God Intended It for Good

“It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you.” Genesis 45:5

The convoluted story of Joseph, who rose from being sold as a slave to the second most powerful man in Egypt, shows how God’s plans can be amazing and wonderful. “You intended to harm me,” Joseph told his guilty brothers, “but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20) 

Many people cannot understand why God who is so powerful and good does not always intervene when there is pain and suffering. Richard Dawkins, the famous atheist, insists in his belief that we live in a universe of blind physical forces, that some people get hurt, others get lucky, and we won’t find any rime or reason, or any justice. He attests that the universe we observe has precisely the properties we expect, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, “nothing but blind pitiless indifference, DNA neither knows nor cares, DNA just is, we all dance to its music.”

On the contrary, as Christians, we believe that God is good and powerful, that we can trust Him. He has not remained distant from human suffering but He became a part of it as He hung on the cross. And just as He used Joseph’s travails to save many lives, He uses the evil in the world, the cancers, the natural disasters, the famines and wars, to bring the maximum number of people freely into His Kingdom to find salvation and eternal life. As William Lane Craig said, “God has morally sufficient reasons for permitting the evil in the world.”

To Deliver Them from Death

Yesterday I was playing around with shrink plastic, drawing designs, then coloring them in on the plastic, before baking them in a toaster oven. I liked watching the plastic curl up and flatten and shrink to about 1/4 its original size. Some of my work got super small! I put them beside the drawing to have a guide just how small! 

These are from my brother’s drawings. 

I will have to make bigger drawings! 

“See, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, To deliver them from death…” Psalm 33:18-19

I was listening to Heidi Baker preach, she always has such fantastic stories. Heidi has been a missionary in Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world, since 1995. At first they worked with orphans and abandoned street kids and eventually moved on to found Bible schools, medical clinics, primary schools, well drilling, evangelistic and healing outreaches in many remote villages of Mozambique. 

She told this story in the Prayer and Presence Conference 2022. She shared that she was one of the translators in a prayer meeting in Africa. The small, old lady testifying was speaking in Makonde, a language spoken by an ethnic group in southeast Tanzania and Northern Mozambique. Someone else would translate to Portuguese and Heidi would translate to English. 

The old lady started out by saying, “My husband died and I was super happy about that. I’m rejoicing!” So Heidi as the third translator verified if that was what the old lady was really saying and it was! She thought why was this testimony not screened? She was cringing inside. Meanwhile the old lady went on, “I hated him! I hated him! He beat me! But I came in here last week, someone hugged me so I thought I should pray for my dead husband, so he got up and here he is. Lead him to Jesus now!” Pandemonium. The old lady was a brand new believer, and did not know anything, did not even know that this was a big miracle. They all prayed for the husband who said in a loud voice, “I will never beat her again!” 

God met the old lady’s simple faith and answered her prayer. She wasn’t this awesome anointed lover of God, just someone who believed in the power of Jesus, that He can deliver from the power of death. God did it and it’s a testimony for people around the world that God can do anything for anyone. Jesus, help me to grow my faith! 

The Harvest is Abundant

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Matthew 9:38

We used to sell a figurine in our shops with the words, “Work for the Lord— the pay isn't much but the retirement plan is out of this world." My sister overheard a lady tell her child, “I gave this to your dad and it changed his life." Apparently the father had been a workaholic and the family hardly saw him. After he received the figurine, he devoted more time to his family and to God. My sister thought that it was amazing that one figurine with a truthful message could change somebody’s life. After all, we have SO MANY inspirational figurines, posters, and assorted merchandise! Isn’t it  awesome to think of how many people we’ve encouraged in the 57 years we’ve been in business?

