Puerto Rico - La Isla del Encanto: Places

I just returned from an amazing trip to Puerto Rico! I went with a group of students and staff from Christians on Campus student organization at UT. We got to participate in a conference our first weekend there and then we toured the island while spending time with some other believers living in Puerto Rico the following week.

This trip was abundant in unforgettable experiences, so I will be making a series of posts to share some of them with you. :)


Some of my overall impressions of Puerto Rico included

its lively people, 

rich tasty food 

and 

beautiful scenery. 

In regards to scenery, though only 110 miles in length and 40 miles in width, the island of Puerto Rico has no shortage of places to visit and things to do. Some of the things we did and saw while on our trip included...

view from the walls of El Morro

an elegant street in Old San Juan

walking down the streets of Old San Juan and seeing the massive multilevel fortress, El Morro

view from the top peak

one of 70 kinds of orchids

stream that flowed down the mountain

hiking up the stunning tropical rainforest, El Yunque

the lush canopy of El Yunque

one of the islands we sailed to

Catamaran sail

relaxing on the Catamaran then snorkeling in the majestic blue waters of the Caribbean

getting some sun

hanging stalactites

one opening of the cave

roaming around the immense expanse of the Camuy cave

beautiful view from cliff

precariously peering over the edge

never ending blue waters in the horizon

 admiring the memorizing view from the bluff in Cabo Rojo

daunting rocks at the bottom of the cliff

happy riders on the beach

rolling waves along the trail

and taking a charming horseback ride along the beach.

The sites we saw were definitely breath-taking and unlike any place I've been to before. But it gets even better. Stay tuned for the next post on some of the delicious food that we ate while in Puerto Rico...





[photo credit: R. Hutchinson, R. Chen, J. Hernandez, A. Hernandez, L. Dean]

Thanks for posting your awesome photos!

Peeling Back the Layers

"The Bible requires more of us than any other book."

I read this quote in a morning devotional earlier this month and have been thinking about it ever since. Its quite amazing how one book can be taken in so many different ways depending on who is reading it. Why is this?

Well, firstly, what is the Bible?

"All Scripture is God-breathed..." 2 Tim. 3:16

According to this verse, the Bible is the breath of God.

"...His name is called the Word of God." Rev 19:13

And this verse shows us that that the Word of God is Jesus Christ.

"...which Spirit is the word of God." Eph 6:17

This verse says that the Spirit also is the word of God.

So from these verses, and many more throughout the Bible, we can see that the Bible is the definition, explanation, and expression of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. How then, can one read the Bible and not see God, Christ or the Spirit? This question was answered last night at a Christians on Campus Thursday Night College Meeting I attended on this very subject.

One point was on opening the four layers of our being. Whether our experience reading the Bible is positive or negative depends on how many layers have been opened while reading.

The first layer is our eyes. Practically we need our eyes to be open to read the words of the Bible. This, however, is the most superficial layer and not much is gained by just merely reading the word of God.

The second layer is our mind. This layer is a bit deeper and much more complex. With our mind we can understand the Bible. However, our mind can be a bit uncontrollable at times and has the capability of going off in a million different directions. This means that there needs to be a little effort and will power to concentrate when reading the Bible so that we can understand what we are reading.

The third layer is our heart and this layer is on an even deeper level. With our heart we can receive what we read in the Bible. The heart is many times likened to the gateway of our being. When we come to the Bible with an unturned heart, it is as if we have a veil covering us (2 Cor 3:16). So how can we turn our heart and open our being to receive what we read in the Bible? We can turn our heart by loving the Lord. By loving Him, our heart is opened and we can receive the rich life supply from the Bible.

The fourth and final layer is the deepest part of all human beings. This is the human spirit. With our human spirit we can realize what we read in the Bible. The way we open this layer of our being is by genuine prayer. By praying over what we have read as a response to what the Lord has touched us with, we can pray the Word of God into us where is becomes a nourishing element to us.

This was very eye-opening to me. In my experience, I have definitely read the Bible and felt dry or lifeless afterward.  So seeing that all of the layers of my being need to be opened in order to read, understand, receive and realize God in the Bible was so helpful and practical. My hope is to have countless experiences of being in the presence of the Lord to learn and practice opening my eyes, mind, heart, and spirit to the Bible so that I may contact God in His living Word.

