Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Gethsemane: The Place Of Surrender


Luke 22:41-44(NKJV):

41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed,

42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.

44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.[e]

Oh, the place of Gethsemane! The torturing expectance and the choice to make: my will or the will of the Father? I thank Jesus every day that He chose to submit to the will of the Father and committed to suffer for each one of us, so we could have hope and salvation. It came to us by the expense of Jesus praying earnestly in the garden of Gethsemane and struggling to fulfill the will of the Father.
The reason why this passage became so close to me and so endear is because I spend so much time in my garden of “Gethsemane” praying to give me strength to submit to the will of the Father rather than choosing my own will. My current plea with the Lord is to give me strength to preserve me through the counseling that I start with my husband tonight.

My husband and I went to some counselors before, but nothing worked out for us because neither one of us was willing to yield. I was so bitter and infuriated with my husband after discovering all the lies and betrayal by him that I chose to retaliate. Back then, I didn`t go to the “Garden of Gethsemane” to wrestle things out with the Lord, but I chose to submit to my own will and he did the same.
Gethsemane represents our surrender to the Lord: not my will, but my Father`s will be done. Please note, this is a voluntary choice. Nobody forced Jesus into this mission, but He willingly came down to this earth to die for each one of us and to suffer all the way to the death, and the death on the cross. I spend so much time in “my garden” in this agony pleading with the Lord to pass my cup if at all possible, but for some reason my God wants me to be the one yielding. It requires me to bow lower.

Could I do that? Not in my own strength, and not in my own ability. It starts with the choice however. I had to reason with the Lord that when He allows something to happen, He is faithful to give strength to complete the task. What`s more, if I choose to trust the Lord to protect me (and my reputation), then it wouldn`t matter how foolish or humiliated I may look in the eyes of the others. That`s a big pill to swallow, and I haven`t had a throat for that in the past. I`ve always chose to stand by my name and attempt to prove myself right. I choose to do no more of that. I choose God to be my shield and my protection.
It starts with the choice, and it starts with the desire to please the Lord.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise (Psalm 51:17 NKJV).

Oh, Lord, please help me surrender my will to You, so I could bring a sacrifice to Your feet that You will not despise: a broken spirit and a contrite heart.
I have made this decision in the past, and God always came through for me. What`s different for me this time then? It`s called: pain, pride, and price. This time, it requires me to admit things I`ve done wrong, and it requires me to accept the fact that I may have to endure more pain because my husband`s attitude haven`t changed. What`s more, it requires a choice of willingness on my part to pay this price to glorify the Lord. Voluntary mission.

Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done. It starts with the choice to surrender to God, and with the desire to trust He would guard, direct, and provide. I could not possibly put into words the pain that`s in my heart, but I lay it by the feet of Jesus knowing that since He went through the worst possible humiliation, pain, and price He paid, He is capable to encourage me and to give me strength. My task tonight consist of the painful thing: going to the counseling (from my previous experience I expect to be misunderstood there).

When surrendering our will to the Father, we should ask one questions: Do we trust the Lord being capable to do the impossible? My confession is: my faith is stretching thin and I have a hard time believing certain promises of God. Does that change Who God really is? No, because He continues to be the Almighty and the All-powerful God.

The next important step after surrender and trusting the Lord is a fervent earnest prayer. Jesus earnestly prayed to the point that the drops of sweat turned into blood. This is another struggle that I have right now: earnestly praying for my circumstances. I`m fighting both battles: surrendering to the will of the Father and struggling to continue praying.
When there is no praying support, like in Jesus case was, God was faithful to send Him the angels to minister to Him. In my case, I do have a praying support, and God is faithful to sustain me through the scriptures:

 For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. (Jeremiah 29:11-12 NKJV).
The part that I didn`t notice before in this verse in Jeremiah is that “You” actually plural, and not a singular. In other words, the promise is for my marriage that God showed me: “You” (my husband and I) will have a future and a hope; we will call upon the Lord; we will go and pray to Him (which is something that`s out of reach right now).

