Human Billboards

June 30, 2010 by · 1 Comment

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3: 3

If you’ve read the book of Acts lately, you’ll notice that Paul was literally a preaching machine. He was unstoppable. Everywhere he went, people were getting saved, lives were being changed and history was being altered. But not everyone was happy with him. Some of the Christians started to question his legitimacy as a preacher of the gospel and it came to a point when they asked him for a letter of recommendation from Jerusalem.

Paul’s answer to his critics was curt and sharp. He didn’t need to produce a letter signed by the Apostolic team in Jerusalem because the lives of the people who were changed by his preaching were proof enough of the legitimacy of his ministry. Why should he carry around in his pocket a piece of paper when the people in the churches he planted carry around with them the signature of the life of Christ?

Of course we are well aware that underneath the demand for a letter of recommendation, Paul’s critics were actually trying to bully him and discredit his work. Let’s not fall for this. This is a ploy of the enemy to stop us from doing exactly what we are called to do. In our churches, we don’t need to graduate from a certain course and carry around a diploma before we can bring a person to Christ. Whether you have been a Christian for ten minutes, ten hours, ten days or ten years, our mandate is still to go and make disciples. No amount of bullying and lying from the enemy could ever change that.

On the flip side of this issue is the admonition that Christians are supposed to be walking large-print letters, readable by all men. Our conduct should unmistakably point people to Christ and they should never have to guess if we are Christians or not. Like giant billboard ads, the message of our lives should be visible and readable and plain for everyone to see, not buried below a tiny asterisk.

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Encouragement

June 29, 2010 by · 12 Comments

And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 1 Samuel 23: 16

Have you ever thought that life is unfair because your boss doesn’t appreciate your hardwork? If so, you should read David’s life story. After devoting all his strength and valor serving in Saul’s army, the king tried to kill him. Not because he did something wrong but because Saul was jealous of his exploits.

If you’ve been through a situation when you gave your best to someone (or something) and in the end you walked away unappreciated, you’ll know how depressing it was for David to find himself running like a fugitive. At one point, he was so afraid of the king of Achicsh that the only way for him to save his neck was to pretend that he was insane.

The interesting part of the story happened when David was in hiding. Jonathan came over and helped him find strength in God. What exactly Jonathan did, I do not know but if we try and relate the story to our lives, we might find some clues.

The first thing that came to my mind is the fact that encouraging someone who has been through a lot is not something you can do in five minutes. The verse I quoted above says Jonathan went to Horesh. Where is that? I checked my Bible dictionary, Horesh means forest. Jonathan took the trouble to get out of his comfort zone and hike the mountains just so he can pray for a brother who was in deep trouble. He was willing to exert much effort and get tired in the process, if only to strengthen David spiritually.

The second thing we should notice from this verse is how Jonathan pointed David to God at the time when he needed help. Let this be a lesson for us all. When we try to encourage someone, let us point the person to Christ. Sometimes we think that as we long as we make the person laugh, we already did what we needed to do. Make no mistake. If a person needs a laugh, he could just turn on the TV or go to a comedy bar.

So how about us? When a brother is in trouble, do we even lift a finger to press the buttons of our cellular phones to send him a text message? Are we willing to buy phone credits (load) and place a long distance call to find out if he is okay? Do we even know where that person lives?

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Slow Motion Miracle

June 28, 2010 by · 2 Comments

As we concluded our ONE series in church yesterday, I can’t help but be amazed at what God has done in our victory group. Few months ago, we would never have thought that the new believers in our group would be so fired up the way they are today. When I dragged two of them to the Discipleship Training few weeks ago, it was not my intention to “push” them into something. I simply didn’t know how to get to the venue of our training so Jethro escorted me there while Tyrone came along so he could pay for his ticket for the World Conference. We didn’t plan what was gonna take place there.

Silly me, I should have known that God has better plans than my coincidences. When Tyrone and Jethro heard that they too can make disciples, something in them just clicked. I was there when it happened. We were seated together on the same table when we did the training excercises. At first I just noticed that they were having a great time but I wasn’t really paying them much attention because I wanted them to mingle with others. After the training, we boarded a jeep and while waiting for other passengers, we talked about what we just learned. That’s when I noticed something. Tyrone told me how surprised he was that he can have this opportunity to do one to one and make a difference  in the lives of other people.

I sat there dumbstruck. The only words that came out of my mouth were, “Yeah, but isn’t that what we’ve been telling you guys since you got into the group months ago?” Tyrone’s answer astounded me. “Yes but it feels like I just heard it for the first time now!” When I heard this, I suddenly hopped out of the jeep and blurted out, “Let’s go eat, I’m hungry!”

And so we talked and talked about what the training was all about and how they could be part of what the Lord is doing in Caloocan. Never have I seen such fire and eagerness in a layperson’s eyes in all my 18 years of being Christian. You should be there to know what it’s like, the look of God’s revelation literally radiating from them while they were talking. I remember the many times I chuckled and shook my head in disbelief at what was unfolding before me. Two people whose lives are ignited by God’s passion to reach out.

When I got home, I was excited but cynicism also began to kick in. “Of course it was the training that fired them up. It will die down in a few days.” What an obscene, faithless thought! But I prayed for them and chose to believe that God was doing something really special.

Almost a month has already passed since the training. My negative ideas proved to be wrong; these people are really growing fast in the Lord. When I saw Tyrone yesterday, I saw a man so different from what he was months ago. He is now serving as one of the ushers and upcoming leaders who took sign up forms from people who wanted to join victory groups. He’s got a few people to text this week and hopefully form a victory group for them in a few weeks time.

If I was already surprised at what God has been doing in his life, nothing prepared me for what happened yesterday during our victory group meeting. When it was his turn to speak, he spoke with such power and anointing that one of the tough guys in our group shed a few teardrops. Even I was so amazed at him. Hasn’t it just been months when I first saw him walk into one of our services? Barely a month ago, I stood with him in prayer for something he’s been fighting against all his life.

And now this…

Lord, thank you for the privilege of seeing this slow motion miracle happening right in front of me. I’m grateful beyond words.

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