Blue Flame

Walking the narrow road

2012-01-25T14:28:00.005-06:00

One danger and temptation in discipleship is to tell people Jesus doesn´t expect transformation from us.

But an equally or perhaps more damaging blow is to provide people with just rules to go with. If we do that, we prove ourselves unfaithful to Jesus. Yeah. No question He would want us to open up the Bible, to find the principles we must agree with and apply to our lives.

Such principles must be taught, but not as mere rules to be followed. If anything, my short experience discipling teaches me to strive to make clear at least four things in my exhortations:

1. To uphold the Word of God, the source of all our wisdom.

2. To comfront people with Jesus as the Forgiver of all our sin. Is anything too hard for us to obey given the full forgiveness of sins we´ve received from Him? He is our Savior.

3. To encourage people with Jesus as the All Powerful One. Is anything too hard for Him to overcome in us if we only ask it of Him in prayer? He is our Lord.

4. To present Jesus as the One deserving all our honor and praise. Is anything more valuable and worthy than Him? He is our God!

Point people to Jesus, brother. Thanks!

Beginning of 2012

2012-01-01T02:19:00.002-06:00

I'm 5% short of replenishing full strength to my battery. However I need a stronger force to refill me with love and passion.

You know, it's funny. It's the beginning of another year full of hopes and dreams to chase. But somehow in my soul there is such a clear sense of my fragility. And that's why I chose to run instead here. To pour out my soul before you Oh Lord. To offer a little prayer to you in writing this. You know me. Better than anyone who would ever read this. You love me better than anybody on this planet. And I still feel the sense that I need you more in my life. Maybe that is what you want to teach me right at the start of this new season of life.

Mom blessed me with a particular blessing when we hug at midnight. Lots of noise outside. But they have subsided and have yielded to a extended silence. I'm left with the echo of her voice and owning her wishes as mine. A few hours ago Dad was wondering at the length of time I have spent back in my homeland ever since my return. I wasn´t counting them. Just living them. But if I am to be truly honest, I must acknowledge that I haven't been living them fully. Rather there were no months in these 48-month period where I did not complain about my current station...

...Yet all that needs change and my life a special refocus on things that really matter. But nothing of that would work if the right attitude is absent. Help I need. To always bring to mind how good have you been God with me giving me the past year and the previous ones more than I could ever deserve. And this is all your doing. I hear story after story -and have lived a few of them!- where I realize this great truth: Your love is deeper still. Mend my heart Jesus and give me always of the everlasting waters that I may never thirst again. Oh, yeah. Thank you!

Look on the Son!

2011-05-28T11:01:00.007-05:00

If we would stop thinking that the will of God has to do more with the clothes you are going to wear today, the boy you are going to date tomorrow, the color of the car you are going to buy next month, the house you are going to upgrade to next year and all vane and worldly pursuits, BUT rather understand once and for all that God's will concerns more with righteousness and merry obedience to God, THEN we would start seeing changes across our communities and the world.

If so, where to begin? Reminding ourselves Jesus' words whose will was to do His Father's will. And this is His Father's will:

39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (Jn 6:39-40)

No righteousness can be pursued in life until we get that single thing right first: looking on the Son and believing in him.

Latest happenings

2011-03-24T21:58:00.004-05:00

Today I awoke with the feeling of having been instructed in a dream to keep on writing the journal I began in 2005. Not that I think I have anything worthy to leave in writing but this is more for my soul I guess.

How then to start writing? Tears flowing down my eyes while falling on my knees at prayer meeting yesterday night? Me still battling my fears of inadequacy? Or could it be a funny way for God to answer my prayer at the close of last year: more faith, more humility, more love...

Still far from the mark, let me tell you. Just a couple of things pass through my mind and a third one.

First that I discovered (or rather rediscovered) what I could not say to my aunt when having a meal with my parents and siblings. I did not have an answer to her question: "what is faith". And having heard over the course of two or more years people God has blessed to come alongside, I was sick of that chant that I even began to believe and administer in little pills to one of my students: "have faith". Her question took me aback while her demeanor was rather pesimistic: "but teacher, whan is then faith". And I blew it. I gave the "common sense" worldly snippet to her. And I'm sorry for it. Now, I began to see everything clearer but in connection with Christ. Faith is not self-confidence but rather a humble and joyful confidence in Christ who is greater than you yet closer to you. You are rewarded if you seek Him. Hebrews 11:6?

Second, that I saw a direct application of the verse I started to believe more firmly recently. Rom 8:28. Favorite of many people.

"And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those called according to His purpose"

And as I'm reading verses of Philippians this month, I saw Paul's application of that verse in His own life:

"12 I want you to know, brothers, [5] that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard [6] and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ." (Phil 1:12-13)

Paul understood that his imprisonment wasn't a pointless thing. He saw it in connection with the gospel and with the hero of the gospel: Christ. And that hit me. As I reflect on the latest happenings in my life I could not help myself but to think how tired I am of being battered, bruised and struck down. But, I know that He is taking hold of me. He hasn't deserted me. Yes, I appreciate the prayers of my brothers and sisters who might be thinking I am in a very sorry condition. But as I said one of my friends lately: "if we could only know what the Savior suffered"...

Finally, God is answering another prayer of mine to become more bold in bringing others to glorify Him. For He calls everyone, each and every one of his creatures to glorify Him. One aspect of that is to thank Him for the meals that are placed before us. Maybe some would think of this as a pointless religious act Christians do, but hey wouldn't it be great to bring non-Christians along to thank God for the food He provided for you. And I was happy my friend did not reject me at my request. He even prayed God to bless me as I often don't ask this in prayers of mine. This also was a manifestation of the grace of God in my life.

Could I say with joy amidst the storms that I have a dear Savior who love me and will never leave me? Yes, amen and amen. Glory to Jesus forever and ever! None but Jesus!

P.D. For those of you who know Spanish this is the soundtrack of this post:

JE's resolution #15: Blessing those who act irrationally against us

2011-02-15T18:08:00.003-06:00

15. Resolved, Never to suffer the least motions of anger toward irrational beings

Given that anger is an emotional response of displeasure to someone's wrongdoing, then I understand such person as acting irrationally when he doesn't reason before or while performing his action. Conversely, someone is rational when he acts with premeditation and when to a fair extent he is aware both of the motives that drive him to action and of its consequences.

But are we to read the resolution between lines and conclude that is legitimate to feel angry at rational beings? Wasn't that Jesus' experience? Indeed, He became angry at those who were testing him by asking whether healing on a Sabbath was lawful. They weren't questioning him out of lack of knowledge nor because they were crazy. So, it is understable and right for Jesus to feel angry at them because he knew clearly the motives -they wanted to seek a fault to accuse him- behind their questioning. They weren't irrational at all.

But what about us? We can't clearly look at other peoples' motives! However, we can pray for them and for the situation. We can also reason with them, namely asking questions to clarify our own understanding of their actions and discern whether they have been acting rationally or not.

Now, there would be cases when we would not even try reasoning with them. If they are under the effect of alcohol or drugs or with a mental illness then they are not acting rationally even if they harm us. In such cases, anger is not a proper response. By getting angry at them and by acting driven by such anger we would not only be wasting time and energy. We would be sinning by taking revenge in our own hands rather than trusting God who will ultimately does us justice. Indeed God's counsel is: "overcome evil with good"(*)

May it be so.

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it [9] to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-21)

(*)The implications of this principle are vast and are out of the scope of this short reflection. It will suffice to say that this overcoming involves not only a passive response on our behalf but also an active one. For the latter, we must be thankful to God for legislation passed within our own societies in order to minimize irrational behavior in the citizens of the state.

JE's resolution # 14: Being willing to endure suffering

2011-01-29T14:58:00.005-06:00

14. Resolved, Never to do anything out of revenge

Revenge is, according to the dictionary, punishing others for a perceived wrong. As in soap operas or movies, we may think of killing or murdering as the sort of punishment that is in view here. I can hardly believe the author had only that in mind.

Say your employer denies the raise you asked of him. What shall you do? If you respond lowering your productivity, then you might be acting out of revenge. Say your mother tells you are not to going to that amusement park. What will you do? Perhaps grumble a little or accept it. But then, your mood changes. For a day, for a week and so forth. Or perhaps you plunge into inmorality. You might be acting out of revenge.

Going back to the working place example. Perhaps the employer is not appreciating your hard work and effort. You perceive this as injustice. Whether this is true or not, it's not the point here. Whether this injustice is big or small, still it's not the point in view. Question is: would you be willing to suffer this injustice? Or would you be quick to complain and act faithlessly?

Bottom line is this: we are quite unwilling to endure suffering.

There is a positive side to such unwillingness to endure suffering. It points us out that suffering is not the way things should be. Moreover, it brings along a desire for another world. One where suffering will be no more. Such world will come one day and its author would be our God and Father. Hoping this is key in our daily fight of faith.

But acting out of revenge manifests a bad unwillingness to suffer a wrong because it seeks to destroy the surface cause of the wrong as the sure way to eliminate the suffering and its consecuences. And someone who gets at the point of revenge has firstly convinced himself that suffering is not to be endured because suffering itself is pointless.

But suffering does have a purpose. A true disciple of Christ expects it to happen along his journey. He recognizes the vine needs maintenence to grow properly. The Gardener prunes the branches so that the vine grows more and more fruit. Imagine how much more wine can be had then!

Enduring suffering in this fallen world isn't an easy task. At the end of the day, we must take heart that if we are in Christ even suffering is not for our ultimate destruction but only for our good. Our Father truly loves us and so gives us always bread instead of stones. May our hope be in Him forever.

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

JE's resolution #13: Being aware of the needs of my neighbor

2011-01-27T11:04:00.007-06:00

13. Resolved, To be endeavoring to find out fit objects of charity and liberality

This resolution seems to prompt an absurd question: who is a fit object of my charity and liberality? Seems like that other famous one "who is my neighbor"?

If we're tempted to think so, then we have our Savior's commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself". Seek the good of your neighbor in the same way you seek your own good. Bless your neighbor as you bless yourself. Clearly, the assumption is that we're alreading seeking our own good which is true whether we accept it or not.

But if the resolution was not meant to distinguish between people who deserve our charity and people who don't, then what's its value or its aim? Our Lord gives us a clear picture of this:

34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36)

Our Lord gives us a sample list of fit objects of the charity and liberality of His sheep. Fed the hungry. Gave a drink to the thirsty. Welcomed the stranger. Clothed the naked. Visited with the sick and the prisoner.

Convicting, isnt' it?

Honestly, anytime I read these words it always has an impact on me. How little or how much I do, God knows. And I pray I do not grow dull at his warning but rather more responsive as I grow old.

To not grow dull, it may help me ask a few things to myself. Doesn't Jesus provide always for my physical needs? And what about the spiritual ones? Hasn't He given me the bread of his body and his blood to drink by dying in my place? Hasn't he entreated me when a stranger and alienated from him? Hasn't he clothed me with the robe of His righteousness? Hasn't he come down from Heaven to visit me in my sickness and bondage to sin? Questions I need to ponder more often.

Make me a worthy sheep in your fold, O Lord!

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)

JE's resolution #12: Checking our motives for growth

2011-01-26T12:22:00.004-06:00

12. Resolved, If I take delight in it as a gratification of pride or vanity, or on any such account, immediately to throw it by.

This resolution goes head to head with the previous one. Its purpose is to help us check our motives for growing in our knowledge of God.

It is good that we delight in knowing God and Bible doctrines, but only when the things that lead us into such study are right. So, we should ask ourselves: what are really our motives to know God and Bible doctrines more broadly and more deeply? Is it because we want to boast before others or to ourselves that we understand better? Or do we just want to know more because it would be nice to understand something?

If pride or vanity or anything like that motivates our study, then we stop our study because it will not profit us nor give glory to God. Any study whose aim is not to help us grow in Biblical godliness is bound for failure.

This isn't to say that all Bible study, material or exposition should have an explicit application or study guide. It's OK if the application is implicit. It is far more important that we be confronted to ponder and then to will. Will we rather fix our eyes in Jesus or choose to look elsewhere?

May we see Christ more clearly through the daily fog we face

12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Cor 13:12)

JE's resolution #11: Growing in the knowledge of Jesus

2011-01-25T10:29:00.007-06:00

When I think of any theorem in divinity to be solved, immediately to do what I can towards solving it, if circumstances do not hinder

The young Jonathan Edwards was to become a pastor and a theologian. So, at first sight, this resolution may give us the impression that is applicable to people like him. After all, what theologian would not want to advance his own field by seeking to further understand truths concerning God and divine things.

But what about us who are not formal theologians? Can we still apply this resolution to ourselves? Not until we realize that we're also theologians of some sort. Whether we believe in God or not, we hold some things to be true about the nature of God and divine things. In Edwards's words, we have our own "theorems in divinity".

But what about that verse that tells us that God's ways are higher than ours? Or what about that other one that says that knowledge puffs up? Is there any profit in trying to figure God out if God is God and we're but dust?

There must be plenty of. God wants to be known by us. That's one of the points of Jesus' incarnation. And Jesus himself said that eternal life consists in knowing His Father and the One whom He had sent.

3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

So which is it? Should we try to know God or should we not? A theorem in divinity lurking inside us must be challenged. Behold, the heart of Edward's resolution: To do what you can towards solving it if circumstances do not hinder, namely to remove the doubt and replace it with faith once you had taken care of your other responsabilities.

Solving theological theorems, at least the ones concerning fundamental doctrines of our faith, is needed because if Jesus is really Lord of our life, our souls would will what they understand about grace, sin, God, Christ, faith among other divine things. Our thinking, our feelings, and our relationship to God and to people will be greatly influenced by our humble understanding of doctrine. Such understanding can take place through studying the Bible, hearing God's word preached, reading helpful Bible resources, getting pastoral care and counsel, some of the means that come to mind.

Understanding God's particular workings with us is quite a challenge. Much around us we could not and will not understand until we meet Him. And that should prove humbling to us. But the things He has revealed to us, we can and should know, especially concerning Himself. We are not orphans. We have him as a Father. We are not helpless. We have His Spirit to guide us through thick and thin. And we have a Good Shepherd who always cares for us. From his hand we'll take the food we need to grow.

18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Overcoming idleness

2011-01-24T21:17:00.004-06:00

I intend to continue to blog JE's resolutions. Having written a blog on some of the changes I've seen in me, I think it's fitting to confess where I've been failing most since I wrote this series. One thing stands out. I don't think I'm doing my best in making good use of the time all the time.

Time gets easily wasted. For instance, in social networking and checking e-mail for quite a bit of time.

But old habits die hard. Social networking or checking e-mail are not inherently wrong activities. But, someone could say, "what's wrong with staying idle before the PC after being done reading and responding letters?" Nothing? Perhaps. But what if such idleness steals time away. Time that you could invest in going earlier to bed so that in turn you would rise earlier and better serve your body, your soul and others.

That's my ongoing lesson. But the biggest lesson to learn is to trust God to help me see why I still stand idle and to rely on His grace to overcome

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

30-min walk with a whole different mindset

2011-01-21T11:43:00.004-06:00

I asked the Lord this year to grow more love, more faith and more humility among several other things. So, one of the things I'm using toward that goal of constant growing is writing and reflecting upon other writings like the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards, younger than me when he wrote them.

If anything, I could share a few things and attitudes changing in me.

A few months ago, I used to do a a 30-min walk around the neighborhood. Not very consistently by the way. So, I gave up after a couple of weeks more or less. Reason? I grew tired of that. The thing that kept me going one day wasn't there any longer. My motives (the Lord knows) for exercising were out of place.

Yesterday, I resumed walking with a different mindset. God used JE to get me to this point.

See. If your purpose in life is to live out for God, why not exercise then? If exercising your body a bit a few days a week, could keep you a bit healthier, why not give it a try? You know, nobody wants to get sick. But instead of exercising to "stay healthy", why not add some purposeful words to that: to "stay healthy that I may be more effective in my calling".

Now, that is a whole different mindset: for the glory of God, for your own good and for the general good of mankind.

Tomorrow, I'll resume blogging on JE's resolutions. Anything you'd like to share? Feel free to post a comment!

