Tag: god

2016

SUMMER

We are at that season of the year when we feel that we are elbow to elbow with the equator. With the sun’s scorching heat against our skin, large and heavy beads of sweat trickle down our foreheads—even when we are steady and still, in front of a giant electric fan!

The irony, however, is that while our skin is drenched in sweat, our body, however, can be dry. Or, more aptly, dehydrated. This happens when the amount of fluid that gets out of the body is not duly replenished. This is the very reason why, although taking a shower or swimming in the pool could indeed refresh us, we are advised to drink lots and lots water (not pool water, though!).

Because the need is from within.

Much like the need of each of us. That persistent, nagging need to be filled. Because there is, deep down within us, a feeling of being incomplete, of being empty.

Some of us may have tried to fill the void with medals and trophies, money and fame, alcohol and drugs, relationships and sex. But still, the void remains. In fact, it feels wider… deeper.

Because that nagging need can only be filled by the One whose imprint is in the every fiber and every vein and every organ of our body. The One who created humankind with His very hands—and the same One who saved humankind with His nail-pierced hands.

Jesus Christ. He promises us water that will never make us thirst again. Ever. Because He, well, He IS the living water, the well of life.

So let us come and drink. And be quenched. And filled. And satisfied.

2016

FEET

If you would look at his feet, you would probably feel your insides lurch and belch. Because his feet, well, his feet are dirty and grimy, callused and bruised. You see, he was but a simple man. A carpenter. And simple men just walked—on dusty streets, on muds and puddles, with no shoes on.

But if you would look at the direction of his footsteps, you would surely feel your insides warm and soar. You see, his feet always moved—to the poor, to the hungry, to the sick, to the weeping, to the sinning. To everyone who needed him.

On and on his feet moved, responding to every cry and every call—yes, every call. Because when they called for his feet to be nailed to a cross, he did not walk away. Instead, he walked toward them… toward his death.

Because, you see, that was the very reason why he walked. He stepped down from heaven, walked among men, and trudged to Calvary, that all men would find their way to the path of life everlasting.

So do not look at his grubby, miry feet. Look instead at the direction of his footsteps.

But then, if you are poor, hungry, sick, weeping, or sinning, you won’t have to look for his feet. He will come to you. To bless you, fill you, heal you, comfort you, and forgive you. Just as he had come two millennia ago.

Because that was the very reason why he walked.

2016

Declaring His SELFLESS SERVICE, exalting Jesus

“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask… Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” (Mark 10:35, 37)

James and John. They were two of Jesus’ disciples, in fact two of Jesus’ closest disciples (together with Peter). As proof, Jesus singled them out among the twelve on many occasions, as in the healing of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:37) and in the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2).

This is probably where they were coming from when they asked Jesus that request. They were James and John—THE James and John. They were part of the Big Three. So they felt entitled. So much so that they, ironically, demanded from their Master: we want you to do for us whatever we ask; that each of us would sit at your side in your glory. How selfishly ambitious and utterly arrogant!

But we, too, tend to be like them at times. Remember these ‘prayers’? Give me this, Lord. Give me, that. Here. Now. How about these lines? I’ve been attending church consistently. I’ve been serving in the ministry for years. So You HAVE to reward me with this, Lord!

Yes, we, too, have been like James and John. We tend to forget that He is God and that we, well, are not… not as powerful or as intelligent or as strong as we think. So let us look at how Jesus answered them so that we, too, may remember.

Have the right perspective. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized in the baptism I am baptized with?” (v.38)

The names of the Bible greats were not written there for nothing. They did not just sit and stare. They paid a price—a high price. Let’s consider Noah, the seemingly ridiculous command of God, and the truly ridiculous comments of his peers. Or Joseph and the thirteen long years batted with all kinds of trials and tests. And let’s not forget Job, minus all his livestock and children—but plus the boils all over his body.

We say we want to be great men and women of God? Then, let us remember Jesus’ words. Can we drink the cup, with all the pain and suffering it entails? While Noah did survive the flood, Joseph did save his family and all Egypt from the famine, and Job did receive double blessings from God—they first drank the cup. Because greatness is borne in and through the lowest and toughest experiences.

