Still, Small Voice

“...but the Lord was not in the earthquake.” 1 Kings 19:11

There is so much noise all around us that it's hard to focus, difficult to concentrate. We are swamped by choices today, unlike in times past when there was a dearth of news, of TV channels, our phones were stuck to a wire on the wall. Now we have our noses buried in our phones everywhere we go because we keep trying to catch up with the latest news, the latest meme, the most popular songs, movies, videos, apps.  Where is God in all this cacophony? Can we hear Him if we are being bombarded left and right? He is still speaking. God is speaking to us in many different ways, and we just need to quiet ourselves and listen. God speaks in a still small voice. 

 "And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire A STILL SMALL VOICE." 1 Kings 19:11-12.  

This was how the great prophet Elijah experienced the Lord. God spoke to him in a still small voice, a whisper. Samuel heard the Lord while he was sleeping. Samuel said, "Speak Lord, Your servant is listening," after three times of thinking it was Eli the priest, who was calling him. We need to have the disposition of Samuel, who was so willing to get up from his sleep and do Eli's bidding. "Here I am," he said, three times. Perhaps we need to wake up earlier, while there is no noise yet, no one stirring, so we can invite the Lord, “Speak Lord, Your servant is listening." 

Wash Me Clean

"Whoever is angry with someone will be liable to judgement." Matthew 5:22

We have all gotten angry with someone at one time or another. Anger is defined as a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure or hostility. It can go from rage to irritation or a slight exasperation. Before Jesus said this about anger, He gave this strong proclamation: "Of this much I assure you: until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter of the law, not the smallest part of the letter, shall be done away with until it all comes true." 

How much more emphatic can Jesus be! Does this not mean that every little yodh (the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet), and the tiniest serif (stroke at the end of a letter), is inspired by God and has His imprimatur, His official approval?!!! We definitely need to understand clearly what Jesus means by anger because He says that anyone and everyone who grows angry with his brother will be liable to judgment the same way that a murderer is liable to judgement. If we are abusive with our maids or security guards, if we insult others on social media, show contempt for others, feeling they are beneath us, this all falls under Jesus' definition of anger. 

I was listening to someone recently describing a woman in church. She knew her as such a nice and gentle person, she said, but she was shocked when she visited her at home. She treated her maids with disdain and would shout at them!  I suppose there are parts in our character we are not aware of, shadows that can't bear examination. We may not murder anyone, but anger can grow into bitterness, revenge and slander, all magnificent blooms in Satan’s garden! 

Lord, make me aware of whatever there is in my life that is not pleasing to You. Help me to surrender all to You. It is impossible to obey all the yodhs and serifs of the law, but my hope lies in You. You are my righteousness! Wash me clean each day as I come to You in humility. 

Serve the Lord

“How long will you straddle the issue? If the Lord is God, follow Him; if Baal, follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21

I don’t think this really happened, but it is a joke that has been going around about two of soccer’s greatest stars, Leonard Messi and Cristiano Reynaldo. In an interview, Reynaldo is said to have boasted, “God sent me down to earth to teach people how to play soccer.” When Messi was asked to react to the statement, he pronounced, “I don’t remember sending him!”

Many people look up to sports stars, celebrities, k-pop boy bands and now even influencers as their gods. Imagine, a fan sent Jared Leto his severed ear! Dolly Parton had to care for a baby left on her doorstep till the Department of Health and Human Services arrived. The note said the newly born baby was named Jolene, and left by her momma because she wanted Dolly to look after it. Some k-pop fans, called saseang are so obsessed they post pictures of themselves cutting the names of the members of BTS, GOT7 or BLACKPINK on their arms. Some spend P100k buying albums just to win a one-on-one video call with their idol. 

None of these is as bad as how the Hebrews used to worship Baal during the time of the great prophet Elijah. They would sacrifice their children alive in fire, and actively engage in unholy activities in Baal’s pagan temples. So frustrated was Elijah, that he summoned the 400 priests of Baal to a challenge. This led to one of the most dramatic miracles in the Bible.

