Our Weakness, Our Strength

"Never show a sign of weakness in the heat of combat!"

When these words came out of the lips of Gemini Kanon, I realized that the author, Masami Kurumada, was quoting Miyamoto Musashi, the greatest samurai ever walked on earth. Typically Japanese code of honor!

But the implication it holds is far from being solely Japanese.
Weakness is an inevitable trait of man. We are, after all, frail creatures with undeniable shortcomings and tendency to be broken apart under unbearable pressure.
Even saints have weaknesses!

Open the Bible anywhere and pick any character, and you'll find they're always marred by weakness:

- Abraham was crowned the father of faith, but he feared the Egyptians and so lied about his wife, Sarah.
- David could dispatch entire Philistines troops, but could not control his lust over a woman.
- Samuel was a perfect judge, priest, and prophet, but he failed in shaping up his sons into God-fearing men.
-Elijah prayed and fire came scorching down from heaven, but when faced to the words of Queen Jezebel, he fled and asked God to take his life instead.
- Peter was very courageous, but he faltered and denied the Lord at the question of a maidservant.
- Paul was flawless in all his ministries, but he was tormented by a thorn in his flesh that he couldn't rid.
- James was a man of integrity and great apostle, but he became so after the Lord appeared to him post-resurrection, not beforehand.

But what does the Bible say about the flaws of God's holy people?

"Weakness was turned to strength" (Hebrews 11:34)!

How come?

Because God's power "is made perfect in (our) weakness" (II Corinthians 12:9).

It is only when we acknowledge our weaknesses and cast them on the feet of the Lord, He will work through us and in us, to beam His radiant glory within us, making us the vessel of His strength.
Therefore, for us, weak earthlings, the power that's so overwhelming, that enables us to perform whatever task we might bear, comes not from our fragile ability, but from God who strengthens us.
That is why we can say together with Paul, in confidence:

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13).

In the midst of tribulation, through the storm of life, in the heat of combat, how unwise it is for us to give in to our weakness!
Rather, as we realize our flaws and weaknesses, let us remember that these weak points are God's means to exhibit His ultimate power within us. And so, give it all up to Him!
Let Him turn our weakness into strength!
Then, we will come out victorius, for the glory of His name!
Amen.

Never Despair

Two hobbits were out on a perilous journey, with an extremely great task to fulfill. The world was crumpling down, malice was spreading in the land, and the power of the darkest evil was taking over. There wasn't much hope left to the Middle-Earthlings, and even on the side of mankind, darkness had begun to creep in and steal away the light of conscious mind.
And so, Frodo despaired.
But there was a rough, gardener's hand that patted him on the shoulder. Sam gazed into Frodo's tearful eyes and gave him these simple words of encouragement, "There's still some good left in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fighting for."

We stand on a wretched land in our days, struck by disasters, one after another.
Tsunamis come and go, taking thousands of lives as they sweep over the islands. Earthquakes and avalanches massacre our people and turn our land into burial ground. Volcano eruptions kill hundreds of people and leave the rest living in refugee camps. Everywhere we hear cries of pain and see heavily-grieving faces.
And, as if it weren't enough, we find corruption and over-indulging luxury being treasured and concealed with political shroud among the elites.

Gazing at the misery of our people, would it be wrong if I despair?
Yet, even so, there's a small voice within me, that whispers these soothing words, "There's still some good left in this world, Love. And it's worth fighting for."
As I glance upon the faces of my sleeping children, I discreetly know it's true.

Mary, Did You Know?

Mary, did you know,

That your baby boy would someday walk on water?

Mary, did you know,

That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?

Did you know,That your baby boy has come to make you new?

And this child that you delivered

Will soon deliver you?

Oh, Mary, did you know?



Mary ,did you know,

That your baby boy would give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know,

That your baby boy would calm the storm with His hand?

Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

And when you kiss your little baby,

You have kissed the face of God?

Oh, Mary, did you know?



The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again!

The lame will leap, the dumb will speak the praises of the Lamb!



Mary, did you know,

That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know,

That your baby boy would one day rule the nations?

Did you know

That your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?

And this sleeping child you're holding

Is the great "I AM."





