Joy is come with shouts of praise

It's been a while, huh? Here's some verses I wrote one night reflecting on God's work in my life.

Death before me laid sublime,
Its path I followed blindly.
Excruciating regret with no reprieve,
The wrath of God awaited me.

Until my Savior stopped my tracks!
Oh what undeserved mercy!
That He instead walked death's path
To make a sinner holy.

Lifted up for helpless man,
The Christ took a stead so lowly.
Indignation that was surely mine
He bore on the Cross of Calv'ry.

My soul, let tears flow
And bottle them up tightly.
May the majestic vision consume pride,
See that it never be taken lightly.

Yet sing, O heart! No longer be faint
For love shed so broadly,
The blood of the Perfect One
Atones for sins of many.

Yes, my Savior is alive,
Over death He comes in vict'ry!
My grave cannot keep him down,
Oh sorrow has made sweet symphony.

And joy is come with shouts of praise
For the Christ's tomb is empty.
Accepted! Oh, His sacrifice
He finished His work completely!

Boundless bliss in God's glory is mine,
I will wake to heaven's reveille.
Can it be that I am now a child?
Treasures in Christ now abound me.

Let the nations be quickened here and now!
Turn from sin-slavery!
The Just and Justifier has come
And dispenses grace so freely.

- July 9, 2007

The average's excellency

From time to time, I attempt to write...uh...poetry. Here's my recent shot at it. You could say they are reflections on Psalm 84:10:

Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

---------------

The Average's Excellency

Can't compose music like Dylan's buckets
Or paint empyrean skies on paper packets.
Words to me have no Shakespearean flow;
My feet usually dance too fast, too slow.

Don't hold your breath for Galilean theories;
I can give you a fix of childish stories.
No Platonic arguments from my cognition;
My profile doesn't hold newsworthy recognition.

Is it a failure to be so average?
What if I told you I have some courage?
I want to be where I am meant to be
Even with no worldly greatness, I will not flee.

One's life doesn't consist in the abundance of his possessions
Instead, what does he live for? What is his passion?
Let me respond to one particular call
To make Christ my excellency, my life, my all.

Technology and faith

Joshua Harris writes his thoughts on the way technology is affecting the way we view our faith. Read his post on his blog about "The Double-Edged Sword of Technology" where he references David Wells:

[Because of advances in technology] everything in life is then evaluated by this same standard: what is done better and faster must be right.

P.S. What did you think of the book launch? :)

Brownout

It's been more than a week since Typhoon Milenyo hit Metromanila but we're still experiencing power shortages. Today is another workday gone to waste because the power went off at a little past 10 am. What a great way to start a day, right?

Hmm, let's see what I can do about this. I thought of all the people I owed a text message and sent each of them one. I also opened a window to get enough light to manually write down a draft of the first report on my to-do list. After an hour or so, that was it. I could do nothing else. Files I needed to refer to were all in the computer.

When I'm thinking about a zillion things I want to do but WON'T be able to, I marvel about how people did things before electricity was discovered. Then I snap back to reality and tell myself not to panic! After all, this situation is beyond my control. I'm not the only one worrying about delays and unmet deadlines.

Brownouts remind me that life has lots of interruptions. Some are divine (acts of God we call them, such as typhoons), others are caused by man (like the despicable thieves of wire cables and transformers). Interruptions and unscheduled pauses make me think about the "Be still and know that I am God" passage in Psalm 46. [Didn't that psalm describe a natural disaster in the first verses?] Then I wait for the power to return.

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.

Getting Sick

I have a confession to make. I didn't desire God that much the last few weeks. I got sick. It's the season, you know. Coughs and colds, I mean. I simply stared at the wall clock when it was time for me to get out of bed for my Bible reading. How I wished I could say my spirit was willing and it's only my flesh that was weak. But that wasn't the case. My body and spirit agreed to stay put--in bed!

Guess what, too? My Bible reading is now in the Book of Job! Honestly, that dampened my spirit further. Instead of switching to another less depressing Bible book, I just timed out and wallowed in my own misery. I knew God wanted to tell me something through that book, but I didn't have the spiritual guts to find out. (Coward!) But my journaling lost its vigor and my prayers felt limp and dry. My spirit ached for God and I knew what I had to do.

Now that I'm better (thanks to the mystery of the common cold called recovery), I'm reading my Bible again. I discovered something about myself during my spiritual leave of absence. It takes just a little physical discomfort to lose my desire for God's Word. This is not just about missing a morning routine and getting upset over it. I didn't really love God enough to think of Him and listen to Him during those physically weak times. Ouch! My spiritual pride!

