Opportunity and Change

I remember taking a sort of personality/trait test on facebook a few weeks ago. The result I got, as expected from the choice stereotypical outcomes, was “reliability”. I admit that I am at times proud, that, like Cebu Pacific, I am 95% on time. There was a time that my mom told me I should learn to say “no” to people’s requests for help. I was in fact, so proud of being a “helper” that I subconsciously avoided seeking help from other people.

I was reading a book by a John White earlier today, and it came to a point where he was discussing the apostle Paul’s weakness or “thorn in the flesh”. Th author said that it mattered not what the weakness was, but the fact that he had one is the root of the lesson. The apostle Paul boasts in his weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7), for in it he finds his strength, which comes from relying on God and realizing we are nothing apart from Him.

I had no Idea that the same lesson was already applying to me the moment I was reading it. I was reading the book some time between 9am-12nn. At that time, The SVCF (my organization in UP) tambayan was being cleaned up. Less than 24 hours ago, I told people that I will be participating in the said cleanup. It was not until after I planned to withdraw from an ATM near the tambayan that I realized I was supposed to be there.

After realizing my mistake (I hate being late, so you could only imagine my remorse for forgetting to even show up…), I quickly took a bath, prepared to leave, and biked to Vinzon’s hall, hoping I’d still be able to help out. Yet what met me there was a wet, clean, and empty tambayan. I texted some people, and they all replied the same thing - that it was OK, and that there were many people who helped out.

At that, God made me realize again that I was not indispensable, something that I was trying to turn into a sort of mantra, whenever  I feel like people’s demands are too much. Yes, I just missed another cleaning fellowship (haven’t been to one in years). I just let my “yes” be “no” by accident. God has just proven that no matter how close to perfection we are in certain aspects of our lives, He is the only true reliable God, in whom our hopes should rest. I may be like Cebu Pacific, 95% on time, but still 4% late and 1% absent, and 0% beyond the reach of God’s grace. And with that, I remembered another old post:

http://kairos-delta.blog.friendster.com/2007/10/dont-wanna-miss-athing/

As John white pointed out, to be “poor in spirit” is to know that we are nothing without Christ, and that is why we glory in our weaknesses.

baw

I was on my way to the Katipunan LRT station via a UP-Katipunan jeep the other day, when a group of seven students (most likely freshmen) rode the jeep. As there was nothing else to listen to aside from the rain and the traffic, my ears automatically tuned into the group’s conversations. I learned halfway through the trip that they were bound for Trinoma, yet were asking the jeepney driver to let them down at McDonald’s Katipunan.

There I was, contemplating if I was to spill the bad news that they were riding the wrong jeep, going in the opposite direction, and that they would have to take another two rides in the all-consuming rain to get to their destination (I think they were going to watch a movie, and some already had tickets). The lazy and shy introvert side got the best of me, as I shut up and watched them go down without even letting out a single word.

Twofold Reflection

I felt guilt afterwards, as I was reflecting. There I was, given a chance to help a group of strangers, yet for some reason, I did not want to become their bearer of “bad news”. Yet in so doing, I gave them a harder time. I wonder if any of them wondered why nobody told them they were lost…

As followers of Christ, we hold information that at times, may seem like bad news to most people (and that information, ironically, is called the gospel or “good news”). Perhaps we don’t want to see their reactions. They might respond in disbelief, insisting that they are going in the right direction, and curse you for meddling with their lives. They might, out of suspicion, consider you as a joker who thinks them gullible to believe such stories that seem better fitted in children’s fairytale books. Or they might just say thank you for telling them the truth… I think a one in three risk is good enough in the light of eternity.

Another unconnected reflection for today:

“The Irony: Good humanists work all their lives to improve the condition of the disadvantaged, but for what? To raise them to the level of the upper classes so that they too can experience boredom, alienation, and decadence?” –From Philip Yancey’s Soul Survior

I’m still a few hours away from finishing Philip Yancey’s Soul Survivor, a book that discusses the lives of thirteen unlikely people who have influenced his faith. One of those people Yancey discussed was the former surgeon general of the United States, Dr. C. Everett Koop, whom he likened to the prophet Daniel. The parallelism made me think, especially now that our church is having a series on the book of Daniel.

