Can’t Take It With You!

“For we brought nothing into this world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it.” 1 Timothy 6:7

It is amazing how some of us live as if we will stay on this side of the world forever. Some amass wealth, property here and abroad, jewelry, old master paintings, and who knows what else. I come from a line of hoarders. My mom filled our attic rooms with craft materials she never was able use up in her lifetime. My aunt has a house overflowing with clothes, bags, shoes and figurines. I myself have all sorts of junk I can’t bear to throw away. I like reusing old styrofoam, clothes, ribbons, magazine pages, toilet paper rolls. 

A couple of weeks ago I helped my sister and brother in law sort through the things in the house of my brother-in-law’s parents. His father had passed away some years ago, and his mom already stayed with him. There were piles and piles of clothing, bedsheets, curtains, lots of kitchen ware, furniture and decor from all around the world. It was all worth a huge amount of money and now it was being sold in a garage sale for a pittance. Looking at it, what kept running through my mind was: You can only keep what you give away. 

C.S. Lewis wrote, “The only things we can keep are the things we freely give to God. What we try to keep for ourselves is just what we are sure to lose.” If only we learn this early enough to do something about it! 

Little is Forgiven

“Little is forgiven the one whose love is small." Luke 7:47

What a dramatic turn of events in this chapter of Luke! Simon, a Pharisee, invites Jesus to dinner at his home. Jesus accepts, and as He reclines at the table, his legs and feet stretched out away from the table, a woman of some reputation comes uninvited. She is weeping, and she uses her hair to wipe away the dirt and grime of Jesus' feet. She opens her precious perfumed oil in its alabaster vase, and uses it on Jesus' feet. I can imagine Simon, with a little sneer on his mouth. He is a little amused by this, too entertained to put a stop to this intrusion in his home. He should have had her thrown out for her impertinence, but he likes seeing this so-called prophet and teacher being pampered by a "sinner"! During the first century, if a woman let down her hair, she could be divorced by her husband, and here, this woman, not only uncovered her hair, but was using her tresses to wipe Jesus' feet! If this Jesus was really wise, Simon thought, he should know what sort of woman she was and would not have allowed her to touch him!!!!

But of course, Jesus knew everything Simon was thinking, all the nuances, and He also knew what the woman was thinking and feeling and going through. Just as He knows our heart and mind as well! Oh the shame! Jesus sees all the condemnation and judgement in our mind. The lack of love in our heart. He knows when we look at others with indifference, when there is no charity in our spirit for others who need our help. What did Jesus say? "Little is forgiven the one whose love is small." Do we want to be forgiven? Then we have to tap into the well of love that God has for us and for all sinners like us. We need to see ourselves and others the way God sees us. Then there will be no room for condemnation, only compassion.

Throwing Hoops

“Wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” Luke 7:35

Sometimes even if I read a passage again and again, I cannot understand it. Like this one. There is worldly wisdom, understanding and shrewdness we gain from experience. Then there is the wisdom that God bestows on those who seek to obey and know Him. I was listening to Jason Chin, who has an online school where he teaches how to pray for the sick and listen for God’s word of knowledge. Again, it’s all a matter of practice. He said that if a kid was put in a room with hundreds of basketballs, he would very likely throw the balls into the hoop without prodding. But if he was told that he had to throw the ball into the hoop only when he was 100% certain it would get in, that kid would not even attempt to do it. 

Why do we not try to hear God’s voice? Why do we not lay hands on the sick? The more we do it, the more doors open up, because God wants us to claim His promises. There are hundreds of basketballs ready for us to shoot every day, but we don’t even try because we want to be 100% certain of the outcome. Lord, may I be braver in following You and claiming Your promises so I can spread Your love everywhere I go. May we, your children, vindicate, give evidence that You truly give wisdom and insight to Your people. 

Staying in the Ark

“...for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of the Church of God?” 1 Timothy 3:5

St. Paul wrote many instructions for his associate Timothy, who was left in Ephesus to help with the problems of the Ephesian church. There were a lot of challenges Timothy had to deal with, for the Ephesian church struggled with Christian teachings and lifestyle. I wonder what Saint Paul would say about the behemoth Catholic Church today with its many serious, overwhelming problems? 