Yes the harvest is abundant, and many more "laborers" are needed. God uses many ways to bring in the harvest. We may say we don't have the gifts necessary, but Jesus' apostles were the most unlikely bunch. He chose them not for what they were but for what He could make of them! At the start, they usually wanted to send the crowds away. They thought children were a nuisance. Jesus had to teach them for 3 years, and even that was not enough. He had to die so He could send a helper, the Holy Spirit, so they could become brave, wise and willing to give up their lives to be “laborers in the vineyard", and “fishers of men".

There is a book written in 1773 by a then 22 year old Tom Boston with a funny name, “The Art of Man Fishing". He wrote that the net of the gospel is woven from the PROMISES of the gospel. I think if we want to be effective fishers of men, we need to know the promises of the God, we need to believe and claim the promises, so that we can tell others with conviction that all Jesus said is true!

Courage, Daughter

"If only I can touch His cloak." Matthew 9:21

Jesus was always walking and I have no doubt that there were many more occasions that people tried to touch the tassels on His cloak. In the 9th chapter of Matthew, a woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years came up behind him. Although she was trying to be inconspicuous, Jesus turned around, saw her, and said, "Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you." And she was healed.

Love heals. Love combined with faith always heals. One thing I like about Facebook is we are given many opportunities to pray for each other. We may live in different continents, but we can reach out to each other in prayer. When someone asks for prayer, I try to pray right then and there. And the wonderful thing is, I have seen answers to prayer proclaimed on Facebook as well. Jesus' cloak covers both the one who prays and the one who receives prayer. We are One in His healing Spirit. 

Let us not be afraid to reach out across the miles to pray for one another. I know it takes courage to pray. We are always hesitant because of our uncertainty if God is listening to us or not. We do not want to go out on a limb. We are so careful with our words. Sometimes our minds cannot wrap around the enormity of what we are asking that we ask for so little from a big God. But everyday, miracles happen. I’ve received two miracle healings from God and I am not afraid to ask for another. I don’t think God has a quota for each person. And He certainly won’t say, “That’s enough. You’ve said 5 prayers today. I’m not going to listen to any more pleadings!” We can just go about our day, the whole day, just talking to our Father, and asking Him for small and big things. 

When we do that, I know we are able to touch His cloak in love and healing. 

Thank You Father for Your amazing grace and mercy! Thank You for wrapping us in Your love and healing! 

Rejoice

“Rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:20

We have a tendency to be proud when we do a good job, or do something for the Lord. The disciples of Jesus were the same. After they were successful in the task Jesus gave them, they came back rejoicing and boasted, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” Jesus cautioned them, “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” 

Once I gave a sharing about our business and how God is the One responsible for our success. The listeners were women who were involved in sexual trafficking and I emphasized that we are all unique with God given talents and gifts. I gave the example of my mom who started our business 57 years ago with no capital, but well equipped with common sense, the willingness to work hard, and prayers. The organizers were very grateful and I would have been quite “puffed up with pride”, if I did not receive a reminder from the Lord many many years ago. 

That time, I had just given a talk to students about our business, and I was just like the disciples boasting to God about my good works. Suddenly, He showed me the Bible verse in Luke 17:9, “And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not.”

Help us, Father, to see the opportunities You give us to do what You want us to do and to be grateful to do what we should to build Your Kingdom! 

How to Grow in the Spirit

“No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:16-17

My mom liked the challenge of recycling old clothes. She used to buy from the ukay ukay. Then she would take the used dress apart and make a dress in a new design, but like the verse says, she did not mix old cloth with new. 

Same with putting new wine into old wineskins. In Jesus’ time, wine was put into goat, or ox leather skins. They still use this in Spain and in the East. New wine had to be put into new wine skins, as it would swell with fermentation and burst the wine skins if it was old and stretched already. Like all Jesus' teachings, He meant many things. How about the new wine being the gift of the Holy Spirit to us? If our hearts are like the old wine skins, hard, inflexible, judgmental, the Holy Spirit can't live in us! 