The Grace Received When Gathered with Others

You never truly appreciate something until after you experience what it's like living without it. Last week I was able to go home for spring break and was really looking forward to it because I hadn't been home in a long time. And much like my first experience of going home after leaving for college,  being home has become such a sweet and enjoyable time (more on why I love going home!). This time was no exception. However, there was something different about this visit for me. I felt like I was missing something that I had become accustomed to throughout my semesters at college. It turned out that this something was the necessity of gathering with other believers as a normal part of my daily Christian life.

At UT, I had become so used to gathering with believers on a regular basis at various Christians on Campus events that it hadn't occurred to me how much I needed those times. So when I went home for the break and didn't have the convenience of meeting and fellowshipping with other believers between classes or for lunch on campus, I realized how much those times really meant to me.

a meeting of believers is an exhibition of their enjoyment of Christ

Last night, at the Christians on Campus Thursday night lecture series, the topic was on The Importance of Meeting. This topic really impressed me because it clearly answered what I had experienced over my break. There were times during my break where I struggled to read the Bible by myself or to pray alone, however, when I was able to meet with other believers, I felt so refreshed and enlivened. I felt like I really experienced Matthew 18:20,

"For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst."

This caused me to begin to consider, what will happen to my "meeting life" after I finish college? At last night's meeting, the matter of establishing the habit of meeting with other believers while in college was emphasized. From one of the speaker's personal experience, he developed this habit of gathering with other believers while in college and believes that this is the reason why, still today, he continues this practice. This created a desire within me to pray to the Lord to establish this habit in me now, so that wherever I may find myself later in life, this habit of meeting with other believers will always be a part of my normal Christian life.

"Not abandoning our own assembling together, as the custom with some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more as you see the day drawing near." - Hebrews 10:25

"Science and the Bible" UT Seminar

     Last Friday, Christians on Campus hosted a seminar on "Science and the Bible." The speaker was a professor at UT, Dr. Ken Diller, who teaches in the Biomedical engineering department. The presentation he delivered was really clear and helped me align these two subjects in a proper way.

     As a student in the college of natural science, its not uncommon for me to hear a professor speak of evolution of man from apes as if it were an established fact. This can cause anyone to be a little confused and I would find myself struggling to relate what I was learning in class to my faith and belief in the Bible as the word of God. However, after hearing this lecture on "Science and the Bible," these two matters and how they relate to and exist with one another was made much more clear to me.

     The over all take-home message from this lecture was that "there's consistent harmony between verified science and the holistically interpreted Bible," meaning that when viewed as a whole, the Bible has no contention and conflict with hard, established scientific fact.

     What really impressed me from this lecture was a diagram shown which was entitled "Understanding Creation." Here, Dr. Diller, distinguished the two realms of the old creation and the new creation. In the old creation, there is science and the Bible. In the new creation there is God's purpose and God's economy. Within the old creation, science and the Bible were described as two different lines, each with a perspective, method and reason.

     On one hand, science can be described as having the perspective of the processes, meaning it focuses on how things change when altered. These processes are described by laws, equations and theories and are the subject of studies done by scientists. On the other hand, the perspective of the Bible is the purpose. If one wanted to find God's purpose for man or anything found in nature, this could not be found in science. This is only found in the Bible.

     The next point of difference along the lines of science and the Bible was the method. The method of science is concerned with the observable evidence or proof. Science is based on observable phenomena that can be measured, tested and manipulated. However, the method of the Bible is faith. As seen in Heb. 11:1, faith is concerning with things unseen.

  
The final point was the reason. While the reason for science is to explain the how, the reason for the Bible is to explain the why.

  





     After hearing this lecture, I feel a lot more at peace regarding the relationship between science and the Bible. Though there is undoubtedly many who would argue that there is great contention between science and the Bible, this stems from the mixing of the two lines or the attempt of trying to interconnect them. When we try to find purpose in science or even the processes in the Bible, we will just end up more confused and frustrated.

     So I am really thankful to have been able to see that science is where we find the processes, through means of observable proof, in order to find the how; whereas the Bible is where we can find the purpose, through means of unseen faith, in order to answer the why. To me, the purpose and why of nature and our human lives seems tremendously valuable. Therefore, I really treasure this opportunity to have learned more about how precious the word of God truly is. :)
  


for more on this...  here is another blog post on the same seminar :)

Bind Your Donkey to the Vine

It's that time of the year again... finals week! Though I would have to admit that I'm naturally a very anxious person, especially when it comes to classes and school work, I've been seeing more and more that there is no possible circumstance or situation where we are not able to enjoy and rest in the Lord.

too bad learning through osmosis isn't effective

Yesterday, the ones that help with the Bible study I attended this semester with Christians on Campus had a supply station for the students. Not only did they supply us with study snacks and treats, but they also supplied us with much more than physical nourishment. There was a short reading on "Ceasing from Labor and Resting in the Enjoyment of Christ's Life." How timely was that for me!