Let us first discuss the prophet Daniel. In essence, he was a foreigner that was trained to lead and hold a position of power and influence in a place with a culture and religion that was highly incompatible with and, immoral compared to, his beliefs. He studied, among other things, astrology and sorcery that we know would be condemned in the early churches of the New Testament. We could assume that the laws he implemented were more Babylonian, rather than Jewish in nature. Any fundamentalist could consider Daniel as someone who defiled himself, as someone who tolerated all the hateful (in the eyes of God) practices of the Babylonians, yet the scriptures clearly portray him as a role model for the youth (intelligent, good-looking, Godly). Not even once can we see Daniel lobbying laws that forbid or take away the Babylonians’ freedom to worship many gods, even when the king Nebuchadnezzar himself admitted how powerful the God of the Jews were.

Dr. Koop was a man of integrity who had welfare of America in mind. In the long run, his non-Christian critics learned to genuinely trust him as a sort of America’s family doctor, yet, at the same time, his Christian supporters rejected him, feeling betrayed at each “compromise” and “failure” he made. One such controversy was when “he declined to state that abortion procedures performed by qualified medical professionals posed a substantial health risk to the women whose pregnancies were being terminated, despite political pressure to endorse such a position.”

In the light of the upcoming elections, the current state of the local political landscape, and the Christians’ anticipation of “Christian” candidates, how should the potential voters act? Should we cast our votes on those who promise an agenda “righteous rule”? Or to those who would implement laws similar to the unwritten do’s and don’ts we have in most churches? Do we abstain if no morally suitable candidate is found? More importantly, what would our part be, after electing people into position?

For those who will be in position, the two great men stated above gives us good examples of what to look for:

• Unwavering moral integrity on what they believe in.
• The capacity to excellently do the tasks assigned to them.
• Compassion and concern for the people they serve
• Love for their God, and obedience to His commandments

For those believers who will put them into position, this, I think, is how we should be/act:

• Having a sense that the government is God’s tool for accomplishing His purposes, no matter how corrupt or nasty those in position are.
• Realizing that we as believers are not to impose whatever set of moral standards we have on the nation, but rather influence the nation through example and compassion, being the body of Christ to them.
• Obeying all known laws and submitting to authorities as long as these do not trudge on the Lordship of Christ.

As for SVCF’s outing with charm:

http://drunkenshrimp.multiply.com/journal/item/4/SVCFs_Pansol_Outing_With_Charm

Quote for today:

“In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence” - Sir Isaac Newton

(Sub: It never hurts to ask)

Yesterday morning, I decided to pay my dad’s tax dues to avail of the 20% discount for annual taxes paid before march 31. I scurried to find enough cash to pay the anticipated amount, and went off to ride a jeep to the Quezon City Hall.

-8am-

I had a book with me to read, assuming there will be long lines. To my surprise, the 30-number gap between my number and the screen display was gone in less than 10 minutes. After having the assessment, I thanked God that the due amount did not increase from last year’s.

As I found my way into the payment area, the clerk checked my documents and said that I can’t pay those named after my lolo because they were classified under corporate tax. I needed a cedula, though I did not know If it was to be my dad’s or my lolo’s (who is now dead). I got another queue number either ways. This time, it only took about 3 minutes for me to be called.

I handed the cashier all the payable documents, and waited as she processed each one. I was hesitating in my mind if I was to ask her about the corporate tax, but in the end had enough courage to speak. After answering my questions, she noticed that our address was from UP. She asked where.

“Sa area 1 po, sa Juan Luna”

“Talaga? Taga area 1 din kami, sa Aguinaldo ako dati nung 1964″

The conversation went on, we mentioned a list of neighbor’s surnames that sounded familiar to both of us, but not quite. Eventually, she allowed me to pay the corporate taxes (maliit lang naman compared to the others, but hey, 20% discount is 20% discout). Amazing. It was nothing more than God’s intervention. No other cashier could have allowed me to pay the other taxes.

By 9am, I was walking home, almost skippity-hoppy about what just occurred. But that’s not all! After I finished printing our group paper, I went to management class, where we wathced a video. It turned out to be our last class meeting, and our teacher returned our exams. I got a 100%, to the praise and glory of God!

