THANKS BE TO GOD

My last entry is dated November 11. Spending time away from my blogsite felt so much longer than it really appears. At the end of each day since November 11 I always had something special to write about- the weather, the holidays, movies I’ve seen, my quiet time, the conferences I’ve attended. But all those thoughts seemed to have just loomed over but were obviously never penned– typed. And while I didn’t particularly spend much time away from the computer, each time I tried I couldn’t get into that proverbial mood so often heard writers talk about. And now, at 2:23AM on Thanksgiving Day I am suddenly in the mood and have the urge to write something! What about? I have no idea; that’s the problem!

On this cool November morning- the day which Americans set aside to give thanks for everything they have. I write about what I am very much particularly grateful about above all — that fact that we are not alone, God is with us. While I am not particularly happy about the current state of the United Church of Canada, that church group has come up with something in the past I am very moved about. It’s a statement of faith that goes… 

“…. We believe in God
who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus,
the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us
and others by the Spirit.
We are called to be the church,
to celebrate God’s presence,
to love and serve others
and to proclaim Jesus,
crucified and risen,
our Judge and our hope.
In life, in death,
and in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God!”

- A NEW CREED, an affirmation of faith, United Church of Canada

This Thanksgiving week also signals the beginning of the Advent season when we light that candle of hope. Yesterday as I watched the morning news filled with violence, hatred, bloodshed, disasters, etc- which may I add, was not a very nice way to begin a day, I opened my Bible to the book of Isaiah (51) where it reads:

 

17 Awake, awake!

Rise up, O Jerusalem,you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD

the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs

the goblet that makes men stagger.

18 Of all the sons she bore there was none to guide her;

of all the sons she reared there was none to take her by the hand.

19 These double calamities have come upon you–

who can comfort you?– ruin and destruction, famine and sword–

who can console you?

20 Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street,

like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the LORD

and the rebuke of your God.

Reading after watching a gloomy morning news kind of doubled the heartache. I began to imagine the hopelessness the prophets saw during their day when the once glorious nation of Israel lying in ruins. The prophets proclaimed hope in that while the nation was suffering a messiah will come. That was their hope. Among other things, we say Advent is the season of hope. Although it seems God has been absent from the human scene, God has not abandoned us. In here in the days ahead we’ll keep our focus on the deeper things, the things that actually matter and the inexplicable hope that every once in a while bubbles up with the force of a volcano breaking through the hard shell of a crusty life. All of us want and need such hope.

No matter one’s background, no matter the personal corruptions and failures, that’s the implicit promise for those who, for whatever initial reason, turn towards the hope of God’s truth and grace in Jesus Christ. At a very minimum, this is an astonishing affirmation of His desire to never leave us on our own, that God wants us to know that.

CONVENIENT SERVICE

Waking up at 5AM and couldn’t get back to sleep, I decided to brush my teeth and my hair, take my Bible and spend time with the Lord at the park. As those who know me are aware that I use the Revised Common Lectionary for my morning quiet time, and the previous Sunday’s Gospel reading was Mark 12:38-44. Having found my favorite spot, I opened the Bible and read.

As I read, I couldn’t help but take the passage personally! “Watch out for the teachers of the Law” Jesus says. Who were the teachers of the law during Jesus’ time? Those who were learned– the theologians/ministers/lawyers/religious professionals of the day. They may find their equivalent in this era as those who have seminary degrees, ministers, pastors, preachers– people whom my seminary professor calls “those who get paid for being religious.” As a person with a degree in theology and have gone to seminary and serving as a pastor in the church, I certainly couldn’t deny the fact that I fall in that category, teacher of the law!

They like to walk around in flowing robes. I’m glad that in the church where I serve, I am not required to wear a robe that distinguishes me for my training. But I must admit, the professional religious love the feeling of wearing an academic robe albeit done once a year in seminary graduations. I once was asked to deliver a homily in a chapel service in a seminary and to wear an alb and a green stole. Did I have a choice? Well, not really. Part of their tradition is that priests/ministers wear vestments when performing religious duties. I wore the garb so as not to offend and lose an opportunity to minister.

