Sow then the precious seeds of hope

Seems like I'm on a posting trend...here's another poem excerpt I really like by one of the fathers at my local church, Mr. Hartnett. I've been so blessed by his skill in writing.

Sow then the precious seeds of hope,
And water them with tears;
You soon will come rejoicing when
His faithfulness appears.

He notes that these four lines quoted here are a paraphrase from Psalm 126:5,6. Read "Sow then the precious seeds of hope" in its entirety on his blog:

http://khartnettpoetry.typepad.com/kevin_hartnett_poetry/2006/09/sow_then_the_pr.html

Help! My Church is Boring!

The first time I saw a real, live deer was when I toured a wildlife park in Colorado. Its back was momentarily in front of me before it dashed off in a flash. I was a human intruder. But I thought of the verse in Psalms 42 that we now sing in worship, "As the deer gets thirsty for streams of water, I truly am thirsty for you, my God."

During our staff devotions at work, I read aloud Mike Cariño's article, "Help! My Church is Boring!" that had Psalms 42:1-2 as its Bible passage. It's also one of my favorites from REAL TIME devotions for Filipino youth. Let me share portions of it with you:

"He walked out of the church in deep thought after the worship service. Danny felt so spiritually dry and empty in spite of the church's dynamic Sunday activities.

" 'It doesn't make sense,' thought Danny. 'If God's Word is preached, why do I still feel so hungry? Why do I drag my feet every time I go to church? How come I find it still routine, predictable and boring?' He felt confused, guilty and frustrated as he feebly waved farewell to his church friends...

"So how can a committed young Christian like Danny ever become bored with church?

"Many times, the problem does not lie in the church we attend. It is in our own hearts. When we are exhausted, numb, or resentful, we tend to lose our passion for God. With our spiritual appetite gone, no amount of program or preaching can reignite our enthusiasm...

"When our hearts are on fire for God, no church can really bore us."

For once, my devotional message (with scripted comments before and after the reading) was short enough to give us more time to pray. Afterwards, two officemates told me separately that their own worship experience concurred with my talk. One of them even asked for my notes, perhaps to use it with her own small group. That made my day.

Crash!

Every once in a while, I hum the songs I learned in grade school. One of them is actually based on Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish builders. I could even remember my teacher teaching us the lyrics ("The wise man built his house upon the rock... The foolish man built his house upon the sand...") as she demonstrated the hand signs. If you read that story closely in Matthew 7:24-27, you will see what Jesus was actually teaching. Let me share with you what Grace Gaston-Dousel wrote about this in Real Time: Time to Get Real With God Devotions for Filipino Youth.

No matter how much we read the Bible or attend church, if we don't do what we've read or heard, we learned nothing. Jesus has a word for it: FOOLISH! What else can you call someone who spent so much time, energy and emotion on building a shelter that falls apart when it rains and floods?

Often, we act like that foolish builder. The Bible tells us that life is complete only if God is priority. We still chooe to build our lives on the unstable foundations of wealth, fame, friendships, pride, traditions, and relationships with the opposite sex. Yet, we find our lives experiencing a loud and heavy crash. We end up hurt.

A growing intimate relationship with Christ is the surest way to stand strong when the storms of life and a flood of trials come. Obeying Jesus' teachings leads to a meaningful life.

The next time you choose to disobey a command from God, think about a poorly built house ready to collapse when the floods rise. That's the effect of disobedience on an otherwise promising life. Don't wait for the crash before you change your ways.

Anti-virus

Recently, I received emails from friends warning me about a deadly computer virus that comes with attachments about osama bin laden (what an appropriate match!). So far, I have not received the dreaded attachment (is God merciful or what?). This reminds me of a devotional piece written by Mike Cariño in the book, Real Time: Time to Get Real with God Devotions for Filipino Youth based on his reflection of Psalms 139:23-24. I share a part of it here.

One day, my computer became problematic. It ran slower than usual and showed a lot of pop-ups. Some programs were also not functioning well. I asked my friend, a computer expert, to look at my PC. After exploring what went wrong, he said that some virus infected my system.

Like the anti-virus program that fixed my computer, God's Spirit has the power to look deep into our hearts and clean it from all distractions, dyscfuntions, garbage, and sin. He knows that our hearts are prone to infection by spiritual viruses--anger, pride, unbelief, lust, rebellion, bitterness, selfishness, etc.

Like my PC, I am "virus-prone," too. I still make mistakes and download the wrong stuff. The good news is I can always come to God and ask Him to search me, change me and cleanse me.

Download God's Spirit. Invite Him to scan your heart and mind. Ask Him to show you what stuff you are doing in your life that brings pain, damages others, and offends God. Allow Him to clean your heart and give you power to do the right thing again.

Read more of Mike's reflections in Real Time: Time to Get Real with God Devotions for Filipino Youth available in Christian bookstores by September.

Rice is not enough

What do you think about Jesus' answer to the devil who tempted Him in the desert, "No one can live only on food. People need every word that God has spoken"? (Matthew 4:4 The Youth Bible) Let me share part of what Rhea Paredes wrote about this verse in Real Time: Time to Get Real with God Devotions for Filipino Youth.

You've probably heard that "rice is the staple diet of most Filipinos." This means it's a basic food necessity. Nonetheless, even if you bought a lifetime supply of rice, it will not be enough to sustain you forever. More vegetables or protein can't do this either. What each of us needs is "every word that God has spoken."

The Christian's "staple diet" is the Bible. When we decide to skip studying and meditating on God's Word, it is like deciding to skip a meal. We slowly starve our souls and make ourselves spiritually weak.

When we skip a meal, we are actually saying "I don't need food right now" with our actions. In the same way, when we skip spending time in God's Word, we are saying, "God, I don't need You right now" with our actions.

Let us humbly come to the Lord for spiritual food everyday, admitting that we are dependent on Him. Don't forget to feed your soul today!

Real Time: Time to Get Real with God Devotions for Filipino Youth will be available in September.