THE POWER OF MERCY

MEDITATION:

Mercy is compassion on someone based on their need in spite of their deserving it.

I love the film “Les Miserables”(pronounced “ley mis erab”). It is about a criminal named “Jean Valjean” whom although paroled, was rejected by society and one day found his way into a church. He introduced himself as convict yet the bishop welcomed him, gave him food and was asked to rest in a room. Seeing all the silver utensils he’s using during dinner, he bagged all of them but was caught by the bishop which Jean punched in the eye and then left the place that midnight. The next day a group of policemen came to the church and with them was Jean Valjean. They dragged Jean back to the bishop upon seeing the silver utensils which he claimed were given to him by the bishop. To their surprise, the bishop with his left eye still swelling, told them that he really gave those silvers to Jean and exclaimed why Jean forgot the silver candlesticks too! Calling his maid, the bishop asked her to bring the two large silver candlesticks and in the sight of all, he put them in the sack along with the silver utensils Jean had stolen. After the police left, Jean still astonished, asked the bishop why he did it to him. The bishop, handling Jean the sack of fortune looked into his eyes and said, “Jean my brother, you no longer belongs to evil. With these silvers I have bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred, now; I give you back to God.” That incident transformed Jean’s life and later became a force for good showing mercy to countless people.

Honestly speaking, “mercy” is a word used to be alien to my heart, not that I am a-grossly-indifferent-person but because the word mercy is a virtue which you can truly share only when you experienced it. When I became a Christian, the first thing I fully understand was that, God is a holy and righteous God. In my desire to please God I decided to obey all the rules I know. As an employee in Nestle before, I understand that you are to work 8 hours and allowed with 10 minutes coffee break and 20 minutes meal break. While at work where I was a mechanic I will try to fill those 8 hours by sweeping the floor, painting anything I see ugly and watching the line in standing position even though I feel so sleepy. During our 10 or 20 minutes break, I will try not to exceed so I would run my way from our department to the canteen only to be caught up in a long line of hundred hungry workers and before I starts sipping my coffee 8 minutes had already passed by. I did all those attempts for 1 week and then surrendered. I realised I cannot rigidly obey all the rules to feel “righteous” and so a dark cloud seemed to hang over my life because deep inside I believed I failed God. How can I please God? What followed was a thorough study of the law and grace and as I progress, I felt truly redeemed because I begun to understand the grace and mercy of God. I fully realised that by nature man is truly wicked, has no capability to change for good and truly deserves hell yet God so love mankind. I realised that when I accepted Christ as my Lord and Saviour I was given the “RIGHT” to become his son. I realised that “righteousness” is a “STATUS”, a state that a wicked man cannot attain on his own but it is a “STATUS” freely given to anyone who will come to Him and surrender his life. And when a man is in that STATE, God will give him His Holy Spirit to empower him for life. Now I understand that this blessing stems only from God’s mercy and as I mature, I begin to treat everyone the way God treated me. I am not perfect, yet, the mercy of God that I received made me realised that we must see others the way God sees us; “a lost soul that needs mercy.”

GOD DESIRES THAT EACH OF US NEEDS TO BE MERCIFUL TO MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE. MERCY IS A GREAT VIRTUE THAT BREAKS THE CYCLE OF RETRIBUTION FOR OFFENCES RECEIVED AT THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO HATE US. IS SOMEONE WAITING FOR YOUR MERCY BUT YOU FEEL INCAPABLE TO GIVE? JUST REMEMBER THE LOVING-KINDNESS OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE, IT WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE.

Smile 

Ptr Roger

DO YOU LONG TO SEE GOD?

MEDITATION:

Our beatitude for today is something that many Christians seem to take for granted. As I see it, the desire to see God thrills many but the condition to meet that makes them hesitate. Looking inside, they see their imperfections that make them dismiss the pursuit to see God.

