The Strength of God

Most of us live in a nation that is not at war. And though some nations may be at war with other nations, or perhaps experiencing civil war in some areas, the rest of us who are far away from the actual battlegrounds hardly feel the turmoil and danger of battle.

I love reading the book of Psalms. I love King David. I want to be like him. A huge part of his life was lived in the tension of battle. We live in a time when most countries have agreed to the primacy of maintaining peace. Thus we have the United Nations. We have international laws that promote peace and international amity. And this is all good.

Glory-Wed

Reposted from Wordpress

“what is yours is mine, and mine is yours, please say yes…will you cling to me?” — Please Say Yes, Misty Edwards

As I listened to this song, the things I have been longing for past years came flashing in my mind. A scene of me preaching the Gospel to few and many, miracles at every instance that we ask for them, the conviction of the Holy Spirit falling upon men and women and youth, souls radically delivered, lives saved from emptiness and turned to God. I saw a season so heavenly and powerful, where each believer is so filled the Spirit of God that fear has no hold of them and they preach Jesus at every opportunity, where doubts have no place in their hearts and miracles come at every instance of faith-filled prayer. And the Spirit of God is not boxed or held back by callousness or unbelief, but invades wherever, whenever…
 
And it was like Jesus is saying, if you give me everything you own, you will have access to everything I have. If you want it, come and take it. If we will have a divine exchange, your rags for my glory, are you willing? And it felt as though my Bridegroom has long been waiting for the answer to his wedding proposal. And even as I have so many times said ‘yes,’ he is still waiting for the marriage to be consummated in a complete giving in, a total surrender of my possessions and all that I hold dear, an offering of all my treasures.

It is like that moment when the newly-wed bride in the movie Intolerable Cruelties, rips the pre-nuptial contract into pieces. There comes a shattering of the walls of distrust, the barricade that spells ‘you cannot cross this line and touch these treasured possessions” is suddenly melted by the compelling invitation to be one, to be fragile in his arms, to hold nothing else dear, except His embrace.
What is mine is His, finally. so small a sacrifice. At that moment, the damn of His glory breaks and takes me into its relentless tide. This is Him sharing to me what is His. His glory, and more.

Religion, Indifference and Intimacy

at Magellan's Cross, Apr 2010

Seven months ago, I walked the city where Catholicism first docked, where venerating an image of Jesus was first introduced, and where a deep and widespread culture of religious practices and traditions had started some 490 years ago. Cebu City, the heart of the nation I fiercely love. They say that it is with the heart that we worship God. Thus, Cebu has become associated with worship. And what a man worships, he ultimately becomes. This statement is both amazing and terrifying to ponder on.

Today, I walk a city where landmarks are not limited to tourist hotels, spots with relaxing views of the sea, crab platter, satti and knickerbucker (local fruit salad) food joints -- but public establishments where bombs have exploded, fire had erupted, or where innocent people have been massacred. It is not the violence that scares me though, but the acceptance and indifference that have grown towards the things that normally should grieve the heart.