A Clean Heart

 “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.” Psalm 51:12

In Jeremiah 17:9, the Lord despairs of His people, if that can be said of God. He says the human heart is more tortuous than all else, deceitful and desperately wicked. I can indeed see evidence of this in what is happening around me, in my country, in the world. In Jeremiah 17:4, the Lord says, “The wonderful inheritance I have reserved for you will slip out of your hands, and I will send you away as captives to a foreign land. For you have kindled my anger into a roaring fire that will burn forever.” 

I was watching a Youtube video of one of Mother Teresa’s interviews. What I read in the comment section totally shocked me. People were saying she was a monster, she was no saint, she had millions hidden in bank accounts, she wanted the sick to suffer, etc. etc! In the political arena, it is no different. The comments on Facebook posts seem to come from sick, deranged minds. I learned yesterday that a fake news post on a fake news site was shared 10,000 times and the real news post on the real news site was shared 50 times! Why do we prefer to share sensational stories that are untrue? 

So much deception in the world! May we not be the ones who lead people away from You, Lord, but may we always bring people to know of Your saving love, graciousness, faithfulness, and goodness by our words and actions. A Christian’s life is the world’s Bible. 

Be gracious to us, O God, according to Your lovingkindness. According to the greatness of Your compassion, blot out the stain of our sin. Purify us from our transgressions. Create in us clean hearts, O God. 

Turn Away!

 “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32

Most of our ideas begin from something small. Most projects, plans, businesses, organizations, heroes, etc. start out like Jesus’ mustard seed. In the first reading about King David and Bathsheba from 2 Samuel 11:1-17, we see that David’s terrible sin against God started when he remained in his palace instead of going with his army out on campaign. After his siesta, he strolled about lazily on the roof and saw a beautiful woman bathing. Instead of looking away, he asked about her and invited her into his room. She became pregnant and he devised all sorts of plans for her husband, a faithful soldier, to lie with Bathsheba. When Uriah did not do so, David took the irrevocable step of having him murdered. David was a man “after God’s own heart”. How could he conceive of such a dastardly deed? 

“True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me,” King David acknowledges in Psalm 51:5. I listened to Dr. Clay Jones on YouTube speaking about the depths of human depravity. He is with the Christian Apologetics program at Talbots Seminary, and the author of “Why Does God Allow Evil?” Dr. Jones studied genocide, the Japanese atrocities in Nanking China in 1937 where sons were forced to rape their mothers, the Holocaust where millions of Jews, dissidents and homosexuals were systematically murdered by the German Nazi regime between 1933 to 1945, and other evils. He concluded that those who commit genocide are not inhuman monsters but it is the average members of the population who commit the horrendous evil. Just as those who approve of the abortion of 60 million babies, pulling babies’ legs or suctioning them or scraping them out while still alive are ordinary people like you and me. How is that possible? 

Goodness or evil starts small, starts from a seed. We have to be very careful what we allow to grow in the fertile soil of our heart and our mind. What kind of ideas do we entertain? We need to be vigilant against temptations that are offered to us from the books we read, the shows we watch, the sites we visit on the internet. We may think, “Oh I’m just going to take a peep! No harm can come out of it.” Unfortunately many people have gotten into serious trouble from just that attitude. With the grace of God, we should snip the pesky seductions in the bud and turn away. 

The Light is a Person

 

“A lamp is not brought to be put under a peck-measure, is it, or under a bed?" Mark 4:21

In the original Greek, Mark wrote this passage as, “Is a lamp come into the house to be put under a bushel or under a bed?" Obviously a lamp does not come into a house by itself, but perhaps Mark meant something else altogether. 

In John 3:19, we read, "the light is come into the world..." In John 8:12, Jesus tells us, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." 

The lamp, the light is a person, and that person is Jesus, who came into the world, not to be hidden, but to be exposed. Sometimes, we like to keep our faith secret. We believe in God, His promises, and try to obey Him. But we do not like to tell others, preferring to be an undercover Christian, especially in this age of political correctness!

When Jesus instructed the disciples in the 10th chapter of Matthew, He told them, "What I tell you in darkness, speak in the light." The precious mysteries of God, our faith, should not be kept to ourselves. 