[Mark Lowery]

Halloween and All Hallows' Eve

The end of October and the beginning of November are moments of excitement, especially for those living in the European countries, Latin America, and the United States. It's time for trick-or-treating, Halloween, and also to commemorate All Saints' Day or All Hallows' Eve on the following day.
Although these two celebrations are so closely dated to one another that many have associate them to each other, they hold different meanings, have different backgrounds, and stem from different traditions.
Halloween, which falls on October 31st, originates from Samhain, a Gaelic pagan rite celebrated every end of summer. "Samhain" in Old Irish means "summer's end."
The Ancient Irish folks believed that on the end of summer, the barrier separating the world and the afterlife grew thinner, due to the arrival of "the darker half" of the year, allowing the spirits of the deceased to travel back to the land of the living. Thus, Samhain also included the "Festival of the Dead" back in medieval days.
People wore masks and costumes to placate evil spirits, and made lanterns of carved turnips or pumpkins to ward off the souls of the dead. The tradition was handed down for generations up to this day. And, since the date was so close to the "Festival of All Saints" or "All Hallows' Eve" on the following day, people saturated their names, calling Samhain with a new name: Halloween (All Hallows' Evening).
On the contrary, All Hallows' Eve or All Saints' Day has a completely different origin from Samhain. It is a tradition of the Roman Catholic Church which falls on the first of November, celebrated to commemorate the departed saints and holy martyrs. It is now held not only to remember the saints, but also to remember all those who have passed away in the congregation of believers in the Lord.
In the Roman Catholic Church, All Saints' Day is a holy day of obligation, which means on November 1st, they gather for a mass to celebrate this special occasion. In many countries, people visit the graveyard after the mass to light candles on the tombs of deceased relatives. In most English-speaking countries, the festival of All Saints is also celebrated by singing the hymn "For All the Saints."

The Number Thirteen

People have always regarded the number thirteen as an unlucky number. They fear the date Friday the thirteenth. They avoid buying a house with the number thirteen (in fact, in most streets, there is no house of that number). Considering the number as bad luck and undesirable omen, people tend to avoid it as often as they can.

Old-wives tales told us that long, long time ago, in the ancient days, witches and sorcerers would gather on any Black Sabbath, which fell on Friday the thirteenth, numbering twelve of them. And, the devil would come in their midst and made the number thirteen.
So they said.

Is the belief truly so?

Let's forget about folklores, superstitions, and tales for the time being.
What written evidences have we got about the number thirteen?

We know that the sons of Israel numbered twelve in all. But Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were "adopted" by his father, Jacob (Israel) and were added to the rest. So the tribe of Joseph were split into two, thus making the whole number of the tribes of Israel thirteen!
However, since the tribe of Levi devoted themselves to serving in the Lord God's Tabernacle (sanctuary), their inheritance was not counted along with their brethren, thus making the number of twelve, though in fact there are thirteen tribes in existence.

There were twelve judges ruling Israel during the time they hadn't had a king to rule in the land.
True?
False!
As a matter of fact, there were thirteen of them! Deborah was not counted as a judge because she was a woman, and according to tradition, women were not permitted to rule over men. Thus she handed her leadership to Barak.
Thus, people regarded there were twelve judges of Israel, though in reality there were thirteen of them.

There were twelve apostles of Christ in the New Testament.
After Judas fell, Matthias was elected to fill in the twelfth seat.
But then, God called Paul and consecrated him to be the apostle to the Gentiles, making the number of the apostles thirteen!
Yet, though approved as an apostle, Paul refused to take his right to be equal with the other twelve since he was determined to preach the Gospel to the uncircumsiced. Thus, there were thirteen apostles in all: twelve were sent to the children of Israel, while one ministered to the Gentiles.

In the last book of prophecy in the Bible, the Revelation, John saw the glorious New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven of God. As we read on, we find twelve precious stones in the Holy City of God. And -- how shocking! -- one precious non-mineral jewel: the pearl, making the number of jewels thirteen!

So, is it true that the number thirteen represents bad luck?
We all agree that the number twelve is the number of fellowship, of reunion, and of complete unity.
And I say the number thirteen is the number of abundance!