In order to see this promise come to life, I have to surrender to the will of the Father and choose to yield even by the cost of my reputation. God will fight for me where it`s necessary, and He will protect me if only I will humble myself and will apply to do what He asks of me. My weeping comes at night, but the joy from the Lord is promised to follow in the morning. I know I will experience the joy of His strength and blessing when I will complete His will because I`ve seen that happen in the past.
We all have our own struggles, and Lord knows them. It is the conscious choice followed by the action that would get us blessed and rewarded. What`s more, it would give opportunity to the Lord to move to do the impossible. When we know His will and we choose to ignore it, we limit His work by our unbelief. I have seen the both sides, and I`d rather look “weak” in the eyes of the world and will humble myself even lower, rather than choose to step down (step away) from the will of the Lord. Any step down, is a step away from the Lord.

I choose to bring the sacrifice of the broken spirit and a contrite heart regardless of the pain and a struggle I may experience now. My battle is not over yet; this is only the beginning because today is only the first session of the counseling that we both committed to do until we see victory. I am sure that each session would send me straight to “Gethsemane”, but such is the price for those who choose to honor the Lord.
Another reason why I am so thankful to God for not omitting this part of the scripture in the gospels: is showing the humanity of Jesus in His own struggles. Jesus asked for a praying support, He struggled Himself and asked for a cup to be passed from Him. If Jesus asked for support, and He wasn`t ashamed of that, neither am I ashamed to ask for the praying support. I struggle because my name have been marred, my reputation destroyed by my own husband (flesh of my flesh and bone of my bones); how much worse than this can it be? This is why I come to Jesus and ask for help. He is so faithful, and I will never stop praising Him for that.

Thank you for all your prayers; they matter a great deal. I pray that God would strengthen those of us who grow weary and would fill us with the peace surpassing all understanding in response to our surrender to His will. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

It Starts In The Garden


John 19:40-41 (NKJV)

40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

Song of Solomon 5:1-2 (NKJV):

I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.


I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night.”


As I was reading the Gospel of John, I realized the significance of the location where Jesus was buried in the tomb. If you notice, Jesus was buried in the garden being anointed with all the spices and the necessary preparations for the body. The Bible depicts this metaphor and a parallel in our relationships with Jesus on the example of a husband and wife in the Song of Solomon that we read above. The metaphor that the Bible uses when depicting our relationships with Jesus is Jesus being the Groom and Church being His bride for which He died on the cross and rose on the third day from the dead.

It is in this garden where our relationships with Jesus started when His tomb stone was removed on the third day of the resurrection. He was anointed with spices and prepared for the feast with His bride celebrating new Covenant and new relationships.  

It is here, in the garden, when Jesus knocked on the door of our hearts upon His resurrection providing the good news of salvation, and like His beloved, we have a choice to make: whether to accept Him or reject His knock on our hearts.

Jesus is telling each one of us these same words:

“Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night.”


Our response could be either the same as Shulamite`s as we read further in Song of Solomon 5:3- rejecting Jesus` call:

I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I defile them?


Shulamite chose not to unlock the door, and the consequences were as we read further in the verse 6 is she couldn`t find her Beloved once she decided to open the door. How many times did Jesus knock on the door of your heart and you chose not to “put on the robe”? This is the choice for rejection of the ultimate gift that we have from our Groom- Jesus: His sacrifice on the cross. He bled for each one of us enduring the worst last 6 hours of his life in severe agony, only so He could knock and give you and me this chance to open the door.

The second response that we may have could be like Mary Magdalene`s: she wept and sought Jesus when she couldn`t find Him until she saw Him:

11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” 14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him,[a] “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord,[b] and that He had spoken these things to her (John 20:11-18 NKJV).

I don`t know how about you, but I am restless on the days when I don`t find the Lord face to face. I am desperate and out of place when I don`t see the scriptures alive, speaking into my heart. Like Mary, I don`t find peace until I get to the place when Jesus speaks to me and provides further guidance.

