Fear of God
I’m going through the book of Exodus for more than a week now. You know, the 10 plagues the Lord brought as judgment to the gods of Pharaoh and Egypt, the Israelites’ miraculous exodus from Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the water from the rock, and a whole lot more.
Of course, one of the highlights there was the giving of the 10 Commandments by the Lord to Moses.
And surely, it’s more than just another scene straight from the movie. It’s the Lord Himself, inscribing the Laws in a carved stone before giving it to Moses.
However, beyond the miracles and wonders the Lord had shown in the book of Exodus, one thing I’m learning again is the fear of God.
Exodus 20:20 says, Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
The fear of God. I used to think it’s God, ready to throw down bolts of lightning to an imperfect, stubborn person like me.
But as I grew in my relationship with God, I realized that to fear God isn’t negative in anyway. Instead, it’s a person’s response to a forgiving, gracious and loving God.
It’s actually submitting to Christ’s kingship or rulership, which says, Jesus, I yield my heart, mind and soul to you. I’m no longer calling the shots for my life. But I let you call the shots and direct the affairs of my life.
Here are some realizations I had about the fear of God:
-the fear of God doesn’t come by accident. It doesn’t just happen one day.
-the fear of God instead, comes when we get exposed to God’s Presence. When we experience Him daily. Experiencing Him in our daily devotion with Him. When we pray and seek Him in His word.
-It’s being conscious of God and desiring to please Him daily rather than satisfy our own selfish desires.
Fear of God. It’s more than just a feeling. It’s an everyday decision to let God be God over your life.
Change Starts…
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Change never happens by chance.
Change never happens in one day.
But change…it begins with one, solid decision. Sustained by a rock-solid commitment that is not easily swayed by public opinion.
I’m convinced that everyone is hoping to finally see a radical change in our nation once the final tally is revealed after the May 9, 2010 election.
But change can never be determined in just a one-day event (like the national election).
Change begins with YOU and ME.
Change starts when every father will take the lead in the family–leading his wife and kids into a loving relationship with God and making Christ the head of their household.
Change starts when every student will STRONGLY DECIDE to study and prepare so he or she won’t resort to CHEATING during examinations.
Change starts when every working professional would LOVE THEIR JOB, give their 100 percent every time they go to work and not steal anything on their company.
Change starts when every businessman will DECIDE TO PAY THE RIGHT TAXES and NEVER TOLERATE business compromises of any form.
Change starts in simple acts like throwing your garbage on the trash bin (not on the streets, canals or just anywhere).
Change starts when every Filipino would make a UNITED DECISION to respect the traffic rules by crossing the street when it’s green light and not red light.
Change starts when, instead of hurling invectives, complain and curse our government, every Filipino will choose to pray and bless our leaders as emphasized in the Bible.
The burden to bring CHANGE to our nation can never be carried alone by the soon-to-be elected officials of our civil government.
YOU and I have an important role to play.
You wanna see change? Start by looking at yourself first in the mirror and ask this often ignored question: Am I willing to let God change me?
Image Versus Integrity
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Five days to go and millions of voters from all over the Philippine archipelago will be casting their votes. Each voter will have the chance to choose, who they think will be installed as the next leaders in the various positions of the government.
For months, we all have been barraged with all sorts of gimmicks and jingles from different candidates in the hope of retaining in our memories their names so we won’t forget them come the May 10 national elections.
Different presidential candidates have thrown a fortune in campaign advertisements, in an effort to win the hearts of the people and be elected the 15th president of the country.
Since the advent of technology, candidates in various posts were able to ride on it, hiring professional PR consultants and “image-enhancing agents” in order to make them look good in front of the public.
Some candidates sing on top of a stage during their meeting de avance. Others tour around the city, throwing t-shirts bearing their name and the name of their electoral party.
Still others hire hundreds of election staff or rely on the strength of volunteers, who passionately stick their bond-paper-sized photos bearing their name and the position they are aiming for.