Although reading Job won't be a pleasure trip, I want to learn from it just the same. After all, it IS God's Word. I would be insulting God if I read only the "easy" and "soothing" Bible passages. If I want to know Him more deeply, I will search for Him in every page of His Word. I want my devotion to Him to be constant "in sickness and in health."

Fighting for joy

"Fighting for joy" is a truth that I have been so grateful to encounter recently. I was introduced to it by pastor and author John Piper in his book, "When I Don't Desire God." I will not attempt to explain it here as he does a better job of that, but I do want to highlight a particular section in the book that I trust will help us all in our pursuit of the spiritual discipline of having our quiet times.

In my last post, I mentioned that I have found that the "secret" to having quiet times is not a technique but it starts with a sincere desire to spend time with God. Towards the end of Chapter 9, Piper gives an example of how to pray over God's Word as we ask for this desire that only God can give--what he calls "the fight for joy."

Almost every day I pray early in the morning that God would give me desires for him and his Word, because the desires I ought to have are absent or weak...The first thing my soul needs is an inclination toward God and his Word. Without that, nothing else will happen of any value in my life. I must want to know God and read his Word and draw near to him. Where does that "want to" come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 119:36 teaches us to pray, "Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!" Very simply we ask God to take our hearts, which are more inclined to breakfast and the newspaper, and change that inclination. We are asking that God create desires that are not there.

John Piper gives more practical application of Scipture in the book and I encourage you to read it. Grab a copy from a bookstore or if you can't, the people at Desiring God has graciously made the electronic version available for free. Enjoy!

Not a change in plan, but a change in heart

I attempted to have consistent quiet times many different times. One time I got as far as Numbers (the fourth book in the Old Testament) before I started to give up. When reading in the morning got too hard, I tried having my quiet times at night. I also tried reading one chapter of a Christian book and then a few chapters of the Bible. Even with my many strategies, I still had pretty inconsistent times with the Lord and I couldn't figure out why.

On the other hand, I would never miss this Monday night show on TV every week. On the dot, I would turn my TV on just to hear the last commercial fade and the intro music for my awaited program to come on the air.

Why it was so hard for me to keep a consistent time with God but so easy for me to be on time for a TV show? I later realized that the answer was not in a new "technique" or a well-planned schedule. The "secret" to having consistent daily quiet times with God is to have a sincere desire for God's Word. It wasn't hard for me to be in front of the TV every Monday night because I wanted to be there. In the same way, it will not be hard for me to have my quiet times every day if it was something I really wanted to do deep down.

The problem is you can't fake desire or wants. This is a change that needs to happen in our hearts, not on our calendars--and only God can change hearts.

Through the help of other people, I slowly learned to ask God for a desire to study His Word first before jumping into any quiet time plan. Before long, I had read through the Bible, compiled about three journals, and had finished a few Christian books in between.

My earlier attempts had been done out of self-sufficiency (what I can do) which is why they all were short-lived and lasted only a few months at the most. However, when God changed my heart towards His Word, it became easier to have a quiet time every day!

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. - Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

Have you been trying out that "scripture reading plan" and could never get to finish? Before trying a new "technique" or a new reading plan, ask God for help! He wants you to be able to meet with Him!

The joys of a habit

I learned to read the Bible when I found out that I didn't know much about Jesus Christ. Zeferelli's film, "Jesus of Nazareth," fascinated me so much that I watched it four times--in the moviehouse. When a high school classmate gave me a New Testament as her way of sharing the gospel with me, I discovered that many of the lines in the film were in the Gospels! To add to my shock, Jesus did and said a whole lot more that the film didn't show. I felt like Lucy opening the door of C.S. Lewis' wardrobe into the world of Narnia!

Another friend taught me to use Our Daily Bread in my journey as a beginning Bible reader. I even followed the way she folded the booklet (three months' worth back then) and inserted it in her Bible. But I came up with my own style of journaling. Our Daily Bread led me to read other parts of the Bible such as Paul's letters and the Old Testament. I found other Bible versions in the house--Revised Standard Version and Today's Living Bible--and compared their wordings with those of the King James version. This helped me understand some words that didn't make sense to me. Many years later, I settled for the New International Version.

Bible reading wasn't always fun and interesting. Especially when I was experiencing many problems and struggles, and my Bible reading didn't seem to help at all. Reading books by well-known Christian writers, listening to dynamic preachers (either live or on radio) and joining a Bible study group taught me to look for more hidden "gems" in my Bible reading. I found out that sometimes my problem was just plain disobedience. When I followed what the Bible said, I felt free and light!