Just as he wrote Timothy, I suppose he would also encourage us not to be weary and discouraged but to see God’s bigger picture. Just like Timothy, we should know the truth and defend it against the false teachings in our time. The enemy is seriously attacking the Church today from outside and from within, from left and right, up and down. 

When Napoleon in 1809 kidnapped the Pope, he boasted, “We will destroy you!” The Pope retorted, “Ha! If we haven’t been able to destroy ourselves for thousands of years, you won’t be able to do it either!” That is why I stay within the Ark that is the Church, even if it needs a lot of repairs and is leaking in all sorts of places. Jesus promised to take care of it, that the gates of Hades will never prevail against it! (Mt. 16:18) 

The Lord is the Strength of His People

“The Lord is the strength of His people.” Psalm 28:8

I have read much about the corrupt Popes with mistresses and children. Then there were Popes who spent more time power-politicking than attending to the affairs of the Church. There was a Pope who complained that he did not hear enough screaming when Cardinals who had conspired against him were tortured. The list is long and wearisome. 

That is why God spoke to St. Francis in the dilapidated chapel of San Damiano, “Repair my Church, which has fallen into disrepair.” God was giving Francis a mission to return the Church to the radical simplicity of the gospel, to a life of poverty and prayer. 

In the earlier days of persecution, becoming a Pope was a quick death sentence. Pope Cornelius, whose Feast Day we celebrate today, was totally dedicated to Christ. He was exiled and martyred in 253. Pope Clement I or Saint Clement of Rome, while imprisoned, led a ministry among fellow prisoners. He was executed by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea. So many Popes died as martyrs from St. Peter in c.67 to Pope John I who was imprisoned and starved to death in 526. 

The Church has Saints and sinners just as we can find in the genealogy of Jesus, and the chosen disciples of Jesus. Today, there are many forces out to destroy it. There are attacks from the inside and outside. But one thing is for certain, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mt.16:18) 

Sure Thing!

“Let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found." Luke 15:23-24 

In Jesus' longest parable, the prodigal son asked his father for his inheritance. This was tantamount to telling his father, “I prefer that you die so I can have the money." The father sadly divided his estate and gave the son what he asked for. After a life of depravity and wantonness, all the money gone, the son goes back to the father, knowing his father's servants lived a better life than he did. The father was merciful and compassionate, and easily forgave him. The father had been longing for his son’s return and celebrated when he did. 

Isn’t it a good thing that God does not answer all our prayers with yes? Can you imagine how many people pray that they would win the lotto? The mother of Dionie Reyes kept praying that he would win the lotto and finally in April 2008, he did. He won 14 million pesos and after living the life of a millionaire for 3 months, he is now destitute and owes big sums of money. “I wish it never happened," William Post said. “It was totally a nightmare!" He won $16.2 million but after a year, he owed $1 million. 

Like the prodigal son, a lot of people are under the illusion that having money would solve all their problems, and make them happy. Jim Carrey said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.” 

Instead of money, why don't we bet on a sure thing? The love of a merciful and compassionate Father! ❤️

Be Grateful

 "Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered." Numbers 21:9

This story in the Old Testament which happened while the Israelites journeyed to the Promised Land, shows how God is very creative with His solutions to problems. The Israelites were grumbling, murmuring, complaining that they had NOTHING to eat or drink. In truth they had fresh manna to eat every day from the hand of God, and even lots of quail in the evening. They also had water. But like Adam and Eve in the garden, they listened to our ancient enemy. The enemy likes to deceive and loves it when we are ungrateful.

Sometimes God teaches us by allowing hard things to come into our lives. This time He sent serpents, poisonous snakes. Some of the people were bitten and died, and they pleaded with Moses for help. God then instructed Moses to make a replica of the snake and mount it on a pole. "Those who are bitten will live if they simply looked at it."

We too are frequently bitten by sin which leads to death. But if we look to Jesus who became sin as He took all our sins with Him on the cross, we will live. Let us be grateful for this beautiful solution God has come up with for His people!

Path to Life

“You will show me the path to life...” Psalm 16:11

I was thinking it would be foolish of me to follow someone along a dark path if that person hadn’t been there before. It would be even more foolhardy if that person did not have a lamp to light the way. What if there was a cliff on the side, or snakes or a boulder about to fall. In many ways, we live in a dark, uncertain world. There are many pitfalls and the future is certainly unknown. If there is a guide who offers to show us the way, and who knows the future, we should accept his help!

Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life. What’s more, He knows the way to heaven because He is the only one who has come down from heaven. In John 3:11, Jesus claimed, “We speak about what we know, and we testify about what we have seen.” Why should we believe Him? More than 300 prophecies in the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New Testament. No other man can claim that. It is exciting to see how events in the Old Testament foreshadow what Jesus said and did in the gospels. 

Lord Jesus, I trust You to lead me along my faith journey. Thank You for showing me the path to life, and being ever before me! 

Dead

“Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” Luke 6:38

Consider the opposite. Don’t give. Keep everything for yourself. Don’t help others with what you have. Money, talents, influence, time, use it all for yourself. I am picturing a miser who works hard to enrich himself, not thinking of his coworkers, the man outside his gate, a friend who is sick in the hospital. 

He will be exactly like the Dead Sea or the Salt Sea or the Devil’s Sea as it is sometimes called. The Jordan river empties into it but there is no outlet. Because it is landlocked, the water evaporates and leaves behind massive amounts of salt, making it so dense that people can float on top of it. No plants, algae or animals survive in this brackish water but at the very bottom there are microbial fungi and bacteria. This is what we become if we just receive all the blessings God gives us, and do not share. 

God’s Megaphone

How does one picture pain? I just made a mess of a picture! 

“Blessed are you who are poor...hungry...weeping...” Luke 6:20-21

Jesus can say very strange things. How can we be blessed if we are poor, hungry, mourning, when people hate us or insult us? It just does not seem comprehensible! It is also puzzling to the human mind that there is a God of love but there is so much pain and hardship in the world, isn’t it? That is one reason why people become atheists. They cannot understand how a God of love can allow all the natural disasters, the cruelty, the depravity and corruption. 

But God is not only all powerful, He is also all knowing and He sees what our limited mind cannot see. He sees beyond the darkness of this world and He is always working to bring about our good. 

There is a young girl named Ashland with congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis. CIPA is rare autosomal recessive disorder of the nervous system which prevents the feeling of pain or temperature, and prevents a person from sweating. Ashland’s mother prays everyday that Ashland will feel pain so she can live normally. Every day, Ashland is in danger, because she won’t even know how to avoid it. She can go around with a rusty nail in her foot and she won’t even take it out because she won’t feel it. Boiling water can be poured on her hand and she won’t know unless she is looking. Pain tells us something is wrong. 

The world is groaning in pain. Even the poor animals are in grave danger because of the plastics invading every part of our planet. A very wise C.S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world...No doubt pain as God’s megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. It removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of the rebel soul.”

Rooted in Him

“Walk in Christ, rooted in Him and built upon Him...” Colossians 2:7

One of my favorite images from the Bible is from Psalm 1:3. It says a person who meditates on God’s Word day and night is like a tree planted by running streams, which yields its fruit in due season, and and whose leaves do not wither. Whatever he does, prospers. 

I asked God once during my prayer time, “Could You love me any more than You do already?” I thought God would answer that He couldn’t, for He already loved me with His infinite, unconsummable love. Surprisingly He said that I was like a tree beside a stream, that if I reached out to others in love, my branches would grow longer and farther, and I could hold more and more of His love! I suppose that is what it means to be rooted in Him, built upon Him. 

We should build our lives on the foundation that is Christ, and we can have many branches, our family life, our community and church life, our work, our service, our hobbies, our friends, our organizations, etc. All the branches of our being should be permeated with Christ’s life and grace, so we can really be His disciples on mission in the world. 

Stretch Out Your Hand

“Stretch out your hand.” Luke 6:10

Let me tell you about my adventures with healing. Like most people, I am very hesitant to present myself and pray over people who are sick. But Jesus said in John 14:12, “Whoever believes in me shall also do the works that I do. And greater things than these shall he do, for I go to the Father.” I either believe that or I don’t. 

In Mark 16:15, Jesus instructed His disciples to, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature...and these signs will follow those who believe...they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.” I was listening to a lady on YouTube, who believed this. For ten years, she laid hands on the sick, and no one got healed. Some even died! But today, Aliss Cresswell sees healing miracles everywhere she goes. 

