At the threshold of a new door opened by grace

Tonight, I finished my very first leading of a bible discussion group. I've done this at least once before but tonight was the very first time I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. Praise Jesus! Hallelujah!

Our discussion focused on the topic of Law and Grace. What is Law? What is Grace? Are they two separate things or can they be mixed together. Are you a Jesus-centered Christian or a rule-based Christian? Yes, that's right - many who profess to be Christian can be of either types. When you obey the Law to make right with God then you are the latter. When you allow the Grace of God to lead you to the obedience of the faith in Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross then you are the former.

I chose this topic because it's very close to my heart. Grace is not just a doctrine. Grace is literally Jesus Christ. The world did not deserve Him but He freely came so we may believe and have an eternity of the abundant life.

The transcript of my presentation is available here.

Proud and Mighty

The following is a personal reflection of a sermon about the sin of vanity.

On vanity

Much of what I see today, even in myself, is that we spend a lot of time in introspection. We charge ahead in life with a confidence in the knowledge that we are responsible for our success or failure. We internalize thoughts like "the answer to my problem lies within me. I have to examine my strengths and channel those out in the open. My weakness is an illusion. I create the circumstances of my own success. My destiny is my own."
The above new age thinking is now prevalent because it has the appearance and feeling of truth. Although truth in this new age context is relative, isn’t it? If it’s not my truth then it isn’t true. My truth is what I say it to be. My reality is my own.
Indeed pride is the root of all the other sins. The effect of pride on others is condemnation. A proud person condemns the people around him or her. We say, "I am superior" just so we can project an outside image of strength and leadership. Then there's the "I am inferior" to solicit attention and garner pity points. Vain thoughts are what keeps people from seeking help but pride is also what gives people a sense of entitlement.
Individualism is so rooted in our culture these days that it's not a leap to start self-worship when things are right and blame everyone else when things go wrong.
Pride hardens the heart indeed and causes us to become self-righteous.
I remember reading Exodus 19 when God was preparing to hand down the Ten Commandments, "[8] Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD." Exodus 19:8 NKJV.
That statement even before the commandments were given had a sense of fullness of pride as if they can DO all that is required. And so in Exodus 20, God gave the Law and so the ministry of death began, as Paul called the Ten Commandments in 2 Corinthians 3:7.

The antidote

The unmerited gift of our Lord Jesus Christ is the antidote to pride. When as believers we arm ourselves with this truth and claim the new promise revealed in Hebrews 8:12 then our hearts of stone are melted and we are set free. Jesus has paid for my sinful pride at the cross and His resurrection made me right with my Abba, Father.
Let's shift our mind to Jesus and be occupied with His thoughts. This is the true meaning of repentance. When we change our minds that changes our actions.

What it means for me to live in grace

It's not that simple

God's grace is a lot harder in the natural to comprehend. I know for sure that the knowledge that I have this unfettered access to everything that my God offers to the whole world also leads me to become egotistical and self-centered. Let me explain. I read a news story about dangerous speed racing on public access highways among teenage kids using their Lamborghini and Porsche sports cars. These kids were using their parent's cars for their own thrills - a very self-gratifying experience. Now, who is to blame for these kids' dangerous lifestyle? Some blame the kids for bragging too much. They want to be accepted by their peers so they abuse their parent's generosity and grace just to impress their friends. Some people blame the parents for raising entitled children who they allow to grow up without rules and tell them that they can do all they want. I don't know for sure who's to blame. I don't have the complete picture. I don't have the benefit of knowing the history of those kids and their parents. One thing I can be certain is that understanding the grace of God isn't just as easy as juxtaposing it in the example given above. God is not some irresponsible parent. And we the kids are not always trying to impress our peers. However, the parallel ideas establish for me a framework for understanding how grace is defined in proper context.

Living on faith

As a Christian, I live on the faith that Jesus came down to save the whole world from themselves. He came down to save me from myself. This is called the amazing grace. So that all who believe in him shall have eternal life. I live by faith on this promise everyday. So, my faith activates this promise that God so freely gave to me. This presupposes that if I don't believe in God and Jesus, the promise doesn't work. I am not going to explain about people who don't believe in God in this post. Frankly, not believing in God doesn't exclude someone from experiencing the effects of being separated from Him.

Now someone, who believes in God, might ask, "what is the benefit of eternal life?" My answer is, "Don't you want to live forever? And if you were to live forever, don't you want to be also forever young, forever healthy, forever successful in all that you do, and forever happy in every circumstance?" Well, I want that eternal life living healthy, successfully, and forever happy. I can jumpstart that process now by believing in Jesus and his amazing grace while I am still naturally alive. Everybody dies a natural death because of sin. I live in a broken world because of the sin committed by my first ancestor, Adam. After natural death, eternity continues on. So, if I am living crappily in my natural life what do I think my life will be in eternity? It will be hell for sure. Fortunately for me, my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, came down to earth 2000 years ago. He lived in the natural knowing no sin, doing no sin, and having no sin in his body. But he died an agonizing death on the cross and his body took every sin from every person who lived, who were living at the time, and who are going to be born. And when he said, "It is finished", he meant that sin no longer has a hold on me. He did the work, I reap the benefits. He was punished and killed and he was and is the only person in history to be killed as truly innocent. Then, when he rose again, he made us right with God and our godlessness is once and for all forgiven. Again, I emphasize that you can't have this perfect forgiveness without first believing in God and believing in Jesus' saving work.

Uhhmm... Uhhmm...

I know people who subscribe to the new age philosophy that basically says, "I live in harmony with the universe. The universe provides me with every tool that I need to be happy. This consciousness of myself lives within me and I have to free it up to reach my potential in life. I create my own destiny. My future belongs to me." It's sad to think that new age people are as blinded as the gnostics in ancient Palestine and the whole Greek world. These people think that the universe they worship is the true God and do not realize that the universe is only a creation and thus has no spiritual value whatsoever. I digress, but this life philosophy is prevalent in modern mysticism and the arts and entertainment world. It is an intoxicating idea that I can do everything myself. There's a morsel of truth here but it's not the complete truth. You see this new age thinking can lead me to think that "I, alone, am responsible for everything that happens in my life." Can you see how this philosophy can bring destruction to one's own being?

I am not buying the new age philosophy because

First of all, no one man can do everything by himself. Simple illustration: I am not a good singer if I am unable to convince another person that I am a good singer. In other words, I need that other person's confirmation that I am a good singer. But what if I already know that I'm not a good singer. Well, I can ask a good vocal coach to teach me how to sing. Did I then, do this alone? Granted, I took it upon myself to enlist someone's help. Technically, I still did it myself. So, the partial truth is, I can do things on my own. But the complete truth is, I still need someone else to validate my success. What does this tell me. It tells me that every joy and peace we experience in life, is not something that we can attribute to ourselves only but also to everyone who had a part in it. Joy, peace, love are relational and thus they are shared experiences.

Secondly, self-belief leads to a big ego. I don't know about everyone else, but I don't relish the idea of spending and sharing time with an egotistical person. No two egotists can co-exist in the same vicinity. They devour everything leaving out nothing for everyone.

Lastly, believing that I alone can do everything to make me happy, involves too much work. One universal truth I've learned is that the more work I put into achieving happiness, the more work that I have to do to keep it. Just think, if someone robs me of that happiness I worked so hard to achieve, I might end up in either of two places: in jail or in the asylum.

You can be with everybody but still feel lonely

Wikipedia defines loneliness like this, "Loneliness is a complex and usually unpleasant emotional response to isolation or lack of companionship. Loneliness typically includes anxious feelings about a lack of connectedness or communality with other beings, both in the present and extending into the future. As such, loneliness can be felt even when surrounded by other people." It's interesting that even when you surround yourself with all the happiest people you can find who can infect you with their zest for life, you can still feel lonely. Jesus' love and mercy, indeed his amazing grace can rescue you from that loneliness. You can feel his presence through his Word in the bible. You can experience his joy and peace in your mind when you read his salvation work throughout the bible.

Living in grace, for me, means that I am not alone in my loneliness. It is a mental state in which I can work while resting and then achieving so much. This, as opposed to working tirelessly just to maintain a fleeting moment of happiness. Living in grace also means that I live in gratitude for what Christ has done for me. There is an eternity beyond my natural life so I should live life with a purpose. A purpose to live by faith so that my faith can lead me to experience all the benefits of God's grace right now while I am still living physically. God's grace is a free gift of salvation from the effects of sin, that is, suffering, condemnation, and illnesses. And because I live in grace, I possess the antidote to death.

It's really that simple

In the beginning I said, "God's grace is a lot harder in the natural to comprehend." In conclusion, I say, "that grace is simpler to understand when we start believing that grace is His way to reach out to us and free us from the effects of a broken world thus, preparing us for the eternity that he promised."

A Lenten Reflection

This blog is a repost of an earlier one I made during the 2014 Lenten Season on 16 March 2014.

A Christian brother posted a series of questions on Facebook about LENTEN REFLECTION. The questions are: What is Matthew 17: 1-9, otherwise known as The Transfiguration all about? Why is it significant to us Christians?

Introduction

Let's look at the characters in the gospel account. We have Jesus, Peter, James, John, Moses, Elijah, and God the Father. Let's look at the objects mentioned such as the high mountain and the tabernacle. Let's examine the reaction of the disciples - their fear when they heard God's voice.

Peter, Peter, what were you thinking?

