LOVE THAT'S OUT OF THIS WORLD

“How can I give you up, Israel? 

How can I abandon you? 

My heart will not let me do it! 

My love for you is too strong. 

- Hosea 11:8 (GNT)

Using grim figure of speech, the prophet Hosea described the utter destruction that will befall on the nation of Israel. He writes, "So I will attack you like a lion. Like a leopard I will lie in wait along your path. I will attack you like a bear that has lost her cubs, and I will tear you open. Like a lion I will devour you on the spot, and will tear you to pieces like a wild animal." (Hosea 13:7-8 GNT). "Samaria must be punished for rebelling against me. Her people will die in war; babies will be dashed to the ground, and pregnant women will be ripped open.” (Hosea 13:16)

History tells us that the Assyrian army in 722 BC attacked the northern kingdom of Israel. The Assyrians were a military power extending its rule by conquering nation after nation in the ancient middle east. Its army is known for its ruthlessness in war. After reading such statements from God, one would ask, "how can a loving God allow Assyria to cause such savage acts to his people, the Israelites?" And yet after the destruction of Samaria and the exile of its people to other lands, God assures them that he will never abandon them completely. The fact that Israel is alive today, in our present time, is a testament to his undying love and forgiveness for his people.

Any person who acknowledges Jesus as His saviour and master are given the opportunity to become children of God and this reality about God's love comforts us in that while we may become unfaithful to him, God will always remain faithful to us.

The Lord says, “I will bring my people back to me. I will love them with all my heart; no longer am I angry with them. (Hosea 14:4 GNT)

Things Are Gonna Be Alright

"I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you." (2 Kings 20:5 NIV)

In times of seemingly insurmountable problems and utter desperation, who are you gonna call? Financial distress, family disputes and conflict, extreme pressure to perform and conform, depression are too common in our lives. Some are outside our control and others are consequences of the poor choices we made. Regardless of who's fault it is, it gives us much comfort and assurance that God hears our prayers (Matthew 7:7). 

People have different personalities and temperaments. Some immediately tear up after watching a heartwarming movie or hearing a story. Others are as cold as stone; their eyes don't even twitch after hearing news of a close friend's death. Some men are so "macho" that they don't want to shed a tear in front of everyone because doing so would show vulnerability and weakness. 

But God created us in his likeness. We are emotional beings because God too has emotions. Whenever we are downcast, our loving father feels it too. Psalm 56:8 (NLT) says, "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book." God cares and sees your tears. More than that, he will comfort you of his presence and assure you that everything's going to be alright because "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3 NIV).

All of us, including atheists, need sympathy and encouragement in times of pain, suffering, and oppression. To experience God's comfort and loving embrace (and I do believe everyone would want to receive a hug, even the macho ones), the best thing we can do is to just let all our emotion burst out. Ask God to help and heal you. Things may not instantly turn out as you'd like it to, but surely you will feel his peace and presence. He will take care of you; things are gonna be alright.  

God looks at the heart (Reconciling God's wrath and kindness)

When you read the Old Testament laws and regulations, one would tend to think that God is a rigid, legalistic power and that He demands perfection from His subjects without any room for mistakes. One violation will result to punishment often ending in death. If this disturbs you, then be assured that you are not alone. Many Christians struggle reconciling the holy and stern God of the old testament with the teachings of Jesus on love and grace. But examining the laws and stories of the bible in its context, gives us a clearer expression of the heart of God. God is love and His love for His people overshadows His standard. His law is the embodiment of who He is and it is given for man's benefit, not the other way around. If one lives by the law, he will bear the fruit of a meaningful and fulfilling existence. God is simply saying, "if you want to live a happy and satisfying life, follow my principles." But the choice is eventually ours to make whether we follow Him or not. And our choices will always have consequences whether good or bad.

Whenever God punishes someone for a violation of the law, God is really looking at the intent of the person's heart, not the behaviour itself. Proverbs 16:2 says that, "All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord." (NIV)  The story in 2 Chronicles 30 illustrates this very well. After many years of idol worship, King Hezekiah wanted to celebrate a nationwide Passover feast after it has been neglected for more than 200 years. Hezekiah invited all Israelites even their countrymen from the Northern tribes who have separated from Judah. Many people ignored the invitation and even laughed at the messengers sent by the king. But some responded and journeyed to Jerusalem with sincere hearts. According to the scriptures many came from all over Judah and Israel so much that "nothing like this has happened since the days of King Solomon..." (2 Chronicles 30:26 GNT). A spiritual revival was happening! But since the people have not observed the feast for a long time, a lot of them didn't meet the requirements and standards of purification as prescribed in the law of Moses. Upon learning this, Hezekiah prayed, “May the good Lord pardon everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” (2 Chronicles 30:18-19 NASB). And the Lord heard Hezekiah's prayer, forgave the people, and accepted their worship.