As a new born Christian, I learned about the Holy Spirit Baptism. Most of those who experienced it told their encounter in a very dramatic and emotional way. I also read stories of some great Christian leaders and as they detailed their experience, a common experience surfaces, they felt the power of God like a lightning bolt or electric current that made some physically convulsed and spoke in other tongues. That thrilled me and made me wonder how I could have it so I went to Philippine Christian Bookstore in Manila and look for a book. After awhile, I saw a booklet authored by Jimmy Swaggart entitled “How to be baptized in the Holy Spirit” so I bought it and went home. With a bottle of coke and grains of peanut, I begun to read it to unlock the key in receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit and to my surprise, the conditions asked were simply, “you must be a Christian and desires to be baptized”! I thought before that you need to be fully mature and blameless to receive it but here it doesn’t say so. So I get up and went to our room and told my wife, “if you hear something inside, don’t open the door because I am going to pray”, to which she simply ignored me. As I sat on the side of the bed I remembered what my sister Mayie told me that “you need to sing to the Lord and asks Him to come” which I did and after almost an hour I was truly crying not because I sensed God presence but because my hands were shaking and tiring and nothing’s happening. I then said, “Lord ngawit na ngawit na ako, gusto kong mabaptize”, and I continued to sing and pray then suddenly the power of the Lord came, starting at the tip of my left hand fingers down to my body. Oh it was so glorious I couldn’t help but to cry and convulsed and to my surprise, without any effort, I saw my tongue began to speak something I couldn’t understand. What followed was a vision of Christ hanging on the cross and the thought that this very experience was received by the early disciples two thousand years ago. I guess I was there crying, praising God and speaking in tongues for another hour and as I went out of the room my wife told me that I was truly making a very loud noise that sent the dogs in the neighborhood howled furiously! That whole night I was not able to sleep, my heart’s desire was to pray, pray, pray and yes praying became a delight not a toil.

    Did I say I saw God that night? No, I simply felt His wonderful presence in my whole being but no glorious physical appearance whatsoever happened that night. Being a new Christian, that experience made me long for God’s physical manifestation, but I failed. As I grow in my Christian life I begin to understand the nature of God. God is a spirit and no way could flesh like us see Him in His true state. Jesus said the pure in heart will see God. God reveals himself to us thru His word. God is true and ever present whether you physically see Him or not. God cannot be seen by our naked eye because He is bigger than anything our naked eye could see. During Jesus earthly ministry, He was so astonished that Israel who supposed to know God rejected Him and the word He was saying to them. They couldn’t recognize who Jesus truly is. Is He from God or He is just a man or is He a lunatic? They seek for physical signs that will connect Jesus to God. What was the real problem with these Israelites who doubts Jesus? THEY WERE NOT PURE IN HEART. What they have is religion and not true relationship with God. They did not really have the intention to obey and love God from their heart that is why they cannot understand and recognized God and Jesus. Jesus claimed that He speaks what He only hears from the Father and yet these people who claimed to be of God could not understand Jesus. That is why Jesus said,

John 5:37And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41"I do not accept praise from men, 42but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44How can you believe if you … make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?

GOD TAKES ALL THE INITIATIVE TO REVEAL HIMSELF TO YOU BECAUSE AS YOU BEGIN TO SEE GOD, YOUR LIFE WILL BE BLESSED. YOU WILL BEGIN TO SEE WHY YOU ARE HERE ON EARTH. YOU WILL BEGIN TO SEE THE TRUE WAY TO CONDUCT YOUR LIFE THAT WILL BRING YOU PEACE AND JOY. IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT THAT YOU READ THIS BEATITUDE FOR TODAY; GOD INTENDED IT. ALL YOU NEED TO DO TO START THIS WONDERFUL JOURNEY OF SEEING GOD IS TO “BE PURE IN HEART”. IT IS NOT PERFECTION, IT IS SIMPLY A “PURE DESIRE AND INTENTION” TO KNOW HIM, OBEY HIM AND LOVE HIM.

GETZ MO BA?

Smile :)

Ptr. Roger.

PAGTAMA ANG PANANAW TAMA ANG GALAW

Meditation:

Isang gabi, nagising ang isang lalaki at nagpalipas ng saglit na oras sa terrace ng kanyang bahay. Habang siya ay nakaupo, napagtuonan niya ng pansin ang dalawang nanlilisik na liwanag sa itaas ng puno, sa pagitan ng mga sanga, na tila titig na titig sa kanya. Biglang nabuo sa isip niya na ito ay ang malaking ibon na laging sumisira ng kanyang pananim. Sumilakbo galit niya at patakbong kinuha ang kanyang shotgun at pinag babaril ang “ibon”. Ngunit naubos ang bala niya at napansin niyang hindi man lang natigatig ang “ibon” at ng kanyang suriing mabuti, ito pala ay dalawang bituin sa kalangitan dumudungaw lang sa likod ng mga sanga.

Sabi ni Christ sa verse 34, Our eye is what makes our life brighter or darker; gloomier or happier. It is how we see things that dictate our mood. If you look at things or life situation positively, then, no matter how bad it is, you will find reason to be happy. Tayo ay pinapayuhan ni Christ na SIGURADUHING ang nasa atin ay liwanag dahil ito ang magdidikta ng uri ng ating buhay.