Lord, help me to share the treasure I have found in you, the light of the world!

The Seed is the Word

 "A farmer went out to plant some seed...Other seed fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was 30, 60 and even a hundred times as much as was planted." Mark 4: 3-8

The seed here is the Word of God, and the soil is our hearts. There are different kinds of hearts. In 2006, I was very frustrated that even if I prayed early in the morning, and thought about what I read in the Bible, by 10 in the morning, I could not remember even the verse I read! My heart was like the footpath, where the birds just picked up the seeds and ate it!

Although the Word is spread far and wide- we can read our Bibles, online, on billboards, we can listen to it on TV, on Youtube, in prayer meetings, there is much more seed the enemy is planting! I think we have to think of more "creative" ways to plant the seed in our heart, to help it germinate and grow. We cannot allow the enemy to stifle it with all the work we need to do, to choke it with the lures of materialism, with anxiety, to drown it with the so many forms of entertainment, and our desire for a life of ease and comfort.

That is why in 2006, I decided to illustrate the Bible verse I read in the morning. I started with cutting up pictures in magazines and glueing it on to my prayer journal. Then I graduated to drawing and painting. It helped immensely to embed God's Word in my heart. I can say it's not only helped me grow spiritually, and given me joy, but I also discovered God’s gifts to me! Truly, what God has planted in my heart produced so much more than I could ever had imagined! I also started my blog in 2006! 

Then I discovered groups of women painting on their Bibles. Some of you may disagree with doing that, but I try hard not to get too much paint so I can still read the Word. Also, I have so many Bibles and I do not paint on my main Bible. My main Bible is soooo full of notations from past studies - another way I try to place the Word in my heart, and help it permeate my life! Just as we find all sorts of ways to improve the way we do our work, or raise children, or style our hair or make up, the way we dress, we should also be creative in our journey with the Lord.

With Abandon

 “Then David...came dancing before the Lord with abandon...”  2 Samuel 6:14

I’ve never danced before the Lord with abandon, with all my might, and soul and breath. But the times I’ve given myself fully to worship Him have been exhilarating and freeing. When we worship, we unite ourselves with God, with the Maker of heaven and earth. We unite ourselves with beauty, with truth, with all that is and ever will be. We are one with all the angels singing praise to the One they know without any doubt as the One True King. We are in harmony with all the saints, the martyrs who gave their blood, sweat and tears because as Jim Elliot wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Although I cannot imagine myself dancing with King David, I can imagine myself jumping, shouting, singing out loud in jubilation. I cannot wait for the day we leave behind all the ambiguity of this world, the penchant of people nowadays to make their own reality and believe it to be true. Where is honor? Where is righteousness? One cannot worship where there is no truth! Jesus said in Matthew 15:8-9: “This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me. Their worship is a farce...”

Lord, forgive us for our many sins. Forgive me, Lord. I do not want to be a hypocrite. I want to worship You in spirit and truth. May I treasure You above all things.

Gifts from God

“Stir into flame the gift of God that you have...” 2 Timothy 1:6

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of Saints Titus and Timothy. Saint Paul wrote letters to both of them as they were his companions on his missionary journeys. The second epistle to Timothy was written with great affection sometime in 67 C.E. while Paul was imprisoned in Rome, towards the end of his life. 

He writes, “I am grateful to God...as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day. I yearn to see you again...as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also in you.”

“For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice

but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.”

It is good to read this as a letter to ourselves as well. Indeed we all have received gifts from God, and if we do not find out what gifts these are and use them, we will be like birds in a forest, silent, with songs inside us that no one can hear. 

Just the Holy Spirit

 

“He appointed the Twelve...” Mark 3:14

Jesus chose 12 men, Simon, whom he named Peter, James and John, two brothers known for their aggression and impetuousness. Jesus called them “Boanerges” sons of thunder because they were hot tempered. Then there was Matthew, a tax collector, and Simon, a zealot, which meant he was a revolutionary. Most of the twelve were fishermen. 