Knowledge (of the bible) and ritual is good and has its proper place in worship. But more than these, God weighs the motives of your heart. He will always offer grace and forgiveness to those whose hearts are repentant and upright.

Its not about us

"You will give us prosperity, Lord! Everything that we achieve is the result of what you do." (Isaiah 26:12 GNT)

• A promise-claim by Isaiah the prophet for the nation of Israel.
• A promise-claim of peace. The word "prosperity" is the hebrew word "shalom" which means peace, completeness, soundness, welfare.
• I like the use of the word "Everything" because it indicates Isaiah's admission that all of life's achievements come from God and we don't have a single contribution.
• This goes against the tide of "self-made man" philosophy that is prevalent in modern times.
• #Itsnotaboutme #Iamnothing #AllHis

A Good Soldier

"Who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, 'Why did you make me like this,' will it?" (Rom. 9:20)

Often, atheists, agnostics, and postmodern thinkers accuse Christians of being judgmental and prejudiced. But the honest truth is, we are just being good soldiers.

If a traffic officer issues you a ticket for violating the number coding scheme, will your anger burn against the traffic cop if you disagree with the number coding policy? Take your issues with the local government or congress. It is them who ratified the law. The traffic police’s job is to implement what the authorities make legal. Let’s not associate the implementer with the lawmaker.

In the same manner, God is the lawmaker and good Christians are merely implementers. If you have a problem with biblical truth, take it up with God, not his servants.

Someone once said, "There is a God and you're not Him!" Let's not play God. It's either we submit under His authority or not. There's no middle ground.

Step out in faith!

My son's fever was going on and off for several days. My wife insisted to bring him to the doctor but how can we? I didn't have any money. Private doctor's in the Philippines do not usually take credit. I was tempted to just pray and let God heal the boy. After all, I reasoned, I don't have any cash so the Lord most probably would want us to stay home, pray, and the boy would get well. However, we also needed the expert advice of a professional since the dangerous dengue fever is becoming prevalent in the area and may have infected my son.

We decided to drive off to the doctor without any cash in our pockets. On the way, we stopped by an ATM machine to check my bank account balance. Lo and behold, it had more than enough money in it to pay for the doctor's fees and medicine. As it turned out, my employer unexpectedly advanced my salary and credited it to my account just yesterday. God is amazing!

In Exodus 14:13 Moses believed in the deliverance of God for the Israelites as they fled from Egypt. With the massive Egyptian army quickly encroaching behind them and the sea blocking their escape at the front end, they appeared to be trapped. The people began to grumble and blame Moses for bringing certain death upon them (Exodus 14:11-12). But Moses believed God and exhorted the people to take courage, be silent, do nothing, and see the salvation of God (verses 13-14). At times, it is wise to be silent, pray, and wait for God. But there are also times that we need not only to believe, but to move and step out in faith. Look at what God told Moses, "Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward" (Exodus 14:15 NASB). In other words, God is telling Moses to shut up and just step forward. And the Lord mightily delivered them by miraculously parting the sea.

Have you been praying for something lately and find yourself doing nothing about it? What's stopping you? Is it the fear of past failure, financial prohibitions or insecurity? Maybe all you need to do is to step out and move forward in faith. God is waiting for you.

Cling to God!

When my second son was about three years old, I brought him along with me to a men's accountability group meeting. At the start of the meeting, I noticed how my son was closely and tightly sitting right next to me. In an unfamiliar place, surrounded in a room full of strange and scary-looking men, he felt frightened and insecure. So he held on tightly to the only familiar object in that room - his father. As long as dad is around, he felt safe.

The book of 2 Kings Chapter 18 describes Hezekiah as a righteous king. He was so upright that the bible describes that he stood out uniquely among all the kings in the history of Judah. He was successful, prosperous, and abundantly wealthy. What’s his secret? 2 Kings 18:6 reveals it to us. It reads: “For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.” King Hezekiah clung to the Lord. I believe herein is the secret in unleashing spiritual power in our lives.

The hebrew word for cling is “dabaq” which means to cleave, keep close, hold fast, join together, and stick together. It’s the same word used in Genesis 2:24 describing the relationship between husband and wife: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife and they shall be one flesh.” The word cleave comes also from the same hebrew word. In essence “dabaq” means to stay close together as much as possible, to not separate and be together all the time. Does this describe your relationship with God? Do you cling to Him? Do you hold fast to Him as much as you can?

