You must be saying, “But we cannot avoid discouragements!” True, in fact, as much as we cannot predict what will happen in a year, a month or a week, we cannot assume we will not experience anything discouraging in a DAY. But how do we react when we are discouraged? Usually, how long do you stay feeling the way you do after the particular incident “caused” you to be discouraged?
Continue reading “Leave No Room for Discouragement” »
Leave No Room for Discouragement
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How to Control your Desires
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1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” I’ve read this passage a number of times but it was only last night that it made sense to me.
Living Inside a Christian Bubble
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About a month ago a couple of friends and I decided to brave the highlands of Baguio City, with hopes for a temporary escape from the busy life of the metro.
3 Wrong and Ineffective Ways to Deal with Sin
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Why did Jesus have to die on the Cross? Why did it have to take the blood of the Son of God to cleanse us from our sins? Can’t doing good make the cut? Can’t living a ‘good’ life get us to heaven? In looking at the gravity of the cross, we first have to understand the gravity of sin to understand its necessity.
This entry has been inspired by Joshua Harris’ book ‘Boy meets Girl’
Minimizing Sin
This is, by far, the favorite. It’s our natural tendency to just minimize sin, isn’t it? We try to justify and reason and name why we committed a certain sin so that we will not have to face the reality of its gravity.
We justify: “We were young and wild…”
We reason: “But I was in a cinch – I had no choice!”
We name: “It was just one night of love. I didn’t mean to get her pregnant!”
All this and more – we know what we’re guilty of.
“Sin isn’t so serious“ We try to assure ourselves.
“Besides, we’re only human.”
Sin is serious
In fact, it is so serious, that the only way to deal with it is for us to spend an eternity in hell or for God Himself to die on the cross to pay for its rewards. God never downplays it. He felt its gravity on His own physical body. And more than that, he felt its gravity on His Spirit.
Whenever you minimize sin, you minimize the loving sacrifice of our God on the extremely painful and tortuous death of the cross.
Ignoring Sin
God is Holy. That is a fact. But there are times when we try to label our sins as ‘excusable’ for God. We downplay God’s Holiness to our level – trying to make God in our image and likeness – as someone who is willing to just overlook sin and ignore its consequences.
“These things you have one and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face” – Psalm 50:21
God hates sin. He abhors it. He had to send His own son to die for it.
God isn’t like us. His standards have never changed. Holiness.
Living Self-Righteously
“I just can’t believe I did that…” Ever heard yourself saying this? Perhaps even thinking it? Why, do you think, did it ever even occur to you?
Are you surprised?
You shouldn’t be. You’re were not born as someone inherently good. We are inherently evil. You don’t teach a child how to lie. How to steal. How to cheat. We have the root of sin in our flesh.
Dealing with sin as if you’re shocked to commit it is a wrong approach. You’re sorry not because you disobeyed God, but because you have failed to live up with your own ‘standard’ you’ve set for yourself.
“I just can’t forgive myself…” Ever heard yourself think this one? “Maybe God can, but I can’t…”
It might appear noble, but statements like these are a form of ‘reverse pride’ which indirectly says “My standards are higher than God’s”
It is also a form of a lack of faith which means that you’re telling God that His grace is not big enough and His death on the cross is not payment enough.
Dealing with sin in this way either means that you wallow in guilt, bear your own punishment or earn God’s favor through obedience – all of which will simply not remove the burden of sin from yourself.
If we could deal with our own sins with our own efforts, we are in no need of the cross. We have no need of a savior. We have no need of grace.
But we have no righteousness of our own. We can’t pay enough penance for our verdict in hell. Nothing we can do save us.
If sin is no big deal, the cross is no big deal either
The good news is: no matter how big of a deal sin is, it’s already been deal with. Already been paid for. Already been overcome. Christ’s death on the cross has freed you. There is one thing you can do to deal with sin – receive His grace and forgiveness. Recognize Jesus’ death for you on the cross. Accept Him into your life as your personal Lord and Savior and decide sin no more.
Oh I’m not going to tell you that you’re never going to sin again. You probably will. It is a life-long war that you’ll be facing.
But in the end, you know you’re free.
That’s what matters.
