It’s been three years and the learning never stops. In seminary, I have learned more and experienced (and still do) God’s great love, His abundant blessings, His sufficient grace, His ceaseless mercy despite trials, hardships and disappointments. The best part in the learning is knowing “more” about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Knowing God makes us love Him more and fear Him: respecting and giving reverence to Him for who He is and what He does. J. I. Packer once said, “Knowledge of God must bring us lower and lower as the sinfulness in us becomes more and more obvious to us and this sinfulness must ever be highlighted so that the great grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will be appreciated.”
      As I look back, of course there were hardships in the requirements but I realize that through our studies, we were able to learn more about God through His Word. I thank God for His sufficient grace & faithfulness in my life. He has been very patient with me in spite of my weaknesses. I pray that as I serve Him He will continue to help me be humble, attentive and submissive to His Will.
      For me, seminary life is one of learning, knowing, trusting, loving, and fearing God. It is the molding of our character by the Potter’s hand; it is being equipped and trained with the Word of God for the ministry. Yes, there are ups and downs in the seminary and in the ministry, but one thing is for sure: it is indeed a privilege and an honor to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Christ, the Sovereign & Mighty God.
Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free.
Force me to render up my sword, and I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life’s alarms when by myself I stand;
Imprison me within thine arms, and strong shall be my hand.

My heart is weak and poor, until it master find;
It has no spring of action sure, it varies with the wind.
It cannot freely move till Thou has wrought its chain;
Enslave it with Thy matchless love, and deathless it shall reign.
                    - George Matheson
 

Only when we love, serve, obey our Lord can we experience the contentment and satisfaction that we seek in our lives.

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Ps. 37:4 (NKJV)

      This passage has been my life verse since my high school years. It has helped me through my three years here in BSOP. God worked in me, molded me, and placed me into the fire to refine me that I may come out shinning for Him. Seminary life is not as easy as what other people think or believe. The most important thing to realize is that no one is perfect. It is rather a place for development, and these are the things I’ve learned and continue to pursue: to keep a good and godly character, with moral principles and values; to be firm in every decision and consistent, showing no favoritism; to be true, not deceiving other people for my own benefit; to know my limitations, and be humble and teachable; to protect my integrity and become more strong and mature when struggles beset me. One thing I have realized is that in spite of the struggles I’ve been through emotionally and spiritually, what has sustained me is the “STUBBORN LOVE” of God that never lets me go. He was always there guiding me and lifting me up every time I fall.
      I pray that God will continue to use me as long as I live; that my heart and will will always be in line with His, and that whatever His desire will also be my desire. May that day come when I will meet my Maker and Master face to face, and hear Him say, “well done, my good and faithful servant”. I thank God for giving me a very good mentor, friends and teachers to whom I can reach out when in need of comfort, help, correction or advice. I know that I can never please everyone, but the most important thing is for God to be pleased with me.
      Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide and Soli Deo Gloria!

“We are not here to be popular, but to tell the naked truth.” – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

      The Apostle Paul summarized his life’s calling when he said, in 1 Co 2:1-2, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
      Like many others in the ministry, I have experienced rebuff and rejection from people at the slightest mention of what God has called me to do. I believe no other truth has convicted me more, in my three years in BSOP, than the fact that preaching is probably the most unpopular of tasks. It is unpopular because of the content of our message: God is not calling us to reprobation, which is for what the world yearns, but that God is calling us to repentance. He is calling all men “to believe in the Lord Jesus” (Acts 16:31), and “to be reconciled to God” (2 Co 5:20), “because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness” in Christ Jesus (Acts 17:31). It is not that “God has a wonderful plan for your life,” but rather, “you must be holy, because God is holy” (1 Pet 1:16).
      But must we, those of us who share in God’s work, shirk our responsibility to preach because of those who refuse to hear God’s word? Must we shy away from our appointed task because popularity is not on our side? May it never be that we would succumb to the lure of popularity, and thus abandon the Word of God. We must encourage each other, and remind ourselves as well, that, “Christ must increase, and [we] must decrease” (John 3:30). May we always preach the naked truth, as Lloyd-Jones reminds us, and keep our eyes focused on the cross of Christ. It is not the object of popularity; it is the message of “foolishness to those who are perishing,” but “the power of God to those who are being saved” (1 Co 1:18).

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down.
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.
                    - George Bennard