Tasting His Incredible Grace

Back in Manila and I'm almost raring to jump into my usual groove.

But first things first. I'd like to pause and let you in on God's overflowing grace in our lives these past few weeks:

Grace which allowed us to bond with Lucci and Joel; and be awe-struck lolo and lola to Joaqui and Charlize. They have definitely stolen our hearts again.
Grace to experience the love and hospitality of seldom-seen relatives and friends in Australia, especially my sister Dulce, nephews and nieces and apos from both the Padua and Olmedo clans, and their extended family members. (We rushed from one dining and pasyal experience to the next!)

Grace to be welcomed warmly by Pastor Nomer and Carol Velasco and kind-hearted Christian brothers and sisters at Faith in Christ Fellowship, our spiritual home in NSW; and have awesome back-to-back teaching assignments- "Going Up?" seminar one Saturday, followed the next Sunday by a sharing on God's love which drives all fears away.

Grace to experience His anointing and enabling and the congregation's responsiveness to His Word. Grace to have friends, loved ones and fellow believers praying with us through all these.

Grace to promote and sell all the "Going Up?" books I brought to Down Under.

And it will still be grace hemming us in, covering us, protecting us, giving us strength, ordering our days even as Jack goes back to work; and me to teaching, seminars and writing as I continue to worship and praise God every day of my incredibly grace-filled, joy-filled and peace-filled existence, notwithstanding my inadequacies and oftentimes wobbly spirit.
Oh Jesus, what would life be without you?! You're my all and all and to be in your presence is what I desire all the days of my life!

Cold or Hot

Whew! Sydney temperature gets colder by the day as autumn descends.

It's still comfortable at 22 to 25 degrees C but wait till it gets below 20. My tropical hide would just love it when I'm back in Manila before NSW temperature falls below 15 degrees.

Manila would normally experience 30 degrees this time of year. I don't look forward to that either. Our weathermen predict hotter days as global warming worsens. Doctors warn too of more ailments as the mercury soars.

It's interesting to note that the Lord would say He dislikes either hot or cold. But he's not talking of the weather. He's more concerned about our heart's temperature.

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm- neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Rev. 13:15-16)

Because we get weighed down by a myriad of concerns, our spiritual thermometer falters, soaring or dipping depending on our circumstance.

This morning, He reminded me again as I woke to chilling temperature. "My grace is sufficient for you," as I sought the Lord once more:

Oh Lord, who am I that You would even be concerned about me?

How could you love me so much when I am just a clump of dust?

Why do you put up with me when time and time again I sin against you?

Then came His gentle caring whisper:

I died for you, didn't I? I went to the cross for you and for the rest of sinful humanity.

Because of that, I was willing to overlook your failings! Placed them all under My blood forever!

So fear not. As you have trusted me with your life, I will cover you with my righteousness.

And with that I give you too new grace, new mercies, new blessings. A new heart with which to hear and trust and obey me.

As far as My heart goes, you are a brand new creature waking up everyday to a brand new life.

You've always been brand new in my book ever since you put your trust in Me and let Me hold the reins of your once uncontrollable and calloused heart.

That's how I behold you now as you seek Me with heart ablaze.

Oh Lord, You indeed are worthy of all praise and thanksgiving and worship!

DUST

Have you seen dust with an attitude?

I've discovered that the dust I sweep in the Philippines behaves differently versus dust elsewhere, say dust in Australia.

At first glance both types of dust are the same, but the more you confront the latter, the more sinister it becomes.

You see, the more you allow dust Down Under to lie around, the more gangster-like they become, clumping together, later disguising themselves as cotton balls. Dark but cottony, they tend to rebel and fly off when swept into the dust pan!

Well, I'm no scientist and I'm not about to do more research on why this kind of dust behaves a certain way.

For sure, this choice of topic probably shows you how down-to-earth I've become lately, seeing wisdom in dust and other mundane things as my Aussie days tick.

Quite a reminder of our true nature. We are made of earth- 96 per cent organic matter to be sure. The only difference is we're a bigger clump of dust. And probably with attitudes that suck bigger.

"The Lord formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7)

God's breath in us! That's the only reason we're alive. I often hear our pastor reminding us that man is a spirit in a body, and not the other way around.

But most of the time we forget that, running as far away from God, thinking we could make it on our own without Him. Just like that clump of dust, we hide and indulge in our own sinister ways- in our own dark secret place- little expecting that when the Sweeper sweeps, we would literally be swept off our feet.

God wants us to live in His Spirit and not dictated by this (flesh) clump of dust.

That's why we need to be swept daily with the Holy Spirit's refining yet gentle brush. As we seek Him daily, He exposes our shenanigans, even the littlest.

But it doesn't end there. We get refreshed and cleansed, because He promised to cleanse us of our wrongs. The blood of Jesus does that, if we have surrendered our lives to Him.

Psalm 103:11-12: For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions away from us.

Oh well, as far as God is concerned, we're wonderful dust. And He will not dust us off yet.

Right, Ta and Other Aussie Things

I'm still confused. Will I look right or left first before crossing the street?

After a few days stay in Sydney, I thought I've reoriented myself enough to look right instead of left, until someone called my attention: "You're still looking left first. That's dangerous!"

Oh, one of them Aussie ways!

Why don't governments agree to have cars traveling on the right lane to avoid these confusing driving and street crossing orientations? Better yet, cars could be manufactured with two steering wheels to give drivers the option to drive from wherever they'd be at ease.

I've once in a while suffered panic attacks here, seeing cars on the road with no one on the driver's seat. Multo! (Ghost driver!) Because an Aussie driver's seat is the right side, silly me!

Aussies, it seems, love to short-cut their talk. "You want more milk?" My daughter Lucci asks her little girl. "No ta," Charlize replies. "No thanks," I found out later.

"Uwee" for round-about or rotunda. "Barbi" for barbecue. "Mackers" for McDonald's. "Footy" for football. "Mozzie" for mosquitos. "Chips" for French fries. Up to now, I still have to understand what they're saying or selling in some Aussie commercials.

Aussie politicians? They're really no different from ours. Elections are due next week and Aussie candidates' TV commercials attack competitors' capabilities and personalities rather than tackle issues.

Australians, or at least Aussie media, toe the line of political correctness, referring to husband or wife as partner, apparently not to embarrass those in same-sex or no-marriage relations.

I believe though that this trend is catching fire worldwide; and if Christians don't take a stand,the truth as we know it (an anchor for right living) will pretty soon be eroded by what tickles peoples' ears.

I love Australia's beautiful parks. Anyone can use them (first come, first served), even for parties (but you need to clean whatever you use). Complete with tables and benches, and yes, clean toilets (with tissue paper!) and ample water, they even have barbecue pits (gas-powered, used free). Plus the ubiquitous children's playgrounds with their rubbery-soft floors to cushion toddler bumps.

The Aussie economy is in the pink of health it seems, with the Aussie dollar trading almost one to one US dollar. That's why I'm not so keen on shopping as Charlize (Her face lights up every time you mention "shops.")

I long for my P150 Big Mac, Manila-side. In Sydney, that's more than 400 pesos! Well, I could settle for Mackers chips. Come to think of it, I miss shopping back home.

Walk

I've mostly been talking the talk but not walking the talk as far as my physical health is concerned.

Well, because I'm more at home in the world of words. It's words words words from my rising to my lying down. From praying to reading, writing, thinking, typing, researching, blogging, storytelling, teaching, singing, etc. Not to mention chika-ing, telephoning, complaining (oops!). That's a lot already, don't you think?

I've talked and planned a lot about going into some physical fitness program but never got to doing it.

I begged Opal, our daughter-in-law, to go find a buyer for my hardly-used exercise machine and she did, hallelujia- to my hubby's raised eyebrows. So you see, my big talk about exercising never resulted into anything.

"Busy!" has been my convenient excuse for not engaging in my almost lost battle with the bulge. Uh, I'm not really doing that bad because I've followed someone's suggestion to fidget often, and that would do the trick. So fidgeting is what I do a lot of.

After dinner, I choose not to sit while watching TV, rushing to the toilet to brush my teeth or perform my skin-care rituals (this I cannot do without!) when commercials intruded. Couple that with some morning stretches and I feel I'm good to go.

But back in Sydney now with my daughter, and having made washing dishes and floor sweeping as my convenient excuse- er, exercise substitute, Lucci finally growled, "You have to exercise Mother!"

And so I did. I'm really quite teachable, you know. I did promise (words again, see!) to do it regularly, even boasting to Lojack (that's how our grandson Joaqui calls his grandfather) that when he finally comes to Sydney next month, I will be his jog-mate.

Jack's excited no end. I don't know if it's about the prospect that he would be on vacation and could therefore walk more often, or because he learned that I'm finally walking. (Didn't I tell you yet that he once did a 42-K marathon? No kidding!)

So these photos are a testament that I've finally walked my talk. If Charlize can do it, so could I. Charlize, our granddaughter, by the way, turned four last month. Oh, and she too has a way with words. But that's another story.

Under the Lens

Celebrity shenanigans.

Think Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan et al. Paparazzi are probably on their heels come rain or shine so their every misstep gets to be frozen in images broadcast, Facebooked or emailed daily to a celebrity-crazed world.

Well, at least that’s what I see on Australian television nowadays. The former has been the hottest item in the past four days, competing with the tons of reviews on the worst and best-dressed at the Oscars, along with the racist and anti-Semitic remarks of fashion empire Dior’s creative director John Galliano.

Sheen seems to have been booted out of his widely-viewed TV sitcom. Just this morning, networks and talk shows buzzed of his twin babies being taken out of his custody.

Too, commentators discussed a possible earnings loss of $40 million for ace golfer Tiger Woods because of the scandals and the aftermath of his womanizing ways.

What’s your first impulse to buzz like these?

Raised eyebrows? Indifference?

“Good for him, he deserves it!”

“These guys talk of an earnings loss of $40 million. Hello, he’s still rich even if!”

“Here they go again, cocaine-sniffing celebrities! When will they ever learn?”

I’ve probably responded with most of the above, shaking my head and dismissing these “types” as something out of my moral league.

Come to think of it, they’re so rich and famous and yet so damaged. Makes you realize that money and fame don’t make a man. They expose one’s real nature. What if I were in their shoes?

But instead of being sorry and praying for them, I have most of the time behaved like a pharisee− condemning, judgmental and self-righteous to a T.

These celebs get all the flak because they’re under the lens. You’d also be paranoid when paparazzi descend on you like vultures even in your supposed yawning or burping episodes. They’re guys out to make a buck.

As for the networks and publications− it’s simply about high ratings and newsstand sales. Money surely makes their world go round. And what vicious no-mercy go-round it makes.

There’s no excuse for their motives either.

But imagine those cameras endlessly trailing us too. Because whether we like it or not, a paparazzo lens of another kind is permanently trained on us likewise. We can’t hide from it. And it’s spelled with a capital P.

THE PAPA-razzo, Father God with His all-knowing, ever-present, ever-probing lens.

Magnifier so powerful, it scans even the heart and the brain, perceiving every thought, word, desire, plan, envy, lust, fear, worry, even deceits and schemes before they spew forth from our mouths.

While the buck-motivated small "papa" captures only the externals, with our PAPA-razzi, nothing is ever a secret, even our heartaches, pains and longing to be disentangled from bad habits which have led us to thorny paths− perhaps the very same prison these celebrities want to desperately break free from.

That’s why it’s stupid of me to raise an eyebrow on others while they too can raise theirs on my failings− if they knew my insides.

No wonder Jesus said (John 8) to those who were pursuing a woman caught in adultery, “If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” No one dared.

Turning to the woman, he asked, “Where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she replied.

“Then, neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Let’s pray these celebs seek Jesus. He will surely pursue them.

Shaking

Harrowing.

That’s the only way Pinky could describe her Christchurch, New Zealand, experience.

Pinky is one among hundreds of Australians who got caught in the intesity 6.3 tremor which reduced this beautiful city to a rubble recently.

I last saw Pinky when she visited Manila a few weeks back with her husband Bob (eldest son of my sister Dulce) and son Timothy. Upon reaching Sydney, she and her sister Gina, also a Sydney resident, soon after flew to Christchurch to visit their brother Ron--- confined in a hospital for an emergency operation. He just finished an English course along with other Filipino nurses.

Then it happened. As they were preparing to go back to Sydney, the quake hit. Rushing back to the hospital, the siblings awaited the worst, constantly praying, running towards Ron--- still on his hospital bed, and hugging each other, with every aftershock.

The six-story CTV school which Ron attended was flattened like a deck of cards, with those on the fifth floor scampering off the building as if from its ground floor. Some of those still trapped under enormous piles of concrete and wood and steel are Filipino students who have pinned their hopes on making New Zealand their future home someday.

Search crews have not yet given up. To this day, both local and foreign rescuers continue to dig, bit by tiny bit, making sure that those still alive could be scooped out alive. Australian television continues to report increasing death tolls, more than 140 at this writing, showing a city mourning and mangled to its core; yet hopeful that a rebound is the only way to go from here.

Pinky and Gina were more fortunate. They were back with their families in Sydney in due time, courtesy of Australian army planes. It is comforting to note that in their new-found home, the government prioritized the welfare of its citizens above anything else. They deplaned to a host of doctors and nurses, social workers, blankets, food and water, and loved ones thankful for their miracle.

"People have experienced what is known as a reality rip, where everything we are confident and secure about is suddenly ripped open and unsettled--- it makes us wonder what we can count on," remarked University of Auckland head of sociology Dr Tracey McIntosh. He expects a lot of people to leave New Zealand.

This episode makes you wonder too. Where could one really go when the earth shakes or the torrents come or the blizzards raze with their deathly sting ?

We've had our fair share of earthquakes and super typhoons in the Philippines. Chile, Haiti, Japan, Indonesia, China, U.S.A. These countries have experienced them too, and in increasing numbers. Those once immune from disasters wonder why they're getting hit more often now. Scientists and environmentalists have explained the reasons why: The earth's ring of fire, global warming, etc.

But what about wars and rumors of wars? Local revolts seem the Middle East's daily fare from Algeria to Yemen. Iranian and North Korean nuclear threats have always bedeviled the super powers.

These shouldn't surprise us. Matthew 24 talks of these as the beginning of birth pains just like a woman in labor. Along with these, an increase in lawlessness and famines in many places.

Because of these, Jesus says that the love of many will grow cold. Many too will fear. That's the bad news.

The good news is this: God is still in control and He wants to give comfort to those whose hearts are fainting. "Come to me all of you who are weary and heavy laden, for I will give you rest," says Jesus.

Your life may be bottoming out. Your ground may be shaky. A dreaded disease might be consuming you or your loved one. You may have lost everything because of a disaster or a bad decision. Your life may have long been broken and in the dumps because of some family dysfunction.

But His love assures us: He will protect. He will provide. He will heal. He will restore. He will give you wisdom. He will be your Rock. And on that rock, you can stand secure, no matter the circumstance.

Oh Jesus, thank you that you are my Lord. And Lord of everything in my life, therefore I will not fear anything because you are the Rock of my salvation.