The Worldly Christian
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‘I’m only human, born to make mistaaaaaakes’ – so the song goes and we can all relate with it. We’re human beings. We fall. We make mistakes. As Christians, we are called to live a life of integrity as we imitate Christ. Recently, I listened to a podcast by Ravi Zacharias who talked about Balaam. Supposedly, a man who communicates with God and who has the power to bless and curse – but we are told not to be like him.
The Story of Balaam and Balak
“So Balak, king of Moab, sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. His message said:
“Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me. Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse.”
Balak’s messengers, who were elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel. They went to Balaam and delivered Balak’s message to him. “Stay here overnight,” Balaam said. “In the morning I will tell you whatever the Lord directs me to say.” So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam.” - Numbers 22:4-8
You see, Balak wanted to curse the children of Israel and Balaam was the man for the job. Balaam had a relationship with God and was a man who talked with God – but his heart was set on his own personal gain.
“What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion.” - Jude 1:11 (NLT)
Balaam thought he can buy God’s permission to curse the Children of Israel with money. In the end, God did not let him curse the children of Israel, and he did not indeed curse them – he obeyed God. But his heart showed that he loved the gains of this world more than he loved and knew God. If there was any sort of inkling that God would change that, he would’ve cursed Israel for personal gain in a heartbeat.
On the outside, Balaam was a Christian, but on the inside, the worldly gains of this world has taken its roots deep into his soul.
The Story of a Watchman by Dwight L. Moody
There was a man working as a watchman on a level inter-crossing on a railway section. His responsibility was to wave a lamp to signal to warn the train when there was danger ahead and the train would stop and and prevent the train from an accident. One night there was a tremendous accident – the engine driver killed, many people on board killed, and the watchman was taken to a court of law. And the basic question asked to the watchman was this: “On the night that this accident took place, did you wave the lamp?”
And the watchman said “Yes sir, I waved the lamp.”
“Then why didn’t the train stop?”
“You’d have to ask the engine driver.”
“But the engine driver is dead.”
“That’s right.”
The judge asked the watchman again, “Did you wave the lamp?”
“Yes sir”
“I wanna ask you one more time sir, on the night of this fatality, were you on duty?”
“Yes sir”
“Did you wave the lamp?”
“Yes sir.”
After that case was over and the watchman was walking away, one of his friends says to the watchman “I don’t understand it, the judge asked you the same question 3 times, and each time he asked it, he seemed to be asking it with a greater degree of intensity, and you were answering it with a greater degree of weakness. Did you not wave the lamp?”
He said, “Yes I did.”
“Then why are you trembling? The answer is yes, whether he asked you a thousand times or one time, isn’t it?”
He said, “Yeah but, something was wrong.”
“What was wrong?”
“You see, the night that this fatality took place – this accident -took place, I was busy doing something else, and suddenly I knew there was danger ahead and I thought I had enough time before the train came, suddenly i heard the train coming, and I didn’t have enough time to put a light inside the lamp, I grabbed the lamp and went and waved it in front of the engine driver, there was no light inside of it, and the engine driver went on. But the man asked me if I waved the lamp, yes I did.”
The Watchman kept the letter of the Law, but he ripped its Spirit to shreds.
You see, Balaam waved the lamp but there was no light in it. Balaam did not curse the children of Israel, but he taught Balak, king of Moab, to send the Moabite women to the Israelite camp so that the Israelites will curse themselves.
“But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin.” - Revelation 2:14 (NLT)
The Bible says that there will be many Balaam in these days. On the outside Balaam looked pure but on the inside he is rotten. Those who for the love of personal gain, would cause someone to sin and cause a stumbling block.
What does ‘Give to God what is God’s’ mean?
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I didn’t quite get it why Jesus had to add that last phrase ‘and to God what is God’s’ – what is Jesus pertaining to? Everything? God owns everything. But why did He have to state the obvious during a time when he was being asked a trick question?
This entry was inspired by Ravi Zacharias in one of his podcasts and by Matthew 22:15-22
Let’s take a short look at the passage:
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar
Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. - Matthew 22:15-22 (NIV)
The Context
Taxes during the time were levied on people who are not Roman citizens. The Israelites hated this. They hated Roman tax. They were anti-government. But they also know that it is lawful to obey authority – under the governing human laws.
The Herodians thinks it is only right to pay taxes. They were pro government. Pro Caesar.
That means whether Jesus gives a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’, he will be hated – either by the Israelites or by the Herodians.
At this point, you are going to choose between two evils.
