NEW BEGINNINGS, JULY 1-31, 2023
Truth is timeless, and no amount of relativism can change it... It is as immutable as the laws of nature, the laws of creation, and the laws of the Creator... While many argue that the Word should not be taken 100% literally, and some would be remiss trying to appropriate all its ordinances especially the ones specifically meant for the Jewish people and not all of humanity in the modern times, one would also err not to take the ten commandments seriously for they are universal: murder, lying, adultery, stealing are all crimes against another, causing untold suffering and pain... As we go about our daily lives, may we hold on to the Word as a compass--of morality, reflection, and guidepost in our struggles and relationships... It is a mine of ideas and principles, and wisdom can guide us to discover the pearls hidden in it, those that may give us grace, knowledge, and strength, and enable us to continue our journey in hope and faith...
No mean bone... A recent article stated what
sociologists and behavioral scientists observe these days: that people have
generally become meaner, ruder, more selfish and abusive, greedier, and more
prone to defraud or at the very least, take advantage of other people's
goodness, understanding and generosity... And they have identified the cause to
the general existential crises brought about by the pandemic, climate
armageddon, wars, political and economic upheavals that compound upon humanity
these past and current years... But in God's family, we are called to respect,
take care, and encourage one another (the true, 'not-giving-up-on-the-meeting'
essence)... Sadly though, it is often the church body where people experience
first hand and most painfully, intolerance and abuse, greed and oppression,
scam and lies, pretense and flattery... Yet, the Word reminds us how to live
and thrive until the end: love and respect one another, especially those whom
we feel are weaker, slower, less capacitated and abled, and whom we perceive
lower in socio-economic status... Because all God's children are beautiful and
precious in His sight, no matter the age, size, gender, personality and
preferences... All are equipped to heal, to nurture, to care, to pour out His
grace and love; and all are gifted to serve Him whom we do not see by giving to
and serving our fellowmen whom we can see but especially feel are far from
life's good graces and favors... May we truly fulfill our commission of being
His children and heirs, His disciples and disciplers, in everything we do,
everyday, every moment that we can...
In quietness is strength... Is one shining
example we should emulate from our Savior... It is not the claps, the stars,
the empty flattery and acknowledgements, the vain praise and recognition that
measures how far and successful we have come in life... But the one who truly
succeeds has learned the balance: between meaningful work, and down times spent
in prayer and communion with Him, with our thoughts, and with His natural
creation... Yes, we can make our paid hours count with productive labor; yes,
we can build connections through fellowships with friends and brethren; but
those ties, those mental and emotional exercises lie only in this lifetime,
while our sanity and consciousness last... The one connection that we can keep
forever though, beyond awareness, beyond consciousness, beyond our physical
existence, is the time we spent with Him in personal prayer and meditation,
that grounds us, but vertically aligns us, and holds our souls and spirits firm
and strong for all time...
The long view... My elders oftentimes measure
people by how far they see or how long their vision in life maybe... Which I
observe is always one key question in the many job interviews I've had over the
course of my career... It seems not just in the secular world but spiritually
too, we need to have a far vision of the future, even stretching to eternity,
though we may not always be certain about it... And so we consider each other
by the same crucible that determines faith and endurance--even in marriage and
building a family, in work and career: we look beyond to what we see in the
moment, we weigh the degree of commitment in our relations and connections by
how each of us see the future and what we want to do with it... May we likewise
do so in all aspects of our lives...
When the 'Miss Minchins' attack, do a
'Princess Sara'... Only Gen X and Millennials could understand; but we take
this to mean that when we encounter people who are hard to deal with, we
maintain the poise and grace that befits a true princess--in our case, a
daughter or child of God, and still keep our sanity, wisdom and peace; until
the truth comes out, we are set free from misunderstanding and oppression, and
will then be free to be ourselves, to do the best we can in helping make life
better for one and all... We need all that grace, and a heaping of hope and
confidence too, with much humility and wisdom; to make others see the light in
us, that they too may learn to trust and hope, not get envious, insecure,
vindictive or abusive... May we tap into our eternal source of goodness and
love, our Heavenly Father, and fulfill the mission He charged us with, all the
rest of our days...
