Mr. J is a member of the InterVarsity International Student Fellowship at California State University—Fresno. After he became a Christian, he was obedient in a difficult situation.
“I am an ethnic Chinese who was born in Indonesia, a country where Chinese are not treated well. When I arrived in the United States in August 2005, I met an excellent American Christian family who introduced me to Jesus and invited me to their church. I started to go church and worship God, and approximately two weeks later I accepted Christ.
“At about 11:00 the night before I accepted Christ, I was tired and exhausted. I had a geology test on the next day and needed to study. I called up my American Christian Mom and told her about this. She prayed with me over phone, asking God to give me strength to be able to study and guide me through my study, so that I would study the right materials and perform well in the exam. I studied until 2:00 in the morning, only about four hours. The next day I took the test and much to my surprise I got 94/100. I am thankful that God gave me the ability to get such a good grade. That evening a couple from the church visited me and presented the gospel. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior.”
Two weeks later, Mr. J went to an InterVarsity international student retreat at Campus by the Sea, an InterVarsity training facility on Catalina Island. He learned more about God and what his new found faith means. When he returned from the retreat, Mr. J asked James Siebert, the InterVarsity International Student Ministry staff in Fresno, to visit him. Mr. J showed James two pictures of Buddha that he had had on his personal altar. He asked James what he should do with them.
Rather than simply tell Mr. J what he should do, James suggested that they look into what the Bible says about things used in worship of other gods. Mr. J was surprised that the Bible says anything at all on the subject and agreed to meet later in the week, but he insisted that James take the pictures that night.
The following week James and Mr. J studied the Old Testament story of King Josiah, how he found God’s Word in the rubble of Jerusalem, and read it. James and Mr. J looked at King Josiah’s response the idolatry in the kingdom of Israel. James asked Mr. J what he wanted to do with his former gods. Mr. J said that he wanted to do what King Josiah had done, burn them.
Though he was concerned about how some people would react to his action, Mr. J was determined that he would obey the one true God and burn the idols that he had previously worshipped. The next weekend he made plans to burn the pictures in the fireplace at James’ home. Another international student who had made the same decision to get rid of her idols three years ago joined James and his wife. They supported Mr. J. as he placed the pictures of the idols on the fire and together they watched the flames consume objects of worship to Buddha.
Within a month of this event, Mr. J was baptized. When he returns to Indonesia, Mr. J will be faced with the challenge of telling his parents in Indonesia of his new faith and finding a fellowship of believers as he lives out his faith in God. But Mr. J knows that God is powerful and will help him. His testimony includes the following admonition. “My friends, remember this, you never will be able to imagine what God can change and provide to you in your life if only you are willing to accept Him as your personal Lord and Savior. It’s far beyond your imagination. He is the True Living God, and Loving God. He is our Creator, He made us.”
