Father's New Seed

This is one of those periods of my beginning as a Dad. I sit on my back on my chair at my computer screen. The kids are sleeping while I pray for and think about them. There’s typhoon, according to the weather bureau. But so far we only had soft, sweet, misty drops these past few hours. Where are the rains, I wonder. They’re not falling out of the sky on my head. Last night, we celebrated my Angel’s fifth birth day. She blew her birthday cake’s candle, ate a lot, and played around mostly with little boys. My other two kids, Christine and Paul, they’re equally hyper like Angel! They also bring me out of boredom, out into the “world.” I’m glad we found a loving family with us, not just friends. Ed, Janet, Kay, Edward, Leon, Daddy, Mommy, Netz, Nep, Cris, Abby, TJ, and others. God’s gifts, unexpected. Genesis 4:25 reminds me, “God has appointed another seed unto us.” I’m not going to mourn forever. Because I know God has another seed. For everything that was lost … everything that’s been stolen by the enemy …. everything that’s been taken away, I know one thing. My Father in heaven has another plan. A new seed. I think of Thoreau’s wisdom when he said, “How can you sit down to write until you have stood up to live?” 2007. This is the best year I ever had so far for living deeply. Especially with God’s new beginnings. New seeds will always be a continual excitement. The rains will come again of course. Soon, the children will be grown. And I’ll be young once more.

Are You In "Greener Pastures?"

“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7).

“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream … “ (Jeremiah 17: 5-8).

During a hurricane in Florida in 2004, 25-year-old Danny Williams went to seek protection under one of his favorite trees. But the tree fell on the shed and killed Williams. Sometimes, the places we think can give us security can pose extreme danger to our lives.

Today, it’s not uncommon for people to look for “greener pastures.” I don’t think that’s wrong in itself. God wants us blessed in our lives. But if it means to amass a lot of money or own possessions at the expense of honor or purity before God, then that kind of life doesn’t bring true satisfaction or purpose. I’m reminded of a poor American woman who left her family to marry a billionaire. Eventually, she found herself in a mess of problems. Her son died in his early 20s. She got hooked in drugs and sexual promiscuity. Law suits followed after her left and right. And finally, just in her 40s, she died a mysterious death.

Luke 12 comes into mind when Jesus told the story of an extremely wealthy man. Jesus called him a fool! It was not because he was so materially rich, but because he was not rich toward God. “Beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15).

We also learn in the Bible of king Hezekiah who started good. But he repeated the sins of his father Ahaz by seeking security in an alliance with an alien power (2 Kings 16:7; Isaiah 36:6). Instead of rallying his people to trust in the Lord, he depended on human resources and power. By seeking help from Egypt, Hezekiah showed that he had failed to learn from history. He still committed the mistake of valuing the strength of Egypt over the strength of his Almighty God and Creator.

Trust and hope in God – that's the “greener pastures” of the real good life.

Life Without Limbs

I first got to know of Nick Vujicic about 3 weeks ago while I was in Korea. A Filipino pastor-friend of mine showed a video of this inspiring, incredible brother in Christ and I was challenged to live more faithfully for Christ. I'm sure you will too!

A Brand of the Soul

Cain, a "brand of the soul."

In the Bible, God offered Cain a second chance for his soul. Here’s God’s unbelievably gracious plea for Cain to make a positive response to His warning:

“Then the Lord said to Cain … ‘If you do what is right, will you not be
accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at
your door, it desires to have you, but you must master it.’ ”
(Genesis 4:7)

God was gentle here but frank with Cain without threatening him. I’m reminded of how Isaiah described this aspect of God’s character:

“ ‘Come now, let us reason together’ says the Lord. “Though your sins
are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as
crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you
will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be
devoured by the sword.” (Isaiah 1:18)

Unfortunately, God’s appeal and warning failed to change Cain. He was already self-deceived and “concretely” made up in his mind to commit sin. Like the serpent, Cain was also smooth-tongued, saying to his brother, “Let’s go out to the field” (Gen. 4: 8). Distorted by poisonous emotions that his reason no longer functioned, Cain murdered his brother Abel.

When God asked about Abel, Cain lied and entered a “not guilty” plea. Saying “Am I my brother’s keeper?”, he deliberately attempted to bluff his way out of trouble. What a tragedy. Cain was certainly into self-idolatry. And pleasing himself became more important to him than honoring His Creator.