There's always grace, if we can find courage
and hope within ourselves... Whether we be beset by troubles and problems,
whether rejected or abandoned, as long as we do not lose hope and stay
confident and content in the promises that our God has given us; and as long as
we do not forget that as He had been so good to us in the past, so will He
continue to do good to us in the future, then we can go on and thrive... For
our journey will always be full of challenges peppered with moments of joy; but
hope and love, , faith and trust in the One who called us will keep us safe,
sane, at peace, and on the path of what is good and right...
Room for sadness and pain... We all have days
when we are down, when we feel life and people seem to seemingly beat us black
and blue and push us down, not always physically, but especially mentally and
emotionally; so that we feel despair at every turn... Yet, our loving Father
and Savior has never left us without light and hope... As He promised, a more
glorious, happy and pain-free future awaits those of us who endure our journey
in hope and faith... Yes, we will ultimately all go home; and we can bring
nothing beyond but our faith, our connection with Him who promised to welcome
us there at the entrance... And so, may every grief and sadness, resentment and
sorrow be laid down today, measured to their proper size, and even moments of
gladness and joy, wealth and winnings be taken in the light of His provision,
in gratitude that they help us along in our journey, as we come closer and
closer to our ultimate home...
Hope springs eternal... Might be an old, tired
cliché, but still rings true in our time today... Yes, many of us can drown our
sorrows and worries through the momentary distractions of social and
entertainment media; but without hope in a better future, we would still have
to face bouts of depression and loneliness... Yet our Savior has given us hope
through His promises of never leaving us, and of always caring for and
providing for us... May we hold on to that, and spend our days more
confidently, humbly, and in wisdom, generosity and grace...
Praying for live souls... There is a tradition
among many religions around the world, of praying to and for dead ancestors and
relatives... Maybe the main purpose is not really always for the salvation of
their souls from whatever after-death torment we believe they may be in,
because salvation is a personal, individual working out while alive; but rather
it works more toward the one who prayed, for peace of mind, to allay our own
fears of being haunted, and to continue a tradition that we hope will also be
done to us when it's our time to go... But no matter the reason, it seems
prayer finds its purpose in helping us keep our sanity by settling our minds...
Often, we don't get the answers right away, or know when our prayer have come
true and borne fruit; but when we pray, for ourselves and others, we
acknowledge our weakness and helplessness, and our ultimate dependence on the
One Who gave us life... And that connection He promised will never be severed even
through time, age and distance... May we pray always, everyday, each moment
that we can, for whomever, for whatever, whenever...
Salt and light... Salt flavors and cleanses;
light illuminates, and separates from the unclear to the transparent... And so
it seems with one truly filled by the Spirit of God... Without even anyone
looking--either the secular world, physically or online, in the absence of
people we want to impress; if we can bring hope and love to a world awash in
fear and hate, anxiety and misunderstanding; if we can bring clarity to the
confused, truth, not our own opinions and imaginations but the realities of the
times we profess to obey, and the realities of our time... Then we know His
Holy Spirit has borne fruit in us, and we can confidently proclaim we have been
baptized and immersed in it...
Verbal diarrhea... Apologies to the sensitive,
but this just means to me a person who can't stop talking, who must have a say
in everything, even if they don't know much about it, and something I tease
some people with, like friends and students... Because indeed, like the
physical incontinence, there are some who believe they know everything, and
must express their opinions in every situation, believing that it matters,
which often it does not... For what truly matters is communication--with God,
with each other, with nature and life... And true communication is two-way: we
can speak our truth, but we must keep silent and listen to the revelation, to
the response, to what the other party thinks... And that is why we need to keep
silent sometimes... This is probably why some psychologists say this is an
introvert superpower: by keeping silent more often, we hear things that others
who don't take the time can't, and we gain more wisdom... And on an eternal
plane, our God is praised by lightning and thunder, but just as He talked to
Elijah in a gentle whisper, so do His truths in our life come to us in our
moments of keeping still and silent...
Humility stays down but stands out... As so
often happens in life, any group, religious or secular, where the human
figurehead must be adored and venerated, is actually a cult, a kingdom of
abused and brainwashed slaves groveling over much hard-earned favor of the
delusional at the expense of sanity and self-respect... Because our Savior
showed us what true leadership is--being one of and among the team, relating to
every need, giving support and understanding, generosity with time and talent,
and love... And that should be our mirror today... May we spend our days being
followers of truth and wisdom, and leaders of love, understanding, grace and
peace...
