Baggages

During our recent trip to Cebu for the pastors and workers' conference, going back to Iloilo was a learning experience for me. As we went to the pier to get aboard the ship going to Iloilo, security had to inspect all our things for deadly weapons. As I was passing through the metal detector, it kept beeping on me! The guard won't let me pass through until there was no more beep. So I had to remove my cellphone...then my coins and keys...lastly, my belt that had a metal buckle. Finally, the detector went silent after I removed all the metal objects attached to me. The lesson: Don't carry too much metal on my next trip.

Sometimes in our walk with the Lord we carry too much extra baggage. This can come in different forms like bad habits, bitterness, or anxiety. But it can also come in good packaging such as activities that don't really help us stay focused on God's call upon our lives. Sometimes good things become the enemies of the best things that God has for us. Let's seek the Lord for His perfect will for our lives and lay down anything that can hinder us from running our race. - RJ Alobba

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” - Hebrews 12:1

UseLESs rUsH

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." - Ephesians 5:15-16


Recently, I had to rush some errands for my office and I didn't have a lot of time in my hands since I decided to do it on my lunch break. I had to go to the mall to buy lunch, get a staple gun, swing to the other office to drop some supplies, pick up the laptop the company issued me, and go back to my office. All this has to happen in one hour.

12:00:01...12:00:02...12:00:03...12:00:04...

The following occurs between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M.

Preparing to rush out the door, I picked up the plastic bag that I thought were the supplies I needed to deliver. I got to the mall parking lot and I took a good look at the bag -- it was the wrong one, since I picked up the plastic bag containing the trash instead! I then had to go to plan B.

12:59:57...12:59:58...12:59:59...01:00:00

In the world we live in today, things are rushing. Even on this remote island in the Philippines were I live in, things are already starting to be fast-paced. Life just keeps demanding, doesn't it? Still, we are called to be wise people. We Christians live by a higher standard and we live by faith. No matter what happens, let's take time to wait on the Lord, to pray over things, and to make decisions based on a Biblical world view, and not the view the world tries to plunge down our throats.

RJ
Iloilo City, Philippines

The Juggler

I've read somewhere about how jugglers maintain their juggling. A juggler can juggle items, say balls, and probably as many as seven will keep flying over and over as he juggles them with his hand. He doesn't drop them. The secret? The juggler doesn't focus on just one of the balls. He focuses on the highest point. As high as a ball can reach, that's where he fixes his eyes on. And that's why he doesn't drop the balls.

The Bible commands us Christians, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2, New International Version) What's higher than Jesus? Nothing. Let's keep our eyes on Him, and just when you think you're falling, He catches you.

The Sandy Highway

Editor's note: I originally wrote this for a friend. Now I'm posting it publicly.

“For who has despised the day of small things?” – Zechariah 4:10

The desert is a place where the path is not so clearly defined. It’s a place only God can take you through, for he made pathways where there is none.

Contents

• How to know you’re in the desert
• What to do in the desert
• Don’t stay in the desert
• Time to go, take the Promised Land!

How to know you’re in the desert

The Israelites came out of Egypt going towards the Promised Land via the desert highway, which is invisible. They wandered around for 40 years in the wilderness, since they were disobedient and complaining (Ps. 95:10). The primary characteristic of the desert is the dryness of the environment. The secondary characteristic is the absence of borders and landmarks.

Dryness is the ultimate test of faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God… man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God. The food and thirst drive will always test the faith of the one from whom food is absent. The Israelites were provided for miraculously by manna. Water came out of the rock miraculously. When our faith is tested in the area of provision, this is one indication that we are indeed in a dry desert.

Liberty is one thing that we as Christians possess as joint heirs with Christ. All things are lawful, though not everything is good (1 Cor. 6:12). I won’t elaborate on this, but simply make this point: In the dry desert is freedom. Yes, there is a balance to all the dryness out there. No walls, no ceiling, no floor. Just open space. But of course, you can always build your tent. Each day has a miracle of provision in the desert life. Planting and harvesting are not suitable. This you learn to do in the Promised Land.

What to do in the desert

The desert is definitely not the place to shop. The purpose of the desert is training. “Temporary” is written all over the desert, if it has signposts. The desert is not the place to stay. It is the place to grow, the place to learn, and the place to be purified.

The Israelites had to learn a hard lesson in faith and trust. They also had to learn to leave the ways of Egypt behind. And the tests they went through separated those who will inherit the Promised Land and those who won’t. In one generation, only two passed the test – Joshua and Caleb. All the rest were from the second generation, the ones born in the desert.

Biblical examples of people prepared by God in the desert, or in a wilderness setting include Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, Moses, Elijah, and David.

The desert is God’s season of preparation. Passing through it will increase faith, mature the spirit, and produce iron-core patience.

The desert is the place to live by faith. Trusting God for your daily needs may be the hardest and most constant test of all. Living on the edge never has been easy, and this is the place to trust God in extreme circumstances. Know that God is always present, even in our lapses of faith, or acts of foolishness. Faith and foolishness are next door neighbors, and we at times find ourselves falling over the fence into the neighbor’s backyard.

Don’t stay in the desert

The desert is not the place of permanence. One dangerous thing about the desert is not that it’s hard, but when one gets used to it, it can become a comfort zone. Personally I was comfortable in my desert. Things were going so well, it seems. But it was time to leave. I didn’t want to leave. I liked the desert. The desert was my home (Beware of that thought!) It was time to move on, and God had to make me realize that over time. Looking back, I can see what could have been – but it’s just too late. Now that I’m out of the desert, it’s time to move on.

One battle that one must fight is the battle against Amalek. Amalek is a type of the flesh. Our flesh likes comfort. But giving in to it would be destructive. Israel had to deal with Amalek years later, in the story of Esther. The whole nation was almost wiped out by one Amalekite named Haman.

Time to go, take the Promised Land!

Battles have been fought. The flesh has been crucified. It’s time to take the Promised Land. The doors fling wide open into a new season in your life.

A few things to remember. The Promised Land doesn’t have manna raining everyday. The manna ceased on the day after Israel had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan (Joshua 5:12). It is the place to plant and harvest. It’s the place to work hard for your daily needs. But it is the place that one can have abundance that he never had in the desert. Another thing to remember is that the Promised Land has landmarks and borders. It is time to live in society as it really is. You’ll realize that not everyone can be trusted, and every major decision has to be thought through. There’s a certain level of responsibility in this.

The Promised Land is a land of hills, valleys, battles, and walls of Jericho that need to be brought down flat. Never neglect prayer, especially in major decisions as Joshua did in Ai (Joshua 7). But the Promised Land is also a place of victory.

May you walk victoriously, walking in the Spirit as you take your Promised Land!

Slapping Water

When I was taking my Inductive Bible Study class, I once heard a pastor tell a story of a man who wanted to be a Shaolin fighting monk.

He went to Tibet to train with the masters of Shaolin. The first thing they did was to give him a bucket filled to the brim with water and told him, "Slap the water with your right and left hands, one hand at a time, alternating the right and the left, until the bucket is emptied of water. And when the bucket is empty, fill it again with water up to the brim and do the same thing. You are to do this all day long." And so he did. The next day, they gave him the same task.

A week had passed. Same task.

A month had passed. Same task.

A year had passed. Same task. Within this time frame he was able to ask, "When do I get to learn to do the awesome moves? The flying and all?" The Shaolin master patiently said, just keep slapping water.

Two years had passed. Same task. Now he can take a vacation and be with his family for a while.

Frustrated. Angry. Disappointed. He felt deceived.

As he went home, his family and friends prepared a banquet for him. They were celebrating his coming home for a visit. As they were feasting, somebody asked him, "So, how was your Shaolin training?" When he heard that, he could no longer hold his anger and frustration. He got up and said angrily, "I learned nothing! All they did was make me slap water everyday. That's all I did!" He was still boiling with anger and in his rage he slapped the food table where all his family and friends were seated -- a table about a foot thick. Suddenly, the table split in two. Someone exclaimed, "The stories are true!"

And that's how it is with us sometimes. God gives us daily tasks. We get tired of them. Bored with morning Bible devotions? Bored with school? With work? Don't be discouraged. You'll be breaking tables soon with one hand. =)

In the Promised Land

There are differences between living in the desert and the promised land. No, I'm not talking about water. I'm talking about borders. Boundaries. Landmarks. Yes, even fences. The difference between the desert and the promised land is in the visibility of perimeters. These things keep us in check and keep us on the right track. Though there are boundaries in the desert, the promised land seems to be the place where they are most emphasized. This is part of keeping a good witness for Christ to the world. So what are boundaries? Here are some examples:

1. Skin - yes, boundaries start with your body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are not your own if you're a Christian. Let there not even be a hint of sexual immorality. Don't let your body be abused either by you or others.

2. Words - learn when to say "yes" and when to say "no". And let your yes be yes, and your no, no.
3. Time - manage your time effectively. You'll only have one chance in this. The past is something you can never get back to.
4. Space - physically separate yourself from harmful situations and relationships when necessary.

Yes, the wilderness is over. You're in the promised land now. Keep your boundaries well.

In the Desert

The desert is a place of dryness and weariness. But it is also the place where we can develop our full potential in Christ. In the Bible, the desert is a picture of God's seasons of preparation. Moses was prepared to lead Israel out of Egyptian slavery by becoming a man of the desert. John the Baptist grew up in the desert before preparing the way of the Lord Jesus. Paul the apostle stayed in Arabia after he received the revelation of God's Son.




There are key things to remember when you're in a Christian desert experience:

1. God is with you.
2. God is using the desert to prepare your character for greater service for Christ.
3. The desert won't always "feel" right.
4. Don't stay there forever. When God leads the way out, go for it.