I believe God's Word is always new, ever fresh, eternally alive and exciting. However it does not always appear that way, does it? That is because it is put into OLD WINESKINS! We can't do the same old, same old. I believe that we all need to find fresh new ways of understanding, listening, obeying, teaching, loving. That is the only way we will grow in His Spirit. 

Follow Me

“Follow me.” Matthew 9:9

Some days I think oh, I’m doing well, I’m not such a big sinner. Other days, I see my heart and mind the way God sees it, and I know He is disappointed in the filth and selfishness. The last time I got my x-ray results, it showed that my aorta is tortuous and calcified. I have a concrete picture of what the prophet Jeremiah said in chapter 17, verse 9: “More tortuous than anything is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it?” 

When Jesus saw Matthew, the tax collector, he saw a sinner as well. Matthew’s heart was tortuous with greed, and who knows what else. Other Jews saw him as a traitor who collaborated with a foreign power the same way some of our leaders are giving away our seas, our lands, the livelihood of our people and the future of our children. It seemed to the Jews there was no hope for this tax collector. But Jesus saw him differently. He said, “Follow me,” and Matthew followed and the rest is history. 

Even if my heart is tortuous, Jesus knows there is hope. He sees my future and says, “Follow me anyway.”

Believe!

“Do not be unbelieving but believe.” John 20:27

I like to say I am on a faith journey, a pilgrim journey. I may not be walking far with a staff and meager rations like the pilgrims who trudged the Camino de Santiago for weeks and occasionally months, to reach the magnificent Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. Nonetheless, I see myself as a pilgrim and stranger on the earth (Hebrews 11:13), on my way to the Kingdom that will never be destroyed. 

All of us are pilgrims, whether we acknowledge it or not. Like St. Thomas, whose Feast Day we celebrate today, we go through many stages in our pilgrimage. At times, St. Thomas was bold like when he declared, “Let us also go to die with Him!” (John 11:16) bravely wanting to follow Jesus even when Jesus’ life was being threatened. That is not usually what we remember when we think of St. Thomas. He is usually known as doubting Thomas because he declared adamantly after Jesus died, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into His side, I will not believe!” 

When I have to deal with my lack of faith at times, I resort to the father’s prayer in Mark 9:24, “I believe, help my unbelief!” And Jesus will help us because, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

Do Not Be Afraid

"What's the matter, Hagar? Don't be afraid..." Genesis 21:17

Hagar was the servant of Abraham's wife, Sarah. Sarah had no children, and was impatient even if God repeatedly told Abraham that he would have a son. She took matters into her own hands and offered Hagar to Abraham. "Take Hagar my maid and sleep with her that I can have children through her." We can see how weak Abraham is here, much like Adam. Instead of standing on God's promise and obeying Him, he followed Sarah. That certainly made a mess of things, which continues up to this day, what with Christians and Muslims always at odds! 

Hagar treated Sarah with contempt when she became pregnant, and she ran away when Sarah punished her. In Genesis 16, God assured Hagar, "I will greatly multiply your descendants, so that they will be too many to count. Name your son Ishmael... he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him." In Genesis 21, when both Ishmael and Isaac were a little older, Sarah noticed that Ishmael was mocking Isaac. Hagar and Ishmael were sent away with just a little food and water. Naturally Hagar got very depressed as she wandered in the wilderness and became anxious that her son Ishmael might die of hunger and thirst. Again God spoke words of reassurance. 

Even if we can say that Ishmael was not in God's plan for Abraham, and was actually the fruit of Sarah's ill- conceived schemes, God took care of him as he grew up (Genesis 21:20). Sometimes we take a wrong turn, make mistakes, or wrong decisions. We can be assured that God will continue to take care of us. "What's the matter?" He asks us, "Do not be afraid, I see and hear you." 

Lord, during the times I make my own plans, and fail to listen and obey, thank You for not giving up on me. Guide me back to the right path, help me to reconnect with You and obey,  so You can bless me with Your goodness. 

