Prized Catch

When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:11

They were in the middle of the lake throughout the night yet not even a single fish hop into their boats. Not until Jesus gave them the direction where and when to put the nets. When they did what He told them, the nets were almost teared apart. One boat was not strong enough to catapult this catch so they have to bring another boat to pull out the fishes. Luke describes in this account that even the boats were in risk of sinking because of the great catch. If I was in Peter’s boat, I would be ecstatic about this night. Business is booming. There must be a great colony of fish around this lake. Given this prized catch, I can stay every night sailing along keeping my nets low and wait for another almost-net-breaking and almost-boat-sinking prized catch.  But that is me, that is not Peter. Who got the fisherman’s attention, the fishes or Jesus? What or who is the prized catch, the fishes or Jesus?  Peter and the other fishermen left the business and followed Jesus. They made Jesus’ business their business.

Now on our part. During these challenging times, the same question is posted for us, what or who is your prized catch? What or who catches your attention? Is it your career? You may have a dream job which may boosts your career to greater heights. You are raking the fruits of years of education and hard work. Your friends dream to be in your desk. Is it your business? Recession pulls down many companies but not yours.  Your company surpasses the shakes and tremors of the unstable economy.

In one way or another, Jesus has directed your path. Jesus has pointed to this part of the lake and you followed Him. Business is booming. So what’s your action? Will you stay or follow Him?

The fishes were not the prized catch. So is not your work and not your business. Jesus is. Make His business your business.

Yes Bo, We Are Parasites

“Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power, majesty, splendor, and glory. For all in heaven and on earth is yours; yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty; you are exalted as head over all. “Riches and honor are from you, and you have dominion over all. In your hand are power and might; it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.” 1 Chronicles 29:11-12

Bo Sanchez, a popular preacher and financial freedom mentor in the Philippines, sent an interesting email to all subscribers of his soul food. Since I’m an email subscriber I received the said email. In this message, Bo details how one relative would come to their home to ask for various financial help. Tuition fees, house rent, utility bills, school projects, dental expenses, and school shoes are some of the items this relative would cite to gain aid from Bo’s mother.  When the parent became old, the daughter and her son took the role of coming over to enumerate their financial woes which Bo’s mother would mitigate by helping out.  Bo points out that these dole outs turned their relatives to become parasites. Always on the receiving end but not on the giving end.

David, a popular Biblical hero and king, sent a message to God’s people twenty centuries ago, “Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power, majesty, splendor, and glory. For all in heaven and on earth is yours; yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty; you are exalted as head over all. “Riches and honor are from you, and you have dominion over all. In your hand are power and might; it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.” 1 Chronicles 29:11-12. This is clear – all in heaven and on earth is God’s. This is crystal – riches and honor are from God.  Everything we had, everything we have, and everything we will have comes from God. Our financial prosperity comes from God alone though we work our butts out yet our skills and talents which we use to get compensation belongs to God. His strength is the strength when we apply our education. His wisdom is the wisdom we share to innovate. God’s resources are the resources we have in order to do work may it be to provide food for your family or to spark inspiration to your brothers and sisters. All achievements and credentials which give you honor comes from Him.

We are at the mercy of the Owner. We depend on His dole outs. We are always at the receiving end and never on the giving end since anything we give to Him is from Him.

Yes Bo, we are parasites.

Stand Up

John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Mark 6:18

In your face. A king being told by an ordinary man of what is lawful and what is not. Herod took his brother’s wife thus John the Baptist told him, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herod has the power to judge who will live and who will die. John has the call to say what is right and what is wrong. In Herod’s face, John stood up. John did not stand down. No sugarcoating. No dilly dally. No beating around the bush. He told the king what has to be told even at the risk of his earthly life. In my mind, John gave the correction in a loving way, for if not, Herod would not kept him in custody but sent him to death right away. However, in the end, John died for standing up.

The world nowadays is colored gray. Black and white are mixed up. Often times, we stand down to opportunities to standing up for what is right or wrong. If my boss does what is wrong then I join him. If my father is a womanizer so let me be one. If my friends do pre-marital sex, I jump into it. If abortion is legal, just do it. If divorce is accepted, let me apply it.

And this is all happening in our face. And the call is the same – stand up. To stand up is to die like John. Die with our fears of getting ridiculed because we take a stand. Die with fears of not being accepted when we straighten up our feet. Bury our fears of not being heard because our voices will be overcome by their voices. Bring your fear of futility to rest for nothing is wasted when we stand up for God. Let our fears and worries die so we may bring life in others.

Do not take wrong by sitting pretty. Stand up.

Family First

But he would not permit him but told him instead, “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” Mark 5:19

My cousin was very proud of me. He was my class mate from elementary to high school, so we share some common things. We were in a family gathering and he was telling everyone I was the manager at DZYA, a local radio station in Angeles City.  I have to hurry to stop the mistake he was spreading. He was misguided and might have misunderstood that I was working for the radio station. I told him I was working for CYA and not DZYA. CYA is Christ’s Youth in Action a movement for college students committed to bringing young people to the Lord Jesus Christ. At that time, I was serving and managing several staffers covering the whole Central Luzon.  After we spoke, it hit my heart. How many times, I have told a stranger about my experience with the love of God but passed by cousin or an uncle who needed to hear the same good news.  I spoke at retreats and prayer meetings about the life in Jesus yet I have not even volunteered to say a prayer before meals in a family gathering.  I was giving bible studies to friends while I keep my mouth shut in a family gathering discussion. I find it easy to tell about God to others but when it comes to our family, I have this hesitation.

