Seeking Shelter

I hang on to every word, every promise, as we pored over Psalm 91.

This I did (with our bible study group of nine) while Jack painted metaphors of Jesus being our fortress and our place of safety in our prayer meeting last night.

And this while typhoon Mina---said to linger for about a week and therefore cause more damage---threatened to batter northern Luzon; and hurricane Irene endlessly analyzed by CNN to bring havoc in New York and neighboring cities just like Hollywood would portray it in a disaster movie.

Psalm 91 is such a shelter for hearts constantly battered by fear. But to experience peace in the middle of the storm is not as easy as psyching yourself to stay calm, "Peace, all will be well."

Experiencing peace is a big IF. The key is not our prayer or trusting that prayer can move mountains. (But yes, we must pray because He desires humility, signifying our faith and dependence on Him.)

The answer is: Jesus, Lord of all creation.

"If you make the most high your dwelling---even the Lord who is my refuge---then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." (Psalm 91:9-11)

For He is the most High (v. 1)! The most high God is our creator, the great God, the Almighty!

So if Jesus is our dwelling place and shelter, we can rest under His shadow.

"I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust (v. 2).' "

Dengue, HIV, H1N1, cancer, diabetes, coronary disease. You name it! If it's not dreaded disease, it's earthquake or hurricane or tsunami. Or drought and famine, like those decimating Africa where thousands die of hunger and malnutrition daily.

Add to that the wars and rumors of wars experienced right now in Syria, Libya and other middle east countries; and shades of those as Israel and more developed nations contend with almost invisible terrorists from the left and right of the political spectrum---those who inflict damage and sow terror with their lightning speed bombings or killings in seemingly well-guarded or policed urban areas.

Because of these, people's hearts are fainting! Panic pervades though unseen.

"Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

"You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday." (v. 3-6)

If we love Him, promised the Lord, He will rescue us.

"I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my SALVATION." (v.14-16)

How is this so? The lyricists of this song assure us:

"You are God alone
From before time began
You were on your throne
You are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on your throne
You are God alone

"Unchangeable
Unshakable
Unstoppable
That's what You are!"

Jesus. Who can come against Him?

If God spared nothing to save us---to the point of Jesus dying on the cross to give us eternal life and reconcile us to the Father---will He not freely give us all things including the safety and peace we so crave for everyday?

Flaunt the Truth

"If it doesn't bother them, why should it bother us?" Commented a talk show host on the topic of having not just one but more housewives or partners.

Backtrack to Genesis when the world was still young. "Am I my brother's keeper?" Shot back Cain when the Lord inquired about his brother Abel whom he murdered.

The shrug. The cold shoulder. The "I don't care, it's none of my business!" routine.

That's how we normally respond even if we sense a wrong or when someone is in hot water. Because we'd rather not be involved. Their life is their business, we reason out.

It's as if the whole world's become a stage and we're content to be an audience, a bystander or one who gawks, amused at how people are able to entertain us with their multi-season soap operas.

Of course we couldn't meddle in other people's lives. "Pakialamera" is how we usually label those who stick their nose into other people's affairs. I couldn't tell my neighbor how to live his or her life. Judge not so you will not be judged.

But we must certainly be uneasy and speak out if the lie is flaunted as the truth, or the wrong declared right.

Why has the truth been muffled in the hoopla about same-sex marriage or relationships outside of the sanctity of marriage?

Can it be that more and more young people are believing what they're believing now because right-believers' voices have been stymied by this overpowering truth-is-relative tidal wave---that truth is what one makes it?

For example, in more advanced nations like Australia, it's no longer politically correct to say "husband" or "wife." Use "partner" because live-in couples must not be offended.

It helps, of course, that popular gay celebrities have a long time ago come out of the closet. Elton John proudly announced recently that he and his husband, er, wife(?) are now proud parents of a cute baby.