Naputol ang isang daliri ko sa isang aksidente sa Nestle at habang ako ay nagpapagaling sa loob ng tatlong buwan lagi akong malungkot. Pakiramdam ko ay iba na ako; hindi na normal gaya ng dati. Isang araw habang pauwi ako, muntik ng mabundol ng minamaneho kong owner jeep ang isang PASIPOL-SIPOL na lumpong tumatawid ng daan. Biglang nangusap ang Panginoon sa akin sa pagkakataong iyon dahil narito, isang taong putol ang dalawang paa hanngang hita, unano, pangit ang mukha, nakasakay sa kudradong table na may bearing na gulong at nangungubra ng huweteng. Napuna ko na sa lahat ng aspeto ng buhay lamang ako sa taong ito. Mas pogi ako sa kanya, kapiraso lang ang putol ng daliri, at least jeep ang sasakyan at taga Nestle! Pero eto kitang kita siyang mas masayang nabubuhay kaysa sa akin.

MALUNGKOT KA BA SA BUHAY MO AT HINDI NAKOKONTENTO? MARAMI KA BANG PROBLEMA KAYA KA MALUNGKOT?

Isang bagay ang natutunan ko, hindi ang aking situwasyon o ang mga taong nasa paligid ang dapat magdikta ng saya ng aking buhay; ITO AY ANG AKING PANANAW. PAGTAMA ANG PANANAW, MAGIGING TAMA ANG GALAW; LALAYAS ANG PANGLAW.

Ngiti naman jan at Meri Christmas sa iyo.

Smile :)

Ptr Roger

FEELING EMPTY?

TEXT: Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

MEDITATION:

What drives your life? What is your ultimate concern in life?

The lavish lifestyles of the rich and famous really amaze me. I hope you know Elvis Presley; the rock n roll superstar of the 60’s.

It is noted that he followed after, not only materials, but sensuality of all kind. And in his hey-day it is said that $5 million was his yearly income. Five million dollars, now that was a wee while ago. And in his first two years of stardom he had an overturn of $100 million. It is said of him that he had three jets, he had two Cadillacs, he had a Rolls-Royce, he had a Lincoln Continental, a Buick and a Chrysler station wagon, a Jeep, a dune buggy, a converted bus and three motorbikes. His most favourite car was the famous 1960 Cadillac Limousine model. The top of it was veneered and covered in pearl, literal pearl, white veneer. The body all around it was sprayed with forty coats of specially prepared paint that included within it crushed diamonds and fish-scales. Nearly all the metal trimmings around that car were plated in 18-carat gold. Inside the car there were two gold covered telephones; a gold vanity case containing a gold electric razor, gold hair-clippers, electric shoe-buffer; a gold-plated television; a record player; an amplifier; air-conditioning and a refrigerator that was capable of making ice in two minutes solid.

Whew! But what amazes me most is that in spite of the fortune these rich and famous have, it is quite obvious that all of them crave for” something” to fill their life. Like Elvis, all of them first tried to fill the longings of their flesh hoping that one day that satisfaction will come; that vacuum in their life will be filled. Then one day, after many years of indulging in all sensuality, he was found dead in his bathroom soaked in his own vomit. The real cause of death, a cocktail of ten prescribed drugs, taken in doses no doctor would prescribe.

In our beatitude for today, Jesus message is simple; your life will be filled if you hunger and thirst for righteousness. That empty space in our life is in the realm of our spirit that only God can fill. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”, Jesus is telling us that above anything else we must not forget to take the Word of God to nourish our life that is why He also said in John 6:63 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.”

AGAIN MAY I ASK, WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE CONCERN IN LIFE? I PRAY THAT TODAY YOU MAY REALIZE, LIKE WHAT JESUS SAID, THE LONGINGS OF OUR FLESH “COUNTS FOR NOTHING.” BY “FLESH” I MEAN ALL THE LONGINGS OF OUR PHYSICAL SENSES. IT WILL LEAD YOU TO NOTHING; IT WON’T FILL YOUR LIFE. WHILE ON EARTH THE LORD WILL FILL ALL OUR NEEDS IF WE WILL TRUST HIM BUT ABOVE ALL, GOD WILL FILL OUR LIFE WITH TRUE JOY AND HAPPINESS IF WE HUNGER FOR HIM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

DO YOU FEEL EMPTY TODAY? WELL, COME TO JESUS RIGHT NOW, HURRY!

Smile :)

Ptr Roger

DO YOU WANT POWER?

TEXT: Mark 12:22 "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen; it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

MEDITATION:

As a kid I frequented the house of my aunt in our barangay since she was the only one who has TV at that time and why, because of “Batman and Superman”. Those superheroes captivated me so much and many used to see me wearing a cloth tied around my neck to mimic Batman or Superman running, shouting and jumping from trees, windows and fences, chasing imaginary enemies and crushing them down. Oh the rush of having incredible power!!!