Binding his foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he washes his garment in wine, and his robe in the blood of grapes."

Genesis 49:11 

a donkey bound implies the reaching of its destination

In the Bible, a donkey signifies taking a journey towards a certain goal or destination. So the binding of the foal, or tying of the donkey, indicates that the journey is over and that you have reached your goal. Does is seem like most people in the world today have reached their destination or goal? Not from what I can tell. Most people in the world are traveling donkeys, still laboring and striving for a goal or destination.

As Christians, what is our goal? What is our destination? 

Our goal is the vine, and the vine is Christ! (John 15:1, 5)

Christ as our vine is our goal!

To bind our donkey to the vine means to cease our labor or doing, and rest in Christ! Christ has already accomplished everything and won the victory! There is no need for us to strive or labor! All such endeavoring is in vain. We are already in Christ!

So what does this mean for me? I'm still a student who has to take finals and make good grades in my classes. Well, what has been encouraging me is enjoying Christ in any situation. Whether it means asking the Lord to be my study buddy, or taking quick study breaks to read the Bible or other encouraging blog posts or even getting together with other believers to study, it's making all of the difference. 

"Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28

When we come to the Lord in prayer, in His word, or with the other members of His Body, He is faithful to give us rest. 

resting in Christ is our true rest :)

Running the race by faith

Something I love about having fellowship with other believers is that no matter how many times you think you've heard something or think you know what something means, you always learn and enjoy something new. Tonight, as a conclusion to a Bible study I've been attending this semester, we got together in a home to have dinner. Afterward we read Hebrews 11 and had some really awesome fellowship concerning the matter of faith.

This chapter firstly defines faith,

     "Now faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (v. 1)

In other words, to have faith is to act according to something you can't see and to hope for something in the future. Then the chapter goes through a brief history of some of the first people to follow God by faith including Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and so on. All of these ones in the Old Testament followed God by faith and were looking to the future or forward to the goal, Christ. The New Testament believers, including us, are now looking backward, towards Christ, while at the same time looking forward to the goal, which is also Christ!

Some things that were brought up tonight that really impressed me included verse 3 which says, "By faith we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God..." This verse is so awesome because it shows that the frame of our beliefs and faith is the word of God.

How amazing is it that the universe is framed by the word of God?

Another point mentioned was in relation to verse 39 which says,

    "And these all, having obtained a good testimony through their faith, did not obtain the promise..."

This verse addresses the fact that the ones in the Old Testament who were following God by faith did not see the final goal, Christ. However, they played a part in bringing forth Christ which furthered the progress towards the goal. This was illustrated with the example of a relay race in which the baton is faith. Faith is the way we run the race. It has been passed down through the generations by the "hearing or faith" (Rom. 10:17) through the word of Christ and through the ones who came before us. This was such an encouraging picture because it showed that firstly, we aren't running this race alone and secondly, the way to run this race isn't from our own effort but through faith from God Himself.

Running the race by faith :)

Tonight was so enjoyable! I am always amazed by the freshness of the Word and of the Lord. I have previously blogged about the definition of faith, (previous blog post), and I feel like tonight's fellowship has really enriched and strengthened my understanding and experience of what it means to have and live by faith.

As a parting note and prayer, I also really enjoyed this verse from Hebrews 11,

     "But without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him, for he who comes forward to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (v. 6)

Lord, may we be those walking by faith as the unique pathway of our Christian lives! Lord, we come forward to You and declare that we believe that You are! May we continue to be those diligently seeking You that we may be well pleasing to You!

Enchanted Rock

I can't believe its already Thanksgiving break! This semester has flown by! With the conclusion of the semester drawing near, Christians on campus group had an outing at Enchanted Rock last weekend. I really enjoyed attending it and have continued to enjoy the topics we covered throughout this week. 

The day's topic was Noah's Family as age-turners and we heard some speaking concerning God's purpose, man's fall, and the way of salvation in the morning. Then we got into the life and work that changed the age in the afternoon in small groups kind of like we do in our semester Bible studies. And lastly, we heard some speaking on practical aspects of what it means to be an age-turner.

 All of the sharing and readings were so enjoyable. But something that I've been especially enjoying is one of the Godly ways of the Fathers that we have inherited. This was what we learned from Adam, which was Adam's way of salvation.

