Always Triumphant

Running against Horses

2010-05-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

I’ve been to two funerals and a wake last week and they were absolutely wonderful experiences.
Those were the first funerals I had ever been to. In each event I got to celebrate lives well lived, grieve with those who lost, have joy at the impact they make and wish that I would earn the same accolades when I pass into eternity as well.

Far from being glum and depressing (perhaps because they were African American Baptist and Nigerian affairs) they joyously celebrated the lives of Godly people who loved their families and served their communities. It’s rare when you are holding back tears one minute and then laughing uproariously the next, they were almost like weddings they were so happy.
These events were actually inspiring to me and when I left, I felt like I had known the person who passed for some time, even though that wasn’t the case.

At one, I heard a sermon preached on a little passage in Jeremiah that completely changed my view on suffering in life, and gave me pause about the hope that I have. For context, the sermon was preached by the son of the pastor who had died. It was very powerful in its simplicity – I’ll try to summarize.

Verse:

"If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” - Jeremiah 12:5

Context:
Jeremiah was getting frustrated. God had called him to be his prophet to Israel, to get them to repent and pronounce the consequences if they didn’t. While Jeremiah had initial confidence in this task, his trust faded when things started getting very difficult. He is known as the “weeping prophet” due to his grief for Israel and the difficulty he endured at their hands (he gets thrown in a well and left to die at one point), and especially the troubling visions of its destruction in the book of Lamentations.

So like Elijah, Job and David, he gives his complaint to God when he is at the end of his rope The verse above was the beginning of God’s response. So why did I find God putting Jeremiah in his place so inspiring for my life now? Because it reminded me that I get tired easily when I run on my own power (fueled usually by my own pride). God hadn’t designed us to do anything worthwhile – much less ordained by him- on our own power. That is why Job, Jeremiah, Elijah, David, Moses, Abraham and everyone else whom we reckon as “righteous” has a similar conversation with God in which they laid their frustrations at his feet.

When we are worn out with the trials of life - our “men on foot,” that experience produces the diligence and humility in us to go to God so that we can race even against horses. I believe God was showing Jeremiah his weakness, warning him of the trials to come, and proving his faithfulness and wisdom by implying that it is possible to thrive and succeed in harder circumstances. By letting us and our desires get frustrated even in the “simple” things of this life, I think God is actually preparing us. We are stronger than we know if we depend upon him, and much weaker than we thought when we don’t.

Have you ever looked back on something and realized it was God who got you through it? Have you ever accomplished something and realized it was not on your own? By reminding Jeremiah that he is not doing as well as he anticipated, with trials still on the horizon come, I think God is actually being very fair and inspiring to him, though Jeremiah may not feel that way at the time. Sometimes the best advice or critique does not suit our ears upon first hearing. But the truth is there, God will not forsake us, and will actually bless us and empower us to endure and accomplish that which he has in store for us. However, we forsake ourselves when we don’t stop our striving and get coaching from Him.

I learn I run better and longer when following common wisdom, the advice of those smarter and more experienced than me, and in communion with others who are better. How much more so God, who is with us and will avail his infinite power, wisdom, and love to get us to finish the race and receive the crown of life He has in store for us.

So yeah, two funerals and one wake halve allowed me to see that over the course of these lives that impacted so many people - they raced against horses and won a reward in heaven. And we are expected to do the same. Be blessed.

Hope Floats

2010-05-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

Before Jesus and his disciples got in the boat to cross to the other side; they were interrupted by two potential candidates to be His followers. The first was a Pharisee who told Christ that he will follow Him “wherever you go.” To which Jesus replied "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

This response was to let him know that it wasn’t going to be comfortable, easy, consistent or materially secure existence. Being a Pharisee was perhaps the most secure existence one could have in Jerusalem: you can’t argue with respect, influence, education, steady income and provision. People aren’t going to stop sinning and they were there to atone for them and legislate morality. Even Pilate and Herod were not as secure as the Pharisees, they were hated as symbols of oppression and had to beware the political schemes and machinations of the empire, rivals and even their own family members.

The other man, who also wanted to follow Christ but then first bury his father, was given a similar seemingly discomforting reply. The gospel does not make it clear whether either man got onto the boat with Christ, but when he and his disciples do set off, they are caught in a storm comes that has the power to sink the boat.

I think the order of events is significant here because we see the two biggest barriers to following Christ – trepidation and tribulation. Trepidation – the initial hesitance to leave behind, or make less important, the comfort and obligations of this life. Can we truly say that we count everything we take joy and pride in as “rubbish” as Paul states for the sake of knowing Christ? Those who approached Christ were used to “the things of the world,” and while that does not condemn them, Jesus warns them that in following him, he expects their priorities to be radically changed. So what can we let go of that impedes

Then there is the tribulation. When we actually get on the boat and go into open sea we can be coasting along fine but easily fall victim and feel exposed to unexpected storms. The storm came up as unexpectedly on the disciples as sea as it did those on shore. Yet, while it was seemingly much more dangerous to the disciples to at sea, they forgot that they were in the presence one that could silence the wind and waves with a word.

Like the disciples, and like the prophets and kings and men and women of God before them, we can look about frantically for where Christ is and wonder if he even cares that we are about to drown. David many times laments the lack of the presence of God. Moses and Elijah both poured out their frustration and bewilderment at their bad fortune and apparent abandonment. However, what did all those people do when they were at their wits end? They took it to God, albeit in self-justified anger, frustration, confusion and grief.

David wept and vented, Abraham sighed, Moses complained, Elijah whined and the disciples exasperated “do you not care that we are about to drown?”

Is there value in us being at our wits end and seeking God? I think God wants that frustration from us at times because it shows that we actually value the relationship. I think about all the people I’ve felt true disappointment in – those people were definitely closer than acquaintances. I don't want to make it sound as base as God wants to rile us up, but he wants to show us consistently that he is present, and that his will is as good as it is mysterious. However, ultimately it allows him to show us that he has infinite wisdom, and our best in mind. It may take us time after the fact to fully grasp that - be we have ample time as we are delivered and on dry land again on the other side of the sea, following Him to what lies ahead.