…and be greeted in the market-places. One of the strange realities in my vocation is that there’s not a place I’ve been where I was not met or greeted by someone who knows me. Whether it’s on Orchard Road in Singapore or at Sonja’s Garden in Tagaytay, the Hot Air Baloon Festival in Pampanga or at SM City Baguio, someone would walk up to greet me, “Hi Pastor! I go to GCF.” When someone who knows me approaches me, I do not want to be rude and ignore. I will greet back and reciprocate the warmth I have been extended. Being known by people I haven’t met comes with the position I hold. But it is not supposed to reach my head! 

And who would not want a 10% “ministerial discount” on a meal in Zamboanga or being told by a waiter at Italianni’s that my check has been paid for by someone who didn’t want to be identified? Such are the “blessings” of the pastoral vocation to quote a well known evangelical bishop!

…and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets. I rarely have control over such things. In more than one occasion I have found my name written on a nice gilded card standing on tables of prominence or stuck to a chair in a concert hall.  Who has control over such? Even if I didn’t want to sit in chairs assigned to me, I couldn’t help but to do so. People do the assigning and I hardly have any choice.

…and for a show make lenghty prayers. When I find myself in gatherings- special events, the pastor always gets to be asked to pray. And people get disappointed with a minister who prays very simply. They expect flowery words and witty idioms, figures of speech and some form of religious gibberish! They expect something better than “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. Amen.” 

Such men will be punished most severely. When I got to this point I asked, “Will I get punished for obeying my calling?” And the Lord’s answer is definitely NOT. It is when religious leaders- the teachers of the law lose the heart of the matter which is serving God and the ”performance” of their duties becomes a show that God is displeased. While even during Jesus’ day not all religious leaders were frauds, many of them used their position and influence in greedy and cruel manner taking advantage of those they can fool.

As I continued reading about the generous widow who gave her all I reflected on how much more important it is for God to obey Him. He is merely concerned with the amount that we give to the “temple treasuries” of our day but with the heart behind the giving.

Today, believers give or serve out of the excess time and resources they have, or at their own convenience.

“I will begin going to church when my project at work ends.”

“I will give my tithe when I have paid all my debts.”

“I will serve in the choir when my baby turns four.”

“I will join a small group when I have figured out what my day off will be.”

Christ was addressing this very issue in observing the widow giving her last mite! It wasn’t convenient to give away the last of what she had to subsist with, but she gave it anyway.

And friends, that’s the real inspiration for how we can properly organize our commitments and priorities. It’s a matter of giving out of our freedom in the light of God’s grace. Of course, no one can tell us exactly how this should play out in our individual lives. On the other hand, we have the testimony of Jesus’ life and teachings that effectively peels away our veneers so that we might be restored, and in turn, become agents of transformation ourselves.

—————–

A vagrant’s breakfast. After my quiet time I had breakfast at a newly opened Spanish restaurant across the street. I was wearing sweat pants, fli flops and a wrinkled Tshirt. I must say, I didn’t look my best. I entered. All eyes were on me. I could feel that because of how I was dressed the servers and the manager himself took me for a penniless vagabond. No one pointed me to a table, and it took a while before a server handed me a menu. I ordered and was served a half a cup of rice, an egg and corned beef hash. I wondered why the people on the next table who ordered the same meal I did had two eggs each, larger servings of corned beef and more rice! They were eating on fine china while mine were some cheap ceramic wear! I ordered another meal because the serving I got was just too little, but this time I wanted it “take out.” They dumped my order in a styrofoam container and put it in a plastic bag. I put my payment in the billfold and stuck P150 ($3) as tip (I figured, even if they did not serve well, I should counter their horrible service with something good).