I now follow a reading plan that covers the entire Bible in three years. I read a chapter a day. Not just once, but five times. It's both discipline and adventure. Then I write down the most significant verse or passage from the chapter and what it means to me in one page of my journal. Regardless of what I'm going through, my Bible reading gives me focus and helps me commit my day to God better. Most of all, I learn to love my Lord Jesus more and more. And that's the sweetest part of all.

When was the last time?

I had just finished reading the Book of Ezra (my first time!). Like Micah, Ezra can easily be mistaken for a girl's name. But Ezra in the Bible was a guy and a zealous Bible scholar they called a scribe in those days.

The Jews had been captured and sent to Babylon on exile (meaning, prisoners of war) for 70 years as prophesied by Jeremiah. When the time to return to their homeland finally came, Ezra was "the man" King Artaxerxes ordered to lead them in rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem! And he actually pulled it off! He organized everything with integrity and complete transparency. He wasn't just a godly man, he was also an effective leader and administrator.

But my respect for Ezra shot up sky high when I read about him sitting down in utter shock when he found out that the leaders themselves weren't as righteous as he thought they were. They had married foreign women and raised families with mixed beliefs, including the horrible practices that God had condemned. Have you ever ripped your clothes apart (those you're wearing!) and torn your hair and beard (if you have one) in fierce anger? That was how mad Ezra was when he found out how rampant the intermarrying was. He probably sat down in a daze until, the Scripture says, the evening sacrifice. How many hours do you think was that?

Finally, Ezra got down on his knees still wearing his torn clothes with bits of his hair scattered around him, and prayed to God. With uplifted arms and tears running down his face, he confessed the sins of his people and asked for forgiveness. Such a scene would have turned us off as overly dramatic but the effect on his fellow Jews was the opposite. Chapter ten says that a large number of men, women and children gathered around him and cried bitterly. Could you imagine children crying along with their parents over their sin?

When was the last time you read or known someone who loved God and hated sin this much? I admit that I don't have this kind of zeal. Is it any wonder then that we have yet to see a genuine inter-generational revival sweep our land? The tough part is seeing it begin with myself.

Sight for the blind

My recent trip to my sister's place in breathtaking Puerto Galera gave me the opportunity to do something special for my brother-in-law. He has cataracts and refuses to see an eye doctor or undergo laser surgery. Over breakfast my sister made an intentional pause in the conversation to say something to me. She asked me to "pray over" Michael because his eyesight is failing. My sister believes my prayer has power and I have "the gift."

Sure, I said, I can pray. I agreed to pray for Michael that night. As we left for the next round of resorts that afternoon, I frantically texted friends to pray for me and my brother-in-law. This was my chance to share who Jesus is! I prayed to God for a Scripture verse or passage to share. By the time we got back to prepare for dinner, I settled for the simple but powerful story of the blind beggar in Luke 18:35-43.

After dinner, we gathered around the table for the prayer session. I read the story out loud then explained it like a short devotional talk. The difference was my listeners did not believe in Jesus of the Bible. I focused on what the blind beggar must have felt when he heard that Jesus was coming and when Jesus finally talked to him. The miracle that followed made the beggar and everyone who saw it praise God. All of us laid our hands on Michael and I prayed for his healing. I also prayed that he would experience Jesus in a special way and praise God, too. When I had finished, Michael shed tears and then hugged me tightly in deep emotion. Then he hugged my sister and kissed her. My friend who witnessed everything felt moved, too. I went to sleep that night grateful that the prayer time truly comforted my brother-in-law .

How I wish I could say that Michael got healed after that, but he didn't. He wisely said, "it's a process" and continues to seek natural remedies and cures for his ailment. He follows a strict diet, regularly does breathing exercises and physical work to keep fit. I'm praying that he will keep recalling the story he heard that night and learn to cry out to Jesus just like that blind beggar someday. I'm pretty sure God will hear his prayer and give him much more than physical sight.

About Time

I've been journaling since high school. I called it a diary back then. Now I simply label it Notes on Life. I have used all kinds of notebooks and all kinds of pens. Special ones, even. When I learned about blogging, I wasn't particularly interested. You see, I'm not an electronic person even if I'm a daily email user. I also hesitate over the thought that other people get to read what I write. But I guess it's about time I tried blogging. Well, here goes nothing...