Have the right attitude. “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” (v.43-44)

The world tells us we have to make it big—big salary, big savings, big house, big name. Let us be clear here: there is absolutely nothing wrong with having all those big things; God calls all those blessings. What is wrong, though, is the attitude of being big: when we look down at our fellowman whose salary or name is not as big… when we look at the mirror and conclude that the reflection we see is far, far bigger than others… and when we don’t look up anymore to recognize the only One who IS big.

Do we really want to make it big? Then it’s time that we take each other’s hand, celebrating each other’s strengths and filling in each other’s weaknesses; and, more importantly, it’s time that we finally take that nail-pierced hand that has been reached out to us all for the past two thousand years. Because, really, on our own, we are nothing. We are weak, broken, and empty.

Have the right model. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (v.45)

Probably because of the many achievements and feats we have accomplished, or the many skills and talents we are capable of, or the many topics and disciplines we are knowledgeable of, that we think we are somebody and not just anybody… that we find it really hard to put others first.

But if we will just look at the King of kings and Lord of lords who created the entire universe with just a “Let there be”—how He left His throne in all its splendor to walk among the poor, touch the sick and the outcasts, receive utter scorn and humiliation, endure whips and lashes, and die the worst man’s death on the Cross—if THE God stooped that low, why can’t we? Why shouldn’t we?

All these said, may the prayer of our hearts be, “Teacher, we want to do for You whatever You ask. Help us to have the right perspective and to gain the right attitude as we tread on the path of selfless service which You Yourself have modeled to us.”

2015

Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness

Through Him we are sanctified. From sinner to saint, not only are our sins forgiven, but our records wiped clean—from charcoal black to pristine white. Because His blood does not merely cover, but washes our sins away.

Through Him we are accepted. Instead of being doomed for death and eternal punishment, we are now welcomed into His kingdom—as His sons and daughters. Because with arms wide open, He was hung on the most horrible cross, to His scorn and shame.

JEHOVAH TSIDKENU.

He did not merely call us from darkness to light, He also transformed us from filthy to pure—even promoted us from beggars to eternal heirs!

And for what purpose?

That we may have the right to be called a chosen generation… a royal priesthood… a holy nation… a people belonging to God.

JEHOVAH TSIDKENU. The God who is not only righteous, but is also OUR righteousness.

2015

JIREH: THE LORD WHO PROVIDES ALL OUR NEEDS

Yet, He has a requirement for us to experience His all-sufficient provision. This can be seen in the life of Abraham, the father of many nations and a model of genuine faith in God. When God commanded him to offer his only son, Isaac, he immediately obeyed God, without hesitation or complaint. He did not tell God, “You promised me to be a father of many nations! Why are you asking me to kill my only son?” What he did was to prepare everything they needed for the burnt offering and set off in the journey towards the mountain. What a faith!

Then at one point in the journey, Isaac asked him where the lamb is. To which he responded, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8). Now, we are enlightened about God’s requirement: one must trust God plans fully and obey Him completely. Abraham exemplified this and he was rewarded with God’s miraculous provision.

As Christians, we are called to become the Abrahams of our nation – true believers who live by faith and not by sight. We are the people who will declare the power and promise of Jireh in our country besieged by enormous debt and abject poverty. Hence, we are commissioned to do three things.

First, we must possess an unshakeable trust in God which will enable us to continue dreaming for progress. Now is the time for us to shun apathy, complacency and mediocrity so that we may significantly contribute to hasten the fulfillment of our glorious prophetic destiny.

Second, we must be willing to take risks in obeying God without any reservation. As His promise tells us, blessings will overtake everyone who lives in full obedience and submission to His sovereign will.

Third, we must allow ourselves to be the extension of His Hands by helping the poor and needy in our country. If we really want God’s outpouring, our aim should always be for God’s heartbeat to be ours. Without any iota of doubt, the heart of our Lord beats for all who are in desperate need of the caring touch from His people.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, my assurance for all of you is found in Psalm 37:25, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” Never be overcome by any worry or fear whether in the present or in the future. As long as you are obeying God, you can rely on this unchanging truth – our God is Jireh, the Lord who provides all our needs!

God bless you all and God bless the Philippines!