJV)

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not..."

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:21:08 -0800

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up—Gal. 6:9 (NIV)”

Next Month: TheCRY Hollywood (3/15)

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:19:00 -0800

Do you believe in the power of prayer? Do you want to be a part of a movement to turn Hollywood and the entertainment industry back to Jesus?

It’s not a conference. It’s not a concert. It’s a cry. More information is available on TheCRY Hollywood’s official website or in the videos below: