True Wisdom

If you are wise and understand God's ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth.  And if you don't brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise! But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don't brag about being wise.  That is the worst kind of lie.  For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil.  For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil.

 

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure.  It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others.  It is full of mercy and good deeds.  It shows no partiality and is always sincere.  And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness. - (James 3:13-18)

Fear No Evil...

Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me... (Psalms 23:4, a Psalm of David)

Today as I write this blog, my mom was scheduled for mastectomy. She was to be lying on an operating table undergoing the surgery, but for God's grace, she's home giving God all the praise.

Earlier this April, during a routine health examination and mammogram, her doctor discovered a lump in the right breast. Following which, they conducted a sonogram, following which an MRI was performed confirming the presence of the lump and measuring its size (2.5cms to 5cms). A biopsy was conducted of the tissue sample and it returned positive for cancer. The lump was big enough that it could be felt by a hand examination.  PET scan, bone scan and other procedures were performed to see what stage the cancer was at.  As the family moved full speed ahead with appointments with cancer specialists and second opinions to plan out the next steps, there have been many of our families, friends from our church and outside who have been diligently fasting and praying for her ever since her health condition was shared with them.

I attended the Pre-operative appointment with my mom on May 21st at the hospital as the surgery had been scheduled for June 4th.  On May 28th late in the evening another appointment was scheduled with the surgeon as mom during her self examination could not feel the lump in her breast anymore. The surgeon was kind enough to accommodate us as he wanted mom to be fully sure of what was going on with her body and did not want the decision that had already been made to be changed on the day of the surgery, June 4th. The doctor after going through all the options again, performed an exam and he also could not feel the lump. He gave the possible medical reasons for the tumor's shrinkage. While waiting for the surgery date, mom had also been under the treatment of a medical oncologist who had put her on pills to reduce the size of the lump. She had been on that treatment for two to three weeks, but had stopped it for more than a week or two as the decision to undergo mastectomy had been made. Another reason was that the medicine had a side effect causing severe body pain and aching bones. Mom has rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.

The doctor suggested another sonogram and a biopsy of one lymph node as there were few days before surgery to appease mom's belief that she had been cured. In any case the doctor was clear to us that even if these tests should come negative, it does not rule out the presence of cancer as an MRI and a biopsy of the tissue sample had confirmed the tumor to be cancerous.

All through this ordeal, by God's grace, my sister-in-law had been able to get the necessary medical appointments in very short time. And so, another sonogram and a biopsy for one lymph node was performed on May 30th. The sonogram did not show the lump as it had previously clearly shown, but the medical staff stated there were some vague anomaly in the location of the tumor so they did not rule it out. (I would think no medical staff would want to rule out something that which they had previously seen clearly.) As we waited on the results of the biopsy from the lymph node, the church and family members have been fasting and praying morning and evening at my parent's residence.  The biopsy result from the lymph node came negative. Mom was encouraged by these results and requested the surgery be cancelled.

I am fully with my mom on her belief that she has been cured of cancer, as I personally am a beneficiary of God's amazing grace and miracles of which I have blogged previously.  As we wait in prayer and thanksgiving, we are fully assured that God's glory will be fully seen without an iota of doubt that He is sovereign and that He is God indeed. Yesterday, she turned 70 years old. Please keep my mom in prayer so that as her faith grows, she will be able to strengthen others as Christ told Peter in Luke 22:32.

Transfiguration of Christ

In Matthew, chapter 17, we read about the transfiguration of Christ. "Six days later (after the revelation to Peter of who Jesus was, the Messiah, the Son of the living God - Mat 16:16) Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain.  As the men watched, Jesus' appearance changed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became dazzling white.  Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.  Peter blurted out, "Lord this is wonderful! If you want me to, I'll make three shrines, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  But even as he said it, a bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him.  Listen to him." The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.  Jesus came over and touched them, "Get up," he said, "don't be afraid."  And when they looked, they saw only Jesus with them.  As they descended the mountain  Jesus commanded them, " Don't tell anyone what you have seen until I, the Son of Man, have been raised from the dead."

There were these following questions in my mind, as I read the passage, that have been on my mind for some time,

1. What was the significance of the transfiguration of Jesus?
2. Why was Moses and Elijah the ones who were present and not one of the other prophets, say, Abraham, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Nathan, John the Baptist, or someone else?
3. Why did Christ ask his disciples not to talk about what they witnessed here on the mountain top to anyone until after he had been resurrected from the dead?

The transfiguration of Christ is a critical connection of Christ's God-ness and humanness. But then from the very beginning of Christ's ministry, from his baptism onwards the oneness of Christ the man and Christ the God was apparent. John the Baptist and those standing by when Christ was baptized witnessed the Holy Spirit descend upon Christ in the form of a dove and heard the voice from heaven say, "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the common man in the temple and on the street, and his disciples witnessed the awesome power of Jesus over demons, sickness, death, the wind and the waves, his power to multiply provisions (he fed the multitudes twice with a few loaves of bread and pieces of fish), his power to provide resources in the most unimaginable of ways (as with the coin in the mouth of the fish that Peter caught to pay taxes as instructed by Jesus) were proof of his powers beyond that of an ordinary prophet of God. His disciples witnessed Jesus curse the fig tree and it withered away. So to all, his supporters and his detractors, one thing was apparent, his power to create, resurrect, restore and destroy! He was not just an ordinary prophet of God!

So why the transfiguration?

One thing we note prior to the transfiguration was Jesus started talking about his death and resurrection. First, not in a plain manner, as he referred to his death and resurrection by stating to a disbelieving crowd looking for a miracle from heaven that the only miracle he was going to give them was the sign of Jonah, as Jonah was in the belly of a whale for three days before being put back on shore. He stated this twice (Matthew 12:39-40 and Matthew 16:4).

But, following Peter's declaration of Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, Jesus started plainly and openly telling his disciples of his coming death and resurrection. (Matthew 16:15-17, 21and Matthew 17:22-23). He had started to repeatedly tell his disciples of  what was to come to prepare them when it arrived.  Witnessing the transfiguration of Christ, seeing the presence of Moses and Elijah on that mountain top speaking to Jesus, and then hearing the heavenly voice proclaiming Jesus as God's beloved son and commanding the disciples to listen to him gave the disciples a connection to the old testament prophecies of the Son of God and a glimpse into a realm they had not seen before, but believed in - the afterlife, eternity.  Jesus had begun preparing his disciples for a life after his death, resurrection and ascension. These disciples would be taking the message of salvation through a risen Christ across the world.

Why Moses and Elijah, and not another prophet?

If you look into the characters of Moses and Elijah, there were some similarities they shared with Christ the man.  Moses was the leader of the Israelites ordained by God to lead the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and in to the promised land so that God may have a new relationship with his people.  Moses was one of the most selfless leaders and God said about Moses that there was no one more humbler than him.  When it came to Elijah, he was a prophet who was so very zealous for the things of God.

Also, there were two other peculiarities about their life and death. Moses following his death we read in the book of Jude that his body was carried to heaven by archangel Michael. Regarding Elijah we read in the book of 2 Kings, chapter 2, that he was carried away to heaven, alive, in a chariot of fire drawn by horses of fire in plain sight of witnesses.  Now here stood Moses and Elijah in front of Peter, James and John speaking with Jesus, the same Moses and Elijah, about whom the Jews knew and the events surrounding their lives that I write here. May I suggest that God was preparing his disciples in the spirit so that they may see the correlation between the Old Testament teachings they knew and the things that were to come in Christ's life - his death, resurrection and ascension.

Jesus knew that following his arrest, without his leadership, his disciples would scatter.  These were experiences that were going to strengthen them during those times of doubt and give them the conviction and resolve to carry out God's work and spread the gospel of salvation through the risen Christ.

Why not witness about the transfiguration experience until after the death and resurrection of Christ?

At the proper time, following the chain of events, the disciples' testimony of what they had heard and seen, with their personal experiences of Jesus, the Christ, carried such conviction that not even the threat of torture and death could persuade them to change their testimonies as they preached the gospel of salvation through the risen Christ across this world. Most of the disciples paid with their life for their convictions.  In their deaths, the disciples sealed their testimonies in blood, giving us the assurance of the hope of salvation in Christ.

May God bless you!