The same-sex-marriage movement has been rumbling across the USA like the deadly tsunami, pressuring more and more state legislatures to enact laws favoring gay relationships and families. Politicians, eager to please their constituents (read voters) have no choice but to give in to popular thinking.

Hollywood purveys sexual promiscuity like a casual "hi!" and "hello!" handshake. Our own TV celebrities openly talk of their fleeting relationships which sometimes result in babies out of wedlock.

How can we afford to keep quiet when the truth as we know it is now talked about as archaic and jurassic, with no use in our modern techie world?

The truth, as revealed by God all over the bible, and very specifically in the ten commandments, has not changed, and will not change in spite of our grumblings.

"Too old-fashioned!" "Very severe!" "Encroaches on my freedom!" "I have a right to choose and if I suffer, I suffer!"

Suffer hell? Frankly, yes. Disobedience---the bible calls it rebellion---merits nothing less than this.

And those who insist on following their own "truth," are unwittingly taking a roller-coaster dive to that place of eternal fiery punishment. Unless!

God is not willing for any one to perish or be in a constant state of waywardness! That's why He gave us Jesus.

He loves (Yes, His love goes on and will never be diminished in spite of our continuing rebellion!) us all so much that He was willing to send His Son to take the penalty of our sins. Only the saving grace and love of Jesus can open our eyes to the monstrosity of sin and our sinful nature, and enable us to walk obediently.

So in the same way that God was motivated by love, may His love also motivate us to speak out against sin and its eternal consequence for those who continue to scoff at truth as we know it.

I write not as one without sin. I too am a sinner saved by His grace. I once believed my life was my own and that I was accountable to no one. Jesus reoriented my confused mind and gave me a new heart to believe that His was the only way, and His way would lead to life, not condemnation or hell. Someone loved me enough to pray for me and let me know Jesus cared.

We are to be our brothers' keepers.

Polaroid Eyes

My heart raced a bit when I saw those blooms.

Blue-violet, bright blue and blue-green flowerettes crowned some shrubs and bushes as I drove home from school yesterday.

"I never saw that before," I mused.

So I did a double take, lifting my sunglasses, and stopping for a while to soak in this rare sight and double-check if my eyes saw what they really saw. "Hey, where did the flowers go?" I thought.

Putting my shades back on and looking at the trees again, those shooting buds were back! And the bigger trees had their leaves in varying shades of deepest greens and blue green. Were my eyes playing a trick on me?

Then I realized: my new polaroid glasses!

I remember the SM saleslady salestalking me into it, "Use this ordinary sunglasses," she insructs. "Now, with these polaroids, look at that same object." I got hooked. The colors behind those polaroids really seemed different and easier on the eyes.

Those "flowers" were in fact just leaves trumpeting their loudest and deepest hues under the sun. Passing by more shrubs and trees, I was a kid again, reveling in the beauty of creation.

But it was not just my polaroids. The sun had a lot to do with this most unusual exprience. Without the bright rays seeping through the atmosphere and highlighting those trees, I wouldn't have seen the hidden colors.

It must have been a million-fold breathtaking when Jesus created the world and He commanded His Alpha and Omega palette of colors to permeate every tree, every grass, every flower and every bit of His creation!

Recall that it was with His own burst of heavenly colors that God promised He would never send the great flood again to destroy the earth. The rainbow sealed that covenant of His grace.

Oh, that we would view everything not just with polaroid lens but with His eyes.

More than this, I pray that we would understand the things happening around us with His wisdom and treat one another with His love and compassion.

Because God didn't stop with just giving us this earth. Jesus himself came down from His exalted place in heaven, became man, died on behalf of sinful humanity, "that those who would believe in Him may have everlasting life and have life to the full."

Now, that's seeing things through His heart!

(Photo credit: rainbowwallpaper.info)

Words to Sink a Ship

"Words! Words! Words! I'm so sick of words! I get words all day through; first from him, now from you. Is that all you blighters can do?"