God bless

Pissed Off & Sick and Tired

2010-05-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

You ever get sick and tired of being sick and tired? I am sick and tired of watching born again Spirit-filled, whether you speak in tongues or not, children of the Most High God suffer. I know in this world we will have trials, Jesus promised that we would, but Jesus also promised that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

I am pissed off that Jesus gave up His place in Heaven, came and lived on this earth, endured ALL He did in order for us to walk in freedom and we do not even believe that we can.

I am sick and tired of watching my Chrisitan Brothers and Sisters, especially my sister's struggle with areas of their past and life when God's Word tells us that we are to forget the former things and remember them no more because God is going to do a new thing in us.

I am pissed off that when we become saved that the Holy Spirit seals us, Jesus lives in us, yet we feel like we have to struggle with areas of our life. He is in us, He wants to deliver us, He wants to make us free, yet we are afraid to let Him.

I am sick and tired of "Chrisitans" judging other "Chrisitans" when they come to them admitting their sin, seeking healing and prayer, and they walk away feeling even more condemned than they were before. Have we forgotten that there was no good in us until Jesus came and set us free? That regardless of what we did or did not do, how much time we spent in the clubs and the bars, even how much time we did or did not spend in the church that we ALL were on our way to hell until Jesus found us. Yes, He found us because we were too busy trying to clean ourselves up and "get our life right" before we would go to church and give our life to the Lord.

I am just pissed off and sick and tired!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

National Day of Prayer Today!

2010-05-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry, its been a minute...

I don't know if I'm going to make it to city hall today (didn't plan on it) but today I encourage and join with you all in praying for our nation. Not just its leadership but the entirety of civic life. I realized this morning how easy it is to lambast our leaders (some more than others depending on your political philosophy) but overall they need as much grace getting out of bed each day as we do.

One of my prayers today is that Christians will show an attitude of attention, respect, and restraint to our leaders while seeking to hold them accountable. Irregardless of our political beliefs, we belong to a faith in which the Apostle Paul encouraged slaves to not be disrespectful to their masters so that their masters may be converted by their witness of character. Paul was not supporting the insitatuion of slavery, but the reconciliation of man with God. We need to be keenly aware of the impact our individual witness and actions can affect an entire system for the kingdom of God.

Furthermore, we are called to be obedient and respectful to every authority in this world as they are placed there by God. Of course we do not have to on the points where they do not agree with God’s law, but again, there is as difference between the testimony of our character and the preferences of our minds. “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” Jesus said, after being asked if it was lawful to pay taxes, “and unto God what is God’s”. Jesus used the illustration that money was Caesar’s since it bore his image, but people are God’s since we are created in His image. In praying for others and our leadership, let us remember who we all belong to. The Caesar’s of our time need just as much grace as we do getting out of bed, Lord help us all to remember that we belong to you, and you want us to care for and pray for each other.

Surely He did!

2010-04-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 53:4-6

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Its amazing how Isaiah wrote this more than 700 years before Christ and yet it describes him to a t. Likewise Psalm 22 prophesies the suffering of Christ:

16 Packs of dogs close me in,and gangs of evildoers circle around me; *they
pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.
17 They stare and
gloat over me; *they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my
clothing.

Yet even in the midst of such suffering we should be reminded of Christ's words to his disciples and to us:

I am the good shepherd.. and I lay down my life for the sheep….. The
reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my own life—only to take it up
again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

I have authority to lay it down, and authority to take it up again.”
“I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of the world is coming.
He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I
do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”

(Jn 14:30-31)

Enjoy your Good Friday with the shepard who lay down his life to grant you an eternal one!

Passion 1

2010-03-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a thought occur to me:

The biggest miracle in my mind that Jesus ever performed was never once doing his own will.

Seriously, I know he walked on water, healed the sick, released the possessed, spoke the truth with wisdom and authority and was resurrected from the dead through the power of the holy spirit - but all that would have been for naught if he "just wanted to do his own thing."

I don't say this lightly, I look at the state of my persistent rebellion against God, whether inspired by fear, laziness, pride or arrogance and I realize - I simply can't do this. I can't do what God wants me to all the time - its nigh impossible for everyone. And yet Christ did just that. I know some people who have the wrong concept of sin think "No big deal, I think Jesus was a good person" because Jesus is as good as or better than them or hundreds of thousands of other people on earth. However, ask the same person if they can go through a day without being self-centered or self-interested or continually ensure that their actions are at the prompting or benefit of someone else ahead of their desires.

So the reason I bring this up is today is Palm Sunday - the liturgy starts Joyous - the triumphal entry - and ends sadly and suddenly - Christ's betrayal, trial, and crucifixion. This reading stuck out to me glaringly from the bulletin and reminded me that through it all, Christ was in this for the glory of God:

"Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point death - even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

- Philippians 2:5-11

Paul is right, this is the facet of Christ that is most impressing me and and making me praise him is the fact that he did it all for the Glory of God, for 33 years whereas I can't be bothered to think of someone else for more than 3 seconds. Praise Him who did this for you and I, praise Him who did this with the end in mind of God's glory and our benefit. His greatest miracle is an everlasting one as he changes our hearts to do the same.

Preparing for Life's Trials

2010-03-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

"I have told you these things so that in me, you will have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." -John 16:33

Why is it that we prepare for everything in life, except for our trials? We study for exams and quizzes, we save for our wedding, we save for vacation, we even save for the dream car that we always wanted as a teenager and plan to purchase in our mid 50's. When in reality, there is no guarantee that we will live until our 50's, be able to take a vacation, or even get married (I apologize to those of anxiously waiting and praying for your spouse.). Why don't we put that much time into preparing for life's trials? We know they are coming, yet we find ourselves preparing for them in the middle of them and at that point, it is no longer preparation, but mere survival. In John 16:33, Jesus tells us that we will have trials. What more do you need to know. It would be helpful to know when they were coming and what it is concerning, but we do not. However, we do know that we can overcome because he has overcome. Does us knowing that we will overcome make us complacent and keep us from preparing? I am not suggesting we worry, but maybe we should take some time getting ourselves ready. Questions or comments?