I think it is amazing that Jesus chose these men. He knew that the Good News should be spread to all nations. Here is the Great Commission He entrusted them to do before He left the earth, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Should he not have chosen great teachers, orators, speakers, men of religion, instead of rough hewn men who had no experience whatsoever in preaching? But we can see these men were able to do the job Jesus entrusted to them, without television, without radio, without the internet. Just the Holy Spirit! 

Jesus chose us too, to be His mouth and hands and feet on earth. We are imperfect, flawed, just as the disciples were. That is exactly how Jesus likes it! 

Tears in Your Vial

 "My wanderings you have counted. You keep track of all my sorrows. Are not my tears stored in your vial, recorded in Your book?” Psalm 56:8

Many Jewish customs are fascinating. I do not know if it is still done today, but before, each Jewish child was given a small bottle which they are supposed to keep until death. They were supposed to collect one tear from every time they experience a sadness or tragedy in their life. They were also to collect tears from everyone who experienced this sadness with them. At the time of their death, the tear jar would be buried with them, and they would give the bottle to God to show how much hardship they had undergone. 

There is no doubt that the Jews have gone through more than their fair share of suffering. The death camp in Auschwitz is evidence enough. People have visited there and it changed their life completely. Some could not go through all the rooms where human hair was stocked, where there were pictures of the people experimented on by Josef Mengele. This man who should not be called a doctor, conducted research on twins, babies, dwarves, etc. and performed forced sterilization and castrations on  men and women. 

Of the estimated 1.3 million people deported by the SS and police in 1940-45, 1.1 million of them were murdered in gas chambers and so-called science experiments. Tears? I should think Jews are very familiar with tears. But how did their “extermination” start and why did Germany, this brilliant country, go along with it? 

I am sure the answer is complicated, but we can see stirrings here in the Philippines. There are people with obnoxious ideas who want to cling to power, and lots of sycophants with no spine to speak out against evil and wrong doing. We have to continue to pray, do what we can where we are with what we have. There is a God who hears our prayers and sees our tears. We have to remember the battle is against spiritual forces of evil, and pray hard. But let us not be afraid or discouraged for the battle is not ours but the Lord’s. 

The Battle is the Lord’s

 “The battle is the Lord’s...” 1 Samuel 17:47

What would have happened if David did not know the Lord? There would be no story of him slaying Goliath. He would not have been king. David was a confident boy, but his confidence was clearly from His relationship with God. Even if his oldest brother Eliab put him down and angrily asked, “What are you doing here at the battlefield? You’re supposed to be taking care of your pitiful sheep!” 

But this did not deter David. He declared for all to hear, “Who is this Goliath, this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” 

What we can accomplish has a lot to do with our image of God, what we believe of Him, what we know of Him, what we have experienced with Him.  David shouted, “The Lord who saved me from the claws of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!” They had a lot of history together, David and the Lord. They had a relationship. He was not afraid of the giant Goliath that made the battle weary Israelite army quiver and run away in fright. 

“You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied...All this multitude shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves. For the battle is the Lord’s and He shall deliver you into our hands,” David proclaimed.

Whatever battle we face, we have God at our side. But it will not matter one iota if we don’t know it, or we don’t know Him. We need to have a relationship with Him, we need a history with Him, so we can be confident of His help, wisdom, and His winning the battle for us.

God’s Creation

 “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

When God sees Nick Vujicic, what does He see? God sees his heart. When we look at Nick, what do we see? A man with no legs and arms! That is the first thing that strikes us. Nick was born with the tetra-amelia syndrome but even if he does not have arms and legs, he goes around the world preaching to millions of people. 

In his autobiography, he writes that his mother rejected him when the nurse brought him for her to hold. “Take him away! I don’t want to touch or see him!” she cried out and his father vomited. His mom and dad were probably so distraught, they left him in the hospital at first. His mom managed to hold him when he was already four months old. But that did not define Nick. Of course, Nick questioned God. Why was I born this way, he asked. He felt hopeless and depressed and wondered if suicide would solve his problems. He felt this way for seven or eight long years and asked God many questions. 