I took a peek into the bag and noticed a couple of other things missing– butter and marmalade, coffee, juice and preserved fruits just as the menu said the meal should come with. I walked back to the restaurant and asked for the missing stuff. The manager said, “OK.” I was asked to wait outside! I noticed the billfold was still on the table where I ate. A server got it and saw that it was P150 more than my bill. The server came out to meet me just as the manager was about to hand me the bag. The server said, “Sir, you paid more than your bill! Here’s your P150 back.” “No, that’s intended as a tip.” The manager asked, “Do you work around here?” I said, “No, I live in the condo across the street.” Apologetically he said, “Oh sir, we all thought you were a vagrant (tambay)!” I jokingly said, “Well I get that a lot.” The manager was patting my shoulder repeatedly saying “sorry, sir” as I walked away. It’s funny how we all tend to judge others based on appearance!

Any lessons learned? Even when some treat you horribly, treat them nicely– it will totally change their perspective on you, others and things.

 

HOW BEAUTIFUL

Looking around me tonight as we sang “How Beautiful” while the communion elements were being served to the gathered people of God, I couldn’t help but be overcome with a sense of awe. I was thinking, “Here we are, people coming from various background, walks of life, and points in our spiritual journey. A people with what may be obvious dividing lines celebrating what is widely know as Communion- an ordinance followers of Jesus Christ observe where we display our commitment to live by faith, to be known by love, and to be a voice of hope in Jesus Christ. 

I looked and saw a mosaic – a community of people coming from the diversity of our ethnicities. An art piece made of broken and fragmented humanity which has become a work of beauty under the artful hands of God. How beautiful is the Body of Christ formed by His Word, made alive by the Spirit and governed by His love!

Here’s something I believe: authentic love is the defining characteristic of Christian community. But none of us lives this love perfectly, of course. I know I don’t. Often I don’t even know what love looks like in a given circumstance. But still, I claim that this principle is what shapes our ministry and defines the boundaries of our Christian identity

On very many occasions, indeed, on nearly every possible occasion, Jesus opted for inclusion for the purpose of redeeming as much as possible. Key purpose- Redemption. He was not inclusive for the sake of making sure everyone feels “in.” He opted inclusion in order to allow people to experience love and redemption from sinfulness and it’s curse.

But amidst this beautiful picture called the Body of Christ there are still imperfections- numerous divisions, varied preferences, and the sheer lack of love for one another. Christian groups hurling anathemas at another, ethnic exclusivity, are just among many examples of how segmented the Body of Christ still is with each member forgetting that he/she is a part of this great kingdom called the Church.

As I led worship during communion I thought, “The Church may be fragmented, but we will soon see how beautiful a tapestry God has made us to become.”

“How Beautiful” a song by Twila Paris,

sung by GCF’s worship team during a solemn time of Communion 

in a blended service with senior pastor, Dr. Luis Pantoja officiating.

——————————

In the year AD410, soon after the city of Rome was sacked by the Visigoths many Christians saw the devastation of the “City of God” and felt compelled to abandon their faith. Rome during those days symbolized the power of Christ on earth – the Church. And for the city hosting the Church of God being subdued by pagans meant for many that the faith wasn’t real! The bishop of Hippo named Augustine wrote a book titled “De Civitate Dei” (the City of God) set out to provide a consolation of Christianity, writing that, even if the earthly rule of the empire was imperilled, it was the City of God that would ultimately triumph.

——————————

Dolores Street Baptist Church was once a thriving San Francisco, California congregation who in 1980 felt compelled to address the issue of homosexuality when it was discovered that one of the staff was a closeted homosexual. A few church members called for his resignation; but a majority voted to affirm his ministry. Sadly, with that affirmation, the church was led from one decision to another related to that issue embracing the stand of the “City of Man” instead the values and principles upheld by the “City of God.” With no more sound Biblical teaching and preaching that local church eventually ceased to exist after 66 years.

HEARING GOD AT THE SUMMIT

I had just returned from a two-day summit called the Global Leadership Summit sponsored by the Willow Creek Association. Today’s entry are just some of the gleaned and chewed on truths from that summit.

Unsure but Secure. Two nights ago, I was chatting on the internet with a friend who is currently in seminary about “calling.” She shared with me that even as she is sure that God has called her to the vocational-ordained ministry she isn’t sure where and what concentration. She had been my friend for ten long years now (since 1999 back when I was a freshman in Bible college) and although she hadn’t pursued a degree theology just yet then she’d always been sure of having that sense of calling to become minister of some sort. But now that she’s nearing her final semesters in the seminary where I also went she feels she is facing one of the greatest uncertainties of her life.