Insidious... Should be how wisdom and good
character develop in us, not of vice and harmful habits... Because the
destruction of our minds and bodies, ruin of relationships, and the death of
our souls come not from sudden changes in activity, but a seemingly unknowing
but often small series of mundane steps to cover over inefficiencies, to
compromise, to hide the truth and sacrifice it at the altar of convenience,
fear and protection of image and status... May everyday we choose to do what is
right and good, speak only out of a heart of love and not envy, and keep our
minds in tune with what is pure, lovely and honest for one and all...
Working out our salvation is an everyday
thing... Because we cannot buy our souls off by endless, sometimes repetitive
prayers, by regular church attendance, by purchasing indulgences or giving of
huge offerings; but by everyday doing what our Creator meant for us to do here,
by loving Him and caring for our fellowman as ourselves... We are called upon
to treat each other fairly and with respect, not abusing or oppressing or
taking advantage of each other; and as much as we honor and respect God, to
feed His people and those whom He constantly calls each day, with His love, His
grace and goodness... And if we do falter and fail, we know we can call on Him
for forgiveness, repent what we did wrong, and still move on and continue doing
our mission... May we find strength, hope and peace, the rest of our journey...
The passed down faith... Is the truest
legacy... A science article some time before said that the way we think is
actually written in our DNA, hence, hereditary... And they include creativity
and crafts, talents and intellect, mindset and perspective, and more
metaphysically than most--faith... As in minister Timothy's life, who was
molded by the faith of his mother and grandmother, so also are we... We may
belong to different religions, we may claim superiority over others, but
basically we can never be better than the quality of our parents and elders...
And that is the point of challenge too: if our parents and elders were
unschooled, ignorant of the ways of the modern world, uncultured if we may say
so, can we learn much and help them learn in return... Because each of us are
made in the image of our God; and regardless of age, gender, status,
generation, obligated to know and learn, responsible to gain wisdom and understanding;
that we may share such to others, in an avenue of love and concern...
The prayerful is truly powerful... Because
prayer connects us to our Heavenly Father, the true source of light, wisdom and
strength, whose Spirit gives us life and drives our everyday motivations... And
by our words, by our priorities, by our causes, by our deeds, we manifest our
prayerfulness... We can never claim to be spiritual soldiers of Him if we do
not come to the forefront of prayer in our daily lives, and in the secrets of
our closets; instead of just in the forefronts of our little congregations
where only praise of people becomes our aim, even at the expense of sincerity
and real transformation; and we can never claim to be life soldiers for His
Word and kingdom if all we have is talk, but we do not offer our lives for the
safety, for the health, for the prosperity and wisdom of our fellowman, but
rather stay on the sidelines and make all kinds of excuses of our own illusions
of privilege and uniqueness... Life transformation indeed comes to those who
take the risk, who stick their necks out, who give life and limb, time and
energy, talents and resources, to share and pour out His love and understanding
to all, at whatever cost, and consistently throughout the rest of the journey...
The bond of perfection is generosity and
understanding... Titles are forgotten, statuses are dropped, when you show
disrespect to others, putting them down, backbiting or criticizing them because
you think they are beneath you, less capable and less cultured... Because faith
and character rests on what the Word says; "would you have embraced the
same humility, understanding, generosity, fairness acceptance and love
exhibited by our Saviour as written in the Word?"... Or would you rather
say, "because we are human, we cannot"; which actually means that
because we live in the modern times, we know better and would not emulate the
One whom we nominally worship but whose example from 2,000 years ago we
ignore... May we choose what is right and good, do good to others and show them
respect; for each of us have our own issues, we are each gifted in our unique
ways to deal with life's challenges; but as all His children, obligated to help
and deserve support from one another...
What matters is what's in the heart... Because
out of it are the issues of life, and what's in it drive our everyday word and
action... A proud heart insists on its rightness and self-righteousness, to a
feeling of superiority over others, but actually wallows in ignorance; while
the humble and wise heart recognizes and accepts the potential in others,
understands their needs and issues, and is always willing to lend a hand or to
support... And the one whose life truly succeeds is the one who leaves a good influence
and impact on others, not on leading them on in envy, but spreading and sharing
the love and wisdom of God, and helping make the world a better place for one
and all...