I guess you can relate to what I am saying because if there is one thing that man longs for, it is “power”. How we wish we have that awesome power acquiring anything at the flip of our fingers. Christians are no exemption and many, when they came to know the Lord and read the text above, desire to have that power in the form of “faith that can move mountains”.

One thing for sure, Jesus is not enticing us to desire incredible power. His desire is that we may come to that “state” of having a 100% assurance of God’s will. You see, I am sure many Christians believe that with God nothing is impossible; it is not the problem . The problem is, thoughts like, “will He do it, will He do it to me, will He do it to me NOW”. When someone is sick, he believes that God can heal and that is too easy for Him but the question to the sick person is, “is He willing to heal me” or “maybe God send this as punishment or a form of trial to my faith”. You see, as always, the enemy of faith is doubt or confusion. The word faith simply means 100% assurance. If faith is present in your heart then you are 100% assured that the things in the future are yours already. As Morris Cerullo defined it, he said, “faith is like saying, I know that I know that I know that I know that it will happen”. Our heart is like a garage that can only park one car. If faith is parked then doubt is outside and rest assured that if doubt is parked, faith is not there.

HOW CAN YOU HAVE THAT 100% ASSURANCE WHICH WE CALLED FAITH?

1. FAITH COMES AS A GIFT

Smith Wigglesworth was an evangelist gifted by God with incredible ministry of signs and wonder. One day his friend died and after he prayed he went to the church where his friend was laid in a coffin. He entered the church in an unusual way, singing loudly and greeting peoples around like a politician in a campaign. As he reached the coffin where his friend was lying he grabbed his dead friends’ coffin and slammed it into a wall and shouted, “In Jesus name you come to life!” Nothing happened and so he shouted again and did it seven times and after a while his dead friend moved and was brought back to life! How did he do that? Well God said so! Smith was so assured that he heard the voice of God telling him to bring back his friend to life. And I am very sure that if God will tell me or you to do the same thing then WE CAN DO IT TOO! Why? That is a manifestation of “faith imparted as a gift!” You will be assured by God that it is His will to bring back to life that dead person, otherwise, you cannot just go to the burial of someone and grab the dead’s neck and tell him to come to life because you are doomed for embarrassment. (Well I am sure you just can’t do that “mission impossible thing” through your guts alone, hmmm...can you?).

2. FAITH COMES AS A FRUIT.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Faith also comes to a Christian as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. What does it mean? Like a tree, a Christian will soon bear in his life these nine Godly characters which are called fruits. One of these is faith. The Holy Spirit is like a gardener to a Christian. As a Christian feed his life with word of God then the Holy Spirit put the desire and the capability to do the will of God. As the Christian hear and obey God through His word then it will result IN a deep knowledge of who God is and what are His wills. You will also be sensitive to the voice of God and yes there can be manifestations of miracles too.

One night after our church prayer meeting, a mother with her adult daughter came to my house. The mother said, “pastor masakit ang tiyan ng anak ko eh ikaw lang ang bumili ng kendi sa tindahan kanina. “Palalawayan” ko sana sa iyo kasi sigurado akong nausog mo siya”. As a pastor, I know such practice is evil and a deception, but here, an old woman with a daughter holding out her stomach screaming from pain is asking you for a small amount of your saliva!!! I did a shotgun prayer and said, “Lord anu gagawin ko dito?” Then the Lord instantly reminded me to stand on the truth and just pray for deliverance. Then I said to the old woman who kept on insisting for “my saliva”, “nanay, kung laway ang talagang kelangan ng anak mo eh kahit isang tabong laway ko bibigyan kita, pero hindi po ako naniniwala diyan. Ipapanalangin ko po siya sa Diyos at siya ay gagaling”. Disappointed, the old woman looked at me sadly and said, “bahala ka,…laway lang eh…”. So I instantly prayed a very short prayer of deliverance and that the Lord fulfills His word and then the daughter suddenly exclaimed, “nanay, biglang nawala sakit!” Yes, she was instantly healed and they went home that night happily I was so happy too because after I stand in faith on the truth of God’s word miracles happened.

Faith as a fruit also manifests in a life of righteousness, peace and joy. Only a person who knows well that  everything is possible to God can truly live a life of peace and joy.

FAITH ASSURES YOU, DOUBT CONFUSES YOU. WHICH OF THESE TWO DOMINATES YOUR HEART? IF DOUBT DOMINATES YOUR HEART, IT’S JUST A SIGN THAT MANY WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT GOD ARE STILL HIDDEN FROM YOUR HEART. READ YOUR BIBLE MORE; SEEK HIS FACE MORE! AND IF YOU HUMBLY ADMIT THAT YOU STILL DON’T HAVE FAITH, WELL THERE IS GOOD NEWS; FAITH COMES!

Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God”.

Smile :)

Ptr Roger