I have heard the Gospel

I now have confidence that I can say that I have heard the Gospel. I have been wondering for a long time what it really is. But now I believe I have heard it. More on this while I learn more and ruminate over what I have heard.

Galations 3 as explained to me

God has been gracious to me to show me the meaning of Galations 3. It does not condemn the adherence to the Law as many attribute it to be. In it, Paul is addressing the issue of achieving justification through works of the Law. But he never criticizes the Law.

[Galatians 3:13] Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us; for it has been written, "Cursed is everyone having been hung on a tree;"

However, this doesn't criticize the Law; that the Law is a curse. Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of the Law. What is the curse of the Law?

[Galatians 3:10] For as many as are out of works of Law, these are under a curse. For it has been written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things having been written in the book of the Law, to do them."

In other the curse is pronounced on those who do not continue in all things in the Law. This is also known as death caused by sin.

[Romans 6:23] For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is everlasting life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[1 John 3:4] Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

In other words, Paul is saying that Jesus freed us from the curse of the Law, which is death. Paul isn't saying the Law is bad.

[Galatians 3:23] But before the coming of faith, we were guarded under Law, having been locked up to the faith being about to be revealed.
[Galatians 3:24] So that the Law has become a trainer of us until Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

The Law was given, not for justification, but for training in preparation until we are ready to be justified by faith in Christ. Once justification by faith comes, the Law is not discarded, but it no longer can function as a trainer. Once we get into Secondary school, the lessons of our primary school teacher does not die, but new things are added on to the still-present teachings from primary school. However, the teachings of our primary school teacher cannot teach us more about the world around us. That is how it was explained to me.

Almost all prayers answered; Hurrah!!!!

Our God is an awesome God.
The miracles He does for those who want to know Him are wonderful. This week has been empowered tremendously by the power of God. Almost all of my prayers were answered with a "YES".

On Sunday at 3pm, I went on a school field trip to Shipshewana, Indiana. The sky was overcast and the gusts of wind were very strong. On the bus and at the hotel, I prayed fervently to the God of creation that He would keep the rain away at night and on Monday morning, so that our trip would be much better. I was getting nervous that my prayer was not going to be answered with a "YES" because it started drizzling while on the minibus. However, Monday morning was spectacular to my eyes when I went down to the hotel lobby to eat the continental breakfast. I stepped outside to breathe in the fresh air and was surprised and excited that the sky was cloudless, the air was cool, and the ground was dry. HALLELUJAH!

On Wednesday, I had to prepare for my chinese oral exam (which, for my Singaporean friends, is different from the ones we got in secondary school; we get to write our own dialogue) and I was so ill-prepared. I prayed to God that He would postpone my presentation to Friday so that I could have more preparation time. When class started, the teacher scheduled my presentation to be on Friday. HALLELUJAH!

At some point in the week (I don't remember the day), I felt terrible. I had told a lie to a forum moderator. You probably won't understand the struggle I had; the situation I was in was very oppressive. I prayed with a broken heart and conscience that God would forgive me of that horrible transgression and set me free of my sins. I prayed that He would purify me and sanctify me by His Truth (I had never prayed this prayer before with real conviction). A sense of assurance came over me and I prayed, "LORD, I am now going to open your Word, fill me now with your Spirit, so that I will hear in the words what you want me to hear." I randomly opened my Bible and I opened it to Isaiah 51. It assured me of God's grace and His desire to forgive me. Praise the LORD! HALLELUJAH!

On Friday, the chinese oral exam wasn't too bad. I managed to remember almost all my lines
(my teacher narrated for me the other person; there were 2 people in my written dialogue). HALLELUJAH! Late at night, I woke up and saw my bro still at the computer and he said he couldn't find his speedo shorts. So I decided to pray to the King of the Lost and Found Agency (no disrespect here; it is a fact that He is the best one) to help me find it. About a minute later, I found it. HALLELUJAH!

On Sabbath, I had difficulty waking up my brother. He had slept after 2am. My dad had a splitting headache, so I had to iron my own clothes to go to church. It took me 30 mins to iron my shirt, and it didn't look too creased, but thank God that He helped me with ironing my shirt (I had extra pants). I normally take an hour to iron my shirt (hence, I leave it to my dad to iron). But then I had another problem. I can't drive. I prayed to the LORD to help me out. My dad self-sacrificed and drove me to church despite his headache. Before leaving, I prayed to God to keep my bro awake and not let him sleep so that he could go to church. Apparently, it was answered because he just couldn't get to sleep. But he was angry at me for disturbing his sleep so he didn't want to go to church. So I felt sympathetic and prayed on the way to church that He would help my bro to sleep and get his proper rest. From what my bro said, it was also answered "YES". And although it was answered with a "YES" right at this moment, my prayer that God would heal my father of his splitting headache as a reward for his self-sacrificial act was answered. For 5 answered prayers IN ONE DAY... HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!