But regardless of how many gimmicks the candidates have in the coming national elections, let’s all consider integrity over image.
May we never be carried away by the “moving speeches” of candidates but in prayer, consider who we would vote.
Our nation may be suffering from various economic and political challenges, but may this verse in 2 Chronicles 7:14 ring true in our hearts…
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
God bless the Philippines!
Amen
I come from a family that vales hard work. You work hard on something you want to have.
So as a budding teenager, I started working as a messenger for a close friend of my mother, running errands, carrying plumbing wares from T. Alonzo in Binondo to Quiapo, where my boss holds office.
I opened my first bank account at Metrobank for P300. Cool for me at that time, because by the time I quit my summer job that year, I already had about P700 in my bank account, which was a big amount already back then.
I was already excited to withdraw for the first time because I wanted to buy my basketball shoes.
While my parents gave me their blessing to work in a summer job, me? My main motivation to work was to prove that I can earn as well if I wanted to by my own strength.
I carried that on as I grew up, work hard without relying on my parents if I wanted to get something.
But here’s what I learned later on when I became a Christ-follower–that I don’t have anything to prove in life.
I realized how consumed I am for many years about what I feel, how I look and what I want to do or accomplish in life.
Life isn’t about proving you’re good or being successful or amassing all the wealth you so desire.
But it’s about trusting the all-powerful, all-knowing God every single day of your life.
That’s why I start my day with an Amen after praying. And end the day as well with the word Amen.
Amen. It’s a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. It simply means so be it.
It’s like faith that says, “Lord, you will surely fulfill what you’ve promised.”
Broken Chain
Every novel-loving reader probably knows John Grisham by now, acknowledged by many as the “master” of courtroom novel writings of the late 20th Century.
But perhaps, not everyone knows that before Grisham reached his current status, he also went through challenging moments as an aspiring novelist.
While working as a criminal defense lawyer in Southaven during the early 1980s, Grisham would wake up early to write–crafting his first novel “A Time to Kill” before heading off to work.
Grisham finished his first novel in 1987 and he offered it to several publishers to help him fulfill his dream. However, he was rejected by more than a dozen agents and publishing houses.
Eventually, Wynwood Press took the “risk” to publish Grisham’s very first novel, A Time To Kill for a modest 5,000 copies.
That should have been the end of his writing career, but a day before he finished writing A Time To Kill, Grisham had already been writing on a second novel about an aspiring lawyer, who was lured to join a seemingly perfect law firm that didn’t turn out as it was supposed to be.
When Grisham sold his second novel, The Firm’s rights, to Paramount Pictures for US$600,000, his name suddenly became a most sought-after writer among publishers.
His rise to fame among courtroom drama novel lovers started from there.
Sometimes, seeing one’s dream fulfilled may not be that easy. Like anybody else, discouragement is easy to come by especially if you get the kind of rejections Grisham experienced during his early years as a writer.
But making mistakes in life due to sin can be more discouraging and damaging.
In the Bible, the Apostle Paul had every reason to say “I’m undeserving of God’s goodness and mercy because of what I did…
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Well, the Bible says, he was a murderer who led Jewish “thugs” in their passionate desire to kill Christians. Paul’s famous victim was Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who died of stoning (see Acts 7:57-Acts 8: 1).
He also dragged off believers by putting them to prison (Acts 8:3).
With all these raging actions, he could have just refused God’s mercy and grace, but his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) became the turning point of his faith.
After receiving forgiveness from Jesus, he became a radical follower of Christ, proclaiming Christ’s Gospel to the Jews and non-Jews (called Gentiles).
God powerfully transformed this previous murderer-turned-Christ-follower, paving the way for Paul to write a huge portion of the New Testament.
If you’re in Christ, your past is like a chain that has been completely broken. You’ve been set free!
We don’t have to let our past serve as a deadweight that would drag our hopes down every time we remember them.
Galatians 2:20 says,20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
In Christ, all things become new.