I observe three demonstrations of how Hezekiah clung to God.
1. He trusted in God fully.
2 Chronicles 29:3-10 chronicles how King Hezekiah started a reform in Judah. His father, Ahaz, was an evil king. Ahaz worshipped in the high places and made different idols and images and worshipped them. He even burned his own sons as a sacrifice to his gods. Hezekiah, however, was different. The moment he became King, he started a reform movement by removing all the high places and every form of idol worship. He ordered that the temple be cleansed of any unclean object and reopened its doors which has been closed for a long time. He repaired the temple and re established the Levites to take care of the temple and ordered them anew to carry out their priestly duties. He consecrated the temple and re instituted the Passover; something that they have not done in many years.

When Sennacherib, King of Assyria was approaching to besiege Jerusalem, these were the words spoken by Hezekiah to his people: "Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah (2 Chronicles 32:7-8). The Assyrian army was a military powerhouse during that time. They were much feared by many nations for at that point, the Assyrians have already conquered Israel, Aram, and all the cities of Judah except Jerusalem. Imagine yourself in Hezekiah’s shoes. How would you feel when the world around you is crumbling right before your eyes? What would be your sentiments toward God when you are loosing your money, business, and relationships? When you’re loosing almost everything, would you still trust Him?

2. He obeyed faithfully.
2 Chronicles 31:20 summarizes the reign of King Hezekiah this way: “Everything Hezekiah did while he was king of Judah, including what he did for the temple in Jerusalem, was right and good. He was a successful king, because he obeyed the LORD God with all his heart.” (CEV) Obedience brings blessing. Notice how his success is directly attributed to his obedience.

3. He prayed emotionally.
When Rabshakeh, commander of the Assyrian army, delivered a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah saying irreverently that the Lord, their God, cannot deliver them from the hands of the Assyrians just as what happened to the other nations who they previously dispossessed; Hezekiah took the letter, spread it before God in the temple and entreated Him saying: “But just look how Sennacherib has insulted you, the living God. It is true, our LORD, that Assyrian kings have turned nations into deserts. They destroyed the idols of wood and stone that the people of those nations had made and worshiped. But you are our LORD and our God! We ask you to keep us safe from the Assyrian king. Then everyone in every kingdom on earth will know that you are the only God” (2 Kings 19:16-19, CEV). That same night, after praying, an angel from the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers and Sennacherib was forced to retreat and go back home to Nineveh. Some time later he was murdered while worshipping his god in a temple.

Years later Hezekiah became ill and the Lord told him, through the prophet Isaiah, to set his house in order for he will not recover from the illness and that his life will soon end. Hezekiah pleaded before God, weeping bitterly, he cried out to God and said: "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight" (2 Kings 20:3). After Hezekiah prayed with such emotional agony, the Lord was moved and said to Isaiah the prophet, "Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you.”’” (2 Kings 20:5)

When was the last time you actually cried and sobbed before God? Last September 2009 I lost my job. And probably like Hezekiah when faced with the mighty Assyrian army, I pictured the scenario in my mind to what could possibly happen to me and my family now that I was jobless. I was already financially struggling with a job barely being able to pay my bills. Loosing a job would be a disaster to me financially. Aside from this, a deep feeling of failure encroached upon me. All these emotions welled up inside of me and after a long, long time; I wept and sobbed while praying to God. Afterwards, it felt good. I began to sense a feeling and assurance that everything will be alright.

Clinging to God appears forthright but it’s not as easy as it seems. We have this terrible propensity to be independent. After sitting close to me for about 30 minutes, I noticed how my son was slowly loosening his grip on me. He eventually noticed that the old, scary men were not so scary after all – in fact they were actually friendly. After familiarizing himself with the people and the surroundings, he slowly began to let go of me and soon was confidently walking around and going out of the room by himself. With his fear gone, he was confident and so sure of himself that he didn't need daddy to protect him anymore. Aren’t we like that oftentimes to our Heavenly Father?

When we begin to depend on ourselves and our capabilities, we begin to loosen our grip on God. We find ourselves doing a lot of work and praying less. When this happens, be careful. In Luke 18:7-8, Jesus encourages us to cry out to Him in prayer day and night, an act of total dependence. When we do this, He promises that we will get justice quickly. The secret to unleashing power in our prayers and to living a successful and prosperous life is that we maintain dependence on Him constantly – clinging to Him as if our life depended on it and never letting go.

The New Testament version of the words "cling" and "cleave" is the word "abide". Jesus mentioned this word plenty of times in John 15. I'll share more about abiding in Christ next week.

God bless your week.