These are the two choices we have: we can either get lazy and say: “the robe is off, and the feet are washed”, or we can stand and weep searching for Jesus until we find Him. The outcome is obvious as we read in both of these accounts: the Groom would either walk away, and we would not be able to find Him, or He would speak to us reassuring of His hope and the future that He has for us.

Jesus made this call to everyone:

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne (Revelation 3:20-21 NKJV).

I must point that it was in the garden that Adam and Eve sinned and fell short of the glory of God; they suffered the consequence of being exiled out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). It is here, in the garden, we see Jesus restoring our access to our Heavenly Father. The Bible never mentions details like these without a reason. I believe that the significance of the location only validates the scripture that Paul wrote to 1 Corinthians 15:45 (NKJV):

45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.”[d] The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Jesus restored and repaired that direct access that Adam initially had with the Lord in the Garden of Eden; the access to the personal relationships that God intended for us to have with Him from the start. We have this luxury of coming to Him directly without any hesitation and dwell in His presence.

The tomb in the garden has been removed, and there is nothing else that stops us from coming to the Lord Jesus openly seeking Him and accepting Him. It is here, in the garden, that Jesus initiated this call for the knock on our hearts as soon as He had this chance upon His resurrection, so let us always remember and respond to His call appropriately: accepting Him into our hearts regardless of the minimal price “to dress up, a.k.a. cleaning our hearts and lives for Jesus”, so we could have this communion with Him.

We should not cling to the things it may require of us to give up when looking at the cross and realizing the steep price that Jesus paid for each one us to have this personal relationship. Let us put aside any kind of spiritual laziness or ignorance and start seeking Him diligently responding to His knock.  

 

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

When On The Mission


1 Kings 13:8-19 (NLT):

But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place. For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’” 10 So he left Bethel and went home another way.
11 As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons[a] came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king. 12 The old prophet asked them, “Which way did he go?” So they showed their father[b] which road the man of God had taken. 13 “Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it.
14 Then he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under a great tree. The old prophet asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”
“Yes, I am,” he replied.
15 Then he said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some food.”
16 “No, I cannot,” he replied. “I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here in this place. 17 For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’”
18 But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the Lord: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. 19 So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home.

For the longest time I found this passage confusing while misunderstanding the significance and essence of this scripture. Finally when I was reading these few chapters today, the Holy Spirit showed me something clarifying.

In this chapter we see a man of God who arrived in Bethel from Judah right at the time when Jeroboam prepared to burn incense at the altar that he created for idol worshiping, so the sacrifice and the incense was not for the Lord, but for the idol-pagan god that he created as we read in 1 Kings 12:26-29 (NLT):

26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. 27 When these people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the Lord, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead.” 28 So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people,[d] “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!” 29 He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom. 30 But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there.

Jeroboam was placed in charge of the 10 tribes of Israel right after the death of Solomon for the kingdom was divided in two: one tribe was given to Solomon`s son Rehoboam, and the rest of the ten tribes were given to Jeroboam. This was done as a consequence for Solomon`s sin of idolatry that he committed towards the end of his life as he multiplied the amount of his wives and concubines from the foreign countries that God forbade to associate with for this same reason of the potential idolatry. This is exactly what happened to Solomon: his wives turned his heart away from the Lord and towards the idols they themselves worshiped in their home countries (1 Kings 11:4-13).

The interesting side note here is for those of us who are not good with math: we see an account of total 11 tribes instead of the 12 (12 sons of Jacob). One tribe of Judah was given to the Rehoboan, and the 10 tribes were given to the Jeroboam. The one missing tribe is the tribe of Benjamin, and the reason for that is they were destroyed for the hideous things they`ve done as we read it in the book of Judges19-21. The small remnant of the tribe of Benjamin is no longer referred to as a tribe going forward since the chapter 21 of the Book of Judges, but the amount of tribes total is referred to is only 11 instead of 12. I think it`s important to bring this out into the light because this is one of the facts that`s not well traversed and referred to by others.