The Father's song

2011-01-16T23:06:00.001-06:00

"...he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing." (Zeph 3:17)

Break needed

2011-01-14T20:29:00.002-06:00

After blogging the first 10 resolutions of Jonathan Edwards, I'm ready for a break. Not only to look back on them, but to invest my time in resting over the weekend, preparing the youth group teaching for tomorrow and the sunday school class.

Ironies of life? I'm going to the dentist on Monday. Time to recall the latest resolution. Yep, and pray my tooth doesn't hurt too much over the weekend. Thanks!

Grace and Peace

JE's resolution #10: My present pains won't turn worse

2011-01-13T22:26:00.005-06:00

10. Resolved, When I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom and hell

Not long ago, my dentist adviced me to get all my wisdom teeth pulled out. He laid before me two options: either one at a time or all at once. I went for second choice. Next morning I was at his office. I don't remember how long it took him to do his job. Once I left his office, I ran to buy the pain killers he prescribed and from there I went home for the rest of the day. I could hardly rest. You can fill in the rest. That experience became the most painful physical one I ever endured in my life.

Looking back, I clearly recall I encouraged myself through the pain reminding myself of this present resolution. I concluded that this pain of mine was worth half a penny compared to multi-billion dollar debt of hell, place from which I've been rescued by God's amazing grace.

Now, don't get me wrong here. Pain is real. Our days are evil. Physical pain. Spiritual oppresion. Sickness. Death. I'm not saying we should treat our suffering flippantly. No. We mourn with those who mourn and feeling sadness it's normal when trials strike. However, hopelessly wallowing in one's own pain does not glorify God. Going that way, our suffering would slowly and inadvertingly begin usurping God's place in our hearts. That's dangerous. To say it bluntly: it's plain idolatry and we must repent of.

I believe this resolution aims for this: both to help us stop focusing primarily on our suffering and to redirect our attention to our merciful and loving God who does not treat us how we deserve, who doesn't send us to a real and exceedingly painful Hell but rather take us into the glories of a Heaven He is preparing for those who love His son.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame; [1]
he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:11-14)

JE's resolution #9: hoping for your best dream ever

2011-01-12T10:15:00.005-06:00

9. Resolved, To think much, on all occasions, of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death

Anyone reading at that most likely is thinking: "what?". It seems too harsh for anyone to trouble himself with such a burdensome thought. Doesn't this contradict our former resolution of "living to the full"?

One should go here with the author's intent. Why would he think it profitable to himself to entertain thoughts of his own dying? Which common circumstances of death was we referring to? Would occupying his mind on this would render glory to God?

Honestly, I don't see it clearly. But I have some observations:

1. He is not saying he will entertain thoughts of other people dying.
I find it hard to believe for Jonathan Edwards to sit and watch horror movies on a t.v. screen -I don't like them either!

2. It brings no comfort at all for an unbeliever to think of his own dying.
It is terrible for an unbeliever to entertain thoughts of his own dying. It could make him sad. It might plunge him into depression. Tears may even be shed while thinking of circumstances of his own dying. But not necessarily because of missing himself on earth. Those bitter tears might even come at imagining his own dying as a late vindication before people who unyieldingly defied every capricious act of his.

3. Properly done, thinking of his own dying could comfort the one who trusts Jesus.
I can see a bad way to entertain thoughts of your own dying: to think about it in the same way an unbeliever does. Maybe like what was described above? OK, but if you are to think properly about it, how are you to see your own death? Should it bring joy to your heart?

No and yes. First, I say no, because real sadness may surely befall you when thinking about what would happen to our relatives and friends after we're gone from this world. You would comfort yourself by praying and believing that God will take care of them. Last but not least, I'd say YES, because once you die our mission is over. You're finally meeting Jesus! Wasn't that what you always wanted? Wasn't that your best dream ever while alive on earth?

May it be so.

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, [1] they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:32-38, emphasis mine)

In Christ, we will surely rise to a better life.

JE's resolution #8: Stepping off from the high chair of self-righteousness

2011-01-11T18:25:00.005-06:00

8. Resolved, To act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had comitted the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confession my own sins and misery to God

This resolution stems from deep seated Biblical convictions: nobody is righteous, we all have sinned and have fallen from God's glory.

Failing to give prominent place in our thoughts to those truths daily is easy. In fact, we realize we're doing so when we're stung by feelings of moral superiority and self-righteousness and judgementalism at anybody who happens to cross our way. This becomes downright pathetic when creepy phrases like "why are you like that?" are hurled in the midst of our frustration at people.

Therefore remind yourself that you're the worst sinner that you know. This is not the same as to claim you are the worst sinner ever -likely this won't be your case. Rather, this has to do more with getting a general attitude of our hearts towards fellow sinners. Finally, this has nothing to do with us all getting a "let's all get in the mud" mindset that would launch us into societal chaos of injustice by not dealing with the legal consequences of wrongdoing. Surely, this must be done yet properly.

Leaving the high chair of self-righteousness to the leveled floor is necessary if one is to learn to see others with the compassion and mercy one has received. Learning that one is as capable of falling in the same or worse sins as fellow sinners should prove humbling. Even more for Christians who know they are who they are because of God's grace. Personal application of this resolution should prompt me to do at least three things:

1. To halt judgement in my heart and restraining my mouth when others fall, forgiving them if found myself in the offended side.
2. To see their failing as a opportunity to confess my own sins to God.
3. To pray for those I see failing in sin: That they become aware of sin, that they repent of it and that they receive mercy from God Most High.

Now, to the One who humbled himself unto death for us and who never sinned and to this very day intercedes for us, be all honor, glory and power.

Amen.

3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. (Phil 2:3)

JE's resolution #7: Being sobered by your frailty

2011-01-10T19:34:00.009-06:00

7. Resolved, Never to do anything which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life

It is hard for me to imagine myself living the last hour of my life. But that would be the appropriate context to think about what things I would be afraid to do in such last hour. Without such context, this resolution is really hard to apply.

That's no wonder, because if we review current statistics, we'll find that few people die young while most people age up to 70. Based solely on that, I would think it likely for me to die an old man. But should I place my trust on statistics? Nope. The fact that I woke up today and found myself still alive is a miracle. I grow shocked at countless people who don't give a thought to why they are still alive. That is taken for granted as the rising of the sun every morning.

But one day our sun will rise no more. Either utter darkness or unspeakable glory awaits us on the other side of eternity.

Taking it all together, what would you be afraid to do if you knew you were living your last hour? Or what would you do in that last hour? Would you talk to Jesus like the repenting good thief or like the scornful one? What would you do to your body then? How would you treat your own soul? How would you view others? What would you say to your unbelieving friend or relative who would visit you or call you in your agonizing bed? Would I live like that?

"Read Bible. Believe Jesus." -- last and trembling words of a frail old lady on her dying bed to her unbelieving brother, as narrated by her son, now a minister of the gospel of Jesus.

8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

JE's resolution #6: Living to the full

2011-01-09T22:31:00.007-06:00

To live with all my might while I do live

This resolution seems to me to do more with our attitude toward what lies ahead for us on this earthly life. As life is made up of little steps on the way to the summit, one could take this resolution to mean something like "to live with all the physical strength I have while I do live". If so, does then the progress we make in our journey depend on our physical health? Or living with all our might includes doing works of righteousness with all the emotional and spiritual health possible? I take it to include those three aspects. And I can't think of an optimum in each of those areas. What I know is that should not back off from asking God to bless us with health but not for its own sake, I mean "because it's nice to feel healthy". Rather, health is a blessing to be used to advance God's purposes on earth for as long as we live here.

So, there is but one life. Live it to the full. Apply discernment to know what that means. Again, wisdom from above is key.

Finally, remember that if you are in Christ, you not only have this life, but also the next one to delight forever in an unknown yet glorious world to come together with Jesus who died for you that you might live for Him.

15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (2 Cor 5:15)

JE's resolution #5: Investing God's time wisely

2011-01-08T17:31:00.003-06:00

5. Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can

As with the previous resolutions, this one requires a high dose of wisdom. It may be illuminating to look again at a few questions derived from the resolution:

1. What does it mean to lose time?
2. What does it mean to improve time?
3. What is the most profitable way to use time? If so, is it sustainable?

Questions #1 and #2 are indeed the same. Losing time is not making good use of it while improving time means to make good use of it. Unless used in the most profitable way, time is wasted. OK, question now is who is its main beneficiary? I hope this becomes evident as we think of at least three areas for application.

1. Invest time for your soul
Time, like anything else we experience around us is a gift from God. Thus, the gift is to be received and used to glorify Him. Here we begin, with the spiritual dimension, investing it in knowing God, in praying, in hearing from Him, in serving His people, in reaching out to others and so forth.

2. Invest time for your body
Clearly, time is not be used solely in spiritual endeavours. We not only have an spirit but a body that needs care. But how much care should we take of ours? I think whatever is enough to be able to carry in a proper way the roles we have been called to by God. This implies, that there is no need to rush eating and drinking to get more work done. Or to skip meals because there is an important deadline. Or to deprive yourself of rest and sleep. Even if you think you're young and strong! No, please (and I'm preaching to myself here too!). More can be said, but again the key word here is wisdom from above.

3. Invest time for the tasks your roles demand
This is a tricky one. For instance, if you're a parent how much time should you spend parenting? Or if you're a pastor, how much time should you spend counseling and preparing your sermon? Or if you're a teacher, how much time for class preparing? Or what about time spent in entertainment, like in watching T.V., movies and social networking? Clearly, some of these things you can decide wisely and fine tune according to circumstances, but what about situations where you are close to helpless to control? What about time spent in a traffic jam? Or in the middle of a burocratic delay? If these "unexpected" delays and "wasting" of time are inevitable, then how should we use that time? Spend it in complaining? Probably not. There might be better uses for it. Probably not opening your laptop and start word processing that paper. What about some of the things outlined above?

Bottom line to all this is asking God wisdom to know how to better use His gift of time. He gave us a fixed amount to accomplish His purposes for us, the mission He has set us on earth for. And if we fail in the middle of it, may we be sobered to remember that our limited time resources are a reminder of our fragility. But also encouraged that He who never sleeps sustains us even in our very sleep until the day we drop and go home with Him.

"So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom" Psalm 90:12

JE's resolution #4: Being a blessing

2011-01-07T09:37:00.007-06:00

4. Resolved, Never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can possibly avoid it.

I love talking to the young people in my church. It's encouraging seeing young men serving and striving to glorify God in their early 20s. They come with interesting questions. One of them seems to be a form of "what am I allowed to do?" or "what am I forbidden to do?". I have yet to see anyone asking "how much is too much?".

So what would you say to that? A couple of scenarios:

Scenario 1: New convert asks evangelist: "what do you forbid us to do now?". Evangelist: "Nothing. Neither have we come with religion nor with prohibitions to you. Btw, there is that cool verse in the Bible that says: "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything". What do you think?"

Scenario 2: Seeker/visitor asks pastor: "what do you forbid people to do?". Pastor: "We don't forbid anything except sinning"

Scenario #1 is a bit stretched but scenario #2 is actually my pastor answering other people who asked me that question. I was amazed at his wisdom.

So, I gave the young men that answer and they smiled at the crafty answer. One even said: "So, that means everything!". Nope. Here is where you need to ask wisdom and read your bible.

Let's think of some situations. Is drinking forbidden? Nope. Although, I don't drink beer because is too bitter for my taste, I don't mind a little wine, every now and then. I've no problem with that. I don't see the Bible labeling drinking as a sin, but rather drunkeness.

That's the easy one, I believe. But even here, one is to use wisdom. In presence of a weak brother or sister we refrain on exercising our liberty out of love for them.

20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. (Rom 14:20-21)

But you are not allowed to play the weak brother card forever and use it as an excuse to deter your stronger brothers in exercising their liberty. If anything, you're called to grow in your understanding of the will of God as well as in growing fruit of the Spirit, being self-control one of them. Indeed the last in the list!

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23)

Back to the resolution. We're challenged not only merely to avoid sin but to do what tends to the glory of God. So that's an step ahead of exercising Christian liberty. Indeed I see it as a challenge to bless God and bless other people with what we have.

For instance, suppose you are invited to go to a sweet sixteen with your friends. Should you wonder if this is an ocassion to exercisy your freedom or it is something flat out forbidden to you? Or should you rather ask yourself a different question? What about asking this: would my participation in this party glorify God? If so, how can I be a blessing to the people at that social event? Easy answers? No. That's why you have your ruling guide (the Bible) and your Lord (Jesus) to guide you through. Trust him on this and more.

17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:17)

NOTE 1:
* 1 Cor 6:12 and 1 Cor 10:23 are oft-quoted for some teachers to give the impression -whether they intend it or not- that a Christian can engage in debauchery with no consequences at all. I believe the ESV Bible gives the right rendition to those verses, placing quotation marks to the phrases the Corinthians might have been saying to excuse their wrongdoing.

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything. (1 Cor 6:12)

23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. (1 Cor 10:23)

JE's resolution #3: Repenting of sin and trusting more in Jesus

2011-01-06T11:26:00.004-06:00

If ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again

Growing dull. Falling down, and not on my face or on my knees. Being there, done that. Indeed, I think some cracks have been evident in my walk as I began commenting these resolutions. Once more, a set of probing questions:

1. Will I ever fall again?
2. Will I ever grow dull again?
3. Will I neglect keeping these resolutions?
4. Will I repent? How quick would I be in doing so?
5. Will I come to myself again?
6. Who is myself suppose to be?

I believe the answer to the first five is 'yes'. The most interesting question to reflect on is #6. And there is where I need to remember first and foremost the gospel. More than any details in these resolutions, that is what I need to remember day in and day out.

Who am I? A Christian. Who is a Christian? A Christian is someone who believes in his heart that His Lord died for him and rose from the dead, belief that goes against 'common sense', the so called 'law of life' as a friend put it to me. Not only that, but a Christian is one who gladly and willfully confesses -and so submits to- Jesus as his Lord...a Jesus he hasn't seen, which again goes against 'common sense'. The world may understand if you are amazed at some of the teachings of Jesus, or even if you admire Jesus, but "being serious about Him? I mean, obeying Him? What? But if you have never seen Him!? Are you crazy?"

Even more, a Christian is one with a certain hope. He hasn't seen Jesus yet He loves Him and obeys Him. That's part of what it means glorifying God! A Christian is assured by the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures that He WILL see His Savior and Lord. On that day, his heart will rest finally. He will not be put to shame.

Falling down and growing dull is expected on the way to the summit. Yes, we pray that the ditches we may fall in are not too deep that we lose sight of Him and that we get back on track quick to do what we've been commanded to do. Yet our journey is not without dangers. We may find treacherous tracks. Rocks may fall on us, even killing us. Either way, Jesus will bring us back to life because we trusted Him despite the fiery trails.

So, let us repent of our sin and trust Him even more. Nevermind if the world deems us fools. He is not ashamed to be our brother. He is with us. Forever.

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” Romans 10:9-11

JE's resolution #2: Seeking to be more effective

2011-01-05T10:53:00.008-06:00

Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new contrivance and invention to promote the forementioned things

If you'd ask a housewife 40 years ago whether she would want to use a refrigerator, I think she would have said "yes, why not?". After all, why not use an appliance that would cut significantly visits to the market to buy dairy, poultry and vegetables? She would save money in transportation and have more time to invest in other house activities or even to rest.

Back then, of course, she would not have known that getting a refrigerator would do its part in stretching the hole in the ozone layer. This is no surprise. At that time no one wondered whether a connection between this global issue and the CFCs used as refrigerant fluids in refrigerators existed, to begin with.

But, what if our housewife knew about the ozone layer depletion? Well, then before purchasing the appliance, she would face only two choices: 1) to buy or 2) not to buy. Either choice will come with its own set of challenges and benefits. However, today she has got more choices. With CFCs phased out, she could get refrigerators equipped with HFC, a new set of refrigerants with low to zero ability to harm the ozone layer.

Nice story, but how that fits with this present resolution?

Interesting question. If the glory of God is our goal, if my own good is to be pursued and also the good of mankind in general, then our minds have to work really hard to get around all this. No easy task.