PS: what were Elijah and Moses speaking about with Jesus? Read Luke chapter 9.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

When we look at the lives of Abraham (the Father of Faith, the Father of a Nation), his son Isaac (the Promised child) and his grandson Jacob (the Promised Nation - Israel), their lives were filled with great struggles, tremendous hardships, terror of death, maddening stress and great personal sacrifices even as they followed God's instructions.  They were obedient though it cost them.  In the end their descendants were blessed, a proven resilient bunch, a tiny pin prick of a nation on the world's map, that has survived its hostile surrounding because God's hand is with them.

All three underwent exceptional tests of faith and in the end God proved to them that He was a Sovereign God, totally in control of their situations, faithful in his promises to each. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob died at peace at a ripe old age, regaining all they had lost and much more. Ishmael (!!) and Isaac together buried their father Abraham at his death at the age of 175. Esau (!!) and Jacob were present, at peace with each other, at Isaac's death and buried him together; Isaac was 180 years old. Joseph, the son who was presumed dead, and his brothers were there to bury their father, Jacob, at his death at the age of 147. Today, when Christians worship, we call out to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, faithful in his promises to the very end.

Apostle Paul echoes his forefathers' lives in 2 Corinthian 4:7-18 (NIV) as he spread the gospel of Christ,

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This is the way of the Christian, facing exceptional challenges in life, building up resiliency to withstand the onslaught from God's enemy - Satan and his powers.  Our future is secure in God's hands, for we read Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:24,  "the one who has called you is faithful and He will do it."

PS: You can read about the life of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob starting in the book of Genesis 11:27 - Genesis, chapter 50.

A Master Plan for the fallen man's salvation

The Father (Jehovah) - The Son (Jesus Christ) -  The Holy Spirit

Following the fall of man - Adam and Eve's disobedience and eventual punishment by banishment from Eden and God's presence, the Old Testament Israelites had only seen the glorious God in the amazing feats performed through Moses and the prophets.  The Israelites experience of God was as that between a powerless man and a superpower - unexplainable, yet real. He was that superpower that delivered them from slavery in Egypt, parted the Red Sea, provided manna daily for forty years, split the rock and quenched their thirst, went ahead of them as a pillar of fire at night and as a cloud cover during the day in their journey through the desert to the promised land and doer of many, many, more awesome deeds.  For the common man, this God was awesome and fearsome, but hard to relate to.

From a man's perspective, does he really understand our fears, our doubts, our pain, our struggles? Does he understand what makes us sad and what gave us joy? Does he know who we are inside, deep within? Does he know what makes us tick?

And so, in his great love and mercy, God became man, born of a woman, grew up as a carpenter's son, lived a life that of a common man. In his earthly life, Jesus showed that though he was awesome in power (as he showed by the fantastic miracles he performed), he was kind, loving, compassionate, merciful and forgiving (as he showed in his healing of the sick and the crippled; deliverance to the demon possessed; forgiveness of sins - as experienced by the woman caught in adultery; and resurrection to the dead - able to transform a morbid sinful life into a new life in him.). He taught us that he understood our shortcomings, as we see in his warning to Peter of his coming betrayal, yet after it happened, he forgave and restored Peter as the head of the Church.  He showed that he was patient and forgiving when he answered Peter that he should forgive someone 70 times 7 (until forgiveness became second nature to him) to Peter's question if forgiving someone 7 times for their wrong was sufficient. He never raised his hand nor his voice against his tormentors as he was tortured and punished for crimes he had never committed.  He came so we would have someone to identify with - a man - with our qualities (yet sinless).  We read in the John 17:26, as Jesus prayed to his Father, "And I have revealed you to them and will keep on revealing you.  I will do this so that your love for me may be in them and I in them." Here was a God who made it possible for man to relate to him.

Christ's earthly ministry was limited to the geographical bounds of the regions he was born and lived - the towns of Israel and Judah. But the Gospel or the good news of salvation was for the entire mankind. Following his death, resurrection and ascension to heaven, his Holy Spirit was sent to earth to indwell in men and women, his disciples, who were commissioned by Christ to spread the good news. With the Holy Spirit in them, the disciples will now have the power, strength and resolve to go into the world to witness what they had seen and heard, and thus do the ministry of Christ without tiring.  They would need a supernatural power, a power from God, and so Jesus the man had to return to his Father God and send his Holy Spirit to be with man forever, to enable God's servants and disciples to do the work of the ministry - spread the message of salvation to all mankind across the world. Christ the man was there in body with a few (when compared to the billions and trillions yet to come) who witnessed him as God, and for all to know about him, see his redeeming love and saving grace, his witnesses needed to go out in his power to proclaim his good news.