So in this story here we see that the man of God who was on the mission from Judah to Bethel to tell Jeroboam of his consequences for the idolatry.

These are the important points for us to think about when preparing for the mission:

- A lot of times God would use unusual people and circumstances to state His word. I believe He does that on purpose in order to humble us and to test our obedience.

God sent a man from Judah, and Judah was the enemy`s camp since Judah was the only tribe that was left to Rehoboam, Solomon`s son. So a man from Judah came to Bethel (verse 1) to tell Jeroboam of the upcoming God`s judgment for the committed idolatry. Jeroboam had to humble himself before the man of God (camp of the enemy) if he would have heeded to the word of Lord and chose to obeyed it. God also tested the heart of the man from Judah whether he would obey God`s word and would go to the enemy`s territory (Jeroboam`s city of Bethel where the idol was installed as we read earlier). We see both of the sides here where God`s intention was to cut through the pride of the man on either side and to give a chance for repentance because as we saw consistently throughout the scriptures God is merciful and long patient with us waiting so we would repent.

-Another important fact is God doesn`t contradict His word ever.

Man of God was given specific instructions by the Lord, which he stated to Jeroboam himself, that he was not to eat or drink anything while he was in Bethel and to make sure he returned by a different way home; he had to take an alternative rout back to Judah. We see how this man was resting by the oak tree when he was tempted into staying with the local “prophet” who came to get the man of God. As we read in the verses 14-17, the prophet insisted on the customary at that time tradition to host the man of God in his house. The “prophet” contradicted what the Lord initially commanded to do to the man of God (verses 18-19):

18 But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the Lord: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. 19 So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home.

I am really grateful to the Lord that He is faithful not to omit such important detail out of the scripture that the prophet was actually lying in his words. In other words, the Bible clearly tells us that the prophet, who claimed to speak the word from the Lord, he was actually speaking lies to the man of God. This tells us that God is faithful to preserve His word intact and to confirm to us that He never contradicts His word.

On the flip side, we may think maybe the man of God wasn`t sure if he was hearing the words from the Lord and he didn`t want to doubt the prophet`s words. I would be willing to give the benefit of the doubt to this man of God, but the scripture gives us this very important fact here in the verses 2-5 that dispels any idea or a notion of God making His word unclear to the man from Judah as we read:

Then at the Lord’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you.” That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, “The Lord has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground.” When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, “Seize that man!” But instantly the king’s hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn’t pull it back. At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the Lord (1 Kings 13:2-5 NLT).

We see specific signs that followed the word from the Lord which confirmed that the words which a man of God spoke, they were truly the statements of the Lord:

1. We see that the arm of Jeroboam became paralyzed.

2. We see that the altar cracked and the ashes poured out on the ground

These facts, which Lord brought to pass, were the indicators to the man that he was truly following the word of the Lord and had to obey His mission trip to the end. There was no doubt in his mind as we read in these verses that the man of God wasn`t sure whether he was truly hearing these things from the Lord.

I think it`s important for us to note this because sometimes we say: “I`m not sure if I truly heard God speaking this to me or if this is something I made up based on what I want to come to pass”. As we see here, God always supports His word with validation factors: be that a confirmation through the alternative scripture or some person, but the message would be consistent with what the Lord commanded us to do.

If the man of God was given the command by the Lord Himself not to stop in the Bethel area then the man of God had to obey it no matter what other alternative version he might have heard (that was the enemy`s territory afteral, so the Lord knew the danger of the man staying in that area for any minute longer than what He pre-planned for him to be there).

It is also important to note that when God sends us on the mission, He guards our credibility to make His word authentic and valid.

Jeroboam had no business listening to such words from someone out of the enemy`s territory. This is not surprising that he dismissed the words of the man until his arm got paralyzed; this is when he panicked and asked for help. That is how God made sure that He supported His message with the necessary pinch of validation in order to make those surrounding the pagan worship place tremble before the Lord.

