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 man was really wise, Simon thinks cynically, he should know what sort of woman she was and would not have allowed her to touch him!!!!

But of course, Jesus knows everything Simon is thinking, all the nuances, and He also knows what the woman is 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.

Grow Closer

 Jesus said to the crowds, “To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not weep.’ “ Luke 7:31-35

Sometimes I can read and read a passage and come up blank, with no understanding whatsoever. This is one of those passages. I have read it many times through the years and it has not yielded its secrets. Hello, google? What can you tell me about this verse? Well, if Bible teacher Bob Dodson is correct, it references an old fable of Aesop, a Greek slave who wrote a whole collection of stories with morals several centuries before Christ, as early as the 10th century BC.

This particular one is about a fisherman who got frustrated. He expected that if he played beautifully on his flute, the fish would “dance” out of the water on to the shore. Well, they did not. So he finally got his net, caught the fish and dumped them on the sand. There they finally “danced”, flailing and flapping. He said to the fish, “I played a tune for you and you did not dance, and now all you can do is dance.” In other words, the fisherman gave the fish plenty of opportunities to hear and follow him, but the fish did not take advantage of it. 

In this day and age, we certainly have an abundance of resources to learn more about Jesus and understand His words. There are so many free resources, studies, recollections and talks available online given by really great speakers. Scott Hahn, Lee Strobel, Ann Voskamp, and so many more, have made available their resources. There are free activities for children, bible studies, story telling, etc. Our community and other prayer groups invite those who are seeking to prayer meetings and talks. There is no lack of ways to grow closer to God.  Let the lack not be in us. 

Prisoner of Hope

 “Do not weep.” Luke 7:11-17

Several years ago, I watched a poor little Filipino girl pose a question to Pope Francis, “Lolo Kiko”, a question with no answer. I was suddenly overwhelmed with sadness for the many little girls like her who live with helplessness, in fear and little hope, not only here in the Philippines but around the world. She asked, "Why do children suffer?" She couldn't even continue her prepared sharing because she broke down in tears.

Really, only God knows the answer to that question. But when she was interviewed on TV a few days after, gone were the tears, and in its place, a big smile. She and the other children with her, talked of HOPE. Nothing changed much in her life, but she was hopeful, happy, looking forward to the future, even giving encouragement to other children like her.

Living without hope is only half living. We live in a broken world, bodies that need healing, relationships that need mending, economies that need rejuvenation, values that need re-alignment...When we put our hope in the wrong things like wealth, power, ourselves, or other people, that is what happens. Brokenness. We have to put our hope in something unchangeable. Someone who is trustworthy.

We may be in the dark, not knowing what lies before us, but God knows. "I know the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and peace, and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11) We need to become "prisoners of hope" (Zech. 9:12)

In Him My Heart Trusts

 “The Lord is my strength and my shield. In him my heart trusts, and I find help; then my heart exults, and with my song I give him thanks.” Psalm 28:7

Is it not that everyone is kind to a bride on her wedding day and does everything to help and support her? She can do no wrong, and everyone is so willing to rejoice with her. 

When my sister and I had our double wedding 31 years ago, we did not have a wedding coordinator. Instead we assigned our friends different tasks. We even had a back up car following our friends who had the rings, pillows, Bible, and other important things. When I asked another good friend to supervise the flowers, she asked, "That's all you need me to do?" She wanted to do so much more for us. Such was the generosity of heart we experienced on that blessed day. 

The day before my sister Tina's wedding, my sisters and I were down on our knees sewing flowers on her vintage wedding gown, making sure she would be beautiful on her special day. I think that is how God is with the Church, His bride. We can trust Him fully. He is our help and supporter. 

In the Old Testament, there is a story of King David, who had been hunted down like an animal by King Saul. But David loved Saul's son Jonathan. When Jonathan died, David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”(2 Samuel 9:1) This is a picture of how God looks for ways to show us kindness, to bless us, to help us, to love us. 

We are as beautiful and precious as a bride to Him, no matter how ugly we see ourselves! And sometimes, we are the ones who hinder Him from loving us. Under the steady gaze of His love and mercy, do we hide and say, "No Lord, I am not worthy"? Or do we approach Him like an excited bride, hands open and willing to receive all His love? Yes Lord, help me to trust You fully, and show me Your kindness! Pour down Your favor!  

Follow Your Lead

 “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

In the book of Numbers there is a very strange story of how the people complained against God and Moses. The journey from Egypt to the promised land was arduous and their patience was wearing thin. "Why have you brought us out from Egypt only to die in this desert, where there is no food or water!? We are disgusted with this wretched food!" 