It was a joy for me to find out that evening we chatted to learn that she was going to Willow Creek’s Global Leadership Summit. It was an opportunity for me to meet up with her in person and talk further about that call.

In the morning of the summit’s first day, I called her on her mobile during the coffee break. Her voice seemed shaky as if she had just finished crying. I learned later that she and girlfriends from seminary were in a vehicular collision on the way to the summit. While none of them were harmed or injured they were all emotionally jittered perhaps at the thought that they could have lost their lives in an instant. While it was a scary ordeal, it was an assurance from the Lord that He still isn’t done with them (her) just yet– thus, an answer to her uncertainty that though she isn’t sure what and where, God has a plan for her life and ministry. Additionally, the talks in that summit supplied the encouragement she needed so much.

In his talk, Bill Hybels mentioned of a time when he was ready to cash it all in– a moment in his life when he was unsure whether he was called to do what he was doing. Discouragements, set backs, frustrations and issues gnawed at his spirit, inch by inch devouring what used to be the passionate Bill who chucked the opportunity of running the businesses his father built in a span of three decades for a calling he felt came from God- to begin a radical Biblical community. He ended up disappointing his dad for choosing to start a church than running his businesses. It was on the second year of Willow Creek’s existence when Bill’s dad died never seeing in person the kind of church his son was instrumental to starting turned out to be.

God spoke to summit attendees facing the same struggle. In what seemed like a whisper or an impression on my spirit, He said, “You may feel unsure but I want you to feel secure- I’m in total control.”

Wayne Cordeiro on Monasticism. Part of my lectures in Church History to my students is on Monasticism. I was never a fan of monasticism for tone major reason:  the church is called to be in the world and permeate it with the kingdom of God and gospel of Christ, and seclusion defeats that calling.

Tonight as I slipped into the quietness of my condo I hope to get some much needed sleep after a whole day of intellectual and spiritual engagement at the summit, in addition to a lengthy music rehearsal for tomorrow’s services. Even as I type this blog, my head races toward stuff I’m assigned to do at next weekend’s discipleship conference our church is hosting.

For almost eleven months, I straggled between serving as our church’s worship pastor (a post I’ve held since 2002, on staff since ‘01) and as adjunct professor in a local Bible college on my days off. I must admit, I have grown tired. Since the beginning of the semestral break, I had been attempting to rest and engage in the discipline of silence.

Given my personality type- being possessed by the energizer bunny spirit that just goes on and on and on, silence just doesn’t seem a discipline for which I am cut out. Besides, with the many demands of ministry, I haven’t had a real break. At the summit I was once again reminded of that.

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro, pastor of New Hope Church Oahu, shared his personal story about reaching a point when he felt like a flickering wick. 

Someone suggested that he spend seven days in a monastery to get his heart set with the Lord outside the hustle and bustle of city and megachurch life. For the first time, I saw the beauty of and a divine design for monasticism- we need to withdraw from the hustle and bustle of life, and quiet our heart before God- shutting out all other voices except God’s. Pastor Cordeiro’s decision was life-changing. Amidst a crowd of 2100 people at the summit, I tried shutting out all other noises and decided to listen to His whisper again–”Come away with me.”

More from the Summit on my next blog entry…

DEFEATED FOES

Each year on October 31, the people of the Philippines become especially superstitious. Ghostly apparitions and blood-curdling experiences dominate conversations. Almost every person seems to have a scary ghost experience to tell and I wonder why I have none. It’s either ghosts are more scared of me or I’m just not a very good prey to evil spirits.

Fallen and unfriendly spirits do exist. These “spirits of demons performing miraculous signs (Rev 16:14).” These spirits trick human beings into believing the dead people may return and roam around the earth. They make people believe in things that try to distort the authority of God’s Word. Distortions such as faith in holy water, uttering Latin prayers, offering prayers for the souls of dead people, appeasing earthbound unfriendly spirits with candles, incense, etc. Ultimately, they desire for the living to put their trust NOT on Christ but on some other thing thereby leading people to confusion and getting lost. There are many ways in which demons can deceive people, but the more common ones are through occult involvement, Ouija boards and seances.