But Jesus did not.
He gave the most amazing, out of the box, out of this world, and yet simple, answer that we could never have thought of. He answered with the obvious and yet the answer is also an elusive one. Showing them a denarius, He simply asked: “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” and it was obvious who really owns the coin.
The Question
So why did Jesus have to add ‘and to God what is God’s’ – this is not really part of the question isn’t it?
At first I thought Jesus was only trying to add God into the picture. But then Ravi Zacharias points out a very interesting intent behind that statement.
Maybe Jesus was waiting for someone to ask “What is God’s?”
He would’ve answered “Where does God’s image lie?”
“So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. “ – Genesis 1:27
Give to God what is God’s. You owe Him yourself.
Stop and Surrender
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For an early twenty’s coming from a Chinese family in the Philippines, we’re suddenly expected of a lot of things: help out in the family business, if not have your own; cook, manage the home, prepare for marriage, drive and be successful, am I right?
This article was inspired by the Holy Spirit where God spoke to me during my girly days. I hope you guys can bear with me. 
These might be easy for many of you out there. But for me, I’m in dire need of help. I know this blog entry seems a little different from all the other blogs we have written but I just want to encourage and be encouraged by you readers.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I’m being pressured, I tend to compare what I am, what I have and what I’m going thru with other people. I don’t exactly talk about it but it goes thru my head. Inevitably, God knows.
As a gentleman He is, He responded by reminding me of this verse, John 21: 22, “Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” This verse told me that Jesus is focused and holding me accountable in my own walk, not in the walk of my parents or loved ones. It’s a
bout me and Him.
Whether or not I were jealous of the lives my friends have, overprotective of other family members or ‘controlling’ of the walk of a dear friend, God told me this has to stop. He knows best. As the Bible puts it in Luke 12: 25 “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”.
It doesn’t matter what my intentions are, I surrender to His loving care knowing that He loves my loved ones and me more than I can understand or even imagine.
Don’t get me wrong, we still have to do our part in warning our loved ones of the consequences of their sin, procrastination or unbelief; but it is ultimately up to God’s perfect Will and timetable when our desires will be met.
To close, please include me in your prayers as mentioned earlier. May I witness and walk closely with Jesus this 2012 in order to overcome the daily problems and expectations especially concerning the people I love. May it be a year of intimacy and close relationship as I continue to seek and know Him more.
Thank you and Happy New Year everyone!
Why is God Unfair?
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If you’ve been through life long enough to know that some bad, corrupt people prosper and some good people become poor and miserable, then you’ve already seen life’s unfairness. There is no justice – it has left this world. There is no balance, it has long passed away. And the only one who we can seem to comfortably and perhaps logically cast all the blame to is God.
This entry has been inspired by the message of Ace Balagtas in our Friday nights group in CCF St Francis Square – Love out Loud. I strongly feel that this is important so I wanted everyone who attended LoL last night to know this – and for all the readers of my blog as well.
God is unfair
That is what we all want to think. Because, who or what else is behind the ‘fairness’ or ‘justice’ of life? After all, if there is a God, shouldn’t it be His responsibility?
Let’s take the first case -what if there is no God? What if we just really came out of the big bang theory? Who do we blame then? Nobody. We have to accept the fact that life’s like that – no greater meaning, no higher reason, no nothing. When we live, we live for 70 good years. When we die, we perish into nothingness. Life’s like that.
But that’s obviously not the case. There is a God – and yes, he is pretty much responsible for everything.
The nature of God
In the Bible God describes Himself as love. He is also found to be patient in many cases. He also says that He is just.
“God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you” - 2 Thessalonians 1:6
Now if God’s nature is to be just – then that must mean He is also fair. Why then is there so much injustice and unfairness in our world today?
If God is just…
Remove from the nature of God patience and love and this is what you get
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” - 2 Peter 3:9
Everyone will perish without God’s patient and loving nature. The justice of God demands fairness. And fairness means paying the consequences for every action and deed.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” – Romans 3:23
We have sinned. That is the fact behind the nature of all human beings. And as payment so that justice can be achieved, this is what God’s moral law demands
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 6:23
Death.
Even those who want to get to heaven don’t want to die to get there.
Justice has two other aspects to it which God often uses for us - mercy and grace. But that’s for another blog entry.