Without loosing sight of Who awaits us at the top of the summit, we begin the way up. Ascending is challenging. Therefore, should I not seek better tools to speed up my climbing? Should I not get a tent for shelter and rest? Should I refuse them? I'd be a fool if I do! Reflecting on this, we're led to a new set of questions:

1. Should I take advantage of innovative tools as they become available?
2. If so, which ones should I get? How many of these should I take?
3. What criteria should I use to refuse the ones I get to reject?
4. What if any should be my role in all this? Should I become a scientist of any sort? Or should I encourage people I know to become one? Or should I merely be an advocate of new stuff? Or should I activately promote these things? Or should I remain silent?

I acknowledge it's hard to get at what was Edwards intent while penning this resolution. I could only guess he'll be using the word processor I use in my laptop if given the chance. He would be writing more investing the same time, or writing the same in less time. Or maybe something in between. That way, he'll publish and preach more but also would get more rest and time for other endeavours like loving family, friends and neighbors.

Seeking to be more effective not for its own sake but for Christ's sake. That'd be a worthy goal for a lifetime.

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:15-16)

John Newton - I Asked the Lord

2011-01-04T17:14:00.002-06:00

A few months ago, my pastor mentioned this song in a meeting. It was good for me to hear it today.

JE's resolution #1: Being light to a dark world

2011-01-04T10:32:00.006-06:00

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God and my own good, profit and pleasure, for the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved, to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good of mankind in general. Resolved so to do, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many soever, and how great soever.

A few questions and thoughts this resolution prompts me to ask

1. How do I glorify God more?
2. How do increase my own good, profit and pleasure?
3. Are question #1 ans #2 at odds?
4. How often should I be doing #1 and #2?
5. How much time should I devote daily to #1 and #2?
6. What is my duty?
7. How do I discern whether something I do would result in good or ill to mankind?
8. Should I keep going if I find difficulties in my way? How many should I face before I stop? How great should these be before I get to a halt?

Those are good questions to reflect on. Some general observations and comments I have are:

1. Ask God for wisdom. The verb "to do" appears three times here followed by the verb "to think". This implies that our doing is not to be divorced from our thinking. And our thinking should be informed by God. Hence, we need to ask God for wisdom. And its very beginning is the fear of the Lord.

2. Do wisely while relying on the enabling grace of God. We can do nothing for God, for ourselves, and for others unless we trust Jesus.

3. A lot of specific lines of action can follow from answering questions #1 and #2 posed before. Yet both are not at odds if we recall glorifying God by enjoying Him anywhere you are, not only when gathered with the people of God the Lord's day.

Finally, there are two ways to look at this resolution. As setting the bar for a lifetime of growth in grace or as an impossible task. I think is the first case. At the sight of a big mountain, a rock climber shakes. He needs to lay down fear and take high doses of perseverance if he wants to reach the summit. Trials are sure to come. Their number and magnitude are unknown. But there is only one way to go: up.

If you are in Christ, fear not. You're not helpless (though that's how you begin to get help) because God will supply you His love (to kill fear), wisdom (to know what to do), strength (to endure the journey) and grace (to persevere in all) so that you may become the good alpinist He made out of you. Start ascending!

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

The resolutions of Jonathan Edwards: introduction

2011-01-03T11:46:00.004-06:00

I haven't done any new year resolutions so far. Neither do I think there is a reason to make dramatic ones but rather 10,000 little ones as Paul Tripp aptly makes the case at the DG blog.

Nevertheless, I thought worthy comment upon the resolutions of someone I look forward meeting in the afterlife. Here is how he started off his set of resolutions.

"Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat Him by His grace, to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ's sake"

That is an amazing statement!

1. Acknowledge your helplessness. A Christian can help no one, not even himself until he recognizes he is indeed able to help no one. "Without me, you can do nothing" said Jesus.

2. Ask God to empower you by his grace. Our power is in the grace of God. But what's grace? Thousands of illustrations should never obscure the simple fact that grace is indeed the person of Christ himself. In other words, ask Jesus to empower you.

3. Agree with God's will. It's no help to rush to this point unless you ask God first. That's what Christ did wrestling in prayer in the garden. He asked first whether another way was to fulfill his mission. Next, he submitted to His Father's will. Implicit in all this is that you know what God's will is. So, begin with your Bible to find out that.

4. Adore Christ. There is no point in making resolutions if one takes full merit for them. It matters for whom you are resolving to do X, Y and Z. Do it for Christ, for his sake and not for yours. In the end, your soul and body will reap the benefits, but He gets the glory because that is why we were created for: to enjoy and glorify Him.

Being reignited

2011-01-02T22:44:00.004-06:00

Today was a full day. First Lord's day of the year. Some interesting highlights.

Sermon illustration: My pastor told a story on the dire consecuences of not having a reliable guide. He told us of the son of a prominent American politician getting trained only to pilot his airplane using the horizon and other references yet didn't manage to survive flying on the night and in the midst of adverse weather conditions because he didn't acquired training to fly only with instruments. His plane crashed. From this illustration, he drew the following point: the Bible is the guide God gave us to fly across the sky in the midst of the darkness of our present age. From that I inferred that I would be a fool if I neglect consulting His guide, if I don't turn to Him for direction. This was particularly encouraging as I set again in the one-year Bible adventure after two years of not having done that. May Jesus get me through this!

First Lord's day playing in the worship team band. It was challenging. Made several mistakes. Some praised my performance. A young man agreed with my assesment: "don't worry, we're all growing together". Wisdom from above to a performance-driven soul who needs to grow humble.

First meeting with a former student. Talked unashamedly about where I was this morning and what I will be doing after our meeting: church's children ministry leadership team meeting. "Yeah, I need to go to church. I've forgotten God this semester while focusing on my studies". Will consider visiting church. "I started reading the Bible as a literary work but stopped after not being able to understand it. Had lots of questions". Open to further questions and even to the idea of a Bible study. "Yeah, I'd like to do that though not this summer". Yet our conversation wasn't spiritual all around but got to address the meeting agenda. Which was fine because we got ourselves thinking through some interesting things to be developed later. Need to trust God to shape all this as He wills so. I will appreciate your prayers so that the seeds would find fertile ground!

First meeting with children's ministry leadership team. Good conversation. Delegated VBS team to go to a training meeting at a local church this week. Trusting the Spirit of the Lord to lead us in the upcoming tasks.

Sprinkle that with a renewed sense of perseverance in prayer and a growing realization of my need for Christ. Can I ask for more? Yes! Deepening conviction and enthusiasm so if asked "Do you think God loves you?" I may say loudly: "Yes! Of course He loves me" while standing on Christ, my rock and refuge and the One who has promised to give me anything I ask of him (Jn 14:12).

Yeah! God is good!

More love, more faith and more humility: more Jesus!

2010-12-31T22:39:00.004-06:00

10 minutes behind 2010
2011 has come
yet it has not come by its own force
but by the will of Him whose sun shines on us every day
because He wills it so

Looking back at this year
I am amazed at God's work in his people
It was good to hear several of them speak
Their stories I almost forgot
yet You never forget them but know them by name

Didn't want to talk, you know
But I enjoyed their recolections
And I'm grateful to God for each of them
yet standing up wasn't what I wanted
Thought I had nothing interesting to say

But I thought of these last weeks
Of how God's sun passes through my window every morning
Why this is so? I asked myself
One small reminder of His love for me
May I never grow dull of your precious gifts!

Take me where you want to go
Plant me deep that I may grow
More love, more faith, more humility
Less of me and more of You
Make my life a steady prayer to you

a prayer to You

2010-11-25T14:18:00.004-06:00

It's sunny outside. One of your gifts once more.
I feel my soul reviving. You are the author of this.
No one is like you, God
I'm fighting, you know to see more of you in my life
For it's easy, very easy to trust in myself
So easy to look on my faults or on my merits
To set me high or set me low
When I'm to set my eyes on you, the Most High
It's easy to beat the air and feel miserable on my own
It's hard to keep on fighting this battle
But you, O Lord are my mighty King
who conquer with one word all of my enemies
who destroy the schemes of the enemy
and restore me into your fold
O, how could I not be grateful for such mercy and kindness
The love that you poured out on my soul is not to be seen
but rather to be used up to sing you praises
and then to look also on the least of the least
Very much I was like the beggar outside the cathedral
Without the precious look on his eyes
For you were looking on me
Not for pity but to tell me you were there for me
To see you High and to see you here I long for
I long for more of that dear Savior
Take me once again in your arms
Never to let me go
And then release me to love others like you do
But do not do it without the Precious Helper
that you might receive all honor and glory
Be glorified O Lord!

Sing this to Him

2010-11-10T17:00:00.002-06:00

[...]Then here is Luther writing to a monk in distress about his sins: 'Learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him and say "Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You took on you what was mine; yet set on me what was yours. You became what you were not, that I might become what I was not"' (John Stott, The Cross of Christ, pp 200)

The fountain

2010-11-03T20:20:00.004-05:00

A certain man placed a fountain by the wayside and he hung up a cup near to it by a little chain. He was told some time after that a great art-critic had found much fault with his design. "But", said he, "do many thirsty persons drink at it?" Then they told him that thousands of poor people, men, women and children, slaked their thirst at this fountain; and he smiled and said, that he was little troubled by the critic's observation, only he hoped that on some sultry summer's day the critic himself might fill the cup, and be refreshed, and praise the name of the Lord (C.H. Spurgeon, All of Grace)

Running

2010-10-29T23:28:00.001-05:00

One thought, one word: they can make a difference
However there is a tinge of melancholy
Tempting me to bury my face in my bed
So I take the punch but keep my cool
To run to the only refuge I know for sure

Outside the stars are still there,
Covered from my sight by thick curtains
So I open them wide: no star dares to greet me
And I feel the old game starting.
I must run once and for all to the hut

Inside the light is still shining
Darkness has not overcome it
So I close my eyes to imagine the future bliss
And I feel my head leaning safely
in the One who loves me as I am

It's the Lord's day

2010-08-15T02:29:00.008-05:00

Guess I'm in the blogging mood. A sudden realization hits me right now and I'm glad for it: it's the Lord's day.

I remember reading David Brainerd's journal and that was one thing that always caught my attention. He didn't have Sundays. He had Lord's days. And so is with me today very early in the morning.

I recolect my thoughts. Thoughts of long gone friends and I try to stay calm. It is hard to come to a stop after piles of work after work and then come to believe that you seem to be missing on the important things of life. But then you're prompted to ask yourself: what is really important? You discover that you should go to the root of all things. Like the last saturday when I asked a teenager why he thought he felt hot in the middle of the impredictible weather down here. He answered that it was because his choice of pants. I replied to him: "why did you choose those pants?" and he said "I thought it was gonna be cold". Next, I pressed: "why?" and he saw it coming and said: "I don't know". But how is that you don't know it? I guess it's the way it's supposed to be?

A greater thought presses me further...

Anyways, I don't know you but sometimes I wish I could escape from all this vortex we all seem to swim to. If I could only rest for a day, I believe I'll be fine and I'll make it next week.

Now, how can I ignore it?

Lo and behold, it's the Lord's day. Rejoice and be glad in it. It's not a choice. It's a command and by God's grace, I hope to be doing it.

Amen.

Cherished justified child of God

2010-06-13T19:49:00.007-05:00

I ran into a conference talk based on this text. The topic: justification by faith alone. Next, some quotes that stirred my heart:

"Don't trust in what God has worked in you. Trust in Christ alone...his blood and righteousness"

"Your standing as a cherished justified child of God is not based on yourself but in Christ alone..."

"The second Adam never failed"

"Christ...provided my pardon and provided my perfection"

After this talk, this verse now makes sense in my heart:

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor 5:21)

Hallelujah what a Savior!

What a Savior (Man of sorrows)

2010-05-29T01:54:00.010-05:00

Man of Sorrows, what a name
For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim, hallelujah
Bearing shame and scoffing rude
In my place condemned He stood
Sealed my pardon with His blood
Hallelujah, hallelujah

Savior, You showed Your love
Defeated our sin, poured out Your blood
So we praise You, Lamb that was slain
We offer our lives to proclaim
What a Savior

Guilty, vile, and helpless we
Spotless Lamb of God was He
Full atonement, can it be, hallelujah
Lifted up was He to die, "It is finished," was His cry
Now in heav'n exalted high, hallelujah, hallelujah

When He comes, our glorious King
All His ransomed home to bring
Then anew this song we'll sing
Hallelujah, hallelujah

(c) NA Band

What a Rescuer I have in Jesus!

2010-05-16T21:25:00.003-05:00

The joy a person trapped in a well experiences when finally rescued is greater when the well is deeper and so is the greatfulness shown to the rescuer

Romans 1

2010-05-09T09:33:00.004-05:00

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord through whom we have received grace and apostleship in order to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name to all nations including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
To those in Rome, loved by God and called to be saints, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
9 First I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you 11 For I long to see you that I may impart you an spiritual gift to strenghten you 12 -that is that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine 13 I want you to know brothers that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented) in order that I may reap a harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew and also to the Greek 17 For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith as it is written: "the righteous shall live by faith"
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness supress the truth 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them 20 For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world [in the things that have been made]. So they are without excuse 21 For although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him but became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened 22 claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the inmortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them up to the lusts of their hearts, to impurity to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions, for their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature 27 and the men likewise exchanged natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness and malice. They are [full of envy], murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, desobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless 32 Though they know that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Believing in the whole God

2010-04-16T18:22:00.007-05:00

It was last year when I heard a dear friend of mine say that the thing that held him together in the middle of sudden pain and loss was the sovereignty of God, namely that God was fully in charge of the whole situation and outcome and that gave him peace in the middle of what seemed to him unexpected. At that time, I remember agreeing with him and encouraging him in the middle of that for he was encouraging me in my faith.

Today I still believe my friend was right in his assesment. But given my current situation I don't think I can rest on God's sovereignty alone tightly. I know and I am fully aware of my human responsability and that is what I mean when I ask myself: "what did I do wrong?". And the hidden has become visible to me: my sin was exposed. It wasn't openly for all to see but I was given insight into my own heart and I felt terrible...

And resting on God's sovereignty wasn't helping...

And it was there that I recalled that God is a God way beyond my mind to comprehend. I began to think of His kindness and goodness. This verse in particular came to encourage me:

"No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly" (Ps 84:11)

and also this one:

"All things work together for the good of those who love God, those called according to his purpose..." (Rom 8:28-)

All to say the following: I'm glad that God is never restrained. My own mind would like to reduce Him to just one attribute. But now I realize that comfort, real comfort comes in taking and believing -if I can say it respectfully- in the whole God.

So let me believe Him in His sovereignty: nothing escapes his control, He wasn't taken by surprise by all this. Let me believe in His goodness: He has done me no harm and surely He is 100% for His glory and 100% for my good. And also let me believe in His love because I like Paul -although never in his real measure- can say God loves me: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20)

Tonight, I'm still far from believing fully in God. But this season of time is a good chance for me to start doing it once and for all. By beginning with repenting for the sins and idols of my weak heart I'd be able to follow hard after Him. And I'm not alone. I've never been alone. In fact, He has always been there with me and He still is.

Knowing this, my heart only wants to plead once more: Have mercy, o Jesus. And let your will be done. After all is said and done, You are good.

That He may be raised high and I be brought low

2010-02-08T17:53:00.006-06:00

Taken from a review of a recent Tabletalk article

...It is infinitely more important that God be glorified than that I be saved. Fortunately for us, He is glorified in the salvation of sinners, but for us to put evangelism front and center is one of the best and surest ways to dilute the gospel itself. We have seen this precise trajectory in the evangelical world over the last half century. To make the salvation of sinners "the most basic question of all" is a good way to lose the right answer to that very important question. This is the way to pragmatic evangelism. This is how we got all the technique-meisters. Very important question? Amen. The most basic question of all? Not at all.

Facedown

2010-02-04T22:24:00.004-06:00

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I'm still quite unwise. So, this song comes along to help me experience what I understood by such fear.

Fearfully yet confidently, I wish to enter your presence, oh Lord. Only through Jesus. Through Jesus alone.

Immortal horrors or everlasting splendors?

