Possibly the most viral video, shared by Christians, those who had left church, and non-Christians, in my Facebook news feed today.

What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion.
What if I told you voting Republican, really wasn’t His mission.
What if I told you Republican doesn’t automatically mean Christian
and just because you call some people blind, doesn’t automatically give you vision.
I mean if religion is so great, why has it started so many wars?
Why does it build huge churches, but fail to feed the poor?
Tell single moms God doesn’t love them if they have ever had a divorce,
but in the old testament, God actually calls religious people whores.
Religion might preach grace, but another thing they practice.
Tend to ridicule God’s people, they did it to John the Baptist.
They can’t fix their problems and so they mask it,
without realising it’s like spraying perfume on a casket.
See the problem with religion, is that it never gets to the core.
It’s just behaviour modification like a long list of chores.
Like let’s dress up the outside to make it look nice and neat,
but that’s funny coz that’s what they used to do to mummies while the corpse rots underneath.
Now I ain’t judging, I’m just saying, quit putting on a fake look.
Coz it’s a problem if people only know you’re a Christian through your Facebook.
I mean in every other aspect of life, you know that logic’s are worthy.
It’s like saying you play for the Lakers, just because you bought their jersey.
See this was me too, but no one seemed to be on to me.
Acting like a church kid, but addicted to pornography.
See on Sunday I’d go to church but Saturday getting faded,
acting like I was simply created to have sex and get wasted.
See I spent my whole life building this facade of neatness,
But now that I know Jesus, I boost in my weakness.
Because of Grace is like water, then the church should be an ocean.
It’s not a museum for good people, it’s a hospital for broken.
Which means I don’t have to hide my failure I don’t have to hide my sin,
because it doesn’t depend on me, it depends on him.
See when I was God’s enemy, and certainly not a fan,
He looked down on and said “I want that man”.
Which is why Jesus hated religion and forty he called them fools.
Don’t you see so much better, then just following some rules?
Let me clarify, I love the church I love the bible and yes I believe in sin.
But if Jesus came to your church, would they actually let him in?
See he was called a glutton and a drunkard by religious man,
but the son of God never supported self-righteousness, not now, not then.
Now back to the point, one thing is vital to mention,
how Jesus and religion, are on opposite spectrums.
See one’s the work of God, and one’s a man-made invention.
See one is the cure, the other’s an infection.
Religion says do,
Jesus says done.
Religion says slave,
Jesus says son.
Religion puts you in bondage, Jesus sets you free.
Religion makes you blind, Jesus makes you see.
That’s why religion and Jesus, are two different clans.
Religion is man searching for God,
Christianity is God searching for man.
Which is why salvation is freely mine, and forgiveness is my own.
Not based on my merits, but Jesus’ obedience alone.
Because he took the crown of thorns and the blood dripped down his face.
He took away all we deserved, I guess it’s why you call it grace.
While being murdered he yelled “Father forgive them, they know now what they do”,
because as he was dangling from that cross, he was thinking of YOU.
He absorbed all your sin, and He buried it in the tomb
that’s why I’m kneeling at the cross saying “come on, there’s room”.
So for religion, no I hate it. In fact I literally resent it.
Because when Jesus said “IT IS FINISHED”, I believe he meant it.

Transcript written by my great friends from ThreeThirty.

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How to Move On With Life & Walking in Faith

Some of my friends who have been closer to me probably know that I went totally low-key for the past couple of years. I stop writing (I was paid pretty good money on a per hour basis), I stop designing (I was paid extremely well on a per project basis), and I probably stop mingling with people around me because I just felt miserable and wanted to get away from everything.

It was that same year where I had the best time of my life and the worst in a just a short period of a few days apart.

However, it was these few days when I started out on the whole “dead zero” and “fresh start” where I’ve been pushing myself by realigning faith, vision and focus to get my life right on track again where if you’re in the same situation, your personal faith is the only thing that will set you apart from staying behind or moving on forward in your life.

Cue bible verse on faith being a thing: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1

Of course, the decision to move on doesn’t always come overnight. It took a series of steps, like in a journey, moving from one thing to another, while learning a heck lot of things along the way, before the confidence engine starts to kick in (jump-start) and starting to do life proper again.