In punishment, the Lord sent serpents which bit them and many died. When the people repented, realizing their sin, the Lord instructed Moses what to do, and Moses obeyed. He made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole and when someone who was bitten by a serpent gazed at it, he was healed. 

We too are on a pilgrim journey. There is much to complain about. After all, God never promised an easy carefree trip. He promised that He would walk with us and bring us to the Promised Land. We need to find God's promises in the Bible and hang on to them. There are too many serpents roaming around waiting to bite us. But just as the Israelites could look to the bronze serpent for healing, we have Jesus to gaze at. 

Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:14-15, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”

Lord, many things in the Bible are mysteries to me. Why choose a saraph serpent as an instrument for healing? But I do not need to understand everything. I just need to believe You and Your Word. I just need to walk with You and follow Your lead. I want to go where You will bring me, no where else! 

From the Abundance of the Heart

 “A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45

From the abundance and fullness of our heart, we speak. What is in our hearts? What do we fill our hearts with? What kind of person do we want to be? A person who speaks the truth? We have to make sure to learn from the truth teller Himself, Jesus. The truth cannot be changed. It is not in the mind of the thinker. The truth needs no thinker to validate it. And no matter how many times a lie is said, it is still a lie. 

If we want to be a person full of gratitude, we need to fill our heart with the goodness of what God has prepared for us. It is hard for impatience, unforgiveness, resentment, and anxiety to take root where flowers of gratitude are planted. More often than not, we take for granted our blessings. The Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, has this to say: “If the only prayer you say throughout your life is ‘Thank You’, then that will be enough.” 

Sometimes it is very hard to choose our thoughts, and Joyce Meyer, author of the best selling ‘Battlefield of the Mind’ wrote, “The enemy knows that if he can get enough wrong things going on in our heads, they will eventually begin to come out of our mouths.” I find that I have to try very hard not to lose the train of my thoughts because I can be so scatter brained! I get distracted by so many things on my plate. So I always need the Holy Spirit to help me. We cannot do it on our own. Come Holy Spirit! Fill our hearts with only good things! 

Delightful Inheritance

 “Surely you are my delightful inheritance, O Lord!” Psalm 16:6

When Moses was 120 years old and about to die, the Lord told Moses to call Joshua as He would commission Joshua to bring the people of Israel into the land that He promised to give them. "Be brave and steadfast. Be strong and courageous," Moses told Joshua, "You are the one who will deliver the land as their inheritance."

In some way, we are each a Joshua to our children. There is a great inheritance in store for them. Are our children aware of this? Do they know how to get to the Promised Land? As parents, we too need to be strong and steadfast, to have a purpose. I know parents who are intimidated by their children. But if we want the best for our children, we need to lead them in the right direction. I remember when my son Josh was young, and our community had a summer camp. It was the first time Josh would be joining and he did not want to go. He asked, "Don't I have a choice, mom?" It's a question that any self-respecting, thinking kid would ask, right? I answered, "Of course you have a choice. You can either enjoy yourself or not." Joshua went, and joined many camps after that first one. Joshua is now 30 years old. I thank God that when we want the best for our children, and "train them up in the way they should go, when they are old, they will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

Stormie Omartian has many wonderful prayers for children and one of them is this:

"Lord, I know You can do far more in my child's life than I can ever do, and I invite You to do so. But if there is anything I should do--or should not do--make it clear to me so that I will do the right thing. Holy Spirit of truth, reveal the truth that needs to be seen both to him and to me. Guide me in my response to him always. Amen."

Chosen Ones

 “Because you are God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness, and patience." Colossians 3:12

If you were chosen to live in Downton Abbey, no doubt there would be changes in the way you dress and the way things are done. The upstairs family changed clothing several times a day. There was a proper way of speaking which was why Tom Branson was always in trouble. The Crawleys were always well behaved and treated the servants kindly.

WE are chosen. WE are holy, which means set apart. And WE are loved by our Father. But the clothes we are supposed to wear are not fancy, and dripping with lace and gems. They are 'clothes' of the heart. I think our life on earth is a training ground for when we get to heaven. We endure hardships so we can wear patience. We encounter aggravating people so we can put on meekness and kindness. When we notice people in need, we can practice mercy. These are the clothes we need when we get to our Father's home. Hopefully they are not threadbare but resplendent with a loving and generous heart!