2010-02-03T23:50:00.007-06:00

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses. To remember that the dullest, most uninteresting person you talked to today may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you will be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror in the corruption, such as you now meet, if at all, only in your nightmares. All day long, we are in some degree helping each other on to one of these destinations. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations: these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals with whom we joke, work with, marry, snub and exploit: immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. --CS Lewis

Realizing this truth was convicting. It convicted me of how little I seem to be making strides in furthering the mission I've been entrusted as a disciple of Christ, in sharing the only and real Hope that can deliver peace and joy to immortal souls like me.

If I believe there is a real hell and a real heaven and both are not here on earth but are to be revealed in the age to come, it is important then to ask myself this question: what am I doing to help bring fellow immortal souls to Christ' feet that they might be turned into everlasting splendors?

Remember Jesus Christ

2010-01-15T03:48:00.007-06:00

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! (2 Tim 2:8-9)

Remember Jesus Christ.

I can still remember the days when I first meditated on that passage, especially on those three initial words. This was Paul's last letter and he didn't ask Timothy to remember him. Think about that. He asked him to remember the One who secured their salvation and made their friendship tangible. Great parting words before heading home with the Great Shepherd of the sheep. Paul commands Timothy to remember the One who never forgets, never leaves and is always at his side.

Ponder about that.

And on the importance of remembering, consider this:

We are simple people. You can’t remember ten things at once. Invariably, if you could remember just ONE true thing in the moment of trial, you’d be different. Bible ‘verses’ aren’t magic. But God’s words are revelations of God from God for our redemption. When you actually remember God, you do not sin. The only way we ever sin is by suppressing God, by forgetting, by tuning out his voice, switching channels, and listening to other voices. When you actually remember, you actually change. In fact, remembering is the first change. -- David Powlison

God gives us the preaching that we need

2009-12-06T18:58:00.006-06:00

I know a certain fellow who was approached by a few parishioners after giving his first sermon ever. Some of them said it was helpful to them because he stuck to the Bible text in front of him. Others said the sermon was encouraging and expressed gratefulness because they really needed to hear it. Still others praised his eloquence during the delivery without mentioning the content at all.

A few weeks after that fellow preached, a lady approached him after the service with suggestions for changes she submitted for his consideration. In her opinion, these changes would make the second sermon more appealing to the people. Like adding stories and personal viewpoints instead of sticking to the text and explaining it carefully and in detail.

Is he to heed this advice or to rather keep on sticking to the text?

Brothers, situations like these are not to be unexpected. In fact, we must expect them. Being who we are, it should not be a surprise for us to realize that we people -yes, even God's people- tend to gather around what we want to hear instead of paying attention to what we need to hear that we may apply it into our lives. The Bible says that salvation comes by hearing and we must believe that people are saved through the proclamation of the gospel and the teaching of the bible. If we are to be faithful disciples of Jesus we must persevere in this and not yield an inch on this.

As a matter of fact, persevering in the truth does not mean we are to close our ears from people's opinions and criticism. We are Christ's disciples and not Christ himself. We are not infallible. That is the reason why what they have to say about our preaching and teaching can help us even a little bit. Surely, we may find at least a grain of truth in their words and we will do well in listening them carefully. Perhaps the preacher mentioned above ought to pay attention to not become too professorial in his approach to the text keeping the sheep confused in innecesary details or in using too many big words -and unexplained!

What we have just said is not to be taken as a suggestion for preachers to make a complete overhaul to their preaching just to appeal poor souls who listen to sermons but not with open bibles and fingers running through the text. Our preaching should direct people to Christ rather than blocking them from coming to Him. Entertaining them does the latter and that's why the loving thing for us to do here is not to give them what they want but rather provide for them what they need. That way we reflect God's own heart because God doesn't give us the preaching that we want. He gives us the preaching that we need.

Morally secure vs moralistic

2009-10-29T16:52:00.001-05:00

Someone who is morally secure doesn't want what is being offered. Someone who is moralistic wants it very much, cannot afford to admit it, and lashes out as a form of self-defense or possibly as a smoke screen to keep others from suspecting.

Blessings and challenges this October

2009-10-08T15:44:00.006-05:00

Busy times. No time to update the blog. Not even the journal except for a couple of entries a month or so. I fear the cares of this life taking over my soul. Yet I want to fear the only One worthy to be feared.

Expectations generating around me. It's hard to keep the eye from earthly rewards to look beyond to the heavenly ones. It's so easy to settle with ease as the whole world crashes here and there. One thing is certain amidst all of it. One thing is needed to bridge there and it's not found in me. Of that I'm pretty sure.

Last Lord's day, our pastor preached on the awesomeness of Christ, on how we are not awesome and how we express our dependance on Him by asking him in humble prayer to meet our every needs. Didn't see until that day the connection between pride and lack of faith so evident in the impossibility of the disciples to perform their ministry. Was also impressed in seeing how this unbelief-pride propagated around them and how Jesus alone can rescue us from this destructive pattern we may find ourselves running into day by day. Recognized also the importance to not resort to old faith but was rather challenged to express renewed faith day in and day out.

Today, I read Acts chapter 5 and saw that it is God's prerrogative to grant me repentance and forgiveness of sins. Need to ponder all this before the end of the month because I'm already feeling a bit overwhelmed at the opportunity He is giving me in front of his sheep. And as I think about this, one further thought lurks in my mind: how am I going to stay away from present and luring temptations?

Right now, I'm reminded of this verse that applies very promptly to the situation: "The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord"

Your will be done, O Lord.

Greed is a huge trap

2009-09-06T16:17:00.006-05:00

At church we are almost at the end of a preaching series on 1 Timothy. Today's sermon was on this text:

6 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and [3] we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

One thing that struck me in this text was the word "great" modifying the noun "gain" when compared side to side with the previous verse (verse 5) where only the word "gain" is mentioned. So, it begs the question, doesn't it? Why would Paul use the word "great" in the phrase laid out in verse 6? Something important he had in mind for us all and especially church leaders who should seek the ministry because of the easy money they could make there.

Finally, I was reminded of something I had learned before: that desires and passion (and even things) are not bad things in themselves. It does not make me more spiritual than my brother next seat to give up desires and passion a-la-Buddhist way. No. We are to desire great gain. And greater gain is not found in money or things perishable but in the Savior.

Therefore, no matter what circumstance I'm in now, I must keep my eyes on Jesus, seeking his kingdom first and as I do that to grow content with the things I already have trusting he will give me what I need for tomorrow and beyond while I serve him on Earth.

Having an effective Christian ministry

2009-08-26T21:50:00.005-05:00

One of the deep seated convictions one must have while in the service of the Lord is to conduct his ministry without the slightest desire to bring attention to himself but rather to expose people to the Savior. Although it would be nice to receive a pat in the back, a word of praise or thanks, these ought not to be the driving motivations of our service because motives like these and worse than these render us ineffective and place us indeed on the verge of idolatry or in a state of idolatry itself

Back at the blog: reflections on Luke 9:43-45

2009-07-28T11:11:00.006-05:00

A couple of days ago I was reading this passage. As I finished the text, I was struck by Jesus' words and asked: Why bringing the subject of his death when everyone is marveling at God for the miracles performed?

I guess it is because we have a tendency to focus on the gifts rather than on the Giver, on the things that seem good to us (like healing taking place) rather than on the things that don't look good at first look (like the death of the Son of God). That's something the disciples couldn't understand. The text is clear about that.

Back then, the disciples were afraid to ask Jesus about. Today, we ought not to be afraid to embrace it 'cause now we have the full picture: The One who did not deserve the worst thing in the world has brought the best thing in the world to the one who deserved to die.

Thank you Lord. Forgive my weak heart and help me understand your sacrifice.

Forsaking the true God for prodigious trifles

2009-06-21T12:39:00.002-05:00

But although the Lord represents both himself and his everlasting Kingdom in the mirror of his works with very great clarity, such is our stupidity that we grow increasingly dull toward so manifest testimonies, and they flow away without profiting us. For with regard to the most beautiful structure and order of the universe, how many of us are there who, when we lift up our eyes to heaven or cast them about through the various regions of earth, recall our minds to a remembrance of the Creator, and do not rather, disregarding their Author, sit idly in contemplation of his works? In fact, with regard to those events which daily take place outside the ordinary course of nature, how many of us do not reckon that men are whirled and twisted about by blindly indiscriminate fortune, rather than governed by God's providence? Sometimes we are driven by the leading and direction of these things to contemplate God; this of necessity happens to all men. Yet after we rashly grasp a conception of some sort of divinity, straightway we fall back into the ravings or evil imaginings of our flesh, and corrupt by our vanity the pure truth of God. In one respect we are indeed unalike, because each one of us privately forges his own particular error; yet we are very much alike in that, one and all, we forsake the one true God for prodigious trifles. Not only the common folk and dull-witted men, but also the most excellent and those otherwise endowed with keen discernment, are infected with this disease.

Jesus never lets His sheep down

2009-05-23T12:07:00.005-05:00

A former South Korean president just committed suicide pressed by allegations of corruption after rising to power building a reputation as an anti-corruption crusader. Many are shocked. Several others are disappointed and feeling let down by the man, like one of his supporters:

Though criticized as inexperienced and confrontational by some, Roh was praised by others as a humble, candid leader who pushed for political reform and fought against corruption.

"He shocked us twice: first, by betraying our trust in him as the keeper of justice when it was revealed that he'd received the illegitimate money; now, in showing that he was not even responsible enough to face the consequences of his action," said Kim Hye-jung, 35, of Seoul. "As a supporter of the values he stood for, I feel greatly let down."

As I read this, I feel peace in my heart that my Jesus will never let me down!

God, be merciful to me a sinner.

P.D. In case anyone related to Roh may read this, I wish to extend condolences to his family. I pray your eyes be open to meet a Savior who never lets His people down.

It's time

2009-05-07T19:28:00.003-05:00

It's time for me to fly away
to leave this house, to soothe this pain
to seek a friend, to find a hope
to mull a thought and share my heart

It's time for me to shut my mouth
to read a text, to store a verse
to close my eyes to drop a tear
to wet my cheeks in want of love

It's time for me to bow my neck
to set my mind on things above
to think of friends long gone for good
to ask that I might stand the test

It's time for me to come with all,
with heart, with mind, with soul, with hope
to lay face down to worship Him
that I may taste His joy again

Saturday morning thoughts

2009-04-18T09:58:00.004-05:00

You know my every thought before it leaves my mouth
You know how hard it is to keep up with things that seem so important
When it really is important to pay attention to what You say
I did not claim to know anything well at all because You know it all
Yet at times it seems so hard to get by as I run this course
But then You stepped up always to comfort me and to give me hope
For You love your very own, you know their weaknesses
And how easy it is for the jar to break

Behold my Savior is risen!
He is come to crush the serpent's head
And to crown with righteousness his brothers and sisters
Those whom He loved
before He spoke life into this world of His

That He might give us life

2009-04-09T14:58:00.005-05:00

Jesus tells us that truth sets us free. This truth he is talking about can not be thought separated from love. All truth Jesus speaks to us is wrapped in love. The Gospel, the main thing, is meant to bring about love: love to God and love to each other.

But other people would like us to think otherwise. They would rather have us loving others but without telling them the truth they need to hear. But that kind of love is not the love Jesus talked about. That’s not love at all. It feels indeed as hatred of the worst kind.

Next, you have others who believe the Bible Jesus read and believed and proclaim its truths, even the main thing, but without going an inch into showing the truthless ‘love’ demanded by the enemies of the cross of Christ.

But what about those who proclaim the bare truth with less than pure intentions? Paul doesn’t seem to be bothered too much about their message although he grieves at their behavior and intentions.

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. (Philippians 1:15-18)

Paul feels sad about the intentions held by those preachers but still rejoices that Christ is preached! Isn't this strange? Shouldn’t the message and the preacher be in accord? Right. Paul’s own life demonstrates God’s transforming power. Good fruit is evident in his life and so should be in any who is servant of God appointed as his messenger. But what about those whose heart intentions are “envy and rivalry” or the like? I think the text shown reveals to us that preachers with less than pure intentions are a fact we are to reckon with. But there is no suggestion as to whether their intentions disqualify what they proclaim. The message stands unstained and powerful to save sinners.

And as I write this, I'm reminded of something I shared with a few friends last weekend. I was lamenting before them how sadly handled was the discipline of members within a prominent national Christian denomination. I may not tell you details of what happened in a particular event I became aware of but if I do you might be tempted to deem this denomination on the fringes of Christianity. But what you would not expect me to tell you is that a friend who attended there regularly handed me out an evangelistic track a few months before my conversion after she saw me dropping my head and napping in the college library.

Indeed, God works in mysterious ways.

So, rejoice that Christ is proclaimed, as long as the real Christ is portrayed, wherever and whenever you find yourself serving the Savior. And as tomorrow Christians around the world gather to remember his suffering, we must keep the day in its proper perspective:

Christ’s suffering was redemptive, not because suffering itself is redemptive, but because Christ himself is the Redeemer. The suffering he endured was for others. He did not need the purging of affliction. He was scourged on the place of sinners that he might heal them; he died in the place of sinners that he might give them life – Edmund Clowney, Called to the Ministry, page 13.

Why should we care about hearing God?

2009-04-02T10:26:00.007-05:00

Hearing God is a recurrent theme in Deuteronomy. Quickly in the book, we realize that when God speaks He does it purposefully. He expects us to act upon what He says, that we may do right and not wrong. Therefore, hearing God this way should be our aim. For those of us who might be tempted to neglect hearing God in this way, we may list a few reasons why we ought to hear and obey God's voice:

1. That we might be wise and understanding

Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ (Deuteronomy 4:6)

2. That we might learn to fear Him and to teach so to our children

"...the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ (Deuteronomy 4:10)

"Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 31:12-13)

3. That we might be disciplined by God

"Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire." (Deuteronomy 4:36)

4. That we might prosper according to the promises of God

Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. (Deuteronomy 6:3)

5. That we might know that He is God

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)

6. That God may show us mercy and compassion

"17 None of the devoted things shall stick to your hand, that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy and have compassion on you and multiply you, as he swore to your fathers, 18 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 13:17-18)

7. For God is our life and length of days. Our life is in His hands.

"19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:20

Fearing God and Finding mercy

2009-03-26T22:26:00.007-05:00

Although I was impressed at the number of complaints uttered by God’s people recorded in Numbers -about not having water, food, meat, not being sure if they were going to make it, being bored at the manna God provided, etc- the opening chapters in Deuteronomy showed me very clearly the danger of forgetting God in the middle of prosperity. One of the passages that cuts me down to size is this:

11 “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 8:11-20)

This passage says clearly how forgetting God may happen: by not acknowledging our place before Him. Fearing God does not mean to live terrified at every corner that He may send a thunderbolt to punísh our every misdeed. Fearing God means to realize in our hearts that all our hope is found in God’s mercy and nothing else. This was what God’s people acknowledged when they saw the fire and heard His voice in Mount Sinai at the giving of the law:

24 And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. 25 Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. 26 For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? 27 Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say and speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’ (Deuteronomy 6:24-27)

The fact they were still standing on their feet was because God wished it to be so. Otherwise they would be dead. They acknowledged this and God commended their mind by speaking to Moses:

…And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever! (Deuteronomy 6:28b-29)

And we are no different than Israel. We don't know any better. Indeed, we are like Israel at every point of our earthly lives even as we walk with Christ. We complain because we desire to rule our little worlds. We want our way rather than God’s way.

But God speaks in the middle of our foolishness, reminding us His great deeds, revealing His character and issuing warnings to steer us back on track in our every breath. Debtors to mercy we are.

---
A debtor to mercy alone
Of covenant mercy I sing
I come with Your righteousness on
My humble offering to bring
The judgments of Your holy law
With me can have nothing to do
My Savior’s obedience and blood
Hide all my transgressions
From view

The work which Your goodness began
The arm of Your strength will complete
Your promise is yes and amen
And never was forfeited yet
The future or things that are now
No power below or above
Can make You Your purpose forego
Or sever my soul from Your love

My name from the palms of Your hands
Eternity will not erase
Impressed on Your heart it remains
In marks of indelible grace
Yes I, to the end will endure
Until I bow down at Your throne
Forever and always secure
Forever and always secure
Forever and always secure
A debtor to mercy alone

1998 (c) Sovereign Grace Music.

P.D. You can find the song here.

God still gives more grace!