Gee, i’m talking as if there’s no pressure from thesis and my other academic requirements

Well, God has always been good, I hope and pray that I will still be able to be like this when tougher times come.

Thoughts to ponder: Excerpts for Ravi Zacharias’ Cries of the Heart

‘It is not also instructive of our bias  that society popularly brands all tradgedies as “acts of God” but fails to attribute equal credit when we enjoy something good? This is a reversal of Job’s predicament. He knew that all good came from God but was puzzled at the source of all bad.We postmodern skeptics blame God for all the bad and credit ourselves with all that is good. Have we all bought into the belief that God is not interested in making life enjoyable? Has the Christian faith somehow been molded and reshaped to appear as a killer of pleasure or as a barrier to fun? Have enjoyment and amusement been handed over to “the world” so that the very idea of pleasure is seen as inimical to spirituality? Can God give us a wide array of pleasures including the physical and the aesthetic that we may enjoy without feeling that it is a break from the routine for the Christian?’

How about you, how has God been good to you?

I never so desired the gift of faith until now…

Gee, I can’t even clear my head enough to write.

“Own me
Take all that I am,
And heal me
With the blood of the Lamb.
Mold me
With Your gracious hand;
Break me till I’m only Yours-
Own me”

-Ginny Owens, “Own Me”

The words above were the first thoughts that came to my mind after reading from someone who quoted from Philippians 4:6-7. Those words were from Philippians 4 verse 8:

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I was reminded of this because back in a highschool IVCF camp, some kids decided to sing this verse to the tune of, if  I remember correctly, Huwag na lang kaya, by True Faith.

The fact that I remembered the first and the last words of the verse isn’t of much help though, I missed what was in the middle, the substance of the verse.

The Apostle Paul ends his book of rejoicing by reminding us that what we think of, and eventually do, contribute to our attitude, whether it be rejoicing or anything else.

The fact that I forgot what was in the middle meant that my thoughts have long been occupied by things not mentioned by Paul. Perhaps I need to be imprisoned, for Paul seemed to be more joyful there than the congregation in Philippi.

So, what are the eight whatevers?

1. True - Facts about God, what Christ has done, who we are in Christ, God’s plan for the world

2. Noble - Christ’s sacrifice, the love of God poured out to sinners, our imitation of these things, suffering because of righteousness

3.Right - Making known the Name of Jesus, helping the needy, justice,

4.Pure - The sinlessness of Christ, what we strive to be

5.Lovely - Unity in the body of believers, Christ himself

6.Admirable - Admirable character, people who are examples to follow, the deeds of Christ

7.Excellent - God’s requirement, the standard for our works and worship

8.Praiseworthy - God’s character and deeds

Most of these examples may fall into more than one, or even all the categories. Whatever, the point is that we should think about these things, instead of being preoccupied with peripheral things.

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Good night!

It’s been long since I had some reflections on Scripture… Masaya talaga pag lumuluwag ang schedule ^_^

Numbers 20:1-13

In this passage, we see why Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. We however, may not understand why a seemingly “small” error on his part was considered by God as a grave offense, which, in a sense, far outweighed Moses’ decades of leading and service.

At the first glance, one might say that what he did was “strike the rock instead” of “talk to it.” You might say, “Ah, he wasn’t polite to the rock!”

The charge against Moses was more than just a lack of courtesy to inanimate objects. Before we continue, it would be best for us to see Exodus 17:1-7, where a similar incident happened on the very same place, about two decades prior.

Perhaps Moses was enraged by the forgetfulness of the Israelites, not noticing that they were in the very same place asking for the very same thing. Perhaps Moses was saying to himself, “must we (Moses and Aaron) prove to you again that you will not die here?” And so, in an almost duplicated reenactment, (sans God standing beside Moses perhaps?) Moses gallantly raises the prized staff and hits the rock…

It might be good to notice that in Numbers, Moses struck the rock TWICE instead of once, before water started rushing out. Perhaps Moses thought that he didn’t strike it hard enough, when in fact, the truth was, at that very moment, God was most likely reminding him that nothing about the stick can be miraculous apart from God’s permission. Perhaps after the first strike, God was testing if Moses would result back to speaking to inanimate objects, in obedience to God’s command. Perhaps God saw that Moses would continue to strike the rock a million times until he sees water, and therefore permitted water to rush out anyway, because God is the Provider after all…

