Paint Party Friday: Of Manny Paquiao and Brother Lawrence

 "My purpose here is the fulfillment of Scripture..." John 13:18

After supper, Jesus got up and took a towel and fastened it on His waist. Then he poured water into a basin and washed each of the disciples' feet. After washing, he also wiped their feet with the towel girded upon his waist. It seemed as if Peter was the only one who asked the question in every one's mind: "Why are You doing this? Why are You washing my feet?" Jesus then answers Peter, "Unless I wash you, you will have no part with Me, no share in companionship with Me." Then He goes on to say that He has given them an example, that they should do as He did. It is Your duty, it is Your obligation "to wash one another's feet." (Jn. 13:1-15)

"If you know these things I am telling you, if you practice them, You will be blessed and happy." (Jn 13:17) Then Jesus gives proof that He is who He says He is, the Messiah. Jesus did many things that were in fulfillment of Scripture. It is very important to search for those prophecies in the Old Testament and to see its fulfillment in the New, because that would be the reason why we would want to follow Him. Because if He is who He says He is, the "I AM", the "Alpha and the Omega", we would want to "wash other peoples' feet", to serve one another, so we would be blessed and happy. We would want to know and obey what He said. Otherwise, what would be the use of obeying?

 There are so many prophecies in the Old Testament. Some say 44 messianic prophecies clearly fulfilled in Jesus. Some say more than 300. Whatever! Mathematically speaking the chance of one person fulfilling only 8 of those prophecies, is 1 with 17 zeros! 44 prophecies: 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power!!! How much more 300 prophecies!!!!

Jesus said in John 5:39,46: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me...If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me."

 “Whatever you do, whether in speech or in action, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus.” 

Col. 3:17

I don’t much like boxing, but when Manny Paquiao fights, I watch him and his opponent, mostly with my eyes closed. Both because I don’t want to look, and because I am praying! I can’t imagine boxing as a profession that glorifies God, but Manny wears his Christian faith on his sleeve. He says that being a Christian means I Am Nothing if you remove CHRIST. He says he boxes hisheart out because he wants to show that “God can make you from nothing into something. That’s me.”

"I think every Christian athlete should be open about their relationship with the Lord, as well as every believer. That is what the Bible commands," Pacquiao told the ChristianPost.com. "When I am vocal to others about my faith and my hope of eternal life, it helps those fans of mine and those who watch me to know they can also have a hope."

Manny has been fighting professionally since he was 16 years old. It helped put food on the table. There was a time in his life that he was into gambling, drinking and womanizing, 

but he and his wife Jinky turned to the Lord, and now read the Bible, 

and try to follow God’s ways.

"I love my boxing, but I realize now that is not what my life is all about. I just want to encourage all those who are a Christian, to share their salvation experience to others," Pacquiao said in the same interview. "I think that we could make an impact in this world. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to retire in 2016, but the legacy that I want to leave is to be a role model and an inspiration, not only the boxing fans, but to everyone around the world."

I never thought I would make an example of Manny Paquiao. He is such a contrast to one of my heroes, a simple man named Brother Lawrence who was a lay brother in a Carmelite Monastery. He wrote: "Nor is it needful that we should have great things to do. . . We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God."

Yes whatever we do, whether it is cleaning the toilet, writing, making laws, baking, cleaning, we should do it all in God’s name. We should live our life in a way that demonstrates that we know Jesus, and we love Him.

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