2009-03-19T19:47:00.009-05:00

Last Saturday at youth group we ended our series on James. And I had the privilege to close it. After reading the book alltogether two verses each around the circle of chairs we made, I stood up front, shared a few verses and then invited volunteers to share what they believe God did in their lives throughout the series. Every one participated. Praise God!

No other verse was more appropiate for opening up than this:

If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.(1 Cor 8:23)

In other words, if the knowledge I've received does not move me to love God more and to love my neighbor as a fruit and expression of loving my Maker, then I don't know yet as I should now. In fact, I may "know" my bible from cover to cover yet keep a heart impenetrable to God's truth.

And I think most of us got the point. Praise God!

For instance, it was encouraging that none of us praised a particular speaker or a given teaching. It was refreshing also to realize that most of us did not give advice on how others ought to be applying a particular truth but rather confessed our weaknesses and how particular passages shed light into our reality or struggle. Some of the leasons we got from the book related to having joy amidst pain, realizing the deadliness of the tongue, seeing the difference between heavenly and earthly wisdom, acknowledging prayerlessness, confessing sinful complaining, etc.

Several verses and thoughts were shared that night. I can not say my favorite verse is the following but I can surely acknowledge that it still affects me today:

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

To this magnificient observation about God and his character, what am I to do?

Just fall on my knees and worship Him alone.

"Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." -- Jesus praying to his Father for us (John 17:17).

Enlarge my heart to love Thy mercy!

2009-03-12T17:50:00.011-05:00

Something that has always intrigued me while reading what we've come to know as the parable of the Good Samaritan is Jesus' choice of characters. Why would he pick a priest and a Levite at the opening of the story? Answer: to show us the ugly face of merciless religion.

Jesus begins the parable saying that robbers had beaten a man "...leaving him half dead"(Lk 10:30). Next, he introduces us the priest and the Levite and his reaction toward the so-badly-wounded man.

31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

At this point, the audience is surely puzzled. This is strange behavior. Isn't it?

Perhaps not so with the most educated ones. Surely they had a way to explain this strange behavior. More than that. To justify it.

"Of course they had to pass him by! Haven't you read in Numbers what happens to the person who touches a dead person?"

11 Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days. 12 He shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean. 13 Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.

"See what is at stake? The risk of being cut off from Israel! See all the hassle he'll have to endure? He is to cleanse himself! Guess how long that takes? Seven days, man. Seven days! Guess how many times is he to do that? Twice. Guess what happens if he misses that? He is still unclean! Nope. This is a serious matter. No way. He needs to get away from the dead man. If I were him, I'd do the same...Ah, one more thing. I'm a priest and a Levite like these guys. I'm totally justified in my doing. You know why? Look. Remember what we put in the water for purification? Ashes of a heifer. Guess in whose sight is the animal to be burned? Me. You know what the Law says I am to do next? That I must wash my clothes and bathe and that I shall be unclean until that evening. Extra time unclean! Nope. Thanks. All the more a reason to run away from this dead man."

"5 And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire burning the heifer. 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. But the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8 The one who burns the heifer shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water and shall be unclean until evening. 9 And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place. And [the ashes] shall be kept for the water for impurity for the congregation of the people of Israel; it is a sin offering. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. And this shall be a perpetual statute for the people of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them.

But something is missing in the excuse this priest/Levite gives to himself: The man who is lying in the middle of the road is not dead.

"Yeah, that's true. Sure, I could have taken him with me. But what if he died on the way to the inn? I'll be unclean! No way. Moreover, I've got business to take care, man. Sorry. I can't go for that."

Excuses come and go and stay the same. They're just that: excuses.

How often that's ME! I still remember the day I left behind a man on a street begging for help. And the lady who mumbled a word as she stretched her arm looking me on the eye. And countless young boys who sell candy and chocolate bars on the combis. And the ocassional former drug addict who sells products to keep their NGO running. Some of my excuses? I'm in a rush. I'll help the next one. I've already done it. All what they ask is money. If I had food in my hands, I'd give it to them instead. Or what if they are just pretenders? Or what if they are lying? Or what if there is a mafia behind them? Or what if...

The mind really gets creative in times like those. Fear takes over compassion and mercy...

Yet most of the times, I leave the scene burdened, wishing to do more and seeing myself so little, so inadequate, so in need of help not to waste my life in trivial pursuits...

Would you enlarge my heart, O Lord?

33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii [3] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

P.D. Why would Jesus end it this way? Answer: That I may show others the mercy He is shown me. And no other place like Calvary for me to learn to grasp its depths...

Feasting on Leviticus

2009-03-05T22:27:00.006-06:00

God spoke to me. Yes, He still does it!

I’ve just finished reading Leviticus and although my heart doesn’t seem to enjoy it as much as other parts of the Bible, I got something from it. Just a few days ago, I was reading chapter 23 and some things stood out:

“26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement…”

That passage reminded me of a talk I had with a Jewish guy who used to work at my former workplace. He was so passionately talking about the Day of Atonement. He even bought the Chronicles of Narnia in Spanish (he even told me he thought Aslan was a type of Moses until the last book where he got disappointed it wasn’t like that!). But he couldn’t see his need for a Hope that was calling through an unworthy servant. He’d rather keep the feast and keep partying and parking his SUV in a forbidden place. Sad but true.

But the passage that really landed on my heart was this:

“33 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths [4] to the Lord.[…] 39 On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. 40 And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. 41 You shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

“Celebrate my feast.” I got it.

“Take branches of palm trees (Jesus coming into town!) and rejoice before God.” Sure, Jesus is coming to visit me! Will I miss my visitation?

“Celebrate my feast. Celebrate my feast. Dwell in booths.” Sure, but why?

“43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God”

That made it.

As I paused a minute in my soul, I thought of the trials I’ve been enduring lately and lamented on how prone my soul was to flee from Jesus rather than run to him. I heard God clearly: “Remember me. I brought you out of darkness into light, from slavery to freedom: I am the Lord your God”. He didn't utter those words as though He were needy but rather because He knew I was in need of Him.

Unlike Israel, I don’t live in a booth. I got food, people who care for me, clothes, a bed where to lie at night, and so many things. Israel's harsh wilderness was not like my present wilderness.

But there is a sense in which I am like them when I despise God’s manna… So, am I grateful? Or am I complaining about my current situation and secretly wishing I was in Egypt “enjoying” the deceitful, empty and overhyped promises of sin? Would I pray or complain?

Yes, Lord. I need you to remind me that I remember you. Where else will my soul find rest? Where else can I experience joy everlasting? Forgive my poor little heart that longs to see you without glasses.

A clip that changed my life

2009-02-26T23:12:00.003-06:00

Excerpt:
"...All you want is to be liked, maybe finish school, get a good job, find a husband or a wife, a nice house, a nice car, long weekends, good vacations, grow old, healthy, have a fun retirement, die easy, no hell. And that's all you want. You don't give a rip whether your life counts on this earth for eternity. That's a tragedy in the making..."

Who is there like You

2009-02-19T17:44:00.007-06:00

Who is there like You,
and who else would give their life for me?
even suffering, in my place,
and who could repay You,
all of creation looks to You,
and You provide for,
all You have made.

So, I’m lifting up my hands,
lifting up my voice,
lifting up Your name,
and in Your grace I rest
for Your love has come to me,
and set me free.

And I’m trusting in Your word,
trusting in Your cross,
trusting in Your blood
and all Your faithfulness,
for Your power at work in me,
is changing me.

(c) Stuart Townend.

The source of this madness

2009-02-12T07:20:00.003-06:00

Death may seem to us the status quo, the normal thing, the way things are and always be, until we are shocked with the abnormality of the resurrection of Christ, and so confronted and persuaded deep down in our hearts that the root of this injustice we witness and taste all around, the thing that unleashed the madness of massive proportions we wrestle with day after day lies within us.

The only way

2009-02-05T19:29:00.006-06:00

Listening to the following sermon excerpt below, it occurred to me that one of the reasons why Jesus is the only way to the Father is that there was only one way in which God could have brought us back to Him, namely by sending His Son to die for us, the righteous one for many, many unrighteous sinners like you and I. Had it been another way but the death of His Son, God would have provided such.

But there wasn't any other way to accomplish the reconciliation of the sinners and his/her Maker. Only Jesus' death and resurrection. To miss that, is to miss the point of the gospel.

Oh, may we never boast in ourselves but only in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God!

More light outside

2009-01-29T15:38:00.006-06:00

It feels quite inside. The smell is different too.

I reach for a pew and once I sit there, I open my pocket notebook. A gringo and his local interpreter, both wearing sandals, pass me by while my eyes glance to the man at the kneeler two pews behind mine. Praying for a job maybe?

As I survey my surroundings, I realize it is only me sitting in one of the six divided sections of the large wooden pew I’m on. I notice also a girl standing beneath a nicely decorated pulpit –no longer in use. She is looking up to the altar.

Far away and behind her, I look up too just to give a glance to the color-fainting painting of a man in decent robe and beard. And right above him, with arms wide open, in fine robe, and wearing a crown similar yet heavier than what Queen Elizabeth may put on, there is a lady with twelve silver colored discs around her head.

The kneeling man has already said his prayer and is now seated. He seems to be waiting for something or someone.

But I can not know.

Showing up out of the blue, a lady interrupts my thinking and writing. She is baffled at my polite decline to take one of the golden framed cards she is giving away. And as I keep on writing, she goes back to business although not without first saying something about my spiritual condition. Given that she dropped the pronoun in her sentence –something you can do in the language of this land- there is no way for me to know whether she was asking me a question or just talking to herself. Syntaxic nuances.

As the lady loses into the front pews, I look down at my watch: It’s 12:01 p.m. I guess it's the right time for a man in white robe to show up at the altar, for another one to play a small bell and for the people to stand. And it's time for me to take off either.

As I reach down the street, I can't help but look up to the sky and rejoice on the fact there are no clouds anymore. There is more light outside.

And it couldn’t be otherwise. Summer has come.

Right there by your side

2009-01-22T17:19:00.006-06:00

Trusting in God in the midst of trials is difficult. So, how would you cheer up a soul heading into despair and dejection? Well-meaning friends would advice one to look at what other men and women of God have endured during their earthly lives. And surely, that may help a weak soul, that he may take comfort in the fact that his trials are not as great as what others had to cope with. Have you felt lonely? Surely others like you had. Have you lost a loved one? Surely others had lost too...

I don't deny the strength that many times come to us by looking at what God has done in other people's lives, but there may be a point when we hit the bottom of the barrel and so be tempted to despair by saying: "Lord, I've pondered their trials. And yes, they may be similar or worst than mine. But they didn't have mine!"

And here, oh how it helps the believer, to take comfort that Christ is right there with you. Christ living in you and by your side, seeing your very trouble and enduring it with you. He knows. He has suffered greatly for you, in your place and for your sins on the Cross...

But He is also right there with you. In the midst of your loneliness, healing the aching corners of your soul, perhaps crying with you as you grieve for the passing of a loved one, or anything else that only you -and He- know.

You're not a speck in the universe. Christ knows you: your inside and your outside. Just drop yourself in His arms. He is strong to hold you. He loves you.

P.S. These reflections were inspired by John Piper's message entitled "We Have Found the Messiah" You may want to download it and watch it (...you might even drop a tear or two by the end of it).

A certain Hope that cures 'this evil heart of unbelief'

2009-01-15T09:59:00.007-06:00

Our Hope is a certain hope. The world hopes for things that it does not have a clue whether they'd come true. Given the unavoidable fact that we live in this world, it's no wonder that we are prone to fall into its mindset of despair and hopelessness.

That's why time and again -indeed every day- we need refocusing our sight both to Calvary and to New Jerusalem. Now we see in part and thus we walk by faith. Then, we'll see Him like He is. In the meantime there is a battle to fight. One of those vicious enemies is unbelief. Having been in the verge of depression himself, Charles Spurgeon said something about it. Something that hit me hard this week.

It is a very easy thing for us to get into a desponding state of heart, and to mistrust the promises and faithfulness of God, and yet, all the while, to look upon ourselves as the subjects of a disease which we cannot help, and even to claim pity at the hands of our fellow-men, and to think that they should condole with us, and try to cheer us.

Perhaps they should; but, at any rate, we must not think that they should. It will be far wiser for each one of us to feel, "This unbelief of mine is a great wrong in the sight of God. He has never given me any occasion for it, and I am doing him a cruel injustice by thus doubting him. I must not idly sit down, and say, This has come upon me like a fever, or a paralysis, which I cannot help; but I must rather say, 'This is a great sin, in which I must no longer indulge; but I must confess my unbelief, with shame and self-abasement, to think that there should be in me this evil heart of unbelief.'

Bless the Lord, oh my soul and forget not all his benefits! (Psalm 103:2)

Reading the Bible: five minutes at a time?

2009-01-08T18:20:00.010-06:00

Should a Christian boast that he reads the Bible? Should he feel guilty he has not been reading it? I don’t know you but the words uttered by my friend Gerry in Spring 2003 come fresh to my mind: “It only takes five minutes a day. Just do it before you go to bed. Let me say it again: Five minutes” –he said firmly yet lovingly as he showed me a full hand.

What was I thinking? I don’t know. I think I gave him excuse after excuse. That I was busy. Or that I was tired. Or that I've worked too much to the point of exhaustion. Whatever. But Gerry was not going to buy my excuses: “Five minutes.” And the good thing was that he kept reminding me of that as he saw fit anytime we met. After all, he gave me free rides to church!

Eventually, I got it. Praise God! But wait, it is one thing to read five minutes a day, but what about reading the whole Bible for a year? Sounds –let’s say- too burdensome, right?. Hold on.

By the end of 2006, I remember hearing my roommate being excited about doing a One-Year Bible plan. His resolve got me thinking I could do it too. But history tells that I dropped the towel by mid February 2007. I just couldn’t keep up with the pace.

But then again, by the end of 2007, I heard one of my favorite preachers and authors say he had been doing every year as he sought to encourage his people to join in. Should I confess that the thing that got me in was seeing three book markers sticking out of his Bible. “I could try that” –I said to myself- “after all, I’m not fan of altering the order of the biblical text just to get nice daily sections!”

And so, I began doing it on 2008. For a year. Only by God’s grace I was able to fulfill that year’s resolution. The following is what I've learned so far and I hope it helps you:

1. This one is easy: each daily reading took more than five minutes! Definitively. I realized my friend Gerry was just trying to get me started reading. Not that he meant to push me down a duty-driven reading. No. But, it should be obvious by now that the journey from duty to delight begins well...with duty. Praise God, Bible reading is becoming in me more of a delight each passing day.

2. Realize that there are several reading plans. I didn’t think much about this when I began reading, so I tried to stick to the plan outlined in my ESV Outreach Bible. With this you read twice through the Psalms and New Testament and once through the Old Testament. Now, I’m not following that plan this year but rather the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan. It gives you 25 days of reading with the rest of the month to catch up. That’s good, considering that there were no few the days when I lagged behind in my daily reading.

3. When you begin to miss daily readings, just accept the fact that you are well...behind. But don’t pile feelings of guilt on top of that. Now, if you do feel guilty, you ought to realize first that you’re no longer reading as you should: with a given measure of gladness; and second you need to repent and drink from the fountain of God's grace.

4. If reading gets ‘boring’, you can either put down your Bible for a day or so and focus on other readings. But together with that you might want to pray that God would stir in you a desire to behold wondrous things in his word. As an aside: I’ve read about eight books alongside with the Bible last year. And this has little to nothing to do with the fact of me growing bored with Bible reading.

5. What I just said about my last year reading, shows that I could have easily dropped those aside to focus my attention and time on reading the Bible. So, the excuse we often give that we’re too busy not to read the Bible is well...yeah, a excuse!

6. Overall, come to the text with an expectation to hear God speaking to you. Paraphrasing Francis Schaeffer, we could very well add that He is there and that He is not silent. I can tell you how encouraged I was numerous times during the last year due to particular verses God brought to my attention. An example? By the end of the year, I’ve found the following text burning in my heart as I needed God’s comfort in a difficult time I was experiencing in my soul. I even shared it with my pastor!