It was only when Nick took God seriously, and began to read the Bible, that he was healed emotionally and spiritually. The verses from John 9:1-3 resonated with him as He realized that God had a plan and a purpose for him. “…this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” From age 19, Nick had been able to give inspiration and encouragement to others by sharing his testimony. “You have a choice. We can choose to dwell on disappointments and shortcomings. We can choose to be bitter, angry, or sad. Or when faced with hard times and hurtful people…we can choose to learn from the experience and move forward, taking responsibility for our own happiness.”

Nick’s special condition has enabled him to reach hurting people that no one could reach. He has had opportunities to serve God in a special way. One time, he had a short meeting with the President of Ecuador. A few days after that, the President had to consider a law that would allow abortion of disabled fetuses. He vetoed it because he said Ecuador needed more Nick Vujicics! We may not have as big a challenge as Nick, but certainly we have as special a role to play in God's scheme of things! As Nick always says, “I am God’s creation, designed according to His plan for me!” 

Obedience is Better than Sacrifice

 

“Obedience is better than sacrifice." 1 Samuel 15:22 

Saul was tall, handsome, charismatic and anointed by God to lead his chosen people. He began well but ended by committing suicide. Obviously it is not enough to be chosen by God, to be given His Spirit, His seal of approval. What went wrong?

First Saul was impatient, he did not wait for God to tell him what to do through His prophet Samuel. Then he blamed others for his mistakes, not learning from them. Then he became arrogant, acting as if he did not need God. Finally he blatantly disobeyed God's commands. So I have to watch out for my impatience, even the little ones, like when I am unkind to people who make cold calls, who bother me when I am busy, or to sales people who take too long doing their job, or with people who do not understand my instructions. 

Unkindness, impatience are little things but lead to bigger things like arrogance, rebellion and disobedience. These bring us farther and farther away from God! That's what I've learned from poor Saul who was so blessed when he was young! 

Samuel the prophet told Saul that obedience was better than sacrifice after Saul blatantly disobeyed God's order to destroy ALL of the Amalekites. But Saul kept the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to God.

Sometimes we may have good intentions, but if we do not take the time to  read God's letter to us, the Bible, if we don't take time to pray and to listen to Him, how can we obey?

Doubts

 “And I myself did not know him.” John 1:31

This is a surprising statement from John the Baptist. Wasn’t John a relative of Jesus? Mary was so close to Elizabeth as to rush to her and be with her at the time of their pregnancies. Even so it says in the 1st chapter of John, that John the Baptist did not recognize Jesus for some time. 

When John the Baptist was in Herod Antipas’ filthy prison awaiting execution, he was afflicted with doubt and questioned who Jesus, his “cousin”, was. His pain may be heard in the question he sent his followers to ask of Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

Doubt is an insidious thing. It is one of the powerful tools of the invisible enemy which he uses craftily to great effect. Many of us grew up with stories about Jesus, the babe in the manger, who was revealed to be Savior, deliverer, the Immanuel, “God with us”. Although we celebrate Christmas with much heart, attend the dawn masses, put our family pictures in Facebook with our greetings, we may also, like John the Baptist, entertain doubts about who Jesus is. 

Did Jesus get mad that John doubted Him? Did He renounce John? No, he invited John’s faithful friends to observe Him as he healed the sick and delivered some from demons. “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” (Luke 7:22)

John’s painful questions would have been put to rest because he would have recognized the prophecy of Isaiah about the coming Messiah in those words. If we have any doubts about who Jesus is, we need only to talk to Him and tell Him. He may send someone to testify about Him, or He may give us the desire to read the Bible, how the Old Testament and the New is filled with God’s intervention in history from the time of the Patriarchs. Christ fills and illumines its pages. 

Let Christ fill our hearts to overflowing these first days of the new year. He awaits with open and gracious arms. 

Follow Me

 “Follow me," Jesus said to Levi. Mark 2:14

Jesus saw Levi, a tax collector, sitting at the customs post. This is where he usually sits. He collects taxes, and like most publicans, perhaps even all, he was reviled by the Jews for his collaboration with the Roman oppressors. A tax collector during Jesus' time could stop Jews on the road and tax them for the baggage they were carrying! Jesus calls out, "Follow me," and Levi left his table, and walked with Jesus.