The devil and his demons can quote Scripture! This is a disturbing but important truth to know about our chief, spiritual adversary! To make matters even worse, false teachers can do the same! Therefore, we must make sure Scripture is not used out of context. To do this we must consider the verses before and after the verse in question. Also, when trying to arrive at the proper interpretation of Scripture, we must consider all verses on any given subject. The best way to know know what false is to deeply know the truth.

The Lord Jesus himself in Scriptures encountered such spirits possessing men, “He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him“ (Mark 1:27). Whenever evil spirits come into the presence of Christ, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” (Mark 3:11) And since we have Christ in us, we are in authority to cast them away. 1John 4:4 says, ^“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

“And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.”- EIN FESTE BURG, Mar­tin Lut­her, 1529
//

Incidentally, today, October 31, 2009 is also the 492nd anniversary of Martin Luther’s great act of nailing his  Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences (Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum) which eventually sparked the Protestatnt Reformation.

MY TAKE ON “SUMMER”

Tom: “You don’t want to be named as someone’s girlfriend, and now your someone’s wife?“

Maybe it was the interesting non-linear concept. Perhaps the witty quips and lines that give away the giftedness and brilliance of the writers, Neudstadter and Weber. Probably the players’ amazing and natural acting skills that gave life to the story. Maybe all of the above. The flick 500 Days of Summer has officially entered and taken a prominent spot in my hall of favorite movies. It is not a love story, but it is a story about love.

It’s fresh- a love story from a guy’s perspective. Most romantic movies are written from the other gender’s point of view, so it’s new- to me at least. A movie about boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl.  Girl doesn’t. She breaks the mould of what one would expect of a typical romantic comedy. Tom, the male lead of the movie believes in love while Summer the female lead does not. Sure it was a movie with roles switched- Tom becomes the lovestruck female-esqe type character while Summer portrays the free-loving, no-strings-attached male-esqe type character. But that happens in real life too- boys misled. I once was (Man! That was hardest three-letter sentence to type!).

Sure, it does not fall under the category of movies like Facing the Giant, Fireproof or The Ten Commandments; it does have some crude language; it doesn’t portray the values I embrace, but it does  give a fine exegesis (interpretation/explanation/portrayal) of what romantic everyday life looks like for some unlucky dude somewhere in the world. And oh, I have reason to believe that many post-adolescent men on earth may be able to relate with the story one way or another or at some point in it. After watching the movie, a friend said, “We’ve all had a ’Summer’ season in our lives somehow.” I agreed.

All of us have been hurt. But I also know that forgiveness allows us the opportunity to retell the story in a way that ushers us on to a new and brighter future. We can rewrite the script so that the past no longer has us bound.

Whatever happened has happened. The facts are real. The tangible evidence is there and the scars are proof. Something happened and our reality is our reality. But I think it would be pretty foolish of me to speak as though I were an expert or had some sort of special knowledge. I am not. I do not. Like you, I have my stories. I know both sides.

But there’s another twist. “Some weeks are better than others” so the narrator in the movie states; we are right a whole lot of times but not every time. It allows us to admit that sometimes no matter how hard we struggle, we sometimes fail. Sometimes we are the offender – not always the offended.  And what should I do? Ask to be forgiven.

A final thought- a reflection.

Most movies are exegeses of what may be happening to our culture, or it could be a suggestion about what filmmakers (exegetes) think should be happening. Just like a preacher interprets scripture and relate it to daily life with it, or takes scripture and address issues in people’s lives.

Filmmakers are good exegetes of culture, most ministers aren’t.  But we should be as good. How can we learn issues in culture if we do not exegete it rightly and apply Biblical exegesis to address the issues?  In my last sermon at the Chapel Worship of Faith Bible College, I talked about exegeting the culture so we may make real applications of Biblical truth to it.