First, Moses and Elijah are from the old covenant. They were great servants of God. Moses symbolizes the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets. Jesus is Grace and Truth. Jesus represents the New Covenant. Jesus is life. So, when Peter says, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” What is Peter essentially saying - that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah are on equal grounds?
So, God the Father immediately intervened and declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Those last two words "Hear Him" were very clear. Moses and Elijah do not have equal standing with Jesus. Christians today does what Peter tried to do. We are making Jesus the same as Moses and Elijah. In real life, this means that we often love only when conditions are attached. We care only after promises have been met. We criticize our friends to shame and claim to love them. Jesus is not on the same level as Moses and Elijah. Jesus is greater. So when the Father says to hear Jesus, in practical terms today, it means to love without conditions just as Jesus did for us.
It’s also interesting to see Peter, James, and John’s excellent symbolisms in this story. Peter comes from the Greek Petros meaning “stone” a symbol for the Law. James is derived from Jacob, which among other things, means “to supplant”. John is from the Hebrew Yochanan, "Yahweh is gracious", which in one word means grace. So, to complete the representations of the three in this gospel story, we can say that the “Law is supplanted by Grace”.
The superiority of Jesus’ message is of unconditional love that restores instead of condemns.

Other typologies in the story

Let’s look at the objects. We all know that Moses went up to Mt. Sinai to receive the 10 Commandments written on stone. It’s interesting that Jesus also went to a mountain (many say it’s Mt. Tabor) perhaps to reenact what Moses did but with the distinction that He was there to represent grace. And while we are on the subject of mountain typology, we all know that Jesus preached on mountains not to mention He also died on a mountain albeit a small one, a hill.
Then, there’s the tabernacles eagerly mentioned by Peter. We all know that the tabernacle is the mobile dwelling place of God. Peter, by now in this story, already knows that Jesus is the son of God. And yet, he suggests even to make three tabernacles. Again, with his characteristic quick wits equating Moses and Elijah to Jesus. Aren’t we like Peter many times always quick to speak without thinking? We behave like the grace of God comes with conditions apart from faith or with an attitude of self-righteousness for blessings to flow.

In conclusion

Lastly, let’s examine the reaction of the disciples after the Father spoke. Several bible translations say they were “greatly afraid”, “terrified”, and “scared to death”. Peter, James, and John knew what happened on the first Pentecost on Mt. Sinai. The people at the foot of the mountain were terrified of death on hearing God’s voice and would only listen to Moses. Just like Moses, Jesus went to the three and told them not to feel afraid. Upon further examination, at Mt. Sinai, Moses also told the people not to fear but the people stood away from the mountain. However, Jesus told the disciples “Arise…”, to stand up then said, “...do not be afraid.”
Remember also that the first Pentecost resulted in 3000 deaths (Exodus 32) but the second Pentecost resulted in life, that is, life in Christ (Acts 2) when 3000 became Christians. These accounts, to me, indicate that Jesus is about life not death.

To sum up, Matthew 17:1-9 is an illustration of Jesus' superiority, His authority, His Lordship over us. When we believe and follow Jesus, there is life. And where there is life, there is restoration.

A Prologue: "I Believe in Grace" Blog

Why the blog?

I am starting this new blog as an outlet for me to express the feelings and thoughts that I have about my new life in Christ Jesus. It is a journal of the revelations that I receive in my theology of the Christian faith. They are my opinions shaped by my heart, my mind, and my soul as I study the Word. It's a record of my journey towards discovering biblical truths for the first time or rediscovering long-held doctrines in a new light.

My testimony in a nutshell

I have always believed in God. I was born into that belief. I grew up believing that there is God up there looking after me when my parents were not around. And when they weren't around, I did sinful things. Many that I don't care to list here. But I believed that when I got into trouble, somehow, I wouldn't be able to get away with it. That I'd be found out and then get punished. During that time, spanking was an acceptable form of parental discipline. I got spanked a handful of times with bruises that hurt like a burn. Ironically, this persevering thought of God watching over me may have been the reason why I stayed out of trouble during elementary and all the way through high school. I was afraid of getting punished.
In university, I avoided the campus Christian proselytizers. They were the ones actively recruiting Catholics to become born-again Christians by asking "When you die tonight, do you know where you are going?" I remember thinking that my prejudice towards them were shaped by the common fear among largely Catholic folks that they weren't teaching the real faith. They were armed with bible verses to discredit Mary, the Saints, and the rituals of the Church that have been the common thread holding the fabric of our culture.
In retrospect, I could have spent time with them and learned more about this "born-again" thing. It could have brought me sooner to the realization of the amazing grace of God in my life. All through university and in fact throughout my early career, I avoided such encounters. I recall a conversation between a lady coworker of mine about her similar encounter with Baptist folks. I recall her reaction as somehow being repulsed by their invitation to attend church with them. I wondered then what turned her off so much as to be blinded by their message. I think it was the misguided association of the word "Baptist" to fundamentalist and militant Christians showing off their hypocrisy and hatred toward other people who were different. Of course, now I know that the fundamentalists are just cult members whose leaders pervert bible doctrines to serve their own self interests.

