“Testimony Of The Grace of God”

My life has been a spiritual journey with the Lord from the time my family departed from Champasack, Laos to the United States of America. For many, it has always been a dream to come to America, but for our family it was a dream comes true. An unknown God led us from the wilderness of a Communist Regime to a free and blessed country fill with milk and honey.

The sign of a gracious God was present the first time we stepped out of an airplane to meet our sponsor Dorothy. She was a devoted Christian who was kind, warm and caring. It was through her act of compassion and agape love that led us to Christ. We are ever grateful for her generosity and care for our family.

Since then God has revealed to us his redemptive love, death and resurrection and forever changed our lives. I remembered vividly many times when I was a teenage boy asking God, thanking, and praising him for what He had done for me. I also remembered the time when I dedicated my life to Him and willing to do whatever He has in store for my life. From that moment on, my life has been sanctified and I now continue to live and serve the Lord.

Regardless of the different cultures, Ethnicities, and backgrounds, we are all called to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to share it with the world. The God of the people of Israel is no longer just for the Jews but becomes the God to the Gentiles, to all nations, to all countries, and states around the World. Each person is vibrant and rich in his or her own culture and heritage and shares the commonality, needs, and problems. We come to learn that all of us are precious in God’s sight. And as a Psalmist wrote, “Red and yellow black and white, we are precious in his sight.” God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. The bible teaches us that even our righteous deeds are like clothes of filthy rags. But the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed our sins. We must put on the new clothes of the righteous of God so that we may have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the power to do God’s works.

The same power when Jesus bestowed to his disciples and apostles now lies with us for those to who believes. As a member of the body of Christ, we are now speaking the same language under the same Lord. We must decide either to choose to follow Christ or became an instrument for the devil. Since God would not allow a member of His own body to be cut of, He will however prune those who are spiritually dead so that they may grow and be fruitful for the coming of the Lord. It is God’s desire that as his children that we bear fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Becoming an American citizen from countries of different origin is a wonderful thing, but how great it would be if people of all walks of life become citizens of God. Saved by the Grace of God that revealed to them and they repented of their sins. Together they would share the same love, belief, and live their lives in fearing of the Lord. This is what Jesus has intended when he commissioned his disciples to “Go” to all the world and preach the Gospel and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As a servant of Jesus, it is a privilege and honor for me to be able to take the words of God and share it to my people. God’s love and compassion for the lost has become my love and compassion for the lost. I must carry His cross and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to my neighbors and to the world around me. As Paul once said it is no longer that I do these things but Christ that lives in me that inspired me to do His will on earth. My desire to do God’s wills is the influence of one person who chose to do what God has taught her to do. That is to love the Lord her God with all her heart, soul, and mind and to love her neighbor as herself. Our sponsor, Dorothy has made the difference in my life and also my family’s lives. By the Grace of God that drawn us into His arms and we came to know Him as our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Background of Writer:
Thanomsy Tom Xaymongkhonh, one of the twelve children, was born in Champasack, Laos on May 10, 1972. Immigrated to the United States on August 1981 and grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. Graduated from Emporia State University in Kansas with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Information System. Tom is currently working at J&M Industries as programmer / analyst for the past 14 years. Married Samreth Senethivisouk and have four wonderful boys (Jordan(14), Jake(12), Jaye(11), and James(6)). Tom has been commissioned to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Laotian community at Advent Lutheran Church in Olathe Kansas.

Scriptures References:
Ephesians 2:11-22, Mark 6:34, Isaiah 64:6; Galatians 2:20; Matthew 28:19; Luke 10:27

by Thanomsy Tom Xaymongkhonh