So I decided to do the same, and pray over the sick. Some have gotten well, some have seen a slight improvement, some no improvement at all. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. I believe His promises and I will continue to lay my hands on the sick. I believe it is like any talent or gift. We have to use it, practice, practice, practice, until one day, the small negative voice that says we can’t do it, will be silenced. 

The Cross

“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27

This is one of Jesus’ hard lessons. One that as a young girl I rejected and did not believe He said. One of the reasons I stopped reading the Bible in High School and left the cute little Gideon Bible on a shelf to become dusty. 

Today, we wear crosses on our necks, wrists and even ears. It is hung on our walls, our car mirrored , and doors. People in Jesus’ time would never think of doing that. Only criminals convicted of heinous crimes would have carried their cross and be crucified on it. Today in the Philippines there is much discussion about heinous crimes. Men who should have been in jail for their whole lifetime were released because they had connections in high places, or they paid money to people in the Bureau of Corrections. 

We cannot pay God enough money to get Him to forgive our heinous crimes against Him. We cannot do enough good deeds to cover up for our sin. Amazingly, Jesus was willing to do it for us. "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24)

Thank You Jesus for Your unshakeable, massive commitment to us. Thank You that nothing can thwart the victory You won for us on the cross. I can live in freedom, without guilt and shame, as long as I repent of my sin, believe in Your finished work on the cross, and follow You. 

God is Deeper

“God has now reconciled you.” Colossians 1:22

It is very difficult, sometimes impossible to forgive when we feel a deep wrong has been done against us. Many Jews were treated harshly and even murdered in the Ravensbrück concentration camp, a labor camp for women. Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsie were incarcerated there after they were caught helping Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust. Betsie died in the camp but Corrie was released because of a clerical error. A week later, all the women in her age group were sent to the gas chamber. 

Was Corrie filled with bitterness and hate after those terrible years in Ravensbrück? Before Betsie died, she told Corrie, “There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still." After the war, Corrie set up centers to help concentration camp survivors, and she travelled the world speaking about God’s love and His forgiveness. 

One time, HER forgiveness was put to the test. She had just given a talk and she saw a man walk towards her. Suddenly she was brought back to the huge room in the concentration camp. She could see his blue uniform with the leather crop dangling from his belt. She remembered the shame of walking naked past this man, her sister Betsie before her, frail, her ribs jutting against her parchment skin. She remembered how cruel he had been to them, and even more to Betsie who had been so weak. 

And here he was, holding out his hand. “I have become a Christian," he said. “I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein, will you forgive me?"

Corrie Ten Boom wrote, “I had to do it—I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. ‘If you do not forgive men their trespasses,’ Jesus says, ‘neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.’

“I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience. Since the end of the war I had had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality. Those who were able to forgive their former enemies were able to return to the outside world and rebuild their lives, no matter what the physical scars. Those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and as horrible as that.

All Things Hold Together

“In Christ all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17

When I was young I felt so bad that I broke  the ceramic handle of a salad spoon. It was part of a beautiful set, and even if all the pieces were recovered and it was glued back together, it never was the same. It was imperfect already, damaged goods. Not so with Christ. He holds the whole world together, even if all around we see a broken, imperfect world. One day we will see clearly that “all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” 

Paul wrote the people of Colossae while he was in prison, but he was never a broken man. He knew Jesus and was confident that “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Are we so confident in the Lord, that no misfortune, no trial or suffering, will make us turn away from God in despair? Jesus is the source of our hope and the perfecter of our faith. 

Put Out into the Deep

"Put out into the deep..." Luke 5:4

When my youngest sister Tina got married in 2016 to Patrick, an American living in Tokyo, it was a big change for her. Tina lived a protected life here, surrounded by family, friends, and a Christian community. Leaving everything familiar behind was certainly a decision to put out into the deep waters of the unknown.

When Jesus got into Simon's boat, at the edge of Lake Gennesaret, Simon did not know Him at all. Simon and the other fishermen were washing their nets. That meant they had done with fishing and were going home for a nice meal and some rest. But Jesus got into the boat, and started preaching. After He finished speaking, Jesus said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch." If I was Peter, I might have said, "What?!!! After we have cleaned and washed our nets?!!!! No way!" Then I would have missed the greatest adventure of my life! 