-Also, we should note that whenever we stop for “rest”, or slowdown in entrusted mission of the Lord, we are prone to falter spiritually and fail.

Where was the man of God when he failed in his mission? He was sitting under the great tree as we read in the verse 14. He stopped for the rest in the enemy`s camp instead of making sure he left that territory first regardless of how tired he may have been.

The place where we are under the most possible attack is our “enemy`s territory”. How does it translate into our lives as believers: when we walk into the bar, meet with our unsaved friends, or go into the tempting district, etc. that`s the place of the severe attack from Satan for us. This is where when we have the command from the Lord to complete His mission, we should complete it and leave immediately without slowing down or stopping altogether. When we hesitate and rest in the place where we are not supposed to be, we are doomed for the failure.

The man of God would not even have met this prophet if he chose not to slow down in his walking pace and sit by the tree. God would have sustained his strength and gave him the necessary stamina to make it out of the adversary`s territory if he only prayed for the help.

I think so many times we fail in our everyday missions, simply because we choose not to “bother” God with small requests. This is so wrong, and this is something that I consciously choose not to do every day anymore. I`ve learned to come to the Lord and ask for help to give me strength when I feel like I`m about to blow up emotionally or am slowing down in my commitment to read the scriptures, or praying diligently and seeking His face. I ask for help because I know better than that that Satan is walking like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We need to learn to rely on the Lord in everything even if this is something “small” in our eyes. Something as small as staying longer than necessary in the bar or some other place; whatever this may be for each one of us.

-The next factor to consider is God allows our hearts and the mission entrusted to us to be tested.

The Bible is very clear that each one of us get enticed by the lusts of one`s flesh, so it wasn`t the Lord who made sure that the man of God would fail in his mission, but it was the man of God himself who was hungry and thirsty and wanted rest. The man was enticed by his own desires of his flesh to rest, eat, and drink.

14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death (James 1:14-15 NLT).

This is no place to blame God for our failure because the scripture is very clear that we are all enticed by the desires of our hearts. It is not God who sets us up for a failure, but this is us. We have this control whether to give in to the temptation or whether to choose to obey the Lord and bring our flesh into obedience under God`s word. It`s a conscious choice.

The man of God had this choice whether to decline the offer to stay at the prophet`s house regardless of what word from the Lord he might have heard from him, or whether to follow the prophet and take him up on the hosting invitation. It`s a choice that he made.

-The fifth component here is Satan’s ability to know the word of the Lord and attempt to pervert it.

This is why it is crucial for us to know the scripture inside out to be able to resist Satan with the scriptures, which is the ultimate authority from the Lord.

Satan knows the scriptures really well. We can see it clearly when Jesus was taken into the 40 day fasting and testing period; He encountered Satan who tempted Jesus while quoting the word of God, and Jesus responded accordingly: form the scripture.

Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’[c]Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’[d]” (Matthew 4:5-7 NLT)

We should not underestimate our enemy-Satan. Jesus knew the scriptures, and this is why He was able to confront Satan and complete His testing period successfully. The same applies to us—we must dwell in the scriptures every day to know it well enough, so when Satan comes with the perverted verses, we could rebuke him.

-The sixth important fact here is the worst attacks from Satan happens in the enemy`s territory: physical and spiritual.

We have to be cognizant of the potential threats we face when we are in the visiting area. This may well go for the missionaries who commit their hearts to carry the Gospel and His word to the countries who frequently resist it. It also brings persecution in some cases. This is why it`s important to be vigilant and alert to the word of the Lord to make sure we heed to what He commands us to do despite of what alternative revelations we may hear from other people.

There is a reason why the Lord was so specific and clear to relate to the man of God to use the alternative way home, not to stop anywhere to drink, eat or rest because God knew of this factor. He knew that the man would be under the most attack while dwelling in Bethel- the enemy`s territory.