After that, all the people had no choice but to see Baal was a straw god, with no power, and no ears. It was obvious that Elijah’s God was the real, one true God, all powerful and mighty. But the real question was, would they abandon their unclean pagan ways to follow the true God? Sometimes we too straddle between believing in a God who requires obedience and faithfulness, and wanting to go our own way. We have to be like Joshua who said with firm resolve, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Salt of the Earth

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses it's taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." Mt 5:13-16

If Jesus came today, would He call us the salt of the earth? In Jesus’ day, salt was so essential that Roman soldiers received part of their payment in salt, thus the Latin word “salarium” from which “salary” is derived. Even today, salt is found in almost every kitchen. 

These days we have the refrigerator to preserve the freshness of foods. In ancient days, they packed meats with salt to prevent it from rotting. In the same way, we as Christians are called to be salt to save this world from lies, corruption and evil. Are we doing our part by proclaiming the gospel, being a force on the side of truth, justice, and good? Are we loving one another in concrete ways? 

Another characteristic of salt is when we eat salty foods, we get very thirsty. As Christians we should live so that others who witness our lives will say that they want what we have, and they thirst for the living water of Christ. 

The most important use of salt is of course to add flavor to foods. Without salt, our food would be tasteless and bland. What should a Christian add to the world? Each of us has a purpose. We need to ask if we are accomplishing ours and impacting our small corner of the world. 

Clothed with Righteousness

“Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!” Genesis 3:11

I don't think we can imagine the beauty, the lushness, the fragrance of the trees and plants in the Garden of Eden. According to the boundaries in the Bible, the Garden was probably just a few hundred square miles in what is now war-torn Iraq. It was full of good food for the first man and woman. But God always from the beginning has given us free will, the choice to obey or not to obey. And like many of us today, Adam and Eve chose to eat of the fruit of the one tree forbidden!

I think of our lives today. So much blessing surrounds us. Food on our table, a roof over our heads. People we love and who love us. There is so much favor available to us if we choose to obey God. But many of us choose to disobey. To choose the one thing forbidden, or even many things that God abhors. And that is why there is so much death all around. Death of marriages, of relationships, abortion, war, pollution, corruption, fake news and misinformation, etc.

Fr. Dwight Longenecker, an American convert to Catholicism, enumerates what he calls The Six Stages of Evil: 1. First, we overlook evil. 2. Then we permit evil. 3. Then we legalise evil. 4. Then we promote evil. 5. Then we celebrate evil. 6. Then we persecute those who still call it evil. This is so blatant in our society today. 

But just as God clothed Adam and Eve (Gen.3:21), He still gives us another chance. We can be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus if we accept this precious gift from God's hand.

Holy Spirit Come!

“Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roar of the mighty wind..." Acts 2:2

Today is Pentecost Sunday. Does that have any significance whatsover for me and you? Yes, of course, for today marks the birthday of the Church.

On the day of Pentecost, 7 weeks after Jesus' resurrection, Jesus' followers were meeting as they usually did. But this meeting turned out to be so different, it changed their lives. God manifested Himself visibly with a mighty wind, tongues of fire and the gift of tongues. From that time on, the followers of Jesus, who numbered about one hundred twenty men and women, went out to proclaim His message and to teach His way of life. Colin Smith, in one of his broadcasts, said that God does visibly for some people what He wants to do invisibly for most people. It's like a visual aid, a teaching tool. In Genesis, God shaped a corpse, and breathed His life into a skeletal frame to bring Adam to life. In Acts 2, He breathed not on only one person, but on all the believers present, men and women. He wanted to breathe His life into the Church, He wanted to give them power. That is what He wants to do for us as well. ALL of us, not just the leaders, not just the good speakers, not just the theologians. ALL of us.

God does not change. His Spirit does not change. His purpose does not change. Jesus said in John 17:21, "Father, that they may be one..." The gift of the Holy Spirit is a uniting force. When the Tower of Babel fell in Genesis 11, the people were scattered by different languages. During Pentecost, the people of different languages could understand one another, to speed up the advancement of God's Kingdom. When God spoke to Moses through a burning bush, He wanted to give Moses a purpose, to bring freedom to His suffering people. During Pentecost, each one of the disciples had his own self-sustaining fire. God wanted them to each go out and bring His message of freedom to Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, to the ends of the earth. That is our mission too. And we have to remember that Jesus is with us, and He gave us His Spirit with which to do it successfully. Come Holy Spirit, come!