I'f you've seen the Broadway musical, "My Fair Lady," eons past (some of you may just have been a figment of your mom or dad's imagination then, circa 1960s), you'll recall the main character, Eliza Doolittle, played by legendary actress Audrey Hepburn, ranting about her male admirers' propensity for talking and not acting.

That's what we all are--- talkers first, performers second.

Because words come easy. You can promise, you can wax romantic or poetic, and tickle one's ears with words. But sometimes we spill out words in the same way we burp or pass air or yawn or let out a sigh.

We go careless with words like, "You're stupid!" "What a jerk!" "Oh, s__t!"

We most of the time don't mean it, but words like these can mince and dice and cut through our core, enough to separate one's juice from his pulp.

"My son will not amount to anything," I heard a father speak of his son in the presence of guests, and in the hearing of his son.

"As a man thinks, so is he," says the bible.

I wonder how the father's careless words were reinforced many times over in this young man's mind. I'm not surprised at all that he turned to drugs, never finished his education and led a wayward life.

Words are powerful. God used words to speak the universe into being. "Let there be light, and there was light."

So it is a choice---to use life words that will either build up and bring light to a situation, or killer words which can cut one's spirit to shreds.

And it is words we use everyday to put our country down. I'm guilty of that too.

"Wala nang mangyayari sa bansa natin, hindi na tayo magbabago." "We don't see change happening. Our country will continue to be like this because of graft and corruption." We hear this like a song's constant refrain, during breaktimes, in our tete-a-tete with friends. As a nation thinks, so it is!

If words could kill, and our nation were a boat, then we are now shipwrecked and at the bottom of the ocean because of the killer words we've spoken about our nation and our situation.

We're commanded to pray and speak only of what is noble, true, kind, just, uplifting. Nowhere in the bible are we told to complain. In fact, God hated complainers so much, He caused an entire generation of Jews to die in the desert, letting them go round and round and round in the wilderness for 40 years. And they were His chosen people!

But what about the shenanigans, the corruption? Should we just keep quiet and let the law-breakers do their own thing?

God has appointed leaders and governments to enforce the law. We need to pray for them, and definitely expose corruption and help bring the guilty to task.

Let's pray for our president, our lawmakers and those who need to enforce the law and prosecute the guilty.

But let's cease complaining and let's start obeying the rules which we ourselves are guilty of breaking: bribing municipal officials because we could not wait for our papers to be processed (padulas), crossing the street where we shouldn't, driving through a red light or counter-flow, cutting through a queue, etc., etc!

All of us, not just our government officials, need a change of heart. Unless we all realize this, we will continue to point fingers and complain and be fearful of our children's future in this country.

The people groan if their leaders are corrupt, says the Book of books. So instead of complaining, let's be down on our knees praying, and obeying the law as well.

Blight---anything which destroys, frustrates or causes anything to wither, like a plant.

Eliza Doolittle chirped that those who use, "words, words, words," are blighters. It's a choice we need to make daily to destroy or build up, speak life or death.

If we believe that God is in control, then He is in control. If we believe---especially collectively believe (evidenced by our complaining)---that He isn't, then He'll withhold action.

Come to think of it, our prayers get cancelled out because of our complaining. Faith and fear are like water and oil. They can never mix.

So let's act as if He is in control. Let's be careful with our words and obey His Word.

Cheers for SFU Alumni: World-class Pinoys

Harvesting gold and silver.

That's what some Southville Foreign University alumni have been up to recently as more and more of our graduates choose to finish their final college year in Southville's prestigious partner universities' campuses overseas.

Congratulations to two of my former Marketing students Jean Marie Baldado and Denesse Cajulis, and twin brothers (the cutest twin of all!) Jonas and Julius Mangahas---all 2010 SFU graduates who won top honors in three UK universities.

Jean Marie, graduating with a BS Business Management degree, romped off as Summa Cum Laude at Oxford Brookes University.

Denesse also finished Summa Cum Laude, BS Business Marketing, at London Metropolitan University.

