The New Hope

Mary Magdalene learned and knew that the LORD is that LORD that is risen. Therefore, we went to tell the story that she has seen Him. This was the very first testimony of the resurrection of Jesus. After Jesus' death, the first to enter the Paradise was a robber who was crucified beside Jesus. After Jesus was resurrected, the first to preach the gospel was a woman who used to be possessed by seven demons. These show us that our LORD is the LORD who loves the sinners that for those who have greatly sinned could be saved, you who had been demon-possessed could preach the gospel. Do not set a standard: such kind of person is not worthy of becoming a pastor and such person is best to be a pastor. The LORD works extraordinarily within each person. I am waiting for prostitutes to repent and be the LORD's witnesses. I am waiting for robbers to repent and be the LORD's witnesses. And are there drug addicts who return to the LORD and be the LORD's witnesses to win the souls of sinners? Christianity is not about God from heaven come looking for the righteous to be His people. The gospel is God come looking for the sinners so they would repent. Jesus came down from heaven so He could bring people from the sinful mud so they are to stand on the cornerstone that God has provided.

Christianity is the new hope for sinners. The kingdom of God is built up with the broken hearted of the sinners who has experienced the true repentance. Not built up by the intelligent, the great, people who have never committed any crimes, whose morality excels the others. If you have greatly sinned, be not disappointed. The power of Jesus is able to save you, pardon you, change you, make you whole again and make you His servant, His witness.

-Excerpted from Kebangkitan Kristus dan Penginjilan Yohanes 20:19-29 | Pdt. Dr. Stephen Tong
Translated by Alicia Angie Wiranata

In Christ,
Alice

The Attributes of God

If God is Love, why does He punish people in hell?

God's attributes: Holy, Just and Love do not contradict each other.

God is Holy and righteous. In fact, He is the Truth Himself. And Someone who is so Holy, righteous and pure should not be able to tolerate the tiniest sin or error. Therefore, He must also be a Just. A God that is righteous and holy acts like a sieve, separating the dirty from the clean. The fact that He punishes implies that He is a God of both justice and holiness. Moving on to the third attribute: Love. God is not only loving, but He is Love Himself. He is very much disgusted by the slightest hint of sin, yet He is constantly exposed to the sins of the world and many generations. The ones He loves so dearly are the ones who pierce and crucify Him. Yet, He isn't just a God of justice, but also of Love. He is a merciful God and His grace overflows. He loves His people so much, He sent his only begotten Son to die to wash away the sins of the world, which has been predicted and prophesized long before it happened.

Now imagine a god who brings everyone to heaven (cause people believe a loving god must not condemn). Then he cannot be a just god, for what kind of judge rights the wrong? He cannot also be holy, for how can he tolerate sins in heaven, his dwelling place? Finally, he must not be Love. Because he loves the righteous and people who believe in him the same way he loves people who despise him all their lives.
Now when I say He washed away our sins, this doesn't mean that Christians today are without sins. We still are all sinners. But we should not live in sins, dwell in sins and enslaved by sins. Our chains are gone and we've been set free. When we confess our sins and repent, He is a loving Father who pardons His sons, He is a Shepherd who collects His sheep although His sheep are always prone to running away. He is a Groom who pardons us, the Lovers of His soul. And what kind of good Father rewards and never punishes? What kind of Shepherd not set walls around His sheep? What kind of Groom does not embrace His bride when she begs for forgiveness? Surely I tell you, there are no other gods like this. Or there are no other gods period. There's only Him or not him, and everything that is not coming from Him is coming from the devil.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul,    and all that is within me,    bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul,    and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity,    who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit,    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's".-Psalm 103:1-5 (ESV)

In Christ,

Alice

My Music Tree

I recently found out my music tree! Music tree means finding my teacher's teacher's teacher's teacher's and on and on. And turns out JS Bach and Mendelssohn were on the tree! But I guess I'm not half good enough to be called Bach's student. My piano teacher would agree. But anyway, it's just interesting to know. Here's the tree:

Richard Loqueville (Cambrai)
Guillaume Dufay
Gilles Binchois
Johannes Ockeghem
Josquin des Prez (Saint-Quentin)
Jean Mouton
Adrian Willaert (Venice)
Andrea Gabrieli
Giovanni Gabrieli (Venice)
Heinrich Schütz (Dresden)
Johann Theile (Lübeck)
Dieterich Buxtehude (Lübeck)
Johann Sebastian Bach (Leipzig)
Johann Philipp Kirnberger (Berlin)
Carl Friedrich Zelter (Berlin)
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (Leipzig Conservatory)
Carl Reinecke
Robert Teichmüller
Günther Werner Hans Ramin
Eduard Müller (Schola Cantorum Basiliensis)
Gustav Maria Leonhardt (Amsterdam Conservatory)
Ton Koopman (Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag)
Billy Kristanto (International Reformed Evangelical Seminary)
Stanly Maria Iskandar
Alicia Angie Wiranata

Rhett and Link Graduation Speech

From a young age, we're told how important it is to love ourselves, believe in yourselves, have confidence in yourself, help yourself. But I don't think the problem in our culture is due to lack of self-love. On the contrary, it might be an over-abundance of self-love. French philosopher, Fenelon said, "the origin of our trouble is that we love ourselves with a blind passion that amounts your idolatry." Make your life not about yourself, but about self-sacrifice.

There's an easy way to make sure your life sucks: make it about acquiring as much stuff as you can, in the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, the king who had everything says, "whoever loves money never has enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. The sleep of the laborer is sweet, whether he eats a little or much. But the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep".

And finally, pursue faith. Do not live life without asking the question, "why am I here? And why am I here even asking that question?" For us, our faith has been the key piece in the puzzle of life that when put into place, give us purpose and meaning.

Rhett & Link give the commencement address at their former high school, Harnett Central, located in Angier, NC. It includes a special song and the violent decapitation of a Pokemon Piñata. The ceremony was held at John Pope Convocation Center at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC, to a crowd of more than 3500.

Watch full speech:

Dutch Baby

Pancakes are my go-to breakfast! This is especially true during my busy college days. You just need to mix the batter up, fry it, flip it and freeze it until you need them. But I'm getting tired of the old-fashioned pancakes. So I tried out Dutch Baby. The first time I got a taste of these babies was at the Original Pancake House in Palo Alto California.

A year later, I tried making a Dutch baby from scratch. The result is quite satisfying actually.

Swedish Meatball Pasta

I was cooking for a group of twenty people, which terrified me, because expectation was high! So I decided to go with a safe Swedish meatball with egg noodle pasta with mushroom-gravy sauce. Everything was homemade! that would never go wrong. But I was wrong, it is a simple dish, but you could screw up in so many places if you're not cautious. Anyhow, everyone seemed to have enjoyed it, at least if they were telling the truth. Below is the recipe as inspired by Laura Vitale's.

Peas & Parmesan Gnocchi

I've been wanting to make a light and vibrant Italian dish. So here we go: Peas & Parmesan homemade Gnocchi! It was my first time making Gnocchi from scratch and it was surprisingly delicious. If there was anything I wanted to do better, it would be boiling the potatoes with the skin. Because when you start boiling the potatoes without the skin on, the water from the pot gets in the potatoes and it makes it more difficult to knead the potato dough.