“13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11:13-15, emphasis mine)

7. Finally, a note about the circumstances and strategies to make your reading enjoyable and so profitable. 1) Place your Bible at hand reach. 2) Place book markers in appropriate places in your Bible. I used three. 3) Have the reading schedule available. Mine was on the back of the Bible. 4) Do your prayers before you read. Try to do both. If you can’t I won’t tell you which thing to drop! 5) If you feel your prayers dry, try praying the daily Psalm. 6) Try to take a verse or text away from your reading. It’d be wonderful if you memorize it, but at least meditate upon it. 7) If a particular passage needs focused study, make a note and follow it up. If it is seemingly obscure detail (genealogies, chronologies, etc) ask God promptly whether it’s unbelief creeping within and repent of that. 8) It’d be wonderful to share what you've read with other people. Don’t be apologetic about it nor assume they read it and heard it before. Say it with Holy Spirit conviction and stand by it. Just say it. You don’t need to give a commentary on the text you’ve read if mulling about that would keep you from encouraging your brother or sister with God’s word. 9) Remember that the letters were meant to be read in one sitting and that the chapter and verse divisions came letter for us to better reference the Bible. It’s important you keep that in mind. Otherwise you would fail into the ‘one-verse-theology’ no end route. 10) Remember to love the things God love: Himself, the Gospel, His people, the lost. Thank him that “his mercies are new every morning” and that Jesus has prayed to His father that He sanctifies you with His truth.

I hope you are encouraged –or challenged- to try this on. After all, who wouldn’t want to eat spiritual bread?

Or at least you could begin doing the "five minute thing" before going to bed. Would you?

Fresh bread anyone?

Beginning 2009: Reflections

2009-01-01T20:03:00.004-06:00

I find no better way to start the year than reflecting upon the past year. First, a matter of perspective. I am not in the place where I’d like to be, but I’ve know that I’ve come this far only by the grace of God. There is no other suitable explanation. In fact, that’s the only way to look at things. Not that we shouldn’t desire more and more in our lives. In fact, we must. We must beg God to give us holy ambitions. But time and again, I’ve been drawn to check my motives: “what do I really seek to accomplish by doing this or that?” yet trying to keep in mind –and I wish I could do this more often!- the wise words of a Scottish pastor: “For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ”. That will make it.

To begin with, I must start thanking God for one more year of life! May he continue to add me more as He sees fit.

Next, I’m grateful for the faithful handful of friends who still keep in touch with me and even pray for me despite me being not in their midst anymore. In fact, if you get to read these lines, surely you’re one of those. So, thank you!

Finally, I am grateful for the church God has placed me in and in particular for the leaders of my church. I must begin with Pastor Mark, who ever since he replied so kindly to an out-of-the-blue e-mail requesting directions –because I didn’t know where the church met!- back in April 2008, has become a man I wish to imitate as He does Christ. I’m blessed by his preaching and example. And I am at a loss of words to name all my other brothers and sisters who have showed me Christ’s love by welcoming me warmly, by encouraging me, by praying for me, by taking me into their homes or out for lunch, by inviting me to their birthday parties, by talking with me, by asking questions, by calling me by my name (yeah!), by giving me good gifts (yeah, I love books!), etc.

P.S. IPLV's retreat was awesome: praying and singing all night, playing ultimate frisbee and volleyball, having good talks and getting to know people, drinking cup after cup of chicha morada (the real deal!). I’m looking forward to praying big things this 2009! Would you join in? Thanks.

Christmas Hope

2008-12-25T14:58:00.005-06:00

When I used to live by myself, I noticed Christmas day came and went away just like any other day. However, spending it with the family took at least the focus off myself because then I was more likely to think about their lives, their presence and their company.

It is ironic, however, that for many of us who have loved ones near to us, the day may come and go like any other day too unless we refuse to breathe the air of sentimentalism we are asked to buy into, as though Christmas is all about not being alone and having a nicely wrapped good gift. Little do we pause to ponder that Christmas was indeed a disturbing day.

It is disturbing to dig beneath the surface we are often found living in.

Christ came not to show us a pattern of the quality of gifts we ought to receive from men and women less wiser than the Wise Men, but to offer Himself as a gift for the unwise and the ungodly. Christ did not come to entertain us with his presence but to show us the way to enjoy his presence forever and ever. Christ did not come to save me from my loneliness, but from my selfishness and my self-destructive ways that I may be satisfied with Him alone. Christ did not come to tell me nice stories about his life and ministry but to tell me and show me that my story was found wanting and will never be good enough unless I embrace Him wholly as my Treasure, that I may have a role in the story of the new earth and heaven He prepares for those whom He loves.

So, let us ponder about the glorious meaning of Christmas. For this is all about the One who left his heavenly throne to dwell among sinners that we might see His glory. Rejoice! For soon this Prince of Peace will come again to crush the wicked and to reign forever with those who hope in Him.

P.S. Merry Christmas!!

A tale of three brothers

2008-12-18T18:01:00.004-06:00

Once upon a time, there was a rich man who had three sons. One day he dies and leaves his orphans the house where they lived as an inheritance.

Now, the house was so big that it had two kitchens. One where they had breakfast and another where they had lunch and dinner. The elder brother used to work from Monday to Friday while the younger ones went to school and stayed at home where they were served by the steward and their other employees.

One Saturday, the employees’ day off, they all had breakfast, as usual, in the first kitchen and then lunch at the second one. However, as the elder brother had to leave that afternoon after lunch to take care of some business, he told his younger brothers to wash the dishes sitting on the sinks of the kitchens, assigning one kitchen to each one.

That night, he came back and found them sleeping. Then, he went to inspect the kitchens and behold he found one of them clean while the other was as dirty as it was when he left.

Now, which of these brothers do you believe loves the elder brother more?

Redeeming the time

2008-12-11T07:41:00.003-06:00

Here is an article that cuts to the root of my late inabilities to keep up with the many things I like to accomplish. Yesterday I went to bed early because I realize my productivity at night is poor except when I’m just typing stuff I really enjoy! So I hope to be able to cheat the Sand Man...sigh.

And once you’re done with that, you might want to check out this other article. It basically tells you to accomplish stuff 15 minutes at a time. I’ve started applying some of the principles laid out in this article since Monday so we’ll see how I finish this week!

Finally, I’m back to keeping a schedule. I did not think it worthwhile but in light of me almost missing my weekly meetings with my friend Jim at Starbucks, I think I'll give it a try once more.

That’s it for this week. Hope these ideas help me (and by extension to you) make the most of my time that is God’s and mine to glorify Him with.

Made to enjoy God's superiority

2008-12-04T15:59:00.010-06:00

Below, you'll find two quotes I used in a small group teaching I gave in October 2006.

First, a pointed observation by C.S. Lewis telling us we are not as ambitious and serious about joy as the Lord expect us to be:

If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

And once you realize you were made for something greater than yourself, you may wonder whether that's good news or not. Many people think the greatness and vastness of the universe speaks loudly of their inferiority. Ever heard of the proverbial speck on the universe? The inspired psalmist says otherwise: "The heavens declare the glory of God." We are changed when we realize that the greatness of God's creation is a witness of God's superior might and glory and not our inferiority. John Piper says it more clearly here:

What words might the Holy Spirit use to open someone to the truth that their inferiority to God is good news? Perhaps this: What if we asked someone, “Would you want to watch a football game where all the players were no better than you? Or watch a movie where the actors could act no better than you and were no better looking than you? Or go to a museum to see pictures by painters who could paint no better than you?” Why are we willing to be exposed in all these places as utterly inferior? How can we get so much joy out of watching people magnify their superiority over us? The biblical answer is that we were made by God to get our deepest joys not from being superior ourselves but from enjoying God’s superiority. All these other experiences are parables. God’s superiority is absolute in every way, which means our joy in it may be greater than we could ever imagine

Let's end all that with "Beautiful Savior", a great song by Stuart Townend:

Have a great week!

Bringing to mind His faithfulness

2008-11-27T11:04:00.007-06:00

Being a foreigner in America, I guess I never owned Thanksgiving as dearly as my American friends did. I understood its meaning though. A meaning that transcends turkey, cranberries, t.v. watching and football games. It goes deeper than that.

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Col 2:6-7)

As God brought this text to my attention, this morning, I realized how timely it was. So, it seemed fitting to recall how God brought me here and to thank Him for His love and care in bringing scores of people into my life that I may grow into becoming the man He wants me to be.

Certainly I have many reasons to abound in thanksgiving to Him!

So, instead of airing my thoughts on that subject -that will remain between God and I, except thanking the three of you who read Blue Flame!- I'll share a poem with you. I wrote it two years ago as an attempt to put Thanksgiving in its right context for myself and some of my friends who were encouraged and challenged by it.

Last thought: You don't need to be an American to understand the meaning of Thanksgiving. Really.

Happy Thanksgiving!

-----
FORGET YOUR GLOOMINESS

When your wall is torn apart,
watch that you do not depart
from the Truth that is pure
and bestows all cure
for pridefulness and bitterness
and that dreadful joylessness.
Yearn for the wisdom from above;
not for what comes from the stove.
For the latter is no more beyond Thursday
but the former leads not to Doomsday.
So, rejoice and leap for joy
you will not be destroyed
Stand firm in God's grace
you will not fall in disgrace
Bring to mind His faithfulness
and forget your gloominess

Learning to see God’s hands behind even little gifts

2008-11-20T00:01:00.002-06:00

Today a friend from afar asked me how I was doing. Having passed more than nine months since I returned to Peru, I was glad I saw his e-mail. I couldn’t help, but let some of my thoughts fly back to the time when my Japanese friends, who are missionaries to international students in the U.S, said something that stuck in my mind ever since. If you allow, there may be a grain of truth in what they said to me:

“We’ve found most of the friendships we’ve made here a mile wide but an inch deep. Many had already forgotten to keep in touch with us. It’s been hard on our part to bear with that.”

I don’t know if this sounds to you as an overstatement. Very likely, it is. That doesn’t excuse me in the least to admit that I’ve also fallen into the mile-wide-inch-deep mindset with several friends. Blame it to busyness of life, or to getting bored with no getting feedback or just simply losing interest in them. Yes, I’m guilty of that.

All being said, isn’t it interesting to gauge the feelings within when the postman knocks on the door telling us there is a package from abroad for us to pick up at the post office?

That happened to me a few weeks ago. The postman handed me a note while telling me I could still reach the post office before closing time. It was still open when I arrived there. Without time to lose, I asked for the mystery package. I was dreaming that somebody, anybody had at least considered me worthy of getting a gift, a token of a-not-too-old-yet-somewhat-important friendship.

I watched the lady reach out to a cardboard box containing lots of small packages. After skimming through several, she got one for me. As my eyes followed the trajectory of the corrugated brownish envelope from box to counter, I thought it could be a letter. Or maybe several in one single package. I could not wait to open them at home to enjoy throughout the afternoon into the evening.

“Oh, sorry, I made a mistake. This is not for you.”

She realized she misread the label. The last name written down there didn’t match mine. So, she dropped the envelope into the box and drew a little Styrofoam box.

And she didn’t have to reach the counter for I to make an educated guess as to what that thing was. I was disappointed. After all, wasn’t that the very same box where I got my first mug from one of my American professional affiliations? Surely this must be the second one. Goodbye to a pleasant evening.

“Here it is. Sign right here, please.” –she said while pointing me to a sheet of paper she laid on the counter.

“Thank you.” –my lips muttered.

But it wasn’t a hearty “thank you.” It was indeed a grumbling one.

Mug in hand, I headed back home. And on my way there, I came to my senses. I thought of the many little gifts I receive from my Father every day. Gifts that I tend to take for granted. Like the kid who would fix his eyes on the little red robot toy bought by daddy rather than being mindful of what it cost daddy to buy it and bring it to here. Or worse, remaining ignorant of the obvious: that gift wouldn’t be in my hands lest daddy wished so. And yes, I can hear mommy raising her voice across the hallway: “Don’t you know how are you supposed to reply to this (your father’s generosity)? Don’t you know how to give thanks to Dad?!”

That boy eventually got it. But will he take it to heart?

Learning to be grateful to my Father in Heaven,
Francisco

Why I keep on blogging

2008-11-13T23:41:00.008-06:00

It's 12:40 a.m. on Friday. I had dinner a while ago, I have not brushed my teeth yet and I just checked my e-mail and facebook page. And I couldn't make it to post the weekly entry yesterday.

And I think it's all fine.

It was about 11:20 p.m. when I left Enrique's house. Our small group meeting extended a bit further into fellowship. Some of us were hanging out, others watched t.v. and most of us were having crackers with jello. Yummy.

11:44 p.m. Sitting on the backseat of the car that was taking me and three unknown companions back to our hometown, I glanced at the driver's radio and my eyes fixed on the clock's LED display. And there my first thoughts were about MY blog. So, given the distance and car's speed I doubted I could make it before midnight. Goodbye to the flawless succession of Thursday entries.

To make things more interesting, I had read this week an article on Wired that suggested blogs are losing their grip in favor of the latest social networking technologies such as Tweeter and Facebook. So, "why would I keep on writing then?" was another question that came alongside. A question worth asking.

So, I asked myself some questions: Do I write that people may notice how insightful am I? Do I blog to show people how good a writer I can be? Do I post every Thursday to have at least something to boast? Or would I keep writing at any pace even if only One notices it?

And this I realize, God knows me and knows my words, the quality of my writing and the impact my words may have on anyone who interacts with me. It has not taken him by surprise that I failed to post the weekly entry. He knows well too, that my time was well invested and not wasted, especially during this afternoon and evening.

It's 1:31 a.m. I ought to brush my teeth and go to bed. For there is time for blogging; but there is also time for celebrating Jesus in the midst of His people. But whether I blog or fellowship with the saints or do anything else, I'd better make sure I'm investing and not wasting one good gift to us: (my) His time.

Sailor

2008-11-06T14:33:00.003-06:00

I’ve got no memories to remember,
no dreams to dream about,
no smiles to stir me up,
no shoulders to side-hug,
no eyes to look deep into,
no ears to listen to my voice,
no feet to walk besides me at the park,
no hands to hold mine,
no tears that I may dry.

I can only see the boat
moving away from the shore
at the twilight after sunset.
Soon the sailor has turned
into a dark silhouette.
The waves don’t crash hard,
yet leave foam on my bare feet.

Sailor, did you bring paddles?
I get no answer; and
although my dream has sunk
into the depth of the bay,
my hope remains unshaken.
For tomorrow the Sun will rise:
it will rise on high again.

No safe investment

2008-10-30T23:25:00.006-05:00

Tonight, I don't feel like posting. So, I rather share with you one of the quotes that have impacted me deeply this week.

There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell

Till next Thursday.

Worst viper in the heart

2008-10-23T23:46:00.001-05:00

"Pride is the worst viper in the heart. It is the first sin that ever entered into the universe. It lies lowest of all in the foundation of the whole building of sin. Of all lusts, it is the most secret, deceitful, and unsearchable in its ways of working. It is ready to mix with everything. Nothing is so hateful to God, contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, or of so dangerous consequence. There is no one sin that does so much to let the devil into the hearts of the saints and expose them to his delusions."

Let Your Kingdom come

2008-10-16T20:24:00.006-05:00

"[...]Our focus in prayer has to be not that I have this need "God, would you answer it?" but it has to be "God, I'm all about your glory. But if you can advance this glory through meeting of this need, then please do it. If not, then let me lay here bare." See, it's all about Him. John Piper says this and it is very good: Prayer is nothing more than a wartime walkie-talkie. Prayer is not for a person who is not in the battle of advancing the Kingdom. Because prayer it's all about advancing the Kingdom. It's not about getting our needs met or advancing our own needs. It's about advancing the Kingdom. So, prayer functions when you are a person who is given his life -whether you're a preacher, a missionary, a factory worker, a carpenter, a homemaker, whatever- to follow suit to what God has called you to do, to advance His Kingdom, and while you're working to advance His kingdom, you're praying for all things to fall in place in your own personal life and everywhere else in accordance with whatever will advance God's kingdom.[...]"

Total Depravity illustrated

2008-10-09T23:58:00.011-05:00

Some people overreact to the words “Total Depravity” thinking it means one is as bad as one can be.

And so I thought in the past.