Because Adam fell, God covered him with the sheepskin and gave him a way of salvation.  This really touched me because even though man's fall is generally seen as a negative event, it also allows us to taste the sweetness of God's salvation. For the first time I understood the verse, "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the well's of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3).

Need a metabolism boost?

Continuing from last post... how can we let the word dwell in us richly?

In the supplemental reading it mentions that we need to have a proper metabolism in order to digest the word and have the word become rich to us. This prompted me to look up ways to boost one's physical metabolism in order to get ideas of how one could boost their spiritual metabolism. Here's what I found...

How to boost your metabolism:

1) Exercise

Exercising builds muscle which is more metabolically active than other cells. With more exercise, you increase your resting metabolic rate so that you burn more calories even while you aren't exercising. While physical exercise puts our physical bodies in a better condition to being metabolically active, spiritual exercise can as well. In Acts 24:16, Luke says "I also exercise... to always have a conscience without offense toward God and men." So in order to remove any barrier there may be between us and the Lord and to be in a state of having a proper metabolism to digest and assimilate His word, we need to exercise!

2) Stay Hydrated

All of the chemical reactions that occur in our body and burn calories happen in water. So even if you are the least bit dehydrated, your metabolism slows down. We can also be spiritually dehydrated. John 7:37 says "...If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink." Christ is our real drink and the only drink that satisfies man. (John 4:13) We need to continually drink Christ by calling on His name, praying to Him simple conversational prayers throughout our day and overflowing to other believers as well as enjoying others' overflow to us in order to stay hydrated!

3) Eat all day 

Though contrary to what most people interested in losing weight by boosting their metabolism would think, it is recommended to eat small frequent meals all throughout the day. This keeps your metabolism running non-stop and prevents you from overeating after starving yourself for too long. Similarly we can eat Christ all day long! To eat Christ is just to enjoy Him! In John 6:51, the Lord says, "I am the living bread..." We can eat Him anytime and anywhere! We shouldn't limit our eating to once of day and definitely not to just once a week. If we were to physically eat a meal just once a week, how miserable we would be! So frequent, continual eating of Christ all day long by enjoying Him in the word, through prayer or even through praying or singing the word will boost your metabolism.

4) Eat Breakfast

Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day. This is because it jump starts your metabolism. Likewise, having a morning time with the Lord is crucial for maintaining a proper spiritual metabolism. As the Lord practices in Mark 1:35, "rising very early in the morning... He prayed," we can jump start our metabolism of enjoying the Lord by coming to Him in the morning to enjoy His name, His word and our spirit!

Deficiency prevention

     This week in our Colossians Bible study, we enjoyed the phrase in Col. 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...

His word is rich!

     Since I am studying Nutrition, I greatly appreciated the analogy of letting the word dwell in us richly to eating a meal in which the food is assimilated by our bodies and nourishes us. Like the word of Christ, food is rich in nutrients, but even so, if we are not able to absorb the riches, the food will not adequately nourish us. This reminded me of a difference in nutrient deficiencies one may have...

Primary deficiency vs. Secondary deficiency

     primary deficiency is a deficiency that occurs when not enough of a nutrient is consumed in the diet (which could be likened to reading the word every now and then and not taking in the word in a consistent or adequate manner)

     secondary deficiency occurs when a person cannot absorb enough of a nutrient, excretes too much of a nutrient from the body, or cannot utilize a nutrient efficiently (which can be likened to reading the word perhaps very often and even memorizing it extensively, but not digesting, assimilating, or enjoying the word so that it nourishes and enriches us) 

     

So how can we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly? ... to be continued :)

Home Sweet Home

     I finally flew home yesterday for the first time this summer for a quick visit before classes start in the fall. And I have to admit, it is so good to be home! I never realized how much I miss my home and family here until I left for college and came back for the first time. I remember being overwhelmed by the fully stocked refrigerator and pantry, the openly available washer and dryer, my much missed soft bed, and the many other things that I used to take for granted merely because I never knew what it was like to be without them. But after living on my own and away from my family for a while, I began to see what it was like to live as a college student, shopping for my own groceries and doing my own laundry at a laundry mat. So when I go home now, I appreciate being there so much more! And I feel like my time with my family is more special and sweet. :) I guess distance really does make the heart grow fonder.

ahhh home... where there's actually snow :)

     Well, I am very excited to be home and am looking forward to my visit here. It will be a nice way to relax and rest before the beginning of the fall semester. So far, I plan to visit some family up in Connecticut for a few days, and maybe take a day trip to the beach when we come back. But I am mostly looking forward to spending time with the family and friends I have not seen in a while. Until next time. :)