Jonas and Julius share Magna Cum Laude honors from the University of Bedfordshire. Jonas took up BS Information Systems while Julius finished BS Computer Science.

What could have been the key to these four students' outstanding performance in such a competitive world-class environment?

Let me share with you some of my thoughts.

Impressed. That's my reaction when I first met Jean during the school's College Preparatory Program, a two-week long skills-honing course for SFU's incoming first year students before they wade waist-deep into college life.

She exuded confidence, spoke good English. I was floored when she shared that her dream was to help her family get out of poverty. So young yet so dead-set serious!

Yes, Jean came to SFU as a scholar. As she and I got acquainted in the coming months (she was never in my Marketing class but I asked her to join the Marketing team which competed in the Philippine Marketing Association's [PMA] Strategic Marketing derby), she would from time to time ask for mentoring, on school and some personal concerns.

She felt people misunderstood her. But the bottom-line was that she needed to focus and not be sidelined by things that would hamper her desire---and her timetable---to help her mother and siblings. (Jean's father died when she was very young.) She surprised us even more when we learned that her last year in college would be spent in London---under a scholarship!

Denesse, the fashionista! Under this facade of glamor and love for frilly things is a young lady with heaps of common sense and maturity. She worked relentlessly to get Merit and Distinction descriptors. She often checked with her teachers to make sure she always made the grade.

Denesse's strength, I believe, is her ability to relate well with others. A people-person surely has insight and empathy hard-wired into her psyche.

Jonas and Julius have never been in any of my classes, but I know their parents and their family as a whole. We attend the same church, Citygate Christian Ministries. Bojie and Rose have brought up their kids in the fear and instruction and the excellence of the Lord. So I am not surprised.

Rose has successfully grown her once-playschool to an outstanding Christian educational institution called Creative Middle School; and Bojie is a successful entrepreneur. Their material success nothwithstanding, Rose and Bodjie have remained humble and shown themselves faithful in their church service.

Southville Foreign University must truly be proud of its outstanding alumni. And there are many more of them---young people who, having come fresh from high school, soon discover that they have to swim in a sea of essays, assignments, research work and workshop sessions.

"I did not expect this," some would say, horrified that they are soon struggling through endless reading, paperwork and sleepless nights because of their Edexcel assignments.

"Thank you, SFU!" someone said on Facebook recently. She soon realized that her SFU curriculum gave her the discipline, focus and the ability to think for herself so much so that other pursuits after that become peanuts.

Jean Marie, Denesse, Jonas and Julius. They're the proof of the pudding. Yum!

It's Right There!

I frantically searched for my reading glasses.

Hmm, not there on the dinner table. Neither on the ref top, nor the piano top, nor the computer table, nor the phone table---places where I would normally park them.

Neither was the pair inside the toilet where it would usually be stacked with my books and magazines.

Cora, our trusted kasambahay, naturally joined the search.

"It's right there!" she exclaimed when we bumped into each other after we frantically became a search crew of two. We blurted out laughing.

It was not on my head, silly. (I knew you'd think that.)

The spectacles were right there hanging on my shirt---under my very nose!

How could I even survive the day without my trusty reading glasses, especially when most of what I do involves reading or writing.

I heard it said that when you reach 40---and I'm almost two decades over that---your arms would be longer. I went through that "youth-where-art-thou?" period of denial. I stretched and stretched and stretched some more till the arm had no more room to stretch. So to reading glasses I succumbed. And it had been pure dependency from then on.

This morning, I chanced upon my favorite bible teacher Charles Stanley on TV. He was explaining one of the photos he shot---a magnificent-looking cave.

"It was pitch-black when we arrived," he said. "You couldn't even see your hand up close."
So his companion said it best to leave. But Dr. Stanley insisted on staying.

"The most incredible thing happened," he added. As soon as the sun shone through the holes and cracks, that cave was bathed in the most beautiful colors and shades and shapes. The light revealed the splendor of the place.