Great Love

“Paul’s accusers stood around him, but did not charge him with any of the crimes Festus suspected.” Acts 25:7

It's hard for me, as a woman, to even think of following the example of Saint Paul. I can't see myself in his shoes. He was a tireless traveler. He encountered numerous hardships and was imprisoned about 4 times for a total of 5-6 years! He was a resolute man, patient beyond measure, courageous, and I don't think he regretted his decision to follow Christ even once! Here he is being accused by the chief priests and elders of the Jews of serious crimes they could not prove. 

But I do like looking to other saints to imitate, to learn from them, to see how they ran the race victoriously. I love Saint Therese of Lisieux for the simple, hidden life she led. She wrote, "What matters in life," she wrote, "is not great deeds, but great love." Like Mother Teresa, she did ordinary things with great love. Even when she was sick in bed, she was able to serve God by interceding. She saw herself as a beautiful flower in God's garden. Then there's Brother Lawrence who said, "The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer." For those of us who are constantly busy with the things of this world, he is an example of a man who could constantly practice the presence of God, whatever task he was doing, whether it be cleaning the floor or washing dishes in the monastery.

Then there's one of my favorite stories of Mother Teresa. While on the way to a grand party, she stopped to talk to a beggar. When she was fetched, because she tarried too long, she asked, "Can't you see I am talking to Christ?" She saw the faces of the poor, when most of us just pass them by. Yes, we need constant reminders, and saints with their frames like us, can show us it is not impossible to imitate Christ!

No Room

“There are still many other things that Jesus did, yet if they were written about in detail, I doubt there would be room enough in the entire world to hold the books to record them." John 21:25

There is a quote I like which goes: “You can't have too many books.” Indeed I have so many, I haven't read most of them. But the Bible is a different kind of book. So much wisdom, guidance, stories to ponder distilled into less than 80 books! Even if you read the Bible a thousand times, you'll get even more insight and understanding from its pages. You cannot exhaust the wisdom in it. The more you read, the more God gives His Spirit! You will see that there is so much beauty and truth in the Bible! Can you imagine what John the beloved disciple said? There were so many other things that Jesus did, and of course said, that even if the whole world was a library about Him, it could not hold all of it! Why? Why did Jesus do all that, and say all that, and not have it all documented? Why did Jesus reveal to Cleopas and another disciple what was said in the Old Testament concerning himself and it was not written down? (Luke 24:13-35) What a waste! 

But Jesus' Word will not go back to Him void, without fruit, without effect (Isaiah 55:11). Jesus showed that when He curses something, it dies. I am almost sure Jesus blessed and confessed growth and healing and strength for all those who believe in Him. In John 17:20, He prayed for ALL those who WILL believe in Him throughout the ages. His Word has power, and that is why in spite of persecution, there is an explosive growth of Christianity today, especially in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Christianity is growing faster than the world’s population. Isn't it a miracle that the teachings of an obscure rabbi changed the world, and changed the way we measured time? If His teachings can do that, can you imagine what it can do for me and you?

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 knows the way and offers his help, especially if he knows the future, we should accept his assistance! 

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? One reason is that more than 300 prophecies about Him 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! 

More Blessed

The Lord Jesus Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35

It is good to belong to a community of people who know it is more blessed to give than to receive. I have many examples of generous people. My brother-in-law once came upon a Sri Lankan missionary and his family. They were buying peanuts on the sidewalk and did not seem to have enough money for a meal. So my brother-in-law who had a meeting in Max’ Fried Chicken, invited them to Max and treated the whole family. 

Whenever there is a need, I am quite confident that if I ask for help, there are many who will respond. I once posted on Facebook that the flimsy homes of the Aetas in Floridablanca were destroyed by the last earthquake, and many gave P1,000- P5,000 to help them. Every year since 2009, before the pandemic, we gave 300 plus gift bags to the inmates of Quezon City Jail at Christmas time. We always had more than enough donations to make the inmates happy. The bags were packed full with shorts, t-shirts, cookies, soap, packed food, coffee, etc. 