There are people we bump into or walk pass by who like Tom are hurting and seeking medication to address their ailment. If we make the wrong prognosis and diagnosis, or worse, if we do not care, we provide no help

THE FOUNT OF WORSHIP

DEUTERONOMY 4: 28 There youwillworship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Tonight’s Yahoo!News featured Iceland and the closing down of the only three McDonald’s in the country due to the weakening of their currency. But this blog isn’t about the world’s economy. I just feel fascinated with Iceland as a country and it’s identification as a Christian state having a national church. In addition to being a worship pastor, I also teach worship studies and Church history adjunctively in a Bible college. Hence, the fascination.As early as the 9th century AD, Christianity is believed to have reached the island. Some of them were monks from the British Isles seeking solitude. But a vast majority of the island’s settlers coming from Norway were pagans and thus within a generation, Christianity had died– blame celibacy (monks do not marry, remember?) and extreme solitude!

 In 999, Thorvald Konradsson came to Iceland accompanied by a German Bishop (German Shepherd) named Fridrek, of whom little is known. Thorvald and Fridrek began the evangelization of Iceland. Their efforts were fruitless and they had become subject of ridicule– what kind of a Norseman would believe a God who died on a cross anyway?

 It was under King Olaf Tryggvason when the Christianization of Iceland became a serious business of the Norwegian crown. Olaf sent an iceland native Stefnir Thorgilsson to begin the work. But Stefnir had a totally different technique. He violently destroyed every altar and idol he found in Iceland. Stefnir was outlawed by the Icelandic people and was exiled back to Norway.

Olaf sent a priest named Thangbrand whose missionary efforts won many to Christianity in the Faeroe Island. He was relatively successful in winning some Icelandic chieftains but he also murdered three in an effort to win everyone. Olaf took weirder measures- he banned Icelandic seafarers from Norway, and taking hostage Icelandics living in Norway, some of whom were relatives of chieftains. Olaf threatened to murder the hostages if Iceland will keep refusing Christianization!

Paganism and Christianity came to a point of rivalry in Iceland and threatened civil war. During an Althing (their primitive version of parliament), Thorgeir Thorkelsson, a pagan priest spoke and convinced the assembly that Iceland embrace Christianity as its official religion. His decision to favor of Christianity was made after a day and a night of silent meditation under a fur blanket. As an agreement, pagans could still practice their religion in private, and be Christians by name in public!

Not long after, Thorgeir took his household gods and threw them into the godafoss (waterfall of the gods). The people followed suit and within the next few weeks, the entire Icelandic population decided to be baptized.

 

A 10th century image of THOR, the thunder god.

Now Iceland has a national Church of the Lutheran branch of Christianity with which 80+% of the population identify and baptized into.

 The Hallmigur Lutherna Church, Reykjavik, Iceland

 But according to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,^[5]

• 38% of Icelandic citizens responded that “they believe there is a God”.
• 48% answered that “they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force”.
• 11% answered that “they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force”.
• 3% responded that they “don’t know”.

The worship of Christ and conversion to Christianity cannot be forced upon someone or a community. It is a personal decision of obedience to the initial call of the Holy Spirit– conviction of sin, realizing the need for a Savior, and being gifted with faith, trusting Christ alone for salvation. That’s when Christianity begins! That’s the genesis of worship.

 

MAKING ROOM

It’s been ten days since my 200-year old laptop decided to retire and die on the same day!

Wednesday night arriving from work, I turned it on and it went on safe mode. I restarted it and it gave my dark apartment a nice blue glow! Another restart, another blue screen! I decided to watch the late night news instead hoping that the inanimate object would somehow decide to function well the next day.

Thursday morning, blue screen! One great fear was losing all the files and the tons of hardwork that went along with those! I had once lost a computer to a thief in a mall and the magnitude of the feeling of loss is the same as when my laptop screen turned blue.