Also, we should never stay in the adversary`s place any longer than we are appointed by the Lord. This could be applied in our daily walk with Jesus because we go places almost every day. There is a potential for us to cross into the enemy`s camp- spiritual warfare place. The good example for that would be mall. That place is filled with ungodly things, so to stay there any longer than necessary could potentially bring us to the spiritual downfall.

-Lastly, God allows us to be tested in order to show our inability to succeed without Him.

The man of God was tired and needed rest. He could seek the Lord and ask for help to renew his strength, and God would have been faithful to do just that.

29 He gives power to the weak
    and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
    and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:29-31 NLT).

Our God never faints or grows weary, so there is no reason as to why we would not come directly to Him and ask to renew our strength in the moment when we no longer capable to move on. His word doesn`t lie because God is not a liar to say and not do.

There are days when I cannot go anymore, and those are the days when I consciously choose to seek the Lord for help to direct me, so I wouldn`t fall. If He is faithful to sustain me, He will be faithful to sustain anyone who comes to Him diligently.

I am grateful to the Lord to open up this passage for me and clarify His word once again. This is a great blessing to see His word alive. We really should think of the way we treat His word and what we do with it in our daily lives.

What`s more, this is a good lesson for us to always check God`s word against the scripture regardless of what alternative words we may hear from others. God calls us to reason, and we have no business ignoring His word, so we could be fully equipped to complete what He entrusted us with.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Corrected 20/20 Vision


John 9:39-41 (NKJV)

39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”

41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

I find it remarkable whenever I meet unyielding hard hardened people because I can never understand how can one be so stubborn to remain in sin, a.k.a. “blind”? When looking at this account with the blind man who was healed by Jesus and the way the Pharisees casted him out of the synagogue for believing in Jesus, as we read in the earlier verses, it amazes me that all those people cared about is proving themselves “right”. How arrogant and hopeless they sound.
God`s word didn`t change today and the same way it required humility in recognizing one`s blindness to sin then, it is the same way required of us today in order to accept Jesus as our Savior. In other words, God cannot save and forgive us until we make this recognition in our hearts that we indeed are sinners and born “spiritually blind” the same way the blind person whom Jesus healed in the earlier verses was. He was born blind.

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him (John 9:1-3 NKJV)
This account shows us that in God`s eyes we are all born “spiritually blind” because we are born into sin, and this is why we need Jesus in each one of our lives, so we could see. This blind man serves an example of how much God holds each one of us accountable for our own actions and deeds, and neither our parents nor our children can make up for our choices. We all need Jesus to heal us spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

There is a factor of humility, however, that so many of us do not want to recognize and accept. This is why salvation is not received by everyone. I met so many people who didn`t want to recognize that they needed Jesus to save them. They were like Pharisees attending the church and thinking that their relationships with the Lord were just fine, when in reality, Jesus` answer to them is the same He gave to the Pharisees: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

I hope we all understand the significance of this humility factor and what it meant then and now to view ourselves as in need of Jesus. We are born “blind” just like that man was blind spiritually and physically from the birth. This is the prototype of all humanity who is birthed into this world: “being blind” and in need of Jesus.
Without admitting and recognizing, a.k.a. humiliating in front of the Lord and others that we are indeed sinners and need Jesus, we remain in our sins just the way Pharisees were. This is one of the main battles that I always had with my unsaved relatives when attempting to relate to their opportunity to get saved: they see no need in admitting they are no good (Romans 3:10,12, 23). “No good”? –The intellect and education preventing them to see beyond the scope of their own achievements and accomplishments. How can a PhD candidate recognize that he/she is no good? This is the same issue the Pharisees had then and we have now.

In essence, when we humiliate ourselves to the point of a true repentance, we recognize the sinful nature of our heart, which leads us in return to admitting us being unworthy of Jesus` sacrifice. This is called humility and brokenness. It has nothing to do with the amount of education one has, but it has to do with the condition of one`s heart. Heart and mind would always contradict each other, and this is why God gave us so many scriptures not to rely on our own mind:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV).

and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7 NKJV).