My journey post June 2010 till today (after I stop doing everything mentioned above):

• Got a job (August 2010) — I stop writing and designing, and wanted to get life in motion by doing what everyone would call “normal” things. It was in an IT company, and my pay wasn’t fantabulous (10% of what I had managed to make per hour). The environment was different, they were all great people who are better versed in Mandarin than I was, and I was the only local in the company. I believe it was a blessing in disguise because one of the role that I took on was in tech support, while avoiding the scripting part of the job altogether. Being in tech support meant I had to force myself to start speaking to people again without all the egoistic past achievements that I may had. No more award-winning so-and-so. No more 21 days to write and publish a 20k+ words ebook. No more $5k/hr sales achievement. I’m your friendly tech support waiting to help. Tech support wasn’t my first job though. A week prior to that I was helping out as an usher for a tech event, carrying stuff and preparing things.
• Joint venture in a web services business (November 2010) — While in depression and thought that I could make-do with life being “normal”, suddenly a call came in that I thought would change my life forever. I’ll be working with a pastor and a strong business acquaintance whom I got to know of for over a year prior to date! Hooray, my life felt like it’s taking a change for the better after a 2 months wilderness-like period! I prayed, and while it was a go-for-it answer, it wasn’t or may not going to be a business that I’ll be working on after over a year. I took up the role, and continue keeping myself low-profile and continued with my job as how it was expected of me to do so.
• Let’s build up this ministry (January 2011) — Let’s help build this ministry! I was asked to help out with the writing, given a vision of growing the current membership size from 1,000 members to 9,000 members in the new year. Along with the other 2 businesses and a job that I had back then, it felt like a tug-of-war between time, energy and focus. And at that time, I felt that I wasn’t yet qualified to write; as tech support, I was barely making 500 words knowledge base support documents, while I was already sourcing out some of my pet-projects that needs writing to other writers to write on my behalf. Other than that, the ministry’s target audience were predominantly those who are already established in the workplace, entrepreneurs, and Christian groups (it was a church ministry afterall). I was partly devastated, as the things I was known for writing were more non-Christian articles in personal development and personal productivity, and often quoting non-bibilical sources. Like how my ex would have described, she dated a cult-leader of over 1,000+ followers. This new vision stuck. Hence, something had to change in me before I would qualify myself suitable to go into writing again.
• Enrolled into bible school (March 2011) — End Jan, I’ve submitted my resignation letter. While initially claiming that I had to choose between working on the 2 businesses where the phone calls kept coming in even during office hours, it was only after the resignation letter that I had said that I wanted to enroll into my church’s bible school that led me made the decision to move on. It wasn’t because the stars finally aligned with a sign that says “go”, but it was more towards having the faith that things will work out with my life in God’s hands that I took the step forward and made the change. In all honesty, I had skipped 2010′s enrollment for the fear of having not enough money to pay the fees, hence skipping the enrollment deadline, and afterall, life look pretty good pre June 2010. Celebrated my last birthday with my company, and after extending it for another week to have cash to pay the initial months’ fees, I moved on, and got into bible school.
• Graduation (August 2011) — Graduated from bible school and ready to rock the world!
• I lost everything (September 2011) — Right after graduation and an over a week of reservist period, I immediately found myself in a situation where I could pitch to a group of venture capitalists. While initially I was only looking to raise $11k of funding (it was an I don’t need it, but it’ll help change the way we work type of money), the first idea got rejected before being called up for a second round of interviews. Before long, 3 weeks went by and what I thought may be a joyful week turned out to be one of the worst. A friend got together with the ex, and news came in at the time when I was planning to do up a surprise 1 day before the 6 figure funding deal was done. Felt betrayed. Next, while the said deal was closed, it was until a week later during the deadline when the curveball came in and the funding became a failure (exact conversation here). It was also during the same week where I closed one of my businesses with my business acquaintance and pastor. Not to mention that the 3 weeks to about a month’s negotiations took a toll on my finances, hence ended September with almost practically nothing, save some barely surviving websites with income that went almost to zero.
• Getting things done (October – November 2011) — Going for broke, I went ahead without any positive cashflow from the start of October to rework on my remaining websites with results that suddenly tanked. Giving them a total makeover with the site designs, helping my parents’ sites with the makeover, and my 1 remaining business website the same makeover. Sales didn’t skyrocket immediately, so it was like working with the laser-focused assurance that things would work. By the 3rd week, I was broke, but started seeing 2 enquiries for website design work that may need to be done. Took them as opportunities to find a price point, and finetuning the pricing, however it was only until the cash comes in when I’d consider it a sales closed. Week 4, first sale came in at a price point that finally worked.
• Freelancing + Entrepreneurship (December 2011 – January 2012; today) — “I’ll close 1 or 2 sales, and I can get these whole business started, and you won’t get anything.”, I said that during the phone conversation with the venture capitalists team during the deadline in late September. I walked the talk. Got some of the sites migrated over to a separate, US based server, fine tuned the website’s optimization further, and I was back in business. Found a script that I had bought earlier in 2011, then an idea came, and took another 2 weeks to fine tune and optimize the script’s themes further and having a proprietary design (you’ll know it’s mine when you see it), and I’ve got another avenue to expand my web properties.