That was more than a week ago. I’m glad the Lord has replaced the laptop that died. It’s smaller but more powerful! It’s amazing how the Lord provided for it! As an added bonus, someone was able to retrieve my very important files– music, sermons, Bible study lessons, papers, lessons on worship and Church History, photos, etc. And oh, the laptop that died resurrected! I decided to give it to another pastor friend who badly needed a laptop of his own.

Someone suggested that I keep both the new computer as well as the old. But I felt that God created a vacant room for a blessing when the old one crashed because He knew I’ve always wanted (and needed) one with more disk space and better memory. When the old laptop was fixed, I knew God wanted to use it to fill a space He has made in the life of another.

A broader life-lesson from the experience is:

Anything that helps make space in our lives- to live in love, to be used for provision, to create peace and to spread justice creates the opportunity to catch a glimpse of God’s realm. When you’re answering God’s call in an authentic and thoughtful way, whether it’s through a commitment of money or time or attention or love or service, it doesn’t have the effect of spreading you too thin. Rather, it draws you back toward your center of gravity, Christ.

NO MORE NIGHT

Another quick note. I feel as busy as an ant!

I had been busy in fact that I realized just this morning that my grandmother’s birthday (mom’s mom) was last Thursday. Does it matter? Well, probably not as much when she was still living. But I want to write something about her.

She was the greatest opponent to my mom’s conversion to the evangelical Christian faith. And although she never disowned my mom she had so much distaste for anything “Protestant.” I remember my mom crying one morning during her devotions. She was praying for my grandma’s salvation. Having felt led to make another attempt to share the Gospel with her, my mom went to visit her only to return disappointed! Another failed attempt. It was when my mom gave up when she received a phone call one afternoon. It was grandma telling my mom that she had just received Christ as Savior and Lord.  My mom went to the nearest Christian bookstore, bought a Bible and gave it to grandma! It was my mom’s happiest day!

My dad used to refer to my grandma as “Hitler” due to her very grumpy attitude! But Christ made a whole lot of difference in her life following her conversion. She became so positive that even in the last days of her life all she wanted was to make sure all her surviving kids know Christ. She died in 1988. My mom died in 1996. Today all her surviving children and many of her relatives are serving Christ!

My mom and grandma are both enjoying their heavenly rewards in a place where there is no more night, no more pain, no more tears, all they do is sing praises to Christ the king.

CONTENT IN GOD ALONE

Just a quick note before another outrageous power outage happens.

Reflecting on what the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, “I have learned to be content with whatever I have.”

To truly, fully enter into relationship with Jesus Christ is to know that nothing matters but the love of God in Christ Jesus. And as we live in the knowledge and reality of that love, we are strengthened to follow Christ, we learn what it means to be free, we learn how to trust and how to give, we learn how to be human, to truly love, to truly live regardless of what life brings. I came across these two very moving photos from a friend’s facebook account.

This glen of soil is where dozens of houses used to stand.

Most of the residents of those homes are now lying inside makeshift caskets

inside the Kibungan Church of the Nazarene.

Hundreds of lives have been taken in the two storms that battered the Philippines. Those who survive have nothing but their faith to rise and recover, albeit having lost so much.

In my talk with my dad about faith amidst the losses, he said “AW Tozer said, ‘The man or woman who is wholly or joyously surrendered to Christ can’t make a wrong choice/any choice will be the right one.’ We choose to be content with what we now have– what we have left, and be grateful for it.” Our faith doesn’t pretend that life is easy or uncomplicated or that vulnerability and suffering aren’t part of the deal. Our faith doesn’t give us an “easy out” from responsibility. We do have to make choices in life- and our choice is to glorify God in every circumstance we find ourselves in.

But in a broader God-view if you will, for people of the Christian faith, true life is found not in our choice, but in God’s choice to love us and all the world so much that God does not abandon the world but rather invites one and all to share in the feast that is life in Christ Jesus. There is a larger vision, a bigger reality, a deeper love, a more profound being that holds us and guides us and strengthens us. And because of that, no matter what decisions we make or what path we take, we know that God will be with us on the journey. That means every journey bears sacred possibility – the possibility to learn and mature such that we begin to have the same mind and heart that was in Christ Jesus. (jlas/sbauman)