He concluded his message by saying that once the light of God comes in, our eyes are opened. Then we see the solution or the answer or whatever it is we're looking for.

And just like my reading glasses---right under my very nose, I know that whatever it is you're looking for is right there.

Or you probably just need to open your eyes and realize it had been there all along. That cave and its magnificence had been there for ages. But it takes light to see its awesomeness.

That's what the Word of God assures us. He remains the same. He continues to provide: Wisdom in confusion. Peace during turmoil. Assurance in spite of crisis. Life even in death. Freedom from bondage. Wholeness in brokenness. His mighty powerful hand not letting you go even when you feel like you're falling.

If, and it's a big if---IF we turn to Him TO BE OUR SOLUTION. Jesus is the Answer.

No wonder He said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Jesus wants us to be totally dependent on Him, and not just in desperate times.

Everything that we seek is in Him. I may stretch my arm till it hurts, but unless I seek His wisdom and obey Him, I will just continue to hurt and injure myself, and not enjoy the wonderful life He promised to give me.

"In Him was life and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:4-5)

It's funny how we often are in denial---in denial of the presence and active role God wants to play in our lives. He can open our eyes to see, and realize that what we're looking for is just under our very nose.

The Stuff of Life

Death is a topic we'd rather not talk about.

Well, because it's a sad subject, much like disease. But these two Ds are the stuff of life. Too!

Babies are born, thus starting the long or short journey to their death---birth and death being the bookends to an existence peppered with either sadness or gladness, triumphs or victories, winning or failing, laughter or crying, sitting or standing, learning or unlearning, crouching or jumping, haughtiness or humbling, falling or rising. The story of our lives.

So we are in-betweeners, you and I.

Now that we're still burping or farting and pooing or peeing and eating or drinking whatever we desire, means that our taste buds are still rosy and our tummies still processing all the stuff we plunk in there.

Thank God we're alive and healthy. For now.

But as I write, four of my close relations are either in the hospital or receiving treatment for cancer, the complications of diabetes and advanced Parkinson's disease.

And it's been painful. For the patients who suffer through caches of medicines---most of them with serious side effects, failing organs, and life-support systems which are not even a guarantee they will get better. For their immediate families who wait in either hopeful desperation or desperate hopefulness. And for their pocketbooks which have been raked so deep there's almost nothing left to spare for the coming days.

It's in these experiences where I've seen stick-to-it-iveness and sacrificial love and caring at their very best---all possible treatments and solutions exhausted by their families to extend their loved ones' lives.

And the prayers? They've never ceased either.

The bible says that prayer offered in faith He will surely answer.

Matthew 9:22---"Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you," Jesus assured the woman who because of desperation bravely sought Him and managed to just touch His cloak. She was instantly healed! And she had been hemorrhaging for 12 long years.

So why has the healing, or even the glimmer of it, not come? Has God turned a deaf ear? Didn't He say, "Believe!" and it will be done to us according to our faith?

But here's the other side of the coin: God is sovereign. His ways are higher than our ways.

Part of our prayer should also be: "Lord you know us, you created us and because you know us more than we know ourselves, let your will be done."

Because the other miracle is this: In Him, we have eternal life! In Jesus no one loses.

Life surrendered to Him means spending eternity with Him. That's why the apostle Paul confidently exclaimed, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord!"

I believe in Jesus. He listens to our prayers. He can heal our loved ones in the same way that He healed so many when He was on earth. He sits today at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.

But see, His answer is not always what we want to hear. But it is for our best. He sees the bigger picture. That's why we can trust that His answer is always for our good.

In this life we have tribulations, He said. But take heart, Jesus has overcome the world.

He endured the cross for us. He died to give us life abundant. But He rose again to welcome us to where He is now. We are just passing through and our destination is Him! A glorious place where there's no pain or suffering or tears!

Oh, that we would be comforted by that even as we believe Jesus for His miracle for our loved ones.