When one member of our community fell and hit his head and the family needed so much money for the operation and procedures, we held a fund raising, and asked for things to sell. So many responded, thank God, to ease the burden of the young wife and mother. My garage and lanai were filled with things to auction and sell, clothes, books, toys, even jewelry. Then there was a young member of our community who was hit by a fast moving vehicle. The outpouring of support was very quick and generous. The doctors held little hope for her but more than the financial help, she was surrounded by the power of prayer. She was healed and it was a delight pre-pandemic to see her attending our community meetings with her big smile. I have no doubt, she is convinced that she is surrounded by love and prayers. 

Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” If we want to make a good life, we have to learn to be more generous with what we have. 

Recognizing Jesus

Today, on the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we read about Mary's visit to Elizabeth in Ain Karim (or in Hebrew, Ein Kerem) in Luke 1:39-56. 

The interesting parts for me are that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born (v. 15). When his mother, Elizabeth, heard Mary's greeting,

even if he was still in the womb, he leaped in her womb! Both Elizabeth and baby John were filled with the Spirit! He recognized Jesus!

How wonderful that Mary was such a kindred spirit to Elizabeth that she hastened to be with her. “While this meeting between Mary and Elizabeth is unique, there is something here that we can all experience. As baptized believers, each of us is capable of bearing Christ to others. If our eyes were opened to this truth, we too would rejoice and be humbled in the presence of so holy a vessel as a sister or brother in Christ.

"Even nonbelievers would move us to great reverence because they too are created in God's image and have just as much potential of being filled with the Holy Spirit. If God has so honored human beings this way, how could we fail to show them equal honor?" (From The Word Among Us) 

May our eyes be open, may our spirit be sensitive to all who bring Christ's love, words and teachings to us. May we not fall into the trap of thinking that it has to be a godly person, or someone we look up to and respect. It may be a child, an office mate, a prisoner, a telemarketer, or even a lowly beggar. 

May we recognize Jesus when He passes by us, when He lingers beside us, or gives us a call!

Take Courage

“In the world you will have trouble, but take COURAGE, I have conquered the world." 

John 16:33

There's no doubt about trouble! We all have it in one form or another! It's the way we deal with it that defines us!

Some act as if everything depends on them. And then there are those who know there is Someone who never leaves them, the One who says, "Take COURAGE, I have conquered the world."

I have to confess I am of the second variety. In our business, we have to depend on God a lot especially since the pandemic started. All we knew of how to be successful at business (if we ever knew that) flew out of the window! 

We knew that we had to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! My sister had her hair cut for the first time since the pandemic and she talked to the hairdresser. He confessed that all he did was pray morning, noon and night for an end to the pandemic. He did not have any customers, and many of his friends lost their jobs. He got to know a vegetable vendor and he would ask for the trimmings of the vegetables, what the vendor would throw away. Then he would cook it, and sometimes have enough to give his friends. He also said that now when he did home service, he found that his regular customers had white hair already, and both men and women have very long hair! He can say he has survived the pandemic! 

God is our PARTNER not only in our business, but our lives. We can depend on Him through thick and thin. We can take COURAGE in the future because Jesus has conquered the world. He has gone before us, He is already there in our future. 

Eyes of the Heart

This reading from Ephesians should have MANY exclamation points and capitals!

"May the EYES of your HEART be enlightened! that you may know what is the HOPE that belongs to His call! what are the RICHES of GLORY! in His INHERITANCE! among the HOLY ones! and what is the SURPASSING GREATNESS of His POWER! for US who BELIEVE!" Ephesians 1:18-19

This is why we pray and read God's Word- to know the hope that is ours when we follow Him, the riches of our inheritance, the power we have when we believe!

If we don't have intimacy with God, we don't know Him as our father, how can we claim what is rightfully ours as His sons and daughters? We would be like pitiful orphans, lost children. Of what value are promises if we don't claim them? What is the use of gold, riches, power, if we don't know they are ours?

In Jesus Name

“...whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.” John 16:23b

Several years ago my sister needed a passport urgently. There was no time to go through the regular procedures. We had to ask someone with a position high up in the Department of Foreign Affairs for help. She did not have to go through calling to get an appointment, and when she reached the DFA, she was treated like a VIP, bypassing all the usual steps. All my sister needed to get through was that all important name. 