Singing Sunday 2

2010-03-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

I don't have a hymn for today - just a bridge from a band I love - House of Heroes and their song "Field of Daggers". Simple words, but they could just have easily been penned by Fanny Crosby - had she known how to play a killer bass or lead guitar...

"Spread wide Your wings, O God,
Relieve this scarlet fever,
Catch every tear of mothers in mourning.

Bring life to tired hopes,
Buried in fields of flowers,
Bring many sons of battle to glory.

With every drop of blood,
Caged in this tired body,
I long to bring my father to glory.

I see a new day coming!
Maybe tomorrow...
Woe to the king of nothing.
I see a clean blood running,
Brothers of sorrow.
Here is your kingdom coming!
Here is your kingdom coming!"

I like these lyrics because for me Lent always brings a season of disappointment. I'm not good at keeping my word, or fasts very well - and any success I have in either department leads often to pride and me realizing that I missed the point of whatever spiritual discipline I have embarked on at current. But it reminds me that I am working towards and end that I cannot achieve by myself - the doing of the will of God and a love for Him. In these words, I see God's ultimate purpose and rejoice in it - but I also see how powerless I am in light of it. It doesn't depend upon me, but for my sake, God wants me to get involved. This song - and all others in that particular album by house of heroes pretty much chronicles things throught he perspective of being a "soldier" for Christ. And lent tends to be an introspective and hard slog in the battle at times but its also a good time to be reminded why we are "fighting the good fight."

I think the verse today from the Epistle captures it magnificently. We are in the war because:

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 Corinthians 5:21

There you have it. We are fighting because we are being made into what we tried in vain to be ourselves - the righteousness of God. In a culture and age obsessed with self-salvation, self-satisfaction, and self-aggrandizement, I don't have to go far to find my idols. Yet, somehow, God is taking fallen, imperfect and impetuous man and is redeeming us for his glory?

I like Rev. Timothy Keller's paraphrase about Christ's sacrifice "He took a man who died loving us so that we might live to truly love others." Sometimes I focus on the outward fruit of my faith without realizing that first and foremost it takes a deeper and more significant inward devotion to and adoration of the God who picks us up out of self-imposed dust-heaps.

Praise Him, and keep rockin.

Diety and Disaster

2010-03-08T06:02:00.000-08:00

Luke 13
Repent or Perish

1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
2Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

6Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the man who took
care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on
this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the
soil?'
8" 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and
I'll dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not,
then cut it down.' "

________________________________________
This was the gospel reading for yesterday at church. It really struck me for many reasons, especially in light of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. Imagine if Jesus was walking amongst us now and preaching – and the earthquake just happened, or someone brings up 9-11. I think Jesus could have just as easily incorporated that into his message:
“Do you think that these Haitians are worse sinners than all the other people because they suffered in this way?...Or those 3,000 people who died when the Twin towers collapsed when the world Trade Center was attacked – do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in New York City? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Now, far be it for me to put word’s in Jesus’ mouth, but I see his point – that these disasters did not have anything to do with righteousness and guilt before God. The same God whom the bible says “makes it rain on the just and unjust alike” can also impart disaster on both parties simultaneously. Why then the “But unless you repent, you too will all perish” quote?

I think Jesus was trying to drive home a point about death. Everyone wants to die at a full age, in their sleep and at peace with themselves and God. A tragic disaster affords nothing of that from a human perspective, and a cruel one seems like divine punishment – whether or not the person believes in God. However, when Jesus says perish, I think he means something more than being cut off from life.

What are your thoughts on this passage and God’s role in natural and man-made disasters?

Who is this?

2010-03-05T06:04:00.000-08:00

“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
- Mark 4:39-41

I wonder if sometimes we say “Who is this?” especially when we are supposed to know better. I was listening to a wonderful sermon by the Rev. Timothy Keller, a Presbyterian minister up in New York City discourse on Knowing God.

He started his preaching with the focus on the fact that none of the questions we have about God or Christ can be properly or rightly answered until we realize that we are encountering a person, not a religion. To this effect, we have to make an effort to actually relate to the person of God. He made a wonderful illustration that if there is an athlete whom all the girls love because he is a star football player, that person will expect that his prowess on the field is the way he can attract a woman. However, if he meets a rather bookish girl who “doesn’t know the difference between a first down and a hole in one” yet he wants to get her attention, he can’t give her a book on the rules of football, demand that she read it, and then be open to his advances based on the merits of his skill.

Rev. Keller stated that we have to get to know someone through the way they deem through their heart. So when Jesus says that he is “The Way, the Truth, and The Life, and that no one may know the Father except through him” it really challenged me to sit and think – am I trying to know God through the way God has designated that I know him. If you want to get to know a person, and they give you a list of their interests and times they are available to talk, would you then say “No, actually this time works better for me, and I only want to talk about this, so please change your preferences so that I might really get to know the real you.”

I shudder to think how many times in my life I’ve inadvertently been guilty of that, but I digress. Sometimes in God I want a willing accomplice, butler, chauffer, or ego-boost – but not necessarily to know His will much less put it above my own and into practice. It’s easy to be “always triumphant” when you’ve determined for yourself what “triumph” looks like (however legitimate your desires are) outside the will of God. Its also easy to be gravely disappointed in the same scheme of things. Christ reminds us that can’t even make one of our hairs turn white or black in our own power – how much moreso to accomplish all the things we plan and desire?

Knowing God takes us out of our will and fundamentally into God’s. Rev. Keller had a great quote from one of his mentors – Elisabeth Elliott – which I quote imperfectly from memory but the gist was that we never ask God for help in doing something, we rather ask God for the obedience and discipline to remain in His will – even and especially since we don’t always know the details and what exactly that will looks like.

This brings back the fundamental question of knowing God. Jesus’ disciples rebuked him first – asking emphatically “Don’t you care that we’re about to die?!?!” How many times do we do that in our lives in different and desperate situations – yet without realizing that Christ could just as easily respond “Don’t you care that I died to give you eternal life that you may know God?”

I pray that I can stop asking "Who is this?" so much and get to know him better, especially through this time of Lent. God bless.