The Justice of God
Is still ever-present. We cannot see it because we live in a marred world and our perspectives are blinded by the dogmas, the experiences, the preachings of this fallen existence. We cannot see further than Earth.
God was not just when He sent His Son here on Earth. We deserve death. Jesus was King and deserved to be King of all the heavens and even the Earth. Jesus was crucified – where’s the justice of God in crucifying an innocent man? The justice of God is fulfilled in His Kingdom – He gave Jesus the name above all names, put Him in the throne and lifted Him up.
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:9-11
The justice of God is fulfilled in His Kingdom – where justice resides. Here on Earth justice has long left – since sin came in to take over.
“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” - Romans 5:12
Good people who are poor and miserable in this Earth will have a place in heaven and they will get what is just in the next life. Evil people who become prosperous and powerful here on Earth will not escape what they deserve as justice will be consequently fulfilled in their next life.
At the end of it all, God is fair.
At the end of it all, the justice of God is an inescapable truth.
God is fair. We just don’t see it here and now because we are limited and the world has influenced our perspectives immeasurably. When you doubt the justice of God, go back to His Word. God says clearly that He is just – that is why He must punish sin. That is why He sent His son because His justice demands sacrifice. That is why we have to keep our faith in Him strong – remembering that everything will pass before His judgment and justice.
At the end of it all – that is what matters.
The Damage of the Fruit of Knowledge against Faith
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For us, to see is to believe. Because to see is to know without a doubt that something is true. You and I don’t like to believe what we do not know – because we’re unsure.
This entry has been inspired by the words of a certain young lady
The fruit of the knowledge of good and evil has become the most formidable opponent of faith. We hate it that we don’t know. We abhor it that we do not understand. We are not secure of the discontinuing logic. We will not be satisfied with the unexplainable.
“Nothing is so formidable to man as eternity” (Pascal) – because we cannot understand it. For us, eternity is a myth and heaven is boring with the popular idea of singing praises forever. Some people would rather settle for here and now. Heaven is unknown – and will remain to be until we get there. For us, heaven is a matter of faith.
And yet nothing is so unexplainable to man as faith.
We cling to knowledge as if it is the answer and key to our desires. To our heaven. To our being. To our own sense of fulfillment and completion. It is such a paradox that knowledge cannot completely coexist with faith.
For knowing demolishes that which you would believe without understanding. Knowledge and faith can be two opposing matters of our being. And yet they are not mutually exclusive for you have to know the object of your faith – that which you would put your entire self to believe in beyond reason, knowledge or understanding.
We are fallen with the first bite of the knowledge of good and evil.
Saved by grace through faith.
Faith – the only thing that can never be attained by knowledge.
Isn’t it such a wonder how God ordained things to be?
How do you ask God for a Sign?
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We all want answers. We all want to be sure. We all want to know. So we ask, we think – we test the waters. Often before we make a major move in our lives, we ask God for a sign.
“Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” – Isaiah 7:11
Is it right to ask God for a sign? To test Him?
Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’” – Luke 4:12 (NLT)
The background of Jesus telling this is when Satan was tempting Him to jump and to have God’s angels carry Him so that He will not hurt Himself when He falls. It is a selfish and pointless testing that Satan was asking Jesus to do.
But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.” – Isaiah 7:12
The background of this verse is that Isaiah was telling king Ahaz to ask God for a sign in order to prove the prophecy that Judah will not fall to the hands of Israel and Aram – both of which was already on the move to invade Judah. But Ahaz said that he will not put God to the test. But God knew the heart of Ahaz because Ahaz had already sought help from the king of Assyria and so he thought that he did not need God’s help anymore.
“Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?” - Isaiah 7:13
See, God wants to help us. God wants to bless us. God wants to give us answers – if it will glorify Him and will accomplish His purposes. Ahaz did not want God’s help due to pride so that he can say that, in the end, it wasn’t God who helped him out but his own cunning. He put his faith in the king of Assyria. Little did he know that soon after, Assyria would soon also turn his eyes on Judah (king Ahaz’s kingdom).
God wants His people to depend on Him for deliverance. In our lives today, asking God for a sign connotes that we want His answer before we move. But God also knows our motives. If we’re asking Him for a sign for ourselves – a selfish and pointless desire to know then chances are, you won’t get any.