Jesus said in John 16 that if we asked anything of the Father in Jesus’ name, He will give it. In Jesus’ name. That does not mean we can ask anything and the Father will grant it. It has to be in accordance to His will. Just like if my sister asked for a diplomatic passport, it would not have been granted to her, if we ask anything outside of God’s will, it will also not be given to us. 

So what is the use of “whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you...ask and you will receive”? Some people may say it is totally useless! Of course it isn’t!!!! If we did not know the DFA consul, my sister could not have gotten her passport in time. 

We need to KNOW Jesus, His character, His promises, what He wants to do for us, what He wants us to do. We have to have Jesus as our friend not only when we need to ask for something. Then we will know what to ask for because we can ask in His name. 

See Thee More Clearly

But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” Acts 18:12-13

It is amazing how the Bible stands up to scrutiny. For instance, there is an archaeological artifact called the Delphi inscription which confirms that Gallio was indeed the proconsul of Achaia as recorded in the Book of Acts. It helps us to date when Paul stayed in Corinth because Proconsuls stay in office for just one year, and Gallio served from the second half of AD 51 to the first half of AD 52. I like listening to videos on biblical archaeology because exciting finds like this are made all the time. 

It is also fascinating to compare the number of New Testament manuscripts with other ancient manuscripts. 24,000 plus manuscripts of the New Testament exist compared to 1,900 of the Iliad, 49 of Aristotle, 10 of Caesar and only 7 left of Plato! The Bible clearly outstrips every other ancient manuscript in sheer number, and we can compare how it was accurately transmitted to this day. 

There are many other reasons why we can count on God’s Word. The more we study and consider the historical and biblical evidence, the more we can be confident that the claims of our Christian faith are true. 

But even if we consider all the evidence that points to the Bible being the Word of God, what will bring us to the foot of the cross is His love for us, the same love that brought Saint Paul to believe in Jesus. In Jeremiah 31, God says ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love, with tender kindness I have drawn you.' 

Dear Jesus, Your love draws me ever closer to You. Help me to see Thee more clearly and love Thee more dearly, and follow Thee more nearly each new day. 

In a Little While

Jesus said to His disciples, “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me." John 16:16

Jesus and His disciples certainly had some strange conversations! But after He died and appeared to them, some of those conversations became clearer.

I miss my mom and dad very much, but that is tempered by knowing I will see them again. How terribly desolate I would be if I did not have this reassurance!

But we do not have to wait to be with Jesus We can be with Him all the time! He left us the Spirit to be with us always! “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20

We just need to spend time with Him and not be so enamored of the things this world has to offer! We can't "see and hear" Him if we don't turn off the noises, the clamoring of this world, the urgent call of our long ‘to do’ list!

Groping for God

 "They were to seek God, yes, to grope for Him..." Acts 17:27

A curious word, GROPE. In other translations we read, "feel their way toward Him", "reach out for Him", or "feel after Him". I remember the story of the blind men and the elephant. They wanted to know what an elephant was and each one of them would grope a part of the animal. One felt the tail and thought the elephant was like a snake, the other the tusk, the other the trunks of its legs. We are like those blind men in every way, trying to grope after God and coming up with our own versions of God UNLESS, and this is a big UNLESS, we are guided by the animal trainer around the elephant. And who's the animal trainer? The Holy Spirit of course!

In this chapter of the Bible, Paul is preaching in the Areopagus, a place where people make public lectures, the highest court in Athens. He was standing before the Council because they were very curious about his ideas and his beliefs. Some, not all, became believers. We are all created by God and in Ecclesiastes 3:11, it is written that He has put eternity in our heart. I believe this means, we will always be restless, we will never be satisfied, unless we find Him! So its OK to continue to grope, to feel our way to God. The full sentence is, "They were to seek God, yes, to grope for Him and perhaps eventually to find Him- though He is really not far from any one of us."

Holy Spirit, lead me, guide me, so I will find You, the true eternal God! 

Give Him the Praise

“About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened, there was suddenly such a severe earthquake that the foundations of the jail shook..." Acts 16:25-26

During his ministry, Saint Paul spent more than 5 years in prison. Like him, we should learn to praise and thank God wherever we are, in whatever circumstance. Praise and thanksgiving changes our minds, our attitudes, even changes circumstances! Like shouts of praise brought down the walls of Jericho, thanksgiving can dismantle strongholds and causes chains to be broken.