Singing Sunday

2010-02-28T20:02:00.000-08:00

Singing Sunday:

I’m taking a chapter from The Mountain Brooke playbook and naming a day and the purpose for a blog!

Behold the Singing Sunday!

I know a certain redhead
with gaudy pipes of gold
who could a song so sweetly sing
and gladden hearts so cold

I miss my friend and hearing her sing on Sundays and Wednesday nights and the random times a favorite song of hers was on the radio or her computers and she just had to let me know how much she liked it by singing along to it.

So I’m instituting singing Sundays – because its mainly when I get to blog and thus reference a particular hymn and how it makes me feel from church. Today is “I could not do without thee” - Czech out the whole hymn here - but for now, the two most impactful stanzas to me from the hymn by Frances Havergal:

I could not do without Thee,
O Jesus, Savior dear;
E’en when my eyes are holden,
I know that Thou art near.
How dreary and how lonely
This changeful life would be,
Without the sweet communion,
The secret rest with Thee!

I could not do without Thee;
No other friend can read
The spirit’s strange deep longings,
Interpreting its need;
No human heart could enter
Each dim recess of mine,
And soothe, and hush, and calm it,
O blessèd Lord, but Thine.

Rend Your Heart

2010-02-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

Competitive profile.doc

The opening sentence in today's morning prayer service is from Joel 2:13,

"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity."

The image I get in my head when reading this is of Hulk Hogan ripping his shirt at the beginning of a wrestling match. What does this action signify in the Jewish mind, though? In ancient Israel, rending (or tearing) your outer clothing was a sign of mourning. It demonstrated grief mixed with deep regret and was a ritual sign of heartbreak. It presents the mourner and those present with the ability to express their sorrow, in effect creating a sort of emotional opening for each person to release the feelings of his or her heart.

Joel was speaking to a rebellious people who used the action of rending their garments as proof of their devotion to the Lord. To the people around them they appeared to be repentant, but the condition of their hearts was a different matter. They fell into the trap that we see time and time again in our society of “fake it ‘til you make it.” We suppose that if we can fool everyone else into believing some lie about us, whether it be how secure we are, how pious we are, etc, we will eventually become what we desire. Sadly, we do not even know we are living this way until the fruit of our works is made known to us, through the Holy Spirit or other people. The truth of the matter is that we can only become who we were created to be as we die to ourselves more and more and allow the perfection of Christ to shine through us.

Each of us has reason to mourn and rend our garments. We lament our sinfulness in the presence of the Most High and cry out to Him to make us new in Him. Our hearts ache to be made whole and our souls sigh with longing to be loved. Sometimes we mourn the death of hopes and dreams we idolized. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death (2 Cor. 7:10).” If we act like the children of Israel and try and pretend we are repentant, but really are not, we actually hurt our own heart and God can see our pretense for what it truly is.
We can look to David, a man after God’s own heart and see what true repentance looks like. Psalm 51 resounds with the heart of the penitent and gives hope in verse 17: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Let each of us in this season of Lent come before our Maker with a broken spirit and a contrite heart so that the joy of our salvation may be renewed within us, for then and only then will we be empowered to show transgressors the Way, the Truth and the Life!

“All things are yours!”

2010-02-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

In this season of Lent, its important to remember that the more we grow, it is to the glory of God and not ourselves. Furthermore, even though this is a season of external giving-up, it results in spiritual gain.

1 Cor. 13:16-23
“Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.”

Okay so, I really liked this reading from the Epistle today – it reminds me of God’s inward dwelling presence in us through the Holy Spirit; Which is another mental block against giving into temptation and succeeding in testing – we bring the presence of God with us wherever we go.

But not so fast, Paul smacks us back down to earth before we get too full of ourselves “Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight.”

I often think of the times when tempted we try to rationalize our disobedience or sin. I know I am taking this verse someone out of context, but I do try to get “crafty” with God when I make an excuse for what I did or am about to do that I know is wrong. With God’s presence comes God’s conviction. I also love that Paul declares “So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours!”

It reminds me that Giants in the Faith became that way because of God. Not that their efforts and lives shouldn’t be admired or modeled, but rather that it should not lead us either into false pride in ourselves, or even worse – the fear that we are worse off than a Paul, Apollos or Cephas and inferior. Yet the phrase “All things are yours!” reminds me of the parable in which all the laborers get paid the same even though they worked for different durations of time. It reminds me of Christ’s “So what is it to you?” rebuke to Cephas when Cephas got jealous that John was set aside to see the revelation.

In this period of time we make strides to obtaining “all things”. The body of Christ should not be a place of division or jealousy, but of joy, peace and sharing. Pray for peace and reconciliation – true humility and joy for me and each other and I’ll do likewise. God bless and keep you!

"Sinful, sighing to be blest..."

2010-02-21T15:51:00.000-08:00

“God be merciful to me a sinner.” Luke 18:13

Today is the first Sunday of Lent and I've noticed from the readings that it starts out with the temptation of Christ as he fasts in the desert. As my father, Rev. Kingsley Jon-Ubabuco preached this morning - Satan "tempts" us to sin, whereas God tempts us to triumph.

First and formost though, we have to recognize who we are in order to see how God can help us. In Lent we spend time discovering who God is and who we are. As it says in the verse above, we are sinners.
My father mentioned the fact that nowhere in Tiger Wood's recent apology did he mention the fact that he has sinned against God. Naturally - Buddhism is atheistic in nature and it wouldn't have appeared. Yet the reality of sin is that first and foremost, it is an action against God, then ourselves and others.

So this week I am posting the collect of the week to the right and a hymn by Rev. J.S.B. Monsell - it touched me profoundly just to read these simple words, and I hope it blesses you as well.

Sinful,
sighing to be blest,
Bound,
and longing to be free;
Weary,
waiting for my rest:
God,
be merciful to me.

Holiness I’ve none to plead,
Sinfulness is all I see,
I can only bring my need:
God, be merciful to me.

Broken heart and downcast eyes,
Dare not lift themselves to Thee;
Yet Thou canst interpret sighs:
God, be merciful to me.

From this sinful heart of mine
To Thy bosom I would flee;
I am not mine own, but Thine:
God, be merciful to me.