Seek What is Above, Strive to Do Good

 “Seek what is above, where Christ is seated...” Colossians 3:1

Facebook and Instagram and other social media platforms used to be a place where you showed your better side. People were kind, polite and encouraging. I don’t know what happened but it seems to me that there are more people who want to pick a fight about the oddest things. More people are unkind, intolerant, and lack a sense of humor. It saddens me when I read comments that are downright rude, insulting and unreasonable. People think it’s OK to judge others without knowing circumstances. What happened to civility, respect, and kindness? People leave Facebook because they can’t handle the aggression. Commenting on some Youtube videos is disabled because of the prevalence of hateful  remarks. 

Saint Paul wrote to the believers in the city of Colossae (a region in modern day Turkey) that they should live in a way that will always honor and please the Lord. “Always do good, kind things for others, and get to know God more and more. Let heaven fill your thoughts and always set your sights on the realities of heaven.” It would be easy to write that from the comfort of one’s home, but Paul was, for the second time, imprisoned in Rome, and awaiting execution. It would have been normal if he had some bitterness and doubt in his heart. After all, he was giving his all to the Lord, and there he was, chained! 

We may be facing difficult challenges, angry at somebody, or being unfairly treated. Let us remember that in all we do and say, we should always strive to do good and give glory to God regardless of our circumstances. 

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 once asked God during my prayer time, “Could You love me any more than You do already?” I thought God would surely 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 friends, our work, our service, our hobbies, 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. 

God With Us

 “They shall name Him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." Matthew 1:23

If God is with us, who can stand against us? Sometimes, like many in the Bible, we question God why, why me? why now? We don't understand, if God is good, if God's plans are the best, then why?

God's ways and His thoughts, and His plans for us, are far above what our thoughts and ways and plans are. Sometimes when we look at other people, maybe some rich corrupt politician, or a contractor who stole billions of taxpayer money, and compare them to the poor who can’t even eat a proper meal and who live in shanties by the esteros, we ask ourselves why God isn't punishing the wicked.

In the same chapter of Matthew, there is a long genealogy of Jesus. We can get bored reading it, or skip it altogether, like I have many a time. But in this genealogy, in between the heroic men, there are sinners.  Even big time sinners like King David, "a man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14) who lied, stole, lusted after Bathsheba and lay with her, then conspired to murder her husband to cover his sin.

I've often asked why David was someone God loved so much when he broke so many of God’s laws. Was it because he loved God so much? David loved the Word of God. He sang, “Oh how I love your law!" (Ps. 119:97) and he loved to pray, “I will call upon him as long as I live!" (Ps. 116). 

And David would praise God and sing and dance with abandon, so much so his wife Michal got so disgusted with Him! In the Bible it says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8) 

Love covers a multitude of sins. God saw the love David had for Him, and that pleased Him. It covered all the sins David committed!!!

When David realized he had hurt God by his sin, he acknowledged his sin and turned back to God. He humbled himself before God, and expressed deep remorse. In Psalm 51, David pleads for mercy, that God, according to His unfailing love and great compassion, would blot out all his transgressions. “Create in me a pure heart, O God,” King David cried out. 

What kind of a love do we have for God? Do we recognize when we hurt Him? And do we humble ourselves and repent and change our ways? God’s love is so so incomprehensible that He will in His mercy take back any wayward son or daughter who strays and turns back to Him. Yes, we can depend that He is a God who walks with us through thick and thin. 

Number Our Days Aright

 “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.” Psalm 90:12

In a few days, on September 23, it will be the Feast Day of Padre Pio. He was my mother’s favorite saint and she always asked him to intercede for her concerns. After my father’s kidney stone operation, he was in very much pain, so my mom put her hand over his wounds, and asked for Padre Pio’s help. Immediately the pain subsided, and my father who was a Methodist and did not believe in the intercession of saints, asked her to continue praying over him. 

I was listening to a video of a man who knew Angelo, the great grandson of Padre Pio’s assistant for 25 years. Angelo grew up hearing his great grandfather tell amazing stories about the saint. He told of a man who came to visit Padre Pio and asked, “Were you the priest...” and Padre Pio continued, “in your dream? Yes.” The man had dreamt that he asked this priest for help for the healing of his father, and his father was healed right away. 

Another story that Angelo remembers is about a woman who went to confession and Padre Pio turned her away after listening to her sins. “You have not confessed everything! Pray the rosary!” She came back a second time, and he turned her away again, “Basta! Pray some more!” The third time she came back for absolution, Padre Pio asked her to close her eyes, “What do you see?” She responded, “I see Jesus and a priest, but I do not know the priest.” Padre Pio then said that was because she had aborted him and he would have been a Pope! 