I remember when the management in a mall where we had a store, were determined to get us out because we did not have high sales like the other brand name shops they preferred. But it was one of our best stores, and it would be very bad for our bottom line if we lost our space! So I walked around the store 7 or more times and praised God! Well, we still have our space, and in a better location than before!!!

I think about David and why God loved him so much even if he sinned many times. Perhaps it is because he had a wonderful relationship with His Father! God called David "a man after my own heart", and David composed many wonderful songs. He danced for God, even if people thought he was crazy!

Knowing God should lead us to praise and worship. Otherwise we would be just like the devil. The devil knows God and knows with conviction who Jesus is, even more than we do, BUT chooses not to worship God.

Let our knowledge about who God is to us travel from our mind down to our heart. Let us give Him the praise He deserves!!!

Listen

“...a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth...listened, and the Lord opened her heart...” Acts 16:14

Sometimes, all we need to do is listen and the Lord will work. But for some of us, we need to do it our way. We can be stubborn, hard headed, self-destructive and make the wrong choices for our life even if God is waiting for us to call on Him and surrender. 

Janie Burkett tells her story in her book “Unshackled: A Road to Freedom”. Even if both her parents were pastors and she grew up in a loving home, she was so insecure that, when her parents went through a rocky time in their marriage, she rebelled against God. Janey turned her back on God and instead depended on alcohol, drug addiction, sex, and developed a severe eating disorder. At 17, she experienced her first cocaine high. When she was 22 years old, she had to sustain her $300-$400 a day drug habit by becoming a high profile drug dealer. She was sentenced to 40 years years in prison. All this time her parents were praying for her, pleading with her to come back to God. They were also talking with lawyer after lawyer in the hopes that one of them could help overturn the sentence. Every one of them said it was impossible. But one called back and said he was just so bothered about it and he agreed to help pro bono! Then the judge who gave the original sentence resigned, and a new judge agreed to a new hearing!!! 

In prison, Janey had a change of heart and asked God to give her another chance. She surrendered her life to Him and asked that if He did not want to free her, to please give her peace and help her. When she got her day in court, she got the miracle the family was praying for. The judge released her on condition she undergo rehab with Teen Challenge, which helps people with substance abuse. 

Today, Janey lives her life with passion and purpose. She started, along with her dad, “Janie’s House of Hope”, a 13 month faith-based program to help those struggling with addictions. 

Father God, like Lydia, may we listen to You! Open our heart Lord! We surrender our life to You! May we not take u-turns or paths away from You. But should we stray away, call us back into Your loving arms. 

The Advocate

“I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” John 14:25-26

Jesus told His disciples in John 16:7 that, “It is better for you that I go.” What’s better than Jesus walking the earth, preaching, healing people, loving them? Believe it or not, Jesus NOT being on the earth! That’s exactly what He was explaining to those listening to Him. “It is much better for you that I go, (it is profitable, expedient, it is for your own good, it is for your advantage that I leave you),” Jesus said to the disciples because they were filled with grief. “Unless I go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you, (will not have close fellowship with you, will not be able to partner with you). But if I go, I will send Him to you.”

I am tempted to be skeptical here, but I prefer that truth form my experience, rather than experience form my truth. I prefer to believe Jesus when He says things like that. I can see that if Jesus were still walking the earth, I would have to go where He was to speak to Him, to ask Him questions. Instead I can be in my nightclothes, and just ask Him from wherever I am. I can read the Bible and the Spirit can illuminate certain passages for me. I can pray in the Spirit for people I don’t even know because the Spirit knows them and their problems. And the Holy Spirit can speak to a million people all at the same time. The Spirit is more pervasive than the internet or TV or radio because the Spirit can go where those are forbidden or censored. 

Yes Jesus is present in a more powerful way today. He is IN us! And because He is IN us, like the Avengers, we can be more powerful if we work together, pray together, plan together!

Let us not waste this precious gift of the Spirit by belittling it, or not being aware that we have Him in us. Jesus said in Luke 10:19, “I have given you authority…to overcome all the power of the enemy.”