Jesus explains this connection to the next phase, the arrival of the Holy Spirit, in John 16:7-11, " But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Paraclete (the counselor, the comforter, the encourager, the advocate) won't come.  If I go away, he will come because I will send him to you.  And when he comes he will convince the world (the entire humanity - no longer geographically bound) of 1) its sin, 2) God's righteousness, and 3) the coming judgement.  The world's sin is unbelief in me.  Righteousness is available because I go to the father (as our high priest, our go between) and you will see me no more.  Judgement will come because the prince of this world has already been judged."  The Message of salvation to the entire world through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus acknowledges to the disciples that there is so much more he wants to reveal to them, but it would be an overload. The truth will be revealed in its due time.  We read in John 16:12-15, "Oh there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now.  When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.  He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard.  He will tell you about the future.  He will bring me glory by revealing to you whatever he receives from me.   All that the Father has is mine; that is what I mean when I say that the Spirit will reveal to you whatever he receives from me."

Following his crucifixion, death and resurrection, prior to his ascension to heaven, Jesus told his disciples, "But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Satan can no longer point to man and say that he has a God who does not understand him. A God who sits way up in heaven, on a high and exalted throne, surrounded by millions upon millions of angels worshiping him,  carrying out his commands; a God so detached from all the despair man faces. A king disconnected from his subjects.  Satan was once before successful in tricking Adam and Eve in to sin, convincing them to eat the fruit that God had forbidden them from eating. His ruse then was that if they were to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would surely not die, but have their eyes opened with the knowledge of everything good and bad, just like God. Man fell for it. After Christ's birth, life, death on the cross and resurrection we no longer have an excuse that this God cannot relate to us and our dire circumstances.

• Does this God relate to the common folks? Jesus, the Son of God, was born in a manger (where cattle was kept), grew up a carpenter's son, lived and carried out his ministry among the common people.
• Does this God understand hardship? A carpenter's son, he had to work for a living until his ministry started at the age of thirty, for definitely he was not born into a family of wealth. He endured all things like any man.
• Does he understand pain? Oh, how much more than you and I would ever know. Deserted by all he loved, betrayed by the one he trusted, denied by one of his closest, rejected by the ones he came to save, accused of wrongs he did not commit, whipped raw until his flesh tore from his back, tortured and taunted, and finally crucified like a common thief. Does he know pain?
• Does he understand separation and loneliness? Father God turned away from the cries of his son on Calvary's cross, forsaken for our sins.
• Does he have compassion for mankind? there was not a leper, a sick, a prostitute, a destitute that he did not care for to restore. There was not a cry for help that he turned a deaf ear to. There was not a broken heart that he did not mend. He willingly took the punishment for man's sin and with his blood purchased a  pardon for us all

This is the time for the works of the Holy Spirit. I want to quote a preacher I hear on the radio on Sundays, "Soon and very soon there will come a day, when time will be no more." Are you ready to meet your maker? Dear friend, do not turn a deaf ear to the message of Salvation through Jesus Christ. I would love to see you on the other shore. I pray for God's grace that I will complete this race and reach that destination.  May God's grace be with us all!

Hillsongs - Open my eyes

Because he live by the Gaithers

A Christian's testimony

Just wanted to put my thoughts out there...

A Christian's daily public and private life should bear a testimony to our savior Jesus Christ. It should not turn off someone from finding Christ. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:3,

"We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry."

A Christian's life in itself should be a ministry for Jesus Christ.

Prophet Samuel in his farewell address to the Israelites after appointing Saul as their king, boldly made the statement,

"I have done as you asked and given you a king.  I have selected him ahead of my own sons, and I stand here, an old, gray haired man.  I have served as your leader since I was a boy.  Now tell me as I stand before the LORD and the anointed one - whose ox or donkey have I stolen? Have I ever cheated any of you? Have I ever oppressed you? Have I ever taken a bribe? Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong."