Ignorance is no excuse... A recent article
says that the environment started degrading really fast since around the 1950s,
leading to the drastic conditions we experience these days caused by the
climate... It seems that whoever was born and in existence during these past
seventy years must have had huge and collective contributions to what we now
call climate apocalypse... Yet, sadly, too few can really do much significant
impact, since whatever little effort one person or group does to alleviate our
plight, gets drowned by the massive apathy, ignorance, neglect and abuse the
greater mass of humanity heaps upon nature... And so is it with the
consequences of wrongdoing as what the Word says today--it is no excuse that we
know little, or aren't aware, or aren't taught so in school, because acquiring
knowledge is our responsibility, and gaining wisdom our life goal, not of our
parents, teachers or elders... May we truly live out our calling, start as one
human race to accept the consequences of our actions and do our part to correct
our ways, to do our best to thrive and help the weak, and to give our lives to
our ultimate mission still of being good stewards of creation...
Hypocrisy doesn't pay... Because we are all
inadequate creatures, we all stumble and fail sometimes... And like King David,
we have to learn to face up to the consequences of our actions, be humble and
do better... And though we are forgiven once, but knowing our mistakes and
doing them over and over again does not anymore merit us mercy but a loss of
grace and falling away... May we not put out the Spirit's fire in us, and truly
live with goodness and grace consistently, transparently, in all honesty, justice,
fairness and peace...
Bullying and body shaming has no place in the
family of God... Yet, it seems many of us today who claim to belong to His
church can't stop our carnal, base and ignorant ways and still focus only on
outward appearances, on what glitters rather than what is inside, on what the
world calls desirable rather than what is good and godly; to the point that we
are not aware that our words have wounded our brethren, and dimmed the light of
our Heavenly Father that should have shone from us to a darkened world... May
we realize that we are called upon not to glory on our efforts and our
so-called status and achievements; but with our words and actions, with our
motivations and emotions, to show appreciation to everything our Maker has
done, in the lives of others and our own... Because He who designed all things
is loving and wise, and no respecter of persons--race, age, gender, body size
and shape, skin color, status or whatnot... And we show our love and worship of
Him if we reflect the same love and understanding to others too...
Salvation is free, and let's keep it at
that... Because we believe our Savior died in His human form to make it so...
Therefore, may those of us who cash in on it with rhetoric, with schemes, with
misinformation taking advantage of people's ignorance and trauma repent from our
evil deeds... May we truly believe, and disciple others to believe in the same
promise; and may we let our days and that of others, be filled with the same
hope and confidence... That we have a Savior who gave His physical life 2,000
years ago to lead us to a life of hope and glory beyond the grave, and we need
not pay for it in installments now, especially through empty deeds and words we
think secures us to that passage, but lives lived in love and generosity, in
wisdom and discernment, understanding and humility... For the truly saved is
humbled, the disciple and truly discipled is as He was--driven by His love and
mercy, His grace and light, and His brand of pure, unadulterated goodness...
A day in seven, but not on our own terms...
For the Sabbath is a day of rest, even from each other's overwhelming and
profuse but empty attention and validation; and a day dedicated to an intimate
time with our Maker, and His natural creation... Therefore we forfeit it if we
fill it up with our own programs that seek only to highlight our talents and
capabilities; we impoverish our souls if we do not step back, keep still and
stay down from who we are; and surrender our time, effort and will to Him, and
His glory revealed in our surroundings... Finally, it is recognizing that the
best we can do for Him whom we cannot see, is to do good, be generous and just,
humble, fair, sincere and honest with those around us whom we can see, whose
needs we can perceive and help meet, whose pain and sorrow we can alleviate...
Because worshipping God on His Day is not from our agenda, nor from canons
passed down to us by so-called messengers; but according to His revealed will
in key parts of the written word, according to what His Spirit reveals to us
each day...
Standing up for God, truth and right takes
time to get proven and bear fruit; but all worth it... There are really no
instant miracles in life, but blessings too long unrealized while in the
making, and only recognized for a fleeting moment when they come, yet, changes
lives forever... And so there are no accidents, no one better than others in
living a life that truly matters and makes an impact... For each one of us is
given grace each day to uphold what's good and godly, and to do our work in the
open, in broad daylight, the truth in us in full view of the sun and the great
cloud of our life's witnesses... May we take up that challenge and live
sincerely, honestly, and always with good intentions...