Of course, there’s hiccups even towards the end of that list of bullet points—I had a fallout between the said pastor and business acquaintance (note: we were all good at the end), I guess I’m ministry-less now.

And you know what’s cool? Life’s a journey and it goes on.

3 lessons learned:

1. Walking in faith means being yourself.

David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. – 1 Samuel 17:39

What took David probably 1 minute to decide that the armor and him doesn’t fit, took me a year to finally decide that one can’t go on with the expectations that others may had place on you. We are all created uniquely and different by God, and that only He knows what route and, in this context, armor is best fitting for you.

From late 2010 when I was called to be the non-high-visibility person to work in the background and learning how to improve our church key pastor’s social visibility while learning how to have an overall influence stronger than another church pastor who was 3 (or 6) times more influential at that time, and along with the goal to grow a ministry from 1,000 members to 9,000 strong readership, while I was still coping with my personal depression, I didn’t had what it takes back then to get things done, so I listened and gave God those goals that were said.

Others may give you responsibilities or tasks that may be over what one could do at that given point of time, and showering you with words, encouragements, and affirmations, such as like how Saul gave David his own sword, helmet and armor, to do battle with Goliath, while they were all given with well intentions, sometimes, all you really need aren’t those things that were given to you, but what God had empowered you to be excellently well with.

Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. – 1 Samuel 17:40

Sure, if your strengths were with using the biggest, heaviest, swords and armor to do life’s battles and challenges with, great! Use them to your advantage.

However, if God intended you to do great exploits with less and sometimes unconventional means, great! Use them to your advantage.

Be yourself.

2. Walking in faith means being in church.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. – Rom 10:17

There will be times when things go south. It’s not the best time to say “goodbye, I’m busy” and close church out of one’s lives. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God. Stepping out of church means avoiding everyone else altogether, while perhaps it was one person that had been a trouble maker.

Listening to the word of God in church is possibly the single most powerful move and strategy that one could ever take.

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

- Mark 4:35-40, NIV

Go to Him when storms occur in life.

Even when I was depressed, I stayed in church.

Even when I felt unqualified, I enrolled in our church’s bible school.

Even when I lost everything, I stayed in church.

Even when there’s a fallout or dispute, I stayed in church.

Even when God gives you your victory, you too will be in church.

3. Walking in faith means moving on in life with prayer

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. – Phil 4:6, NIV

In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Every is a cool word.

It means every. Not some. Not 1 or 2. Every.

Hence, anything that is worth worrying about, God knows. Go to Him in every situation (bad or good), and present your requests (giving strength to go through tough times, turning tough times to good, turning good into amazing, turning amazing into miracles that others too will be impacted) to God.

Move on in life with prayer in every situation.

Conclusion: realigning faith, following your vision, focusing on others

What is your current vision that you’ve set your heart to achieve? If you’re a prayer believer, a vision could be one that you may had received when you first got saved (long-term vision that takes time to see fruition), it could be a current vision that you’ve received during your prayer time that you’re moving on towards with. Are you following your vision?

Next, is your vision serves to fulfill your own personal needs? How about having one where your vision is able to be accomplished when you start realigning your faith towards God and focusing on others around you? Can your talents and abilities come into play when focusing on others and helping others fulfill their current needs and possibly their destinies (that only God knows)?

While I’ve called myself as “ministry-less” it was more towards seeing myself being able to help others around me find their own purpose and destiny that matters. Start moving on in life, realigning faith (moving on in life and walking in faith), following a vision and focusing on others this brand new year.

Have a fruitful week ahead!