There is One beside Thy throne,
And my only hope and plea
Are in Him and Him alone:
God, be merciful to me.

He my cause will undertake,
My Interpreter will be;
He’s my all, and for His sake,
God, be merciful to me.

"In life - In love; In death - In love"

2010-02-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

This post is brought to you today by _ "In Love" - by Jon Foreman off of "The Fall EP"

I was in the grocery store the other day last week shopping for food an hoping to get a St. Valentine’s day card for my parents and my sister.

What annoyed me (yet was in keeping with the law of supply and demand) was that there was every kind of card under the sun for romantic couples and not enough for the other people we love. I literally could find only one card apiece for both parties, which may speak to my procrastination but come on!

The commercialization of holidays really only bugs me when the holidays in question are major Christian feast days (see Christmas and Easter) and the goods to be sold obstructs the God to be honored.

I didn’t feel this way about St. Valentine’s day till recently. Being a man, Valentine’s day was not a day of heartache, dread, anticipation or any other emotion as I’ve overheard from so many sisters – it registered on my scale about as much as Canadian Boxing Day – outside of the candy of course and the fact that the holiday is waaaaay too pink - I generally don't notice it.

However, there I was looking for a card and wishing I had time to make them instead of buy them. There is something even more personal about a handmade one than one purchased at a store. Which got me thinking about the very first Valentine ever given and the reason for this holiday to begin with.

My history is spotty but from what I gathered ad hoc. There were many Valentines in Rome and apparently many who converted to Christianity. From what we collectively discern St. Valentinus/Valentine was a Christian priest who among other duties, performed marriages for young Christian couples in which the man was part of the Roman army. According to legend, St. Valentine was arrested and jailed as Christians were still indiscriminately and arbitrarily persecuted. He was said to be a favorite of Emperor Claudius who held frequent audiences with the prisoner. His fatal mistake, apparently, was trying to convert the Emperor to Christianity, for which he was beheaded. Read more here for a better take on his life.

That said, we probably know more about Valentine from his execution. As legend has it, before he died, Valentine famously wrote a letter to the jailor’s daughter and signed it “From your Valentine” - we don’t know if the letter was romantic or not or even if their relationship was likewise(I think it was platonic), but here we are today – Hallmarked up and looking for cards, candies and flowers while those of an entire gender not romantically engaged sit in some sort of dissatisfaction.

I might be calloused but I look back upon the legend and see that St. Valentine’s life and death had very little to do with romance and more to do with true love. In C.S. Lewis’ wonderful book entitled The Four Loves, he systematically introduces and explains the four different types of love expressed in the Greek and found in the New Testatment: storge - affection, love between family members; philia – friendship; eros – "being in love"/romantic love and agape – or charity which he describes as the love God has for us because it is not prompted. Wikipedia has a more in depth summary here - check it out!

I bring this up because We can look at St. Valentine’s acts of service towards the young couples and his other priestly duties as philia, or even storge. We can look at his friendship with the emperor that way too, and with some imagination we can speculate that his affinity for the jailor’s daughter was romantic.

Ultimately however, what lead him to his death and inspired his life was agape – the love for God that taught him how to love his fellow man.

I didn’t intend to critique Valentine’s day as much as point out what we often miss about the life and death behind it. This is a martyr’s day after all. Jesus once said to his disciples – Greater love has no one but his, that a man should lay down his life for his friends. Which is precisely what Christ did and what inspired his followers, like Valentine, to be willing to do as well.

Judging by his actual life’s example, should St. Valentine’s Day be a day of sacrifice or entitlement?

In the lectionary today we had St. Paul’s famous summary on love found in 1st Corinthians 13

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing
but rejoices in truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends.”

Before St. Paul started writing about love in chapter 13 he wrote - "And I will show you a still more excellent way" to introduce love. A more excellent way indeed that we we know or are used to.

Think about St. Paul's words in the context of St. Valentine. Did he resent being imprisoned or did he endure it? Did he despise the petty emperor that called on him frequently to talk yet depriving him of his liberty, or love him so much that he even dared to share the saving grace of God with him through the gospel of Christ? Did he get consistently irritated at his position in that stinking jail and resentful of his fellow prisoners and captors - or did he care to get to know them, even up to the jailor’s daughter – establishing a friendship and being kind enough to leave her a good by letter before he was executed – most likely to help comfort her?

The example we see in St. Valentine, we saw first in Christ. It does my heart well to be mindful of that, especially with Lent coming up this Wednesday.

Yet, I feel that the negative feelings that latch on to people from this holiday have less to do with a lack of feeling romance or eros, and more with a lack of feeling agape. As my sister told me - as I am an ignorant man - its just good to have a day when someone does something for you just to declare you are special. I'd hate to give the typical Christianese answer "Insert God here, problem solved." We serve a God who looked at Adam and said, "it is not good for man to be alone." However, we should not be like the rest of the world that ultimately lives without hope, that makes romantic love a god in place of the God who made romance, and from whose charity all expressions of true love comes.

All that to say that God is ultimately the model Augustine followed when he wrote that letter to the jailor's daughter. He let everyone from soldiers, newlyweds, emperors, criminals and jailors daughters know that they are someone special, and more importantly, God loves them and gave them the capacity to love him. Not the easiest cure for what ails us but it is the truth and the truth sets us free from a whole host of things.

Happy Valentine’s Day and God bless! I hope the Lord helps me to love Him and you in a more meaningful and Christ-like way today and always.

Mercy Seat

2010-02-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

John 7:53-8:11

Then each of them went home, while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people
came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the
Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the
very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to
stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They said this to test him, so
that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’"

I’ve heard this story many times, and if you are a Christian I’m sure you have too. It brings sin, judgment, hypocrisy, and religiosity to the forefront of our lives in a very dramatic fashion. Sometimes we relate more to the woman, ashamed and accused by our sins and especially by other people before God. We find in Jesus a compassionate voice that makes our accusers go away – and when we fear the worst, forgives us.

And sometimes we are the Pharisees. In our rush to ulterior motives, pride, or to prove ourselves right about something – we can take a person with their sins in a rush to judgment before God forgetting that we are not “without sin” ourselves.