Yet all these came at such a high cost. Moses disobeyed God and trusted in his hand and in his stick, regretfully forgetting for a few seconds that he was powerless, and that his stick was no anting-anting. By hitting the rock twice, Moses, as the representative of God among the Israelites, almost put God to shame among them.

and so, God’s verdict on Moses and Aaron was:

“Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

Lessons:

1. Grace, mercy, and discipline go together, expect all of them to be present in your life.

2.We are to look back on our past experices, not to trust our experiences, but the God who gave them to us.

3. God works miracles in many, often unique ways. We cannot make a “Handbook of how to make miracles happen” and expect it to be a bestseller.

4. We are to have “no confidence in the flesh” (or the stick, for that matter).

Have a blessed day!

It’s been one long day, yet for once in a very long time I have almost no regrets on how I spent it, save for lying awake during siesta hours.

I’ve seen God’s name lifted up and given honor all day, in the lives of the people around me. From thesis defenses and prayers, to singing and preaching God’s word. I hope this is just a prelude to the Jesus week in UP Diliman.

“What consumes you?”

Was just one of the many phrases that I eavesdropped from someone who prepared a short devotion that sounded like a compact sermon on one’s attitudes towards ministry.

Our standards when it comes to serving God must be worthy of the God we serve. No less than the best is what we’re supposed to give. Mediocre Christianity is an irony that should not be tolerated on account of mercy and grace. Though it exists, we are not to practice it. If we allow anything else apart from God to consume us, then we must change.

May UP give to Christ what is due Him.

Let it start with His Children.

Amen.

Praise God, friendster blog’s up again!

I have been wanting to blog about many things since January. My calendar, however, has “thesis mode” and “acad mode” stamped all over. Those are all on top of my regular responsibilities, namely, family budget, relationship, and God. My only other chill moments are travian in between papers, zsnes roms, and some moments with SVCFers and churchmates.

Enough with the ranting though, this article is supposed to be about glorifying God in one’s school life. It’s my last semester as a regular-load student in the university. Consequently, it’s my last chance to enter the college scholar/university scholar list, a dream I had ever since I entered UP.

Christians in the Bible were often called  “foolish” in the eyes of the world, and that they “shame the wise.” One might ask whether that “foolishness” translates into lower grades for the sake of Christ. The answer is a categorical, but specific yes.

In one sense, we were called to be Christians first before we were called to be students. Christian life and witness are given higher priority than academic standing. This does not mean, though, that we are to miss our classes for the sake of studying God’s word. It may mean though, that one may need to forego studying for an exam if an opportunity to share the gospel arises. It may mean limiting time spent on academic exploits to make time for fellowships and personal Bible study.  It definitely means avoiding cheating and dishonesty, and standing up for what you believe in, at the cost of unpopularity and possibly, failure.

Glorifying God in one’s academic life involves acknowledging and spreading the works of God in one’s academic life. It is letting the world know who God is and what He has done in your life. Whether it be a passed exam, a group report, or a bound thesis, we are to echo our dependence on the triune God.

To give glory to God is to offer each and every event and academic requirement to Him. It is to surrender our failures and mistakes, and seek comfort in Him. It is to realize that God is the sole, immovable anchor that will always be there for us. It is to worship God regardless of what happens, so that the world will know and seekHim.

In summary, this song couldn’t have said it any better:

In Christ alone will I glory
Though I could pride myself in battles won
For I’ve been blessed beyond measure
And His grace strength alone I overcome
Oh, I could stop and count successes
Like diamonds in my hand
But those trophies could not equal
To the grace by which I stand

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory
In the power of the cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone

In Christ alone will I glory
For only by His grace I am redeemed
And only His tender mercy
Could reach beyond my weakness to my need
Now I seek no greater honor
Than just to know Him more
And to count my gains, but losses
To glory of my Lord

My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone

So, are people drawing near to God because of your academic life?

Better share them before I forget:

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less”

“Either sin keeps you from the Word, or the Word keeps you from sin”