On the other hand, if you really want to seek God’s Kingdom and you really have a heart for God, He says in His Word,
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” – Matthew 21:22
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” - Luke 11:9
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” - Matthew 6:33
Search your heart. What is it that you really want?
Go ahead and ask God for a sign.
The Secret Behind Death
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We all know that we are going to die. That’s a fact. And yet people nowadays live like there is no dying. We desire success, we want to gain fame, power, pleasure, riches – the world. Just how do we live through the paradox of life? Which is right – to live like there’s no tomorrow? Or to enjoy and focus on today?
“Nothing is so important to man as his own state, nothing is so formidable to him as eternity; and thus it is not natural that there should be men indifferent to the loss of their existence, and to the perils of everlasting suffering. They are quite different with regard to all other things. They are afraid of mere trifles; they foresee them; they feel them. And this same man who spends so many days and nights in rage and despair at the loss of an office, or for some imaginary insult to his honor, is the very one who knows without anxiety and without emotion that he will lose all by death. It is a monstrous thing to see in the same heart and at the same time this sensibility to trifles and this strange insensibility to the greatest objects. It is an incomprehensible enchantment.”- Pascal in his book (Pensées)
In Light of Eternity
Men are mortal. Eternity is impossible. It’s that simple. No one can live forever. In the face of the Earth, everyone who has lived has died (or has disappeared). For us, death is reality and eternity is a myth. So we work, we play, we love and we create. We study, we tell tales, we make friends and explore. We do everything we can to live this life as much as we want.
We desire success – a word which has been variously defined by various people. For some, success is fame, for some, it’s status, for some, it’s money, for some, it’s love, for some, it’s charity. Still for some, it’s living life in light of the promise of eternity. Different people, different meaning, different directions.
But we all know we are gonna die.
Is this All?
“A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God” – Ecclesiastes 2:24
Solomon wrote about the vanity of life under the sun (apart from heaven). Notice he says that ‘a man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work’ – apart from the promise of heaven and eternity, our lives are going to be all about that. Food to eat, water or other beverages to drink, and work to keep ourselves busy.
A mortal life is boring.
Made to Last
God has set in the hearts of men something eternal. We all long for eternity. In other words, if given the chance, everyone wants to live forever. Because that was our original design. When Adam and Eve were created, they were designed to live forever with God. But the entrance of sin through Adam and Eve’s disobedience and lack of faith made sure that men ‘would surely die’.
We were created in paradise. And that is why so many people today long to ‘recreate’ in their own way, that sort of ‘paradise’ that they long for. You and I long for paradise. The paradise that we lost in the fall of man. We desire that.
Men were not only created for eternity, we were created for paradise. That is where we belong. We can never have that now.
Thank God men are mortal.
The Promise of Eternity
The moment man have sinned, we felt the disconnection from God. We know something was wrong. So we hid. God sought us out. He asked us three questions:
“Where are you?” – God is looking for us. Where are we? Why are we there? What is our current condition? Why are we trying to hide from God? Why aren’t we walking with Him?
“Who told you that you were naked?” – Who told you that what you did was wrong? Who showed you your nakedness? Your helplessness? Your sinfulness?
“What have you done?”- Do you realize the gravity of your actions? Do you take responsibility for it? Do you know the extent of the consequences?
It is quite obvious.
God wants us back.
Thank God that He banished us from paradise. Or we could have taken from the tree of life too – and live forever… Forever apart from God.
Then paradise would seem empty. It will not be paradise. It would be a drug.
God wants us back. We were designed for eternity and paradise and we still feel it in our hearts. And yet eternity feels like a chain that we have to carry with us.
“…nothing is so formidable to him as eternity…” - Pascal in his book (Pensées)
Sometimes Christianity seems like a burden and a cage that we cannot escape. We want freedom.
2 Kinds of Freedom
In this world we live in, there are only 2 kinds of freedom. The freedom of Christ and the freedom of the world. If you are under Christ, your freedom is to live in Him and under Him. To live in eternity. If your freedom is with the world, you are free to do as you like here while you live.
You cannot serve 2 masters.
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other…” - Matthew 6:24
Likewise, you cannot have 2 freedoms. As light opposes darkness, so one opposes the other.
“…For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” – 2 Corinthians 6:14
We are free to choose what kind of freedom we want. We all have a choice.
One life to live. One freedom.
Men are mortal.
Choose wisely. Live your life in light of eternity.