But today, knowing all that and reading this story, something new struck me; the location. Jesus was teaching in the temple. The Pharisees brought the woman before him in the temple. They asked for her to be stoned to death in the temple. Realizing this for the first time ever brought me to say “WHOA!!!”

Why was that? If you will remember, the main temple (and I reckon any subsequent one) had a four sided altar from which each point protruded horns. If someone was accused of any capital crime (especially murder) as long as the person grasped those horns, they were safe, supposed to be protected by the priests. To slay someone while they were grasping these horns and seeking mercy at the altar – and from God – was considered a heinous offense.

So in context of knowing that Christ is our great high priest, and he laid up himself as a sacrifice on the altar for our sins – it’s almost amazing that the Pharisees bring this woman directly to him for judgment. Perhaps if he did not condemn her, then they would arise as being more authoritarian and righteous than he, and perhaps if he did, then he would get in trouble with the roman authorities for inciting a capital punishment at the temple (Jews were prohibited from doing their own capital punishment at that time, that is why Christ had to be captured by and crucified by the Romans on behalf of the Sanhedrin).

Talk about pressure. But day after the day, the devil is like these Pharisees, dragging us before God, accusing us of our sins, and demanding the punishment of death that we certainly deserve. Let us not forget that for her sin of adultery, that woman did indeed deserve to die. It reveals how great God’s mercy is. Christ did not let her go on a whim, he commanded her as God commands us “…from now on do not sin again.”

Yet this command is not a lonely order. Christ wants to walk with each and every one of us to strengthen us, remind us, show us how we don’t have to ever sin again and take us into an eternal life with him and without sin. Christ’s very act of saying “he who is without sin” was a declaration of he was and a prophecy of our salvation and changed state with him in heaven.

Like the woman dragged before him, our situation is dire. But it is hopeless if we don’t heed Christ’s words after being rescued. Paul confirms this in his letter to the Hebrews: “For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” (Hebrews 2:2-3)

So judgement is one thing, but living in the freedom and grace of Christ is quite another. I am sure that the woman became one of Christ's followers afterwards. How could she ignore so great a salvation? How indeed, God bless!

Here I am

2010-02-03T06:42:00.000-08:00

Genesis 22:1-18

“Here I am”I was reading my devotional this morning and these words from Abraham jumped out at me. God called his name and this was Abraham’s response, before he knew that God was going to ask him to sacrifice the most precious thing in his life – in fact, the very thing that God promised to him that earlier, Abraham laughed in spite that God could give a child to a 100 year old man and a 90 year old woman.

But here he was, with the promise of God, Isaac, living breathing and playing in his household. Not just one child, but the promise of an entire nation of people – and unbeknownst to Abraham – the entire earth to be blessed and part of his progeny. Yet God had a sobering command to Abraham’s humble response:

"Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you."

Unbelievable. It’s easy enough to believe in God and his loving-kindness when he gives us the things we desire most. Its hard as hell when seemingly in the next breath, he asks us to sacrifice it to him. In Abraham’s case, God calls for sacrifice in a very literal fashion.

I don’t know how Abraham got up that next morning to carry out the Lord’s will. However, I think that the example of his faith lies in his words – Here I am – meaning ready and willing in my mind. Abraham knows who he is and what he is in relation to God, a servant, dust from dust and earth from earth yet set apart for God’s will. Even when he responds to Isaac calling him we see this simplicity of being and humility carried over: "Here I am, my son." When the angel called Abraham’s name just as he was about to bring the knife down on his son – Abraham’s response again “Here I am,” after which, he heard the blessing from God that set his heart free.

I might be reading too much into it, but I see humility, love and faith in the simplicity of these words. When Isaac asks where the lamb is that is to be sacrificed – in what could have been a moment of irreconcilable heartbreak for Abraham and dissolution of his resolve, we see a faithful response "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.”

To me, that is the real turning point in the story. Can we make a profession of faith in God when the situation seems 100% completely illogical in which to do so? Can we have that kind resolve to know that God knows what he is doing, and to trust that the voice that brought us to our current heartbreak is the voice of the God that loves us more than we can comprehend?

I wish I could speak from experience on that one but I can’t. And I think that is why Abraham has made such an indelible expression on the consciousness of all mankind. His example truly is a blessing to us because it brought God into our lives in the most radical way.

I was listening to Micheal Ramsden the other day and he was talking about his conversion to Christianity. He asked a myriad of questions to those holding the meeting as he was still on the fence and despite his intellectual objections his main point of contention came down to this: he described himself as being perfectly happy where he was as a non-Christian as one would be just wading about in the shallow end of a pool. He made the analogy that by asking him to believe in God and follow him instead of his own goals and desires, they were asking him to get out of the warm shallow end of the pool, walk all the way around, and jump into the deep end when he didn’t even know if he could swim. The person answered his question with the fact that he had been in the deep end for 13 years and he hadn’t drowned yet.

The rigors of our faith can be quite frightening, especially when we feel we have been set up to be let down by God as Abraham had every single right to feel. Yet again, Abraham did not know, nor got to see in his life on earth the goodness that God had in store for him. Do you think he would be amazed at the great nations that came out of Isaac and Ishmael? Not to talk of the millions of Christians all over the world that are heirs through him in faith? I need to take the blessings of God more seriously, because if those from the past could see what became of their faithfulness when they were making that decision, well then it wouldn’t be faith would it? But the results are there.

“Here I am,” said Abraham, and as a result, here each and every one of us are.

Trust in (insert here)

2010-01-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

⁵ In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
and he answered by setting me free.

⁶ The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

⁷ The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.

⁸ It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.

-Ps. 118:5-8

I really loved Obinna's idea to start a blog and told him, "since I have a lot of free time I hope we can coordinate a way for us (me and him) to not post on the same day." Well, as you can tell, I have not posted yet...until now!