We cannot comprehend the ways of the Lord fully because he is God and we are not. We can only accept the fact that we cannot rely on our own understanding, our own mind, but we must accept Him in our hearts.
Jesus found this blind man whom He healed and questioned his believes whether he recognized Jesus being the Messiah, and once he admitted and believed in Jesus, God in return forgave his sins. The Pharisees who overheard Jesus speaking to the man questioned His validity of the right to forgive sins and heal the man. See, God always cut through our hearts and sees the intentions of our attitude. If we are like these Pharisees, who are only interested in mocking the authenticity of God`s word, than we remain in our sins; however, if we accept the fact that the truth of God`s word indeed is accurate, than we have no excuse not to repent and admit the sinfulness of our nature.

Jesus said it Himself that He came to bring judgment: that sums up in the factor of humility and recognizing our need in the ultimate Opthamologist (Jesus)! We need Jesus to perform a laser surgery on “spiritual eyes”, so we could see once again.
Look at what happened to Saul of Tarsus (who later became Paul) - he was blinded by Jesus on his way to Damascus.

As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.[a] It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank (Acts 9:3-9 NKJV).

 

There were few things that happened to Saul:

-Saul fell to the ground (the ultimate act of humility)

-Saul recognized it was the Lord as he questioned: “Who are You, Lord?”

-Saul was trembling and astonished in the presence of the Lord Jesus

- Saul immediately recognized his need to get right with God, get saved, and serve Him. He said: “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

-Saul was thirsting for God`s presence and His answers; as he was without sight (a.k.a. blind) he was without food or water for 3 days.

Jesus blinded Paul with His holiness, and Saul could not withstand to see any more in God`s sight of his own sinfulness recognizing his unworthiness. This is the factor of humility that Saul displayed as a result of facing Jesus face to face. I believe that there is not one person who`s heart Holy Spirit touches who can withstand to be present in Jesus` sight without recognizing one`s need for salvation.
Once we come face to face with Jesus, just like this blind man whom Jesus healed or Paul whom Jesus saved, we become spiritually aware of our spiritual “nakedness and blindness”. God searches our hearts and seeks those who would yield to His light the way Saul did. For those who refuse to recognize their “blindness” and the need in “healing”, they are left to remain in their sins.

I continue to pray for my family and for my unsaved relatives for God to touch their hearts and convict them to the point of repentance; however, it is ultimately up to each one of us to choose if to accept Jesus and be healed/saved, or reject Him and remain in sins.
It was Jesus Himself who said that He came to bring judgment to this world “that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” I would encourage you today to search out your heart and seek the Lord to show you whether there is an area in your heart that became hard with calluses. Unyielding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit would only shut your door to know Jesus face to face, so I urge you not to make this mistake. There`s been enough of blood of Jesus spilled for each one of us to make Him suffer anymore. Let us come to the Lord and accept the fact that we are sinners, and we need Jesus in order to make our lives complete!

You can pray this simple prayer of repentance if this is something that you feel like you need in order to be right with God:
Dear Jesus, please forgive me for being so hard hardened and unyielding to Your word. Please forgive me my sins and my pride for making myself above your sacrifice; I recognize my inability to exist without You, and I don`t want to live without You anymore. Like Saul, I ask You today to please show me the way and guide me to serve You for the rest of my life. In Your precious Name I pray. Amen.

If you have prayed this prayer of salvation, you have accepted Jesus into your heart, and He lives inside you now. Your sins have been forgiven, and you can start your life afresh just the way Saul from Tarsus did (Acts 9). He was renamed to be Paul who turned the world upside down for the Lord. There is no limit as to how much and how far God can use you, so please allow Him this opportunity to guide you. This is what Jesus suffered for, died and rose again, so we could have this opportunity to worship the Lord and know Him face to face. Let us rejoice and be glad in Him!