Like Levi, Jesus calls us where we are, whatever we are doing. We may not be occupied with sinful things like Levi, who would have been greedy and kept part of the collected taxes for himself. But even while we are washing dishes, teaching, playing golf, looking though friends' posts on Facebook, Jesus calls us. When He calls, and we decide to follow, we have to leave certain things behind. We have to avoid sin. If we knew what sin does to us spiritually, we would stay far away from it just as we stay away from the Ebola virus. We can see what this virus does- it makes people bleed internally and externally, and it kills up to 90% of those infected.

How about sin? We can't see what it does to our soul, and our soul is the one that lasts forever. Our bodies will just be consigned to the crematorium or left in a hole in the ground. I am sure that sin does worse things to our souls than the Ebola virus!! I forget who said that sinning is a suicidal act. It cuts us off from God, and the loving sustaining grace of our Creator! If stay away from sin, we can celebrate and Jesus will celebrate with us, much like Levi rejoiced in his new found freedom!

Face the Future with Faith

 

‘They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”’ Mark 2:3-

Here we see how crucial our faith is. Four men carried a paralytic to Jesus. He saw the faith of the men and forgave the sick man’s sins and healed him of his paralysis. 

There are many people around us “paralyzed” by sin, fear, shame, greed, and even by their own past. We can bring them to Jesus but it is important that we have faith and not hopelessness. Even in the midst of darkness, we should resolve to depend on God and have faith that He has all the answers. 

I was listening to speaker and author Lysa Terkeust’s story about her two adopted boys. Jackson and Mark were living in an orphanage in Liberia, a West African country ravaged by 14 years of civil war. They ate once a day, usually just a bowl of rice, and a little chicken on a good day. They trudged a long way to school and had to sit on a rock wall during lunch so they wouldn’t bother the others who had lunch. Every day they had Bible study, but one day the teacher said, “We won’t have Bible study today. I’ll call one of you, and you tell us what you want to thank God for.” Jackson was called and his mind was blank. He had no idea what to be grateful for so he sang a praise song. The next day, another boy was called. He did the same thing, and Jackson joined him. The next day, another boy was called, and he too sang a praise song, and Jackson and the 2nd boy joined him. On the twelfth day, 12 boys were singing a praise song when the American consul came for a visit. He promised to bring the “choir” to America to raise funds for the orphanage.  

When the boys sang in Lysa’s church, God spoke in her heart to adopt two boys. Lysa fought against that for a while, but she eventually did. Since then, 40 children from that orphanage were adopted. That was in 2003. 

Let us face the future in faith and confidence and praise God no matter what the present looks like. God is on His throne and He has a wonderful plan for our life. “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Make Me Clean

 

“If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Mark 1:40

When my mouth was full of sores several years ago, and I was so thin because I could not eat, I was always begging Jesus for relief. I would confess healing verses from the Bible because as it says in Proverbs 4:20-22: “...attend to My words; incline thine ear unto My sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.” In Hebrew, the Word “health”, is actually the word for “medicine”. And so I would “take” my medicine every day, reciting it or listening to YouTube videos of healing verses. What an amazing relief when God healed me of my Pemphigus Vulgaris! 

We can certainly understand the leper who came to Jesus, beseeching Him and kneeling down before Him, begging for relief, healing and restoration. “If You are willing, You can make me clean!” Jesus took pity on this wretched man, stretched out his hand and touched him, “I am willing. Be cleansed.”

Of course Jesus is willing. That’s why He came in the first place, came as a vulnerable baby, dependent on His mother for His first food, drink and caring. Of course He is willing. That’s why He trudged on to Calvary, knowing what was in store for Him who knew no sin. He was and is, the eternal, the willing sacrifice who took the place of you and me. We are as wretched as that leper, full of sores, and oozing wounds, and Jesus is willing to set us free of our wretchedness. We need only come to Him like the leper and He will touch us, touch our lives, and make us whole. If we just let Him touch us, we will fittingly start on a journey to rediscover God’s eternal love for each one of us.