The right motivation for having more than
enough... Is to be a vessel and share such with others... Because our God is a
magnanimously generous one; so that if we trust Him and believe on His
promises, and continue to do good, to share with others without condition or
malice, we find that at whatever point of our lives, He meets our needs, and we
are blessed without burden, we are provided for in all aspects--physically,
materially, mentally, emotionally, and with peace... May we hold on to that and
learn patience, perseverance, honesty and fairness, good character...
Our temper makes or breaks us... And may we
not forget that, and all the examples we see in people around us; that no good
comes from acting out in anger, that success does not come from unbridled
passions, that peace do not happen when we rage against people and life...
Because if we claim to be our God's children, then we inherit His peace
also--His mind, His vocation and advocacy of it, and we spread that out to
others too...
Called out, stand out... In our world today
where many people just want to bring attention to themselves, who expect
everyone to afford them privileges and favors at the expense of the weak and
silent, the humility and meekness exemplified by our Savior is a rare gem...
Yet, that is often where wisdom and love reside... For our faith is not
manifested as a scream, but a silent yet clear book where others may see the
radiance of a life filled with His Spirit and presence... For our God is the
same through time: while the rest of the world are amazed by thunder- and
lightning- like professions of faith, convictions and ideas, He reveals Himself
as a gentle breeze, a silent whisper, a still small voice... And though we act
with decency and decorum, we are still called upon to speak our truth quietly
and clearly, not competing with the screams driven by selfish motivations of
the people around us who try desperately to gain much-desired attention;
instead we are commissioned to stand out from the rest of the pack through
lives lived in truth and love, in generosity and faith...
Doers of the Word... The apostle couldn't have
said things more clearly and universally: that we are only true to our
professions and convictions of faith when we do the deed that matches it...
That because we serve the Heavenly Father of light, our actions and motivations
should be clear and pure; that because we believe and follow the God of mercy
and compassion, likewise we give time to care and support the weakest and least
among us; that because we serve a powerful God, we feel confident, at peace,
and not doubt that in all of our struggles, He will strengthen us and see us
through... May we truly be doers of the Word, live the good news and promise He
left as our legacy, and not mere hearers and spectators of it...
This never grows old: that the surest
manifestation of our faith is being a good neighbor... As in, when our Savior
said that the greatest commandment is to love God, that is a profession of our
faith; and to love our neighbor as ourselves, the second greatest one, the
proof and the natural reaction and fruit of having true faith... And so, as our
weekend insight, it bears repeating too: that we must not delay in doing good
to others, and to enjoy and uphold what is good, true and sincere, pure and
honest and fair in life; for if we hesitate and pass up, we deprive ourselves
of much needed break to our physical bodies, and a necessary respite to our
soul; but we also deprive others of the blessings of our presence, generosity,
grace, wisdom and love...
Through all of life's changes, our God is our
ultimate sanctuary... So we need not fear what tomorrow may bring, whether we
have enough, whether we are equipped or qualified, and whether we will succeed,
break through and experience better days, because He is already there; He has
laid out our path, and we can trust that He will empower us through... And that
will be the test of our faith: to trust that our sincere and true efforts will
bear fruit, to have confidence and peace that He is always at hand, and we need
not use many words and loud voices, even magnified actions and entitlements to
get His attention; because He already pays us much attention; and He knows us,
where we are, what we need, and where we need to be...
The proof is in the testing... Because many of
us are predisposed to accept things that validate our own biases and
prejudices; we take opinions as fact, hearsays as canons, misinterpretations as
enlightenment, fake and fraud as truth- - hook, line and sinker, without caring
to dig deeper, understand more, and be a little more discerning... But the
proof is in the pudding, they say; and we can prove words with actions,
convictions on reactions, professions of faith in how "The others"
are treated by the so-called Believer... And so it is with those who claim to
have been baptized in and filled with the Holy Spirit: it is not words, whether
uttered from booklets, or unintelligible syllables not belonging to any of the
world's current and past thousands of languages and dialects that manifest its
realness, but by words of wisdom and understanding, actions of love, generosity
and unconditional hospitality... And because the power of our God cannot be
faked, may we tap into it always, meditate on it daily, and let it grow and
bear fruit in our lives the rest of our physical existence, into the fruits it
clearly was exemplified by the physical life of our Savior, and magnified in
the teachings of His direct apostles... Here's praying His Spirit be poured out
on us all everyday, that as His earthen vessels and jars of clay, we might pour
such on others too...
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