With God at the Helm

“Lord, save us!  We are perishing!” Matthew 8:25

My father loved to sail, even when he was 90 years old. He taught my husband Luigi to sail and they went off on many adventures together. Once they went off on a trip to Taal because there was a regatta. The wind was very rough, and as my daddy was getting on in age, Luigi went off by himself first. On his return he found my father waiting for him, all kitted out in his life vest. Obviously he wanted to go out even if the weather was so bad. Picture a small sailboat being swamped by the waves. The wind was terrifyingly strong. Luigi was  anxious because he knew he would have to take care of my dad if they capsized. But my dad? He was exhilarated. He was in his element. The strong winds and mighty waves excited him. Little did they know the experienced fishermen on the shore were looking out for them, knowing the wind was so strong. They got back safely to the relief of Luigi, the fishermen and onlookers.

Life can be like a ride on a boat. Sometimes it’s an easy, relaxing ride. Sometimes it is fraught with peril. Like during the pandemic. We didn’t really know how to navigate, because we had never passed that way before. Who would have imagined it would last so long? Too many people got sick, lost loved ones, closed their business or became depressed. 

When my father knew he was nearing the end of his life, he talked to his grandchildren. He had built a boat in his backyard, and he had planned to go fishing in Simo Banks off the coast of Batangas. He showed them the map where Simo Banks is (so far!), and gave them instructions. Isabe, my niece, was very receptive and daddy was so happy she said she would go. Even with a map, and navigational tools, it was not easy to get there, and there was no guarantee they’ll catch any fish even with a fish finder! The thing is, with or without a map, this journey called life is uncertain. But we can also be like my dad, excited about the twists and turns that God allows to happen. Challenged by new adventures, looking forward to what the future brings, and certain that with God at the helm, everything will be all right. 

For the Sake of the Ten

“For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.” Genesis 18:32

The story of Abraham bargaining with God about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is curiously revealing. God is about to destroy these cities filled with people doing wicked things. The Lord said, “The outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah has been multiplied, and their sin has become exceedingly grievous.” (Gen.18:20) Abraham asked, “Will You destroy the just with the impious? (Gen. 18:23)

There is so much evil in the world. Sex trafficking here in the Philippines is so unimaginable. My sister is a director in World Vision and after one of her meetings when they were given the big picture about this and many other problems the organization has to deal with, she got a headache. Pornography is rampant. Murder. Drug and alcohol addictions. Corruption. 

Are we like Abraham, that we continue to plead for our country? Are we like Abraham, that we try to live in righteousness, in God’s favor, so that God will save our country from destruction? Let us be the people who are called by His name, Christians. Let us be humble, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, so that God will hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Who Do You Say That I Am?

“But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16

“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked Peter and Peter replied that He was the Christ, the Messiah. Would we be able to answer the same? And if Jesus asked, “And who are you?”, what would our answer be? 

If we have a personal, growing relationship with Jesus, we would be able to say, “You chose me among all to be Your beloved! To be the apple of Your eye!

Thank you for answering my prayers and for keeping Your promises to me!!!"

If we know who Jesus is, we should also know who we are in God’s world. Everything God did, from the beginning of creation, was so that He could have a close relationship with us. I marvel at His patience with man! What a mess we’ve made with our world, and yet He has not given up on us! 

“Who do you say that I am?” You are my redeemer, my friend, hope-giver, promise-keeper, enemy-slayer, healer, protector, fountain of truth, teacher, and Lord. Help me to  obey Your teachings always! 

Solid Ground

I decided to try drawing on shrink plastic and came up with this. 

Then my nieces and grandson wanted to play as well and came up with these-

So cute!

“Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” Luke 2:48

I usually had no problem being obedient even if people would say my parents had some absurd rules. Like we always needed a chaperone when we went out with a guy.  Even when Peggy was a widow already, had a daughter and was back living with my parents, she needed a chaperone to go out with Charlie, who eventually became her husband. One time, my sisters did not want to go out with me, so I asked my dad to accompany me. I was invited by a neighbor to a rally of the preacher Greg Laurie, and I knew my dad listened to him. I didn’t really consider it a date, but my friend did not appreciate my chaperone. He asked when we went off to get some drinks, and left my dad guarding our seats, “Patsy, why did you do this to me?” I suppose I was quite heartless for I laughed in amusement. I got reminded of this when I read the gospel reading for today. 

What was in Jesus’ mind when He did not tell His parents where He was off to? Didn’t he know they would worry? Wouldn’t it have been a simple thing to just tell them he didn’t want to go home yet? I suppose He was just so focused on getting the truth out, so more and more people would have solid ground to stand on in terms of faith. We can surmise all we want, but we will never really know until we get to heaven and ask Jesus Himself. There are many questions we have about the Bible, and that is perfectly all right. We should not be afraid to ask questions about our faith, about Jesus and about the Bible. 

What is important is we get the fundamental basics right. For instance, some people refuse to believe that Jesus was a real person, even with all the proof, even when historians, Christian and non-Christian alike, agree that Jesus was a real person, He existed and He died on the cross.  There is more testimony for Jesus’ existence than Alexander the Great’s! A majority of scholars even agree that Jesus rose from the dead! Without the resurrection, there would be NO Christianity, it would fall like the Tower of Babel. So I listen to a lot of apologetics, the religious discipline of defending the the truth of the Christian faith through systematic argumentation and discourse. 

The talk of American historian and New Testament research scholar, Gary Habermas, entitled 'The Resurrection Evidence that Changed a Generation of Scholars', shows us the developments in historical scholarship which allow even a sceptic to conclude that Jesus rose from the dead.  I may not understand half of what he says, BUT I know that the resurrection of Jesus can bear scrutiny. My faith rests on solid ground. 

Lost Sheep

“Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep." Luke 15:6

In the 15th chapter of Luke, we have parables of the lost sheep, lost coin and a lost son. The sheep is wandering in the wilderness, in danger. The coin was misplaced, it's just in the home of a woman who searches high and low for it. The prodigal son actually chooses to be lost.

Whatever way we or someone we love is lost, Jesus shows us through these stories,  that even if we are lost in the wilderness, out of the church, or lost within the church, and even if we choose to rebel against God, He will turn on the lamp and search high and low for us. 

And like the father in the story of the prodigal son, He will wait for us longingly, eagerly. It's a crazy love God has for us. Even if others give up on us, God will not.  Even if we are filthy and heavy (with sin) like the sheep in the wilderness, Jesus will carry us. And every time, God celebrates when we come back to Himself!

Joy comes when we repent and turn back to God, our loving Father. “Every saint in Heaven knows that he or she was a lost sheep who has been found and brought home by Jesus the Good Shepherd. The joy in Heaven multiplies with the arrival of every new saint.” (The Anawim Way) 

Solid Rock

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” Matthew 7: 24

I remember when we were building our house, my dad who is a civil engineer inspected the preliminary digging and pouring of the foundation. He said the foundation of our house was deep and he approved of it. My dad is very interested in how things are made. One time we were oohing and aaahing over the beauty of a merry go round, and he was looking at the screws and connections instead. 

In Japan, where my youngest sister lives, the contractors have to make sure all structures are as earthquake resistant as possible. Compared to other countries, the collapse ratio of buildings due to powerful earthquakes is rather low there. That is amazing considering Japan sustains over 2,000 earthquakes yearly. They have learned through the years and have made their Earthquake Resistance Standards even more stringent. 

How about us, have we learned that listening and reading God’s Word is so important? After all, He is the eternal rock we can and should build our life upon. I like this Christian hymn written by Pastor Edward Mote in 1834:

“My hope is built on nothing less 

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand,

all other ground is sinking sand.”

https://youtu.be/KK5T8BbdKvA?si=Nrae5jH5sirnLSg3