Going through the Anglican Daily Office for tonight, I read this psalm in its entirety, and this particular passage stuck out. I can most definitely associate with the beginning of the passage, for there have been many times I have cried out to the Lord in anguish, emotional, spiritual and physical. Each time, the Lord has delivered me or, "set me free" as the psalmist writes. When my parents decided to get a divorce, it was a very emotional affair for the whole family and each of us responded it differently: my mother cried all the time, especially when she thought my brothers and I could not hear, my dad began to spend less and less time at home, as did my youngest brother, the middle brother stayed in his room all the time, only coming out to eat and use the bathroom. I prayed. I prayed while driving. I prayed while crying. I prayed while studying. I prayed every time I thought of my family. One day, after class at the local community college, my heart was so burdened that I could do nothing but pray through my tears for the entirety of the 35 minute drive home. When I got home, I could not stop praying, and continued to do so as I walked through the living room and into the dining room, on my way to my room upstairs. With my cheeks still wet, I witnessed the faithfulness of God displayed through my parents hugging in the dining room for the first time in six weeks and my mom saying through her own tears, "I have missed you so much." My dad just stood there and held her. My tears were from joy at this point, and I could do little else but praise my God.

I had tried throughout the six weeks of my parents planning the divorce to reconcile my parents. I listened intently to both sides and tried to speak life and truth where the enemy had sown discord and death. I talked to my brothers about how we could help our parents salvage a marriage of over 20 years and they answered with cynicism and hopelessness. I racked my brain and prayed for God to give me wisdom, for I saw myself as the solitary means through which my family would stay together. You see, I had forgotten Who was with me, and where my refuge was, and it was not until I was broken to the point of utter abandonment of self that God moved in His power and glory.

Another story, if you will.

A dear friend confessed a couple of years ago to me that he had lived a life of sin during the summer between semesters at college. He seemed repentant at the time and truly appeared to want to serve the Lord. Slowly over the course of the next two years, he turned his back on God, his brothers in Christ, and everyone he had opened his heart to. He began to reap the bitter fruit of worldly sorrow. He was unfulfilled. His life was continually on a razor's edge; all it would take would be a breath to topple it. Yet God upheld him. Many of us prayed for him. He responded with anger and sarcasm and lies. I tried to lovingly confront him. He feigned confusion at my questions. I gave him scriptures to ponder, words of wisdom to digest, and living water to drink. He treated all those as though I was offering him rotting garbage. So, with great sadness, I let my efforts fall to the ground and die, wondering who and what he would be in five or ten years. I did not like what I saw in my mind's eye, but I continued to hope in the Lord.

Last night, through a (seemingly) random series of events, he contacted me and a conversation ensued. He wanted sympathy and pity and a measure of love. Love he got. Heavily seasoned with fire and Truth. After the longest conversation I have had all week with someone outside of flight school, God's light appeared in his heart, and he agreed to meet with a pastor immediately. He was set free and God restored a most precious son. Once again tears of joy flowed unashamedly down my cheeks.

As I reflect on both situations, and many more, I cannot help but see the common thread: when my trust is in myself, little or nothing results. When I come to the end of myself, to the blessed realization that the Lord is with me and is my refuge, then and only then does the incarnate power of the Risen Lord rise like the dawn! I encourage each of you today to remember the many ways your God has heard your anguished cries and delivered you. Don't trust in yourself to fix things. Don't trust your friends, dear and godly though they may be. Don't trust fate, or whatever extra-biblical force you may ascribe to. Trust the King of Glory, the Lion of Judah, the Holy of Holies, the Ancient of Days, Emmanuel.

Feel free to post your stories of His deliverance for the encouragement of all!

Prized Possession

2010-01-27T18:52:00.000-08:00

You were bought at a price. I Corinthians 6:20a

Have you ever saved up your money to purchase something that was very valuable and precious? Whatever that item was, you treated it with great care and held it in high regard. You make sure nothing bad happens to it, protecting it from all harm and danger. God feels the same way about us. The first part of I Corinthians 6:20 informs us that we were bought at a price. There are moments in our life that we feel God is dealing us a rough hand. We are under the attack of the enemy, notheing seems to be going our way, and it is as if our prayers are hitting the ceiling only to go un-answered. Always remember that God bought us with a price. Just as we take care of our prized possessions that we save up for and buy, God does the same for us. It is just that He is Sovereign and can see how our current difficulties come together to make us stronger and lead to our future success. Life is hard and we will have trials. Jesus said we would have them, but also know that we were purchased by His precious blood. God would not do anything to damage His most prized possession. Everything that He does and allows to happen, He does so in order to strengthen us and make us better.

Father, God, help us to remember that You purchased each of us when you gave Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. We are your prized possession, and the apple of your eye. Every trial that we encounter comes to make us strong. Nothing that you allow to come upon us will hinder us from reaching our full potential. Thank You for giving us the grace we need to endure every trial, let us never forget that everything You do for us, You do out of love. In Jesus name, Amen.

Pray for Haiti

2010-01-23T14:58:00.000-08:00

Due to the devastation that occured in Haiti we are encouraging you to pray for that nation. Please donate or do anything else that you feel God is leading you to.

I will be praying for the following things with scriptures as metitations on each area:

1. The Victims and their Families
2. The Survivors
3. The Aid Workers – Foreign and domestic, especially from the US.
4. The Nation
a) Its Stability
b) Its prosperity and restoration
c) Political and Moral Restoration
d) Its Faith
e) The Children
5. Us

Please pray especially for the orphans there and those who have been made orphans. If anyone you know has friends there, or has gone down there personaly, I'd love to add them to my prayers, just let me know!

In the meantime I request you pray for the efforts of WorldVision and Heaven's Family (they have an orphanage there). Pray also for all health professionals going to Haiti, may God give them an oppurtunity and environs in which to save lives.

From Today's Epistle...

2010-01-15T05:26:00.000-08:00

Reading: Hebrews 3:12-19

¹² See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. ¹⁴We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. ¹⁵ As has just been said:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion."

¹⁶Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? ¹⁷And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? ¹⁸ And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? ¹⁹So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Reflection

Today. What are the words for today? Hardness of heart? Deceitfulness of sin? Community responsibility? Judgement?