The consequences of sin were inescapable (vv. 11, 12). God convicted Cain of fratricide. And He sentenced him to be placed under a curse. Still, Cain expressed no remorse. He even complained about his penalty, appealing against the harshness of God’s sentence (v.13). Arrogant in his dialogue with God, Cain’s obvious concern was indeed only for himself.

Discovering the Generational Link (Part 3)

“Though my father and mother forsake me, yet will the Lord receive me” (Psalm 27: 10).

“But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, ‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, ‘Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.’ “ (Matthew 12: 48-49)

Certainly, I made mistakes in the past or I “unconsciously repeated” the wrong things passed on to me to my own children. Nonetheless, I’m sure the Lord knows my heart and how much I’ve been changing to do what’s right according to His Word and be there for my children.

Last night, while having my family devotion and prayer time with the kids, I wanted them to feel that there is a God watching over them. I let them know that there is not only God. But there’s also daddy who chooses to love and fight for them against the forces of darkness in our family bloodlines.

Aside from rising up and choosing God, God may also provide another “gift” for family healing. As I write this, I’m reminded of my 4-year-old Angel’s recent home stay with some Christian brethren who paid attention to her and became God’s “surrogate family” gift to the rest of us. This family takes time to sow seeds of healing and care for us at this sensitive period of our own family life.

I learned of the story of a youth worship team member in the church who comes from a severely dysfunctional family. His father is in prison while his mother is a drug addict. He experiences rejection and neglect from his parents as well as his brother and sisters. Somehow, one of the families in the church took an interest in him and showed him love. They would provide him allowances, take him to church and worship practices, and welcome him and feed him in their home.

One day, his mother died. He was devastated and heartbroken. Two days after the funeral, this young man was nowhere to be found. But eventually, some friends and relatives discovered him in a private room where he was worshipping the Lord and practicing church worship songs. Learning that, we may wonder how this youth would have coped in the situation if that Christian “surrogate family” had not taken time to care for him.

Intergenerational healing is a process. It’s not an overnight flash. God uses various ways and gifts to show Himself up during particular times of need and stages of recovery in the family.

“I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever” (Psalm 45: 17).

Discovering the Generational Link (Part 2)

The Bible is clear about the connection of generations. It states that the iniquity of the fathers/mothers can be passed down for 3 or 4 generations. “… visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me …” (Deuteronomy 5: 9).

The root cause of the connection of generations is spiritual. Not genetic, medical, psychological, environmental, or hereditary. The Bible calls it “iniquity.” That means various forms of iniquity or sinful choices such as addictions, immorality, negativity, etc can be passed down from parents to children and the children’s children in succeeding generations.

Looking at my young children – Christine, Paul, and Angel – I can’t help but reflect more deeply on generational blessing/curse. What this Scriptural truth is showing me is that the actions and decisions I make today as a father don’t simply affect my self. They also affect Christine, Paul, and Angel and their future children and their children’s children in multiplied generations.

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a 27-year-old Christian girl who said that she’s still unable to forgive her Dad who abandoned her, her mother and brother, since 7 years ago. She confessed that she’s ashamed of what she finds inside her heart. Each morning, during dawn prayer meetings in the church, she’d cry before God about her struggle.

I told her to forgive her father so she can be healed. I championed forgiveness as God’s way for her to break free from the strongholds of the past. What she didn’t know is that the one telling this to her once had a serious unforgiving spirit problem! Even when I was already a pastor, I still struggled with unforgiving spirit. Eventually, I realized it’s a spirit that keeps getting passed down in my family line from one generation to another. And I need to do something about it.

The year 2007 was a big forgiveness test for me. In the face of deep hurts, I had to take a stand against unforgiving spirit. The easy, natural road for me was to get bitter and take revenge for after all it has been there in my family for generations. But I chose the blessing and not the curse! I decided to choose to be the one to put a stop to it in my family. Daily, I bind in prayer this stronghold of unforgiving spirit in my family line and stand against the curse.

Understand, our fight is in the spiritual realm. As we do battle and pass down God’s goodness, we are leaving a legacy of blessing to our children and the generations to follow after them.