Yet, it is difficult to avoid the force of the following verses and the direction they point us to:

“…the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead” (Eccl 9:3)

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

“…All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one…” (Rom 3:12)

“for all have sinned and fall short from the glory of God” (Rom 3:23)

These verses teach clearly that good is not intrinsic in man. Before the Fall, man was good because God pronounced all His creation to be good. But man fell from God's glory. Man became corrupted with sin and so his offspring.

Therefore, it is not difficult then to realize that evil is only the corruption of the good -as Augustine astutely noticed it. The following illustration helped me grasp that concept.

"Behold two pieces of bread in each of my hands. One has little mold in it while the other a bit more. If I were to ask you to tell me what I'm holding in each hand, you’d likely say: 'this (or that) is a piece of moldy bread.' Therefore, you realize that it doesn’t matter how much mold any slice has, because you have rightly noticed that both are 'moldy bread'."

And so is with us.

And this is what I understand total depravity to mean: that man is a sinner no matter how much sin he carries in his being. But it doesn't mean he is as bad as he can be. Otherwise there will be a point when he would cease to be a man, like that piece of moldy bread ceasing to be bread to become just mold.

Simple faith

2008-10-02T23:53:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago my church received several people into membership. Sitting there I watched as the new members were introduced to the congregation. Some of them were going to be baptized and join us in partaking the Lord's Supper for the first time. It was a momentous moment.

As the pastor baptized each of the members, he prayed for each one of them. The congregation did pray too. And as I listened to his words, I was pleasantly struck by my pastor referring to their simple faith. See, some of them may not have a formal education like mine yet they have something far better: the promises of God and Christ himself.

That reminded me of Jesus' words praising childlike-faith in his disciples: "...Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." (Lk 18:17)

Spring has come but...

2008-09-25T23:57:00.010-05:00

Tonight was one of those rare ocassions when I did not want to get out home but I did. For a few minutes though. I had put a vest on and not a full jacket because I reasoned the weather would be cool given that today was sunny good. Moreover, Spring has come and is supposed to be here to stay!

But as I made my way down the street cutting through the foggy and humid air, I felt the cold in my arms and forearms.

And I wished it to be otherwise.

Inside I was complaining against the situation while saying to myself that such thing was not fair. I shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of weather. Not until next winter. Come on, we’re on Spring…

Suddenly I realized that right there, in my fragile humanity, I was indeed contending for supremacy with God. Truth of the matter was that I wanted to be in charge of the weather if even for the few minutes my walk lasted.

But there is only One to whom wind and sea and all creation bow. His name is Jesus.

Better than life

2008-09-18T23:53:00.007-05:00

The leadership team of my church's youth group has recently launched a short series based on 2 Tim 2:22.

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

I will be speaking to the youth within two weeks and so I'd be preparing a talk on one of the things Paul commands Timothy to pursue. We chose this verse to remind the youth -and ourselves too!- that we are not simply responding to the culture of license and disorder around us by saying: "can't touch this", "can't go this way" but rather we are laying out before ourselves what God calls us to pursue together. Because in the end, it doesn't matter what I think you should be doing but what God says about that. Sure, we would likely be asking God: but why Lord? The text doesn't seem to give us an answer for that but only the 'what' and the 'how'. But consider what Jesus says about the purpose he intends his words to have in us:

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11)

By itself, self-denial leads to nowhere. Buddhists exemplify that: masters in self-denial yet empty and joyless because they refuse to take hold of what matters most in this life -which is not 'my best life now' either, as materialists would want us to believe.

I think the psalmist knew better: "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you" (Psalm 63:3).

Let it be so in our lives, oh Lord.

Unchecked relativism: Part I

2008-09-11T23:33:00.007-05:00

I find it amusing to realize time and again that when I get asked "why did you choose that thing?", most people don't seem to have a problem if I reply "because I like that". But if I were to tell them I choose what I choose "because it's true", many would give me at least a cold shoulder. I suppose this attitude of ours reflects to a large extent the waters we navigate day after day. Relativism is the air we breath and we may not even realize we got that worldview embedded in our brains! This is the reason why we feel and/or get offended when seeing someone basing his choices primarily on objective rather than on subjective grounds.

Say, Alex attended a non-denominational church, had to move out somewhere else and was in pursuit of a new church, and then Bob calls to inquire whether Alex found that one. Were Alex to say he did choose a church because he liked it, Bob most likely nod and move on. But if Alex says he picked his newfound church primarily because of the sound scriptural exposition and application (albeit imperfect because Alex understands that he and all the people in this church are still growing in grace and knowledge of Christ by the means of grace), Bob would likely feel as though Alex were poking him on the eye as saying "Bob, you're stuck in a bad one!"

This is but one tangible example of relativism gone wild and unchecked in our heads. We'd better kill it. For that we need wisdom and patience. And of course, the mind of Christ. Lord have mercy of me, a sinner.

What is worship?

2008-09-04T23:45:00.007-05:00

Like Bob, I also don't want to miss the point.

Words

2008-08-28T23:55:00.008-05:00

“I don’t want to be a Christian because I don’t want to talk about God all day long”

So told me once someone I was having a conversation with. She added that that was what she saw one of her relatives do after I asked her why she did not want to trust the Savior. She kept talking and it did not take long for her to refer to her relative with the label the followers of a well-known cult identify themselves. This brought me some relief (because of course I wasn’t one of those deceivers!) yet led me to push away from my mind her objection.

Looking back I think I failed to perceive that the real question underneath her objection was: "is a Christian duty to talk about God always?" And as I can’t ask her what she meant by “talking about God all day long” I’ll try to make an educated yet theological-informed guess:

God calls us to glorify Him not only with our words, but also with our deeds and thoughts and indeed all of ourselves. Thus, it is right to say that we glorify God when we give true witness about who God is and what He has done for sinners. But it is not accurate to say that we only glorify God when we talk about such realities, because it is clear to anyone who watches us fairly and daily that we also -and often- talk about other things with people that span from greetings to conversations about politics, economics, work issues, and so forth.

Therefore we don’t merely use our words to talk about God but rather to reflect God’s work in us. And this is far from being a burden, but it is a privilege and delight for the ones who like Isaiah have had their lips burned with heavenly coal.

What we say is quite often a reflection of what we think, that in turn reflects our view of God, namely our theology. Thus, the question and the challenge is set before us: what do we do with our words that do not mention God explicitly –which for many of us constitutes the most words we say daily? Do we take notice of those words and the kind of worldview they reflect? Do we confront that worldview with God's view of Himself and ourselves as He has revealed it in Scripture? I think it's very difficult and maybe impossible for us -not for God- to engage and challenge the worldview of the lost when we lack the courage, humility and wisdom to confront the worldview that underlies our own words.

May the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing to Him.

P.S. Btw, I'd recommend listening to the talks from the upcoming DG’08 conference entitled: “The Power of Words and the Wonder of God”. I'm in! (online though)

Straining forward to what lies ahead

2008-08-21T23:54:00.012-05:00

Reflecting upon his experience as a seminary profesor, R. C. Sproul writes:

In two decades of teaching Theology, I’ve had many students ask me why God does not save us all. Only once had I student who came to me and told me ‘There is something I can’t explain to myself: Why did God save me?’
R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God.

Ever asked yourself that question?

I came close to asking myself such question the night I felt like never before the weight of my sin crushing me to the ground. It must have been a Spring 2005 when in the quietness of my apartment I could only ask myself a question: am I really saved? That question came at the right time. It was what I needed to ask myself. But I needed an answer more solid than what the ‘once saved always saved’ proponents offered me. I turned to God and to His word. I’m glad He answered my prayer.

Though it was not brought immediately, my flippant attitude toward God’s word began to change and the right kind of zeal and a desire to grow in righteousness became more apparent.

Fast forward to Summer of 2006. I began to think upon checking RUF and while checking out their website I found out that John Ferguson, the minister, was preparing to move out to Peru as a missionary. That was one reason I wanted to meet him. But when I'd finally decided to go meet him he had left for Peru. However, during the Fall of 2006, I did visit one Sunday with his home church. After the service ended, I was headed toward the parking lot when a couple of folks waved me hello and I stopped to listen to them. They thanked me for coming to visit WPC while looking at my pocket Bible. "Nice bible" they said. I said I liked the service and asked them if they knew who John Ferguson was while I showed them the prayer card I had picked up inside. They said they did. And Madeleine then added: “Oh, John was a minister zealous for Christ”.

I was glad to hear that not only because I got at least a glimpse into the man I wanted to meet from people who knew him, but also because he had left America to serve the Savior we both loved and fight for. And this happened to be in my country to where I did not expect to come back.

But I returned to Peru this year. And although I knew how to get to the city where John was working, I wasn’t sure how he was going to receive someone showing up almost out of the blue!

Today I’m glad we have finally met.

And it’s been a little over two weeks ago since I saw John for the last time in Lima. We both had a great time together, talking about God, the Gospel, books, blogs, Peru, the states, his new assignment in Calgary and so forth. And one of the things he brought with him was a couple of books for me with Sproul’s classic being one of them (and that’s another reason why I opened this post with a quote from that book!).

I could always write more. So, let me just say a big "thank you" for letting me be your friend John. I will always treasure our friendship. And I thank God for you. I’ve seen your love for the Savior, your passion to make Him known among the lost, your love for your wife, your affection toward your kids and your loving care for your parents. Surely, I can learn lots of things from you. I pray the Lord would do great things through you. I can only encourage you to press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of you...(Phil 3:12-14)

Phileo,
Francisco

p.s. Please check John's blog out here.

Thanking God

2008-08-14T23:58:00.007-05:00

Last week I heard a well-known American broadcaster interviewing two political analysts about the issues the new American president will have to tackle. I heard them discussing issue after issue and a phrase was being repeated: “the people will have to start making sacrifices”.

Last week too, I heard the Peruvian prime minister being interviewed by a panel of journalists on a well-known local radio. At one point the minister addressed the people asking them to be patient that the benefits of the growing economy will soon become more evident to them. Then, one of the panelists commented that it'd be hard for the people to keep waiting as they see the economic growth pass them by.

It is clear that two different things are asked of people in two different contexts. But in both cases, we can't hear the people wrestling with the questions: "what for?" or "for whom?". Would it be too much to ask the media to explain and/or remind people the meaning of the words 'contentment' and 'gratefulness' in either context? Would people turn off their TV or radios as soon as they see or hear someone telling them to ‘be content with what you already have’ or ‘be grateful for what you have already received’?

Yet God tells us in His word that there is great gain in godliness with contentment (1 Tim 6:6) and instructs us to give thanks to Him in all circumstances (1 Ts 5:18). So I need to hear Him now on this. But I also should acknowledge it is not easy for me to be grateful to God in my current situation (I've learned to realized ungratefulness clouding my heart anytime apathy hits me). And I can’t help but remember the words of this song:

“Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One,
Give thanks
because He is given Jesus Christ His Son

And now, let the weak say ‘I’m strong’
Let the poor say ‘I’m rich’
Because of what the Lord has done for us
Give thanks”

Growing a grateful heart for my Shepherd,
Francisco

Joy in God must be shared

2008-08-07T23:46:00.005-05:00

Nobody should say he has been doing nothing all day long because it is not true: he has been doing something. But if he says he has been doing nothing is most likely because he feels embarrased of what he has been doing. He feels ashamed because he fears the one who asked him "what you've doing today?" will not be pleased to know what he has enjoyed doing or because he has not enjoyed anything at all. So this I find, that both unshared joy and joylessness are capable of killing the soul slowly. Therefore I must share my joy in God with others or else my soul will wither when the morning dawns on me.

Remain faithful

2008-07-31T23:38:00.009-05:00

Wisdom seems quite an elusive virtue. When you think you got a good measure of it, soon you discover you need more. If at the beginning of the journey you needed wisdom and knowledge to get the basics of what it means to be a Christian, soon you realize you need wisdom to pass what you have learned onto others, to restrain yourself from glibness, to keep silence when you see a friend –or even an opponent- going overboard and so forth. In a word, it seems that the more you think you know the faith, the more you ought to choose carefully your words, not much for fear they may get misconstrued but to avoid falling into glibness yourself!

I suppose it is good for us to keep on growing and never reach the mountaintop while on Earth. How good of God to remind us our place and His place, namely that it is not our ultimate duty to become the fountain of wisdom ourselves but rather be always going to Him who is all-wise and able to guide us through the fog –and even through the darkest times.

But how do you tap on that wisdom, when you realize that some of your Christian friends are slipping or falling into a folly obvious to you but not to them? What to do when the foolish thing that lures them gets acclaimed everywhere and even packaged with the label “Christian”? Right now I only feel an odd mixture of anger and sadness against that folly.

But next thought in my head is this: “Nevermind what you feel. They might fall into deception. But what are you going to do with the portion given to you?”.

On the one hand, I think an old preacher was right when he said that it would be a wonderful day in America when from every pulpit God's people are taught and get to learn during three years His attributes. Not only that God is love. Not only that He is just. But to get acquainted with God himself in all His majesty and glory. For it is because of our low and unbalanced view of God that we wind up chasing fantasy jewelry instead of the golden jewels we can find in Christ.

On the other hand, I ought to remember the psalmist said God's word was sweeter than honey to his mouth that I may treasure the Gospel He’s entrusted me with and so have His words as my main diet. And in light of this fact, I think Barnabas' advice to young believers applies also to a bit-more-mature ones like me:

When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose (Acts 11:23, emphasis mine)

Barnabas rejoiced seeing evidences of grace among the church in Antioch. Yet he did not shrink back to speak a word of exhortation to them. Whether they took it as an encouragement or as a challenge is of lesser importance compared to the content of the exhortation: "Remain faithful to the Lord..."

No one can live for You,
in this unfaithful world
So come and makes us wise
Teach us to live for You

When tiny little things matter

2008-07-24T18:02:00.020-05:00

Last time a program from a well-known cable channel about aircraft accidents caught my attention. I think it was fine watching it despite how insensitive may seem to some people seeing accidents rehearsed on T.V. (after all, it's people who've died there). Yet I think most viewers could appreciate more the investigators' job of going through the process of finding what went wrong so that airlines may apply their recommendations resulting in us having safer flights next time we fly.

And interestingly, some viewers like me found it rewarding to watch it if only for the lesson it teaches, reminds and points out to for personal life.

The episode I watched told the story of a flight that crashed on the Caribean sea a few minutes after taking off the Dominican Republic back in early 1996. Upon examination of the black boxes, investigators determined that flight anomalies started to become evident once the automatic pilot took control of the aircraft, being the first one of those a high tilt angle for the plane's nose. Few minutes next, a high speed alarm was heard in the cabin, the automatic pilot quits and the pilots are left to themselves. They could not make sense of the confusing information they kept receiving from the speed indicators and so made error after error leading the plane finally to its fatal destination. Last words the control tower heard was "stand by".

In actuality, the plane's speed was fine and the alarm was false. Apparently, all what was needed was to tilt the nose down to horizontal position. But there was no way the pilots could see that solution, because the captain and the first officer ignored the mismatching readings from their speed indicators during take off. Couldn't they abort it? Maybe. But they decided to continue flying.

Now, erratic speed measurement suggested that something went wrong with the pitot tubes, the instruments used to measure the airspeed of the aircraft. Maintenance records were ok but for one detail. According to maintenance procedures the covering of pitot tubes was usually perfomed only if a plane stayed on land longer than four days. Originally, this plane was expected to remain in the hangar for less than four days, so it seemed reasonable to technicians not to cover its pitot tubes. However, the plane ended up sitting idle during 25 days, had none of its tubes covered and flew into fatality.

The investigators searched for the pitot tubes underneath the ocean, but they couldn't find them. However they became aware that a peculiar species of wasps lived in the neighborhood of the local airport, wasps that liked to nest in tube-like structures. Thus, an educated guess brought the wasps at the forefront of this series of things gone wrong. For, what else could have clogged the pitot tubes, then?

As the program came to a close, I was astonished to realize how an unchecked nest made by that tiny insect could ruin a big aircraft and take so many lives.

And it stands as a sobering reminder for me to reflect upon the folly of letting unchecked sin nest in my heart and so setting myself to fall into the deception of devil and demons that swarm through the air whispering: "Don't be a fool. Wanna sin little? Go ahead, you're free to do it! That little thing is not gonna hurt you!".