Padre Pio recommended an examination of conscience twice a day, in the morning to make us ready to face the day, and before we sleep at night. He said, “The person who meditates and turns his mind to God, who is the mirror of his soul, seeks to know his faults, tries to correct them, moderates his impulses, and puts his conscience in order." That is how we can number our days aright, and always be on God’s side. 

God is My Helper

 “Behold, God is my helper; the Lord sustains my life.” Psalm 54:5

There's a plethora of self-help books out in the market today. Perhaps the first self-help book was written in 1859 by Samuel Smiles, and his first line was, "Heaven helps those who help themselves." Since then, the marketplace has exploded with not only books but support groups, life coaches, counselling sessions, etc. One of the more well known life coaches, Tony Robbins, is called the "CEO Whisperer" because of his high profile clients.

But God is the ultimate "whisperer". Before we go to self-help books or coaches, do we go first to the source of all wisdom and help? Do we quiet down and leave the hustle and bustle of our life, to ask God to walk with us? Do we take the time to talk to Him and ask Him questions? Do we read the instructions in the greatest "self-help" book of all time, the Bible?

Someone said that man knows so much about the cosmos, but is a stranger to himself. And although I know that some self-help books are great, it is a better path to seek FIRST the ONE who created us, who knows us inside and out. We are no stranger to Him!

Sing Joyfully

 “Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands...” Psalm 100:1b

I do not praise God enough. We are surrounded by so much blessing and gifts that we take almost all of it for granted. My sister and I once took advantage of a promo from an online beauty portal. We had our lashes permed for the very first time...and last, I might add. The two hours we spent with our eyes closed was torture! Imagine seeing a constant, pervasive, grim blackness all your life! 

Jennifer Rorshack lost her sight when she was 15. She told an audience to imagine waking up everyday in the dark. “I console myself with the fact that this is only temporary. I am in this world for a short journey. In eternity I will see as brightly as possible especially in the presence of the bright, very bright and luminous, Son of God!” 

Imagine what Jennifer and many other blind people would pay just to see for a day, a week, a month, a year, or to see till the end of their life. Imagine how much money we would be willing to give to have a healthy appetite, when all we feel when we see food, is nausea. We can’t put any monetary value on having our parents and siblings alive and well beside us. We can never be grateful enough. Just one cell, one tissue, one antibody, that runs amock in our body can be disastrous. 

In one of my favorite books, “Anne of Green Gables” by Lucy Maud Montgomery, the main character is an impetuous redhead always getting into mischief. “Dear old world,” Anne Shirley murmured, “you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you.” Anne Shirley had very little in life. She was an orphan and had been living in strangers’ homes, but she was born with an eager appreciation for the beauty of God’s earth. 

Father, may we always have a thankful heart for the bountiful richness of this earth and the brothers and sisters You have blessed us with! May we never take for granted the gifts of sight, mobility, speech, laughter, friendship, etc etc! 

Put Out Into the Deep

 “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4

When Jesus instructed Peter to do this, Simon Peter was very tired and despondent from fishing all night without catching anything. But what was Peter’s reaction? He answered, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at Your command I will lower the nets.” He did not make excuses, or get irritated that this man who was not a fisherman was giving him, Simon Peter, a seasoned fisherman, advice! He just obeyed.

Like Simon Peter, who had just been listening to Jesus teaching the crowds from his boat, we need to know who Jesus is in order to trust Him. When times are difficult, and we face challenges we have never encountered before, there is Someone to go to, to talk to, to listen to. We are never alone. That is His promise to us. “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Dt.31:8) 

These may be times that try men’s souls, as the philosopher Thomas Paine wrote in 1776. We are fighting battles left and right with an unseen enemy who seeks to destroy our children, our families, our country, indeed our very souls! Our political leaders are complicit in that they themselves find ways to steal from our coffers our hard earned money. They are even trying to enact laws that will endanger the moral values our society stands on.

We must always remember that challenges and trials are not a detour in our life, it is part of our journey. As Richard Paul Evans said, “Mountains can crush or raise you, depending on which side of the mountain you choose to stand on. All history bears out that the great, those who have changed the world, have all suffered great challenges. And, more times than not it's precisely those challenges that, in God's time, lead to triumph.”

Let us be prepared to put out into the deep water of these trials of today, knowing that with the Lord at our side, we will emerge stronger and victorious.