[Picture taken from the anime Saint Seiya, representing the twelve gold saints. As a matter of fact, there are thirteen of them, since the Gemini Gold Saints are twins: Saga and Kanon. In the final combat, their souls unite into one body.]

Priceless!

Nearly two decades ago, I was a naïve teenager gazing up at the brilliant night-sky with a heart in anguish. A good friend of mine was suffering from chronic ulcer at that time and I was in great anxiety regarding his health.
As I fixed my eyes on those billions of twinkling dots up in the heavens, a realization entered my mind and pierced my soul. I knew that, if my friend died, I wouldn’t be able to find one so unique to replace him, even in the whole universe.

A reminder came to me in my daily devotion several days ago.
God said in Isaiah 66:1-2, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for Me? Where will My resting place be? Has not My hand made all these things, and so they came into being? This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My word.”
Relate these two verses to I Corinthians 3:16 and I Corinthians 6:19, and we come to a shocking truth: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”

In the Old Testament, God declares that even the whole heaven and earth is not spacious enough to hold His divine being. But in the New Testament, He states that He dwells within the life of each faithful believer who fears and worships Him. The Bible teaches us that every living individual who lives for Christ is a “living tabernacle of God” – the very dwelling place of the eternal, infinite God.
Combine the two statements, and we realize the value of each and every human being on earth: each of us is worth a whole universe in the sight of the Creator!
Isn’t this a marvelous phenomenon?!
There is nothing, not even the whole galaxies, to replace the value of a single soul in the eyes of God! So great is the price He sets for us!

But why?
Why does God cherish and prizes us so greatly and preciously?

The answer is in Genesis 1:27, “God created man in His own image.”
We are created as the copy of the Divine Creator. When God created the first man, He also transferred some of His personal traits to Adam: holiness, perfection, power, immortality, eternal life – things that are so immensely great which even a universe cannot fathom or contain.
Yes, sin did corrupt and marred the image of God within man, robbing us of our divine attributes and confining us to mortality, decay, imperfection and countless limitations. Nevertheless, it did not alter our internal blueprint and value in the sight of God. We are, and will always be, more precious and priceless than the whole universe to Him.
Realizing this great truth, shouldn’t we be more grateful to God for how and what He had created us to be? Shouldn’t we treat our neighbors with more respect and honor, knowing how indescribably great the value of each living soul on earth truly is before the Creator?
Let us all live in awe of God’s greatness shown to us – and in us!
Amen.

When Prayers Seem to Remain Unanswered

Prayer plays a crucial role in the life of every believer.
We pray each day. Some of them are quickly answered, some are not, and the rest seem to be queueing on God's waiting list.
Well, whenever our prayer receives a quick reply, we rejoice aplenty. But what do we do when our prayer is not yet answered? Do we grumble? Do we grow impatient? Do we feel disappointed?

What is actually happening UP THERE when God decides not to answer our prayer just yet?

Genesis 2:2-3 "By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing. So on the seventh day, He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done."

He word "rested" in the above passage is written "qadash" in the original Hebrew tongue, meaning: savoring, enjoying, delighting in, consecrating, making holy.
Do we not realize that at the time God seems to be doing nothing, saying nothing, and caring about nothing, is actually the moment of His savoring our lives?

Look at Abraham, Job, Daniel, and Joseph, men of great faith and integrity in the Lord. Did the Lord always answer their prayers? Did He always talk to them at all times, whenever they lifted up their plea to His presence?
No!

There are times in the lives of the above-mentioned Biblical characters when God seemed to be silent. God seemed to have abandoned them, leaving them to face deadly perils and great trials on their own.
And, what do we read about these men?
The Scripture records that they remained faithful to the Lord despite their circumstances. Whatever befell them: loss of loved ones, poverty, disappointment, imprisonment, and even dead sentence, these men remained true to their One and Only God.
And, THAT, my friends, is the moment of God's delight in their lives. THAT is such a moment in which we please the Lord's heart by staying obedient and keeping His statutes through time of pain and suffering.
And we can be assured, that when this phase subsides, the Lord will surely answer our prayer and lift us up to a higher ground.

Are we ready to please the heart of God today, and present our lives and faithfulness as a fragrant aroma rising up to the presence of the Lord?