When Jesus gets into our boat, in the ordinary everyday circumstances of our life, we need to be prepared to change course. Lord, may I always be sensitive to what You want me to do, say, or even to become. May I not resist Your call to put out into the deep! 

WOYWW: Peace in the Trenches

Did not have much time to do any painting so I just tore up a picture in a magazine, and glued it on my journal. After tearing up some more bits of paper, and writing the Bible verse, I altered the photo with the Prisma app. Easy peasy.

“I...trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.” Psalm 52:10

We can always find safety and peace in God. It is said as long as there are math exams, there will always be prayer in schools. It is also said there are no atheists in the trenches of war. 

Billy Kim, the Korean evangelist, tells the story of one soldier in the Korean War who was ordered by his commander to rescue his fallen mates as the firepower rained down. Three times the command was repeated but the soldier just kept looking at his watch each time and kept ducking the orders. After looking at his watch a final time, he jumped out of the trench to obey. The next day he was asked to explain his actions. “I hate to say this but I’m not right with God. I was terrified about what might happen, but my mother told me what hour she would be praying for me each day. I was waiting for the hour to strike. I knew I would be covered by my mother’s prayer and be protected by my Lord.” 

Are we right with God? Do we have to wait till somebody prays for us to feel safe? Let us trust in God’s mercy, repent, believe and obey. 

One Map

“...the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” 1 Th 5:2

There was a violinist invited to play for a homeless man who died without friends or family. He accepted the invitation but unfortunately had a difficult time finding the burial site. When he finally arrived, it was to find that the pastor had gone, and only the workers were left. They were sitting around the grave, resting after the heavy labor. The violinist took a moment before the grave, and then gave the performance of his life. The workers were very appreciative and clapped enthusiastically. As the violinist left, satisfied he had done rightly by the homeless man, he heard one worker comment, “I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’ve been digging septic tanks for 29 years!” 

Do we really know where we are headed after we die? Is our map correct? Even Waze makes mistakes sometimes and leads us to an entirely different place! Sometimes we go about our business as if we will live forever, amassing money, possessions, favor or power, without the least thought of our many neighbors who are needy, who are broken and desperate. Our map 🗺 for our life can be severely shortsighted and lacking in the correct moral compass. 

There is only one map that will get us to where we want to go. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. “NO ONE can come to the Father except through me”, He declared. (John 14:6) 

No Hope

“We do not want you to be unaware...like those who have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13

We live in difficult, broken, even dark times. Many are hopeless, and in despair. Many do not know right from wrong. Many do not value the truth anymore. And what is so scary is that many do not deem human life sacred. People abroad who speak vehemently against extra judicial killings here in the Philippines, accept abortion as a right of women! Violence does not galvanize outrage. What is going to happen to our country if we continue like this? 

The thing is, if we do not think rightly, if we do not value truth, we can be lulled into accepting lies the enemy spreads, and we can find ourselves too deep in mud to save ourselves. 

St. Peter said, “In your hearts revere Jesus as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15) We need to be able to think clearly and rightly. Morally. We need to study God’s Word if we are to have a basis for hope.

Humble Yourself

“Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.” Sirach 3:20

What is the favor of God and should we desire it? Of course! Favor is the power that changes things for us. For example, an unknown author suddenly gets into Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club. Oprah’s endorsement automatically catapults that author’s book into the best selling list. If Oprah’s favor can do that for a struggling author, imagine what God’s favor can do? 

Pastor Joel Osteen feels like crying every time he speaks about how Lakewood Church got the Compaq Center to hold their services in. Before, his father held services in a converted feed store in a seedier part of Houston and they were looked down upon. After John Osteen passed away, the younger Osteen took over. When he won the long battle to use Compaq Center for their church, they grew exponentially and became very influential.

The readings for this Sunday, from Sirach and Luke 14:1, 7-14, are about humility. Jesus cannot stress enough about how we will find God’s favor if we are humble. “Go take the lowest place,” Jesus advised, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Let us not allow the world to warp our way of thinking, and try always to be humble, instead of putting ourselves before others.