It's all about...

I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior at a non-denominational Sunday service offered at a business conference that I attended with my wife. I don't recall much about the sermon but when the pastor started asking people to come to the front and close their eyes and bow their heads, I just went. I prayed the sinner's prayer. Then what happened next was totally uncharacteristic of me. I cried inconsolably like someone I love had died in front of me. I realize it was my old self that died. A few weeks after that experience, I lived like I was God's only child. I started focusing on living for Him not wanting to disappoint Him and losing His precious gift. I shed my practice of touching blessed artifacts for blessings and healings. I discontinued reciting the rosary and the litanies. I gathered all my statues and amulets and gave them all away. I still attended a Catholic church just to hear the sermons and to receive communion. Gradually, I ended up attending a Baptist church. I loved the praise and worship in the beginning of each Sunday service. They evoked in me the feeling of connectedness to God. I started reading the Bible and attending bible studies to deepen my knowledge of the Bible and Jesus Christ. Somehow though, I still felt that I could lose my salvation gift. I started focusing on what I can do to maintain my standing with God. In other words, I lived a very religious life that was based on a checklist of items to do. I was angry at myself or blamed others for coming late during services and missing praise and worship. I was guilted to doing charity and giving money to tithes. When there was an opportunity to share my testimony, I felt that I didn't deserve the privilege. I became convinced that my blessings come and go depending on how much I got obeying the commandments. Good luck meant I did good. Bad luck meant I did or missed something in my practice of holiness. Worse, when I or someone in my family got sick or died (such as my mom dying from cancer), I blamed myself and thought my past sins have caught up to me.

... the heart

Then I met a Christ-centered, bible-based, grace teaching pastor. It's a one way meeting actually. I simply listened and watched his broadcast sermons and podcasts because you see, he is a TV pastor. He is quite unique among the many TV pastors that have come and gone on television. It's very easy at first glance to dismiss him as one of the snake oil ministries or the apocalyptic messengers or even the money for faith healers that have plagued televangelism throughout the last 30 to 40 years. But he's not like any other. In fact, he is a pastor of a megachurch in Singapore and his sermons are edited and broadcast on TV in 20-minute episodes. His grace teaching is to clearly separate and expose the difference between the Law on side and Grace and Truth on another side. Needless to say, he became influential in my spiritual revival. His teachings appealed to my heart.
Following his advice, I started reading the bible through the lens of Jesus' finished work on the cross. He discouraged literalism in bible interpretation especially of the old testament and encouraged people to always read the bible in context. Read the previous verse or chapter, then read the succeeding verse or chapter. Consider the history of the time period it was written, the author, and the audience and get to know the original Greek and Hebrew texts. Through his teachings, I became more immersed in my bible reading and I felt the real presence of the Holy Spirit guiding me in my studies. I began to see the real amazing grace found in the person of Jesus Christ.

... the mind

Then, at the beginning of this year, influenced by a cousin-in-law, I found a pastor who is an excellent communicator and a great expositor of Jesus. I auditioned his sermons on the church website before deciding to listen to his Christ-focused messages during Sunday services. Presently, I regularly attend the Baptist church where he is the senior pastor. His method of teaching is to present contrasts and extremes in Christian living and then bring Jesus into the equation. I sense his passionate disdain for "religious" living often criticizing the self-righteous behavior of some so-called followers of Christ (who may be attending the church, yikes!) He is an intellectual, an avid reader, a Church historian. We've been exchanging emails and he's been gracious enough to answer my many questions about the faith we share in Jesus. I developed an appreciation of the rich history of the Church (and its many characters from Acts to modern times) and started incorporating this in my theology. This pastor's teachings appealed to my mind.

... the soul

Lately, as I advanced in my personal theology of the grace of God through his Son, opportunities to share my testimony have begun to come to me in every direction. My wife and daughter are the immediate beneficiaries. I think that I've changed for the better for them because of the revelations of Jesus Christ in my own studies.
I began ministering to my father and two sisters and every chance I get when I talk to them over the phone or on Facebook, I tell them about God's love and his gift of Jesus.
I am now more engaged in bible studies and fellowship ministries with my brothers and sisters in Christ and I share my faith with colleagues in the office. I'd like to say that my own study of the bible appealed to my soul.

Start the blog!

And now, I am starting this blog. My goal is to expose my thoughts on this grace that I found in Jesus and to share my testimony to as many people as possible who are willing to be impacted by the grace that is Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.