A Champion of God

"Lord, thanks for the joy and victory you're giving me. I plan to be a champion in You, Lord! In Christ, amen."

Do You Have "false saviors?" Go To The True Savior!

I realize that people use various means to forget or escape problems. Some get drunk by drinking lots of beer. Some try smoking. Some throw themselves in work. Others would take up compulsive shopping, movie watching or overeating. There are some who would resort to extreme actions such as drug addiction, sex, pornography, masturbation, adultery, even stealing money.

Why do we do these things? We want to feel better. We want our pains and problems to go away. But have these things made us really feel better, take the problems and pains away? Not one a bit. We only escape for a while! For when we don't do these things, we can still feel the aches inside. We find ourselves just saddled with more emptiness, frustration, shame, or guilt.

Let me take you to this passage in Jeremiah 2:13 that explains why this is so:

"My people have committed two sins.
They have forsaken Me,
The spring of living water.
And have dug their own cisterns,
Broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

"Broken cisterns that do not hold water." What a picture of filling up our pain or covering up our sin with false saviors, empty substitutes, that only leave us thirstier! And will eventually kill our souls. As Thomas Brooks asked, "If you grieve by your willful sinning He that alone can gladden you, who then will make you glad?"

We all need to leave our false saviors. God calls us to drink deeply again from the true Spring:

"Come, all you who are thirsty,
Come to the waters ...
... whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst."
(Isaiah 55:1; John 4:13)

Despite It All

Despite of it all,
The things done,
This time of my life,
That tells where I've been...

Despite the pains,
That I face,
Or of the tears,
That leave a trace...

Despite the time,
That distance brings,
Or the disappointments,
And all other things...

Despite the rains,
That flood the trail,
Despite life's winds,
A force of storms...

Despite the moon,
Laying hidden behind,
The traces I store,
Within my mind...

Despite the words,
Whispered aloud,
Or of the sun,
Behind the clouds...

Despite the way,
Life comes about,
My love, my faith,
There is no doubt...

What My Sin Cost Christ

I'm remembering Christ's passion this Holy Week. There is a very clear link between his death and our sins. Isaiah wrote: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah chapter 53 verse 5) I hear Jesus's words: "You are my friends, and the greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them." (John chapter 15 verse 13) Christ took my sins upon the cross. I cannot repay Him. My life was never the same again. I've learned to hate sin, obey and live for Him who died for me.

Where There Is Peace, God Is

We all need a quiet place away from the pressures of life. A place to escape to for a time of sifting, sorting, regrouping. David tells of the benefits of such a place. "You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavillion from the strife of tongues" (Psalm 31:20). A restful, quiet place is where God's peace may be found. We all need to go for it!

Ptr Rey's Message: Love God, Hate Sin

Our visiting Turkey church pastor Rey Corpuz shared on "Love God, Hate Sin" in today's start of Holy Week. His focus was on the death of Christ for our sins. In this, God demonstrates His love and mercy to us. Ptr Rey reminded us that true Christians hate sin ... Ptr Rey mentioned about today's "high-tech sin" in the internet. Pornography, adultery, gambling, violence, among others, are now realities in cyberspace. According to him, even church workers are infected by this. "Habang naglilingkod sa simbahan, may inaalagang kasalanan" (hidden sin while serving in church). Another example he cited was the frequent "pornography pop-ups" online. "What's the problem? Is there no 'delete' option that you've to be bothered by it?" Truly, righteousness or sinning is a matter of choice. No excuse..... I like the word "magnetize" used by ptr Ferdie one time when he preached on temptation. According to him in God's Word, temptation has no hold on true, growing Christians. But he said that, if the inside of the heart already contains a seed of evil, it will "magnetize" itself to an outward evil object.... Indeed, being a Christian has everything to do with "love of God" and "hatred of sin."

"No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abide in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God ..." (1 John 3: 9-10)

Single Parent's Prayer

Here's a prayer for those of you who are single Moms and Dads from an anonymous single parent in Jim Smoke's book "Single Again and Secure in God's Love" :

"Lord, grant me the time enough to do all the chores, join all the games, help with the lessons, say the night prayers, and still have a few moments left for myself.

Lord, grant me energy enough to be bread baker and bread winner, knee patcher and peacemaker, ball player, and bill juggler.

Lord, grant me hands enough to wipe away tears, to reach out when I'm needed, to hug and to hold, to tickle and to touch.

Lord, grant me heart enough to share and to care, to listen and to do, to understand and to make a loving home for my family.

Amen."