And the crowd answered,

"No, you have never cheated or oppressed us in any way, and you have never taken even a single bribe."

Samuel declared, "The LORD and his anointed one are my witnesses that you can never accuse me of robbing you." - (1 Samuel 12:1-5).  A lifetime of service that could not be faulted with!

When you look at Joseph's life in Potiphar's house, upon being approached by Potiphar's wife to sleep with her, his response while refusing her advances was,

"Look, my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do! He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I ever do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God." - (Genesis 39:6-9)

Joseph could have sinned and gotten away without his master knowing. He could have quieted any witness against him as he was the most powerful man in the household with authority over his master's entire household and servants.  But his moral compass was such that he could not even conceive of deceiving his master's trust placed in him, nor sin against his God - Jehovah.

We as Christians should continuously question our motives and actions, answer ourselves honestly, and let the truth we discover lead us onward in our Christian walk.  Our lives should never allow an unbeliever to fault our God, rather create in them a curiosity that will enable them to find this God. God bless you!

Ben Fuller - Walk with me

the Eye of the Needle

Put your hand into his and let him lead you.

In the book of Mathew we read of a conversation between a religious young wealthy man and Jesus Christ. The topic of their conversation was eternal life. We read,

Someone came to Jesus with this question: "Good Teacher, what good things must I do to have eternal life?" "Why call me Good. There is none good, but one," Jesus replied, "that is God." "But to answer your question, you can receive eternal life if you keep the commandments."

Which ones? asked the man. And Jesus replied, "'Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.  Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

The young man replied, "I have obeyed all these commandments. What else must I do?"

Jesus told him, "if you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor , and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard Jesus, he went away sadly because he had many possessions.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven.  I say it again, it is easier for  a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God."

The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?" they asked.  Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." _ (Matthew 19:16-26)

There are two ways to eternal life: one by fully (in intent and deed) following the ten commandments of God (Exodus 20:1-17) or two, as Christ mentioned to his disciples - with the help of God or his grace. But, he also showed the futility of man to be in obedience to God's commandments of their own accord when he said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven. Does God have anything against the wealthy? Absolutely not!

The young rich man who came to Christ, though he thought himself to be righteous, obedient to all of God's commandments given through Moses, was indeed not able to keep them, for he walked away sadly as it was hard to give up all his possessions and follow Christ. Was Christ really asking him to give it all up and follow him? After all Christ knew people needed money to live. He himself appointed Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, in charge of the finances for himself and his disciples.  Christ wanted to poke a little hole in the self-righteous bubble of this young man to show the real state of his heart. God did not occupy the foremost place in this young heart.

When we study the teachings of Christ in the book of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7, we realize that it is impossible for man to be in complete obedience to the ten commandments, for Christ taught that our thoughts and intents carried the same consequence as the deeds.  He taught, "You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Do not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.' But I say, if you are angry with your brother, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the high council. And if you say "you fool" to someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.' (Matthew 5:21-22).  With respect to adultery, Jesus taught, "You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-30). With respect to money and possessions, he warned, "where ever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be." 

This is true with not just money and possessions, but whatever is your first love, your primary focus in life. Christ teaches us that the first and most important command is to love your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your spirit and all your strength. And he said that it was equally important to love your neighbor (all those who live around you, that surround you in this world - your fellow human beings!) just as yourself.  He teaches us that all the other commandments and demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:37-40). So you see, it's not so much wealth that trips you up, but what takes up your heart. What are your passions?

God created man and woman to love him of their own accord, and by loving him do what pleases him, obeying his commands. He knew our weakness and so he sent his son, Jesus Christ, who is the sacrifice for our sins. Obedience to God in all walks of our lives, that which was humanly impossible, has been made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. By his grace we are made sufficient.

Apostle John writes in 1 John 2:1-2, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.  And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation (conciliation; the conciliatory sacrifice) for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world."  Apostle John addresses his audience as "little children"; was he referring to our helpless state when it comes to living a sinless life? All you have to do is realize your littleness and need for his help. Call out to Jesus and he will help you because he has ransomed you and I with his life. We can do it through Christ! God bless you!!!

Third Day - Cry out to Jesus