But the Lord knows better the condition of my heart. That's why He calls me to keep fighting off indwelling sin. And He tells me why and how:

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Rom 8;13)

Seeking to live faithfully unto my Shepherd,
Francisco

Back to the Center

2008-07-17T23:28:00.007-05:00

I just finished watching a documentary about Santos Dumont whom some people consider the father of modern aviation. It ran old footage showing him shaping the hot air balloon into the first practical dirigible balloon, building and improving heavier-than-air aircraft, among several accomplishments where he applied his inventive genius at his best. But at one point he decided to stop making planes and released his patents to allow others to continue the work. These individuals took his models to new heights, so it would not be surprising seeing the spotlights shifting toward Lindbergh after he crossed the Atlantic. And the weakness of the new inventions would be evident in the first massive aircraft accidents.

It has been suggested that the latter series of events got Santos Dumont depressed and led him eventually to commit suicide.

Now, I don’t know whether Santos Dumont did so, nor the reasons that might have led him into that fatal direction, but if I had been in his shoes, I think it’d be hard not to base my life in the fame, prestige and recognition given by my intellectual powers. Therefore, it’d be easier to predict that I would have reacted with depression (or worse) to the moment the precious things I helped to create started crumbling down.

Something like that happened to me six years ago, an event that crushed my pride in academic accomplishments and that eventually led to my conversion. And even now, that I’m in Christ, I experience trials that seek to test where my life is really built around.

And it seems no one on Earth can escape to the fact that we build our lives around something. Some may deny it, thinking they do not submit themselves to anything, while only attesting that the very freedom they boast of is the thing they build their lives around. Then, it is clear that that “thing” becomes, in a large measure, the thing we live for. Tim Keller puts it this way:

“Everybody has to live for something. Whatever that something is becomes “Lord of your life”, whether you think of it that way or not. Jesus is the only Lord...

That’s right. Jesus is Lord. And lest I miss the point, I must heed his words too: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Clear as water! It’s either Jesus or money. It’s either Jesus or intellect. It’s either Jesus or ministry. It’s either Jesus or success. It’s either Jesus or [favorite idol of mine]. For serving Him doesn’t mean providing for His needs (He has none!) in the same way that serving money doesn’t mean providing for money’s needs (that would be really weird).

And I know I serve money when I build my life around it that I seek it to be the ultimate provider of my needs. Therefore, I know I bow to Jesus when I build my life around Him that I may seek Him earnestly to be the ultimate provider of all I need. Yet, I must acknowledge I don’t do this perfectly, so I'll always need His unmeasured grace to abide in Him every day until the day He comes or takes me home.

Seeking to build my life around Jesus,
Francisco

Teach a basic truth

2008-07-10T23:35:00.004-05:00

One of the ways we can grow in faithfulness to the Gospel is by refusing to share in people’s assessment of wrongdoing done by others. Let me explain.

For instance, if someone says to you that “people in certain province tend to stir up riots because they do not live in the capitol”, you refuse to agree with their assessment while asserting that people in the capitol have tendency to be violent too.

Or you may hear another one saying: “all men are liars”. And next you say: “well, women are liars too”

And I’m sure you can come up with other examples from your own experience.

Refuse to give in to the world’s faulty pattern of thinking that ascribes certain sins to gender, race, certain geographical regions, etc. And teach them also a basic truth.

This is crucial if we are to be faithful to our calling, because we know that every human being on Earth is set to deny the truth with his unrighteousness and so has a tendency to think of himself as superior to others because they are not falling into their peculiar sins. So they will tend to use expressions like: “I am not as bad as _____” or “I don’t understand why ________ does this [sin] or that”. The worst kind may even say in the temple: “I thank you God that I am not like _______”.

But the Scripture says otherwise: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23)

Superior morality doesn’t draw one near to God. Only Jesus.

Killing Complaining

2008-07-03T12:50:00.011-05:00

As I begin to grow tired of hearing complaining coming my way I start drifting into thinking whether this is a commonplace and distinctive trait down here.

But then, I remember a friend of mine telling me that discussing politics –and heated discussions for sure!- was considered a ‘national sport’ in his home country. Looking back, I know he was kidding yet I can get lost in the joke forgetting a flaw in its gist, because arguing, anger and things like that are not confined within particular territories but are rather quite widespread over all the Earth.

Yes, we are all wired with complaining. It springs forth from lack of gratitude to God for the undeserved gifts we enjoy from Him. And this ungratefulness in turn reveals a faulty perspective of sin and suffering in us.

So, one question that quite often helps me get back to see the hard issues that would prompt me to complain with the right perspective is this:

if I were to put my sins and my sufferings in a scale, which side would weigh more?

Sure, much more can be said to qualify that statement (our need to empathize with those who suffer, our responsibility to provide for their physical/spiritual needs, our willingness to seek justice for those treated unjustly, etc) but the ‘sin’ part can’t be glossed over or else it loses its force.

And I need to check for sinful complaining in myself too. For it’d be too easy for me to look at how others complain while leaving myself open to attack from my flesh. So, I need one more weapon to rise above this enemy and –truth be told- I can’t improve Richard Sibbes here:

There is more grace in Christ than sin in us

Killing frustration

2008-06-26T23:40:00.012-05:00

While I was on my way to the restaurant where I would have lunch with my parents, I pulled out the little notebook I carry on my pocket and wrote:

"Lord, let me never forget where I've come from"

As I was writing, a conversation I just had with a friend was still fresh in my mind: he doesn't seem to care whether God loves him but only whether justice is going to be served in his peculiar context.

"Where is God?" he expressed with evident frustration yet apathetic tone of voice at the end of our time together.

Ever felt it so easy to own other people's frustration? I did.

I am in danger of slipping into that pattern of thought whenever I hear complaining coming my way. And because I'm tempted to lose sight of how I made it where I am, I can not help but remember one of most life-changing passages I've ever read:

"Who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? So, why do you boast as though you did not receive?" (1 Cor 4:7-8)

God. Nothing. Yes, you're right. Those are the answers.

But it is one thing to store them in my brain yet quite another thing to have them in my bloodstream.

Lord, help me in my weakness.

Better than folly

2008-06-19T08:56:00.014-05:00

Graduating classes of undergraduate Peruvian students have for tradition attaching a commemorative plaque with the names of all the graduates to the wall of their alma mater. And although it takes most classes a few months after graduation to have it ready, it took mine more than four years to do so.

When the plaque was at last ready, the date for the unveiling ceremony was set and I was asked to write a speech. What follows is the closing paragraph of that speech (originally written in Spanish).

By the way, what is this life of ours? It’s like a vapor: one day we are, the next we may be not. Therefore, while our breath lasts, let us continue on the race, wherever we are, seeking to reach out for that door that seems elusive to us. Doubtless there will be more times of fighting but also times of resting. Sooner or later, we’ll realize how intertwined joy and suffering are on this side of eternity. If the times seem confusing to us, let us not get discouraged. Rather let us keep in mind that pride precedes destruction and arrogance comes before failure. But wisdom comes alongside humility. That’s why it is written: “wisdom is better than folly, as light is better than darkness”

---
Plaque footnote saying says: "...la sabiduria sobrepasa a la necedad, como la luz a las tinieblas" (Eccl 2:13, RV60)

Responding to spiritual depression and grief

2008-06-12T22:33:00.010-05:00

Psalm 42 is one of my favorite psalms. It paints a beautiful picture of a soul battling spiritual depression. It begins with these words: “As the deer pants for the flowing streams, so pants my soul for you oh God, the living God” (Psalms 42:1). So I think it is worth checking John Piper's new series entitled “Psalms: Thinking and Feeling with God”. I’ve listened to the first two sermons and came away encouraged by them. You can download the one on Psalms 42 here.

One interesting verse Piper pointed to was Job 6:26: “Do you think you can reprove words, when the speech of a despairing man is wind”. In context, Job says those words in reply to his friend Eliphaz who had in turn replied to the first speech Job gave in front of his friends after losing all he had but his life.

Job’s response to Eliphaz tells me that it is possible to find Christians who in the midst of their grief and pain may seem to miss the big picture, namely that nothing happens by chance, that God is always in control of everything, that He will wipe away their tears one day and so forth. Therefore, we may be quick to correct their inaccurate speech -compared with wind in the verse I just mentioned- about God and his greater purposes. We may be prone to teach and instruct when all what they need in that moment is to be listened, to find a shoulder to weep in, to feel an arm around their shoulder

Now, if there is something else they need from us, the Spirit will guide us into. I'd only add to that, some silent prayers on their behalf that they may keep hoping in God and that they may come to see and taste Christ’s deep love for them. For I know no other love that can seal our deepest wounds.

Rewriting it

2008-06-05T23:47:00.008-05:00

The morning breeze
smites my face softly,
whistling a song seasoned in salt and mist for me.
Yet I am walking down the slope.

It blows hard in my face,
I hear it roaring.
It slows me down a bit
Yet it stops me not

Now, its salty taste has crawled to my lips
The mist?
It is gone already,
And I am yet to be ashore

The waves roar louder and louder,
the burning sand claims my bare feet
Here they are! – I say
While the seagulls pass by swiftly

The waves are crashing
Yet I lift my eyes to the sky
and behold an array of light rays filters through silver clouds
to touch down the waters I see away in the horizon

Oh, what a magnificent view!
My eyes cease not to delight in it
Dazzled at it, my doubts slowly vanish
And I ponder.

I imagine He learned of my sad summer song
And so He wanted to inspire me to rewrite it
with a breath of joy and freedom
Thanks so much Beloved Friend

---
Reescribiendo

La brisa matutina
golpea mi rostro gentilmente
y me silba una canción con rocío y sal.
Mas yo ando de bajada

Me sopla fuerte en la cara
y le oigo rugir.
Atenúa mi caminar,
mas no me detiene

Su sabor salado en mis labios ya está
El rocío?
Se ha desvanecido ya
Y yo aún no llego a la costa

El rumor de las olas crece más y más,
mientras el calor de la arena clama por mis pies descalzos.
“Helos aqui!” - le dije
Y las gaviotas murmurando pasan raudas.

Las olas rompiendo están.
Levanto mi mirada al cielo
y he aquí un haz de luz entre plateadas nubes
las aguas del horizonte bañando está

Oh, cuán esplendorosa vista!
Mis ojos se rinden en deleite ante ella
disipando mis dudas lentamente.
Y pienso.

Imagino que El supo de mi triste canción de verano
y quiso animarme a reescribirla
con aliento de gozo y libertad.
Gracias muchas, Amado Amigo

"Why have you despised my word?"

2008-05-29T09:15:00.001-05:00

“Why have you despised the word of the LORD...?” (2 Sam 12:9)

That question landed heavily in my heart during my Wednesday reading. In fact, it hit me like this: “Why have you despised my word?”

Most of us are familiar with the passage where such question is found. Israel is in war but the king is at home. And then he goes up to the roof, glances at a woman, takes her into her palace, gets what he wants and thinks he has covered up all the evidence. But did he?

As I read the passage I can hear my inner me saying: “Come on, I would never do something like that. I mean, I could have done something like that before I was a Christian, but not now!” But as I write this entry, I ponder: how do I dare to think even for a minute that I might not stumble like David! Yes, left to myself I would fail miserably.

Despising God’s word was a sin I barely noticed when counting David’s sins the many times I was pointed to the passage. But I guess I got it now. God has recorded David’s failure to remind me once again this: Love my word.

---
“How will a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to God’s word” (Psalm 119:9)

It is a fruit and not a root

2008-05-22T23:57:00.005-05:00

“Have you ever thought God is disappointed at you?”

I still remember the day someone threw that question in the middle of a small group discussion in the Christian student ministry organization I was a part of a few years ago. I don’t remember anybody raised his or her hand quickly to say they knew the answer. And I think that was very revealing of us.

As for me, a time of doubting God’s love came more than three years ago, the day I was prompted to ask myself: “Am I really saved?” From that point on, I began to study more seriously what the Bible had to say about how to know for sure whether I belong to Christ, what I have been saved from, what I have been saved for, who took the initiative in salvation, what benefits were brought alongside conversion, how to judge the genuineness of my conversion, among other biblical themes and doctrines.

And I am so grateful that the learning process goes on!

Not long ago, a friend of mine mentioned he listened to a sermon on the doctrine of adoption. Today I listened to the tape and it was refreshing to be reminded of and being instructed on a doctrine I barely get to hear of. I recommend you listen to it (download here).

Now to the question at the beginning of this post: Has it ever lingered in your mind? Have you ever being afraid God is frustrated at you? Have you ever doubt He loves you? Or maybe you think He did love you once but He no longer does? Do you ever wonder how you can be sure of His covenant love for you? Here is an insightful observation from someone who once counseled a woman with similar doubts:

“Once I knew a good woman who was the subject of many doubts and when I got to the bottom of her doubt it was this: she knew she loved Christ but she was afraid He did not love her. Oh, I said that is a doubt that will never trouble me, never by any possibility because I am sure of this: that the heart is so corrupt naturally that love to God never did get there without God putting it there. You may rest quite certain that if you love God it is a fruit and not a root. It is the fruit of God’s love to you and it did not get there by the force of any goodness in you. You may therefore conclude with absolute certainty that God loves you if you love God.” – CH Spurgeon.

No mere number

2008-05-15T09:49:00.009-05:00

More than ten thousand dead in China. More than one hundred thousand dead in Burma. You’ve heard the news. And so did I. But as far as responding to them I’ve noticed we can either fall into illegitimate guilt or into a I’ve-heard-it-all-over-the-place kind of dullness. I must confess my response so far has been I’m-busy-trying-to-come-up-with-a-good-research-topic kind of dullness. But then on Monday night it hit me. A search engine brought the news. Death had closed in once more.

As news of the Asian calamities filtered in through the TV screen, I wondered why I was so numb. Then, when I learned about what happened to a long-forgotten friend of mine all the sudden grief seized me. True, the dying in the remote places weren’t as familiar and close to me as my friend was. Nevertheless throughout these last two weeks I had failed to realize that my friend and I shared something in common with them: we were made into the image of God, Creator of the universe, and made to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.

I met her twelve years ago while working away from Lima and from home into a southern Peruvian coastal city, her hometown. We became good friends to the point she challenged me to stop playing with fire by leading others into worthless communications. I thought this foolishness of mine was just a fun game. She didn’t buy my reasoning. And now I’m glad she did not let me get away with it because I had not touched such thing ever since.

Last time I saw her was by the middle of 2001. She had married and had a little girl named Paula. But by the end of 2001 we lost contact. Until her name surfaced again last Monday night.

The news reported briefly that her husband was driving their car as they were coming down from Arequipa, a mountain city, into the coast. It must have been 11:30 hrs when they entered town. And then the car went off the road. Next, I can only guess the paramedics came quickly to take them to the nearest hospital. After that, the news said only that her husband, father-in-law and her four-month old girl survived her: the ER doctors could not save her life.

The news made no mention of Paula, the eldest daughter. She might have been at home. The news ignored the grieving relatives, her mother and sisters. No mention was made of whose fault the accident was. Was it human or mechanic failure? There was no mention on how amazing was that the four-month old baby survived. I’d like to believe my friend shielded her daughter from impact and bore all the pain and shock coming from loosening pieces of iron.

However, there was one thing the news highlighted: the number four. Because news of her passing came in the same note in which three other deaths were reported; she had become a number in the stats of Peruvian road accidents for the year 2007. But she was no mere number. Surely by August 1st, 2007, the news moved on and forgot her. But she will be remembered by her own.

If she were here today I know what I’d talk with her. I would also remind her of the Man of whom she spoke in glowing terms twelve years ago, a Man who came to bring peace and to bring home those whom He loved whether Peruvian, Burmese or Chinese. “For there is no distinction, for we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”

Angry at God?

2008-05-08T23:59:00.007-05:00

[...]How can anyone (me) be angry at God if He has poured out His anger and wrath on his innocent Son that I might be forgiven of my sins and have everlasting joy with and in Him? I can't. So, I cry out to you, oh dear God: Help, help! May I never despair and be always waiting actively and humbly and joyfully for That glorious Day when I'll finally see my Shepherd's smile taking me home to feast with him and with the rest of his precious flock!

Written by FTV on May 8th, 2007