I was recently reminded of a quote made during the War of Independence by Benjamin Franklin who said, “If we don’t hang together, we most assuredly will all hang separately.” This little passage from Hebrews reminds me of the importance of the community. Moses was chosen by God to lead the Hebrew people out of bondage to the promised land. For forty years he had to deal with a group of people that should have been the most joyful on their journey for they had seen the magnificent hand of God at work. But they grumbled and groaned. They not only angered Moses so that he broke the stone tablets on which God had written his commandments, but they angered God for forty years! The whole lot of them lost the opportunity to cross over Jordan.

While we each have responsibility for our own relationship with God, it is clear from this passage that we have a responsibility for our fellow traveler. It is a commitment for today. That also means tomorrow, for tomorrow will most assuredly become today.

During the Rite of Baptism, the gathered Christians are asked this question: “Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?” This is such a great and serious responsibility. It implies that the newborn Christians need nourishing till they attain their full stature in Christ. But we know that full grown individuals do not cease requiring nourishment when they are full grown. So we continue to support each other! This should not be considered an onerous burden but a joyful opportunity.

The writer of Hebrews urges us readers to encourage, to give courage, to each other to guard the heart against the deceitfulness of sin. Each is encouraged to be firm and persevere to the end. Today, we who are strong must gladly encourage the weak. For as sure as tomorrow turns into today, there will be that Today when we are the weak ones needing the strong encouragement of our brothers and sisters to prevent our heart from hardening and rebelling. We have a fundamental commitment as the body of Christ to help and nourish each other. Just as a hand that's cut off from the body can not survive, a weak Christian who is not nurtured may not survive. If we do not all hang together, we may hang separately.

Living God, whose Son our Saviour Jesus Christ prayed for Peter that his faith should not fail and commanded him to strengthen the brothers, Grant us today the strength to guard against hardness of heart and the will to encourage the weak so that we may all hold firm our faith in Christ till the end to the glory of God. Amen

-RER

A True Champion

2010-01-09T07:15:00.000-08:00

If any of you got the chance to watch the BCS national Championship on Thursday Night, you got to witness more than an exciting football game. The University of Alabama emerged the victor and the University of Texas at Austin lost in a game that was not decided until well into the 4^th quarter.

One of the big pieces of the game was the fact that Texas’ quarterback, Colt McCoy – was injured in the first drive of the night leaving the backup QB to play the rest of game. The reason that I am writing about this is that if you know anything about Colt McCoy you would know that he is a talented quarterback and a committed Christian.

When he got injured however, he spend the rest of the game getting x-rays and standing on the sidelines where the cameras covered his disappointment as much as they covered the game. Colt McCoy has pretty much had his face plastered all Texas on billboards for I am Second, the evangelism outreach that shares the testimonies of celebrities to show the fact that when Jesus Christ is in your heart, you are no longer the most important person in the world, He is. Thus, “I am second.”

Well in light of that fact, when the game was over and they congratulated the winners, the anchor lady went over to Colt for the usual post game interview. He commented that he was disappointed, that he would love to have played and competed but he could no longer feel his throwing arm. And then he said something that I am grateful to him for saying. Despite the fact that his team lost, despite the fact that he could not play, he still praised God for getting him there.

Its easy for a wide receiver or running back to kneel in the end zone or give a shout-out to God when they score a touchdown. Its easy to praise God in times of victory. Not so much when your team loses. However, for all the displays of faith that make some people uncomfortable and make others mock or take your faith for granted, its equally important what Christians do and say to praise God when life sucks, when things do not go the way we expect, WHEN WE LOSE.

Colt did not fake happiness, he did not dodge the question, he did not manufacture false joy and fake smile. He told the lady exactly how he felt, yet still praised and thanked his Lord. Its like the many psalms of David where he pours his heart out to God; his fears of his enemies, his anger at the way God is treating him, his disappointment with his current situation, his anxiety that God is being too hard on him or is not listening to his prayers – Yet he never ever ends any of these Psalms without saying “Praise the Lord O my soul.”

The Prayer of Saint Patrick

2010-01-07T12:22:00.000-08:00

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

Fishing for Faith

2010-01-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

“Lord, even though our nets our empty, we pray that you send us out again so that they may be filled”

These are the words that my father prayed tonight in just leaving to God the responsibilities and troubles currently facing him and our family. My mind seized on them primarily because I often ask God for his will to be done in a tangible and abundant way here on earth. Naturally my dad was inspired by the story of Jesus’ disciples – who were fishing all night long, catching nothing and facing immediate financial and emotional distress. In this economy I think we can especially relate – knowing and experiencing joblessness, overall lack and a future whose stability is in doubt.

I think the significance of this story found in John 21 is profound. Standing on the shore to help them was Jesus and the wearied and heavy eyed disciples obeyed the call of the man who was at the time, a stranger after they had fished all night – “Cast your net to the other side.” And behold, they caught a great multitude of fish in one moment that they could not do by their own striving the entire night. This miracle happened shortly after Christ’s crucifixion, the time in which the disciples felt completely abandoned by Christ and their God. And yet, there he was on the shore, willing to provide for their immediate need to remind them that He is their eternal desire.

We are going to be praying a lot and always in need of a lot of prayer. That is the nature of our lives – Christ even instructed his disciples to pray each day and to ask for their “daily bread” showing that God is well aware of our needs, wants and desires.

As humans I often do two things wrong however – fail to understand and fail to remember.
Fail to understand – Have you ever been in a situation where you think God did not answer your prayer or answered it completely opposite? Only to realize years later, that what God did then was the best result or answer possible? That you grew or were blessed in ways you could not anticipate or imagine because of that?

Fail to remember – If there was one thing God wants his people to do (outside of love and obey him) it is to remember everything He has done for us – all of it good, even when we were disciplined. If someone very close to you did not remember your birthdays, anniversaries and achievements, and did not even remember to talk to you; especially after you’ve done many great things for them, you would feel unimportant to them in the very least. How much more so God? It is in remembering God’s faithfulness to us that we can build faith in Him and maintain a right relationship.

Good Morning and Welcome to Always Triumphant!

2010-01-06T05:49:00.000-08:00

This blog is essentially a place to share scriptures, thoughts, prayers and devotions that help to remind us that we have a perpetual victory in Jesus and through the temptations, trials and tribulations each day brings we are Always Triumphant!