The man, who was healed by Jesus because he was possessed with unclean spirit, was instructed by Jesus to go home and tell his family the good news.  The man pleaded to Jesus that he might stay with Him. Jesus pointed – go home and tell your family.  Bible scholars believe the man did what Jesus told him. He went to off to Decapolis and proclaimed what Jesus did to him and everybody were amazed with his testimony.  And why not? They are his family who knew him before.

Jesus is telling us an important life lesson here. He encourages us to proclaim His work within our homes.  He is giving us the direction to share His goodness in our family reunions. He is calling us to speak about Christ with our children in our dinner table. Jesus is prodding sons and daughters to spend time enumerating to their parents what God has done to them.

Share God’s love to everybody. Tell what He has done to you to everyone. To your neighbor. To your friends. To your classmates. To your office mates. Make sure tell your family first.

Fear of “It’s Not God”

But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” Mark 6:45-52

We thought we will be living and serving with our brothers and sisters in Angeles City for a very long time or for the rest of our lives. For 16 years, we have been living together in a way of life called for us. From college days to being single people, we hand in hand followed and loved God. When some of us got married, we still met for worship and fellowship. When our marriages bear fruits, our children flocked and run around our prayer meetings and events. When we were still studying in the university, we shared how we will grow old loving God and one another. We have the vision to continue living as Christians in a covenanted community set-up.  Our family’s activities were surrounded by the relationships we had with the rest of our brothers and sisters.  It was a stable condition of the present and future, shall I say.

In 2007, we heard God’s call for us for expansion. The discernment was going beyond what we expected for. April of that year, I applied and was offered a job in upstate New York, USA. By the last quarter of the year, my family of four was living in that place.  It was a smooth sailing at the start. We live in a good place and found new friends. My work provided well for us. We attended a charismatic community with Filipino lineage.  And then the waves came…instability.

Recession hits the US. Recession hits us.
The company I work for tightened its belt. So, we have, too.
The community we were attending had completely different approaches compared with what we have grown with thus we made the decision to stop participating.

At this point, I started to wonder. Did we hear something from God? Or was it from a “ghost”? Same thing happened with the disciples. They were on the shore which was stable. Jesus made them to get into the boat. When heavy winds blew the boat, they saw Jesus walking on water. They were terrified since they thought it was not Jesus, their initial identification was that Jesus was a ghost.   But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” (Mark 6:50). We heard the same words when we met up with brothers and sisters who came from different branches of Ang Lingkod ng Panginoon (Lingkod) in the Philippines who were now living in the northeastern part of USA.  Jesus identified himself to the disciples as the one who made them to get into the boat. Jesus made sure we are on the same page with the disciples as we came into deeper relationship with these former Lingkod members.  After heartfelt prayers, we are now part of building a ministry for single men and women with the same former Lingkod brothers and sisters.

The disciples were terrified and feared it was a ghost, that it was not God. We also had that fear – fear of “It’s not God”.  And in both occasions, Jesus said, “It is I.”  We will have courage and be not afraid.

Not a Coincidence

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.  Jeremiah 1:5

In the opening scene of the film “Sister’s Keeper”, Anna narrates about babies being born as coincidences. That there are millions of babies floating around the universe waiting to be attached to a female body. Looking deeply into this thought, every human being exists because of coincidence. Every man or a woman is an accident. You look at yourself or you see someone in your house or at the streets, all are not meant to be there. You have a family, your parents or your siblings and those people you love are all coincidence. You look at your dearest own children and your neighbor’s kids, based from this birth coincidence, there is a chance you might have swapped babies at the hospital.

God told Jeremiah , “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” With God’s stand point, we are not a coincidence.  With God, nobody is an accident. He knows us before we were formed in our mother’s womb. He has a plan for us to be with Him. He has a holy scheme for us to be empowered to serve Him in His kingdom. This is not predestination. We have choices or options to make. And whatever path we take, God meets us there to fit His plan with our choice. God has a plan for us to be born and serve Him as missionaries to the nations.

You have been given an entry to the US for a holy purpose.
You are in Singapore to expand His kingdom.
You are a medical practitioner in Europe to care for His people.
You decide to stay in the Philippines to do God’s work.
Middle East is your mission place as you work as an engineer or an accountant.

Every time, you look at the mirror. Every time, you look at your child’s face. Take heart the grand design why you and I exist. To know God. To be dedicated for God. To make God known. That is not a coincidence.

God is Near

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ Luke 10:9

The house should be located near our daughters’ school. It must be within their school’s area. This was our primary consideration when we were scouting for a home. We did not want Praise and Bless to transfer to a new school because we are moving to a new house. There’s familiarity with that place also, meaning our surrounding will not change that much. Most of the time, other people call this “location” based. If one is transferring from one point to another, then the new place must be near the malls or maybe near hospitals. Someone may like their place near something.  Near their church. Near their school. Near your relatives. Near parks. Near fast foods or restaurants. Near convenient stores. Near your workplace.  Near the gym. Near the farmlands. Near the highways.  There’s a good word to describe that – accessibility. And who will never want that?

Jesus gave this instruction to the seventy two men, “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’” When the kingdom is near, then the King is near. God is accessible. He can come to us. We can come to Him. We are in a good location. He is near. We do not need to walk or drive a long way. We do not need to wait for a queue in the telephone line to get an appointment. See God through your family – your spouse and your children. Anytime and anywhere, we can converse with God through prayer and reading the Holy Scripture. Eat with Him through your co-workers at your office kitchen. Listen to Him through that Christian radio station. Be inspired by Him through that faithful preacher.  His kingdom is near, too. We have at our disposal God’s grace. God’s bounty is for us to enjoy. We have at our hearts God’s mercy and strength. His power is within reach and let His power reach us within.

God is near. And who will never want that?

Presence Presents the Message

He said to them, “…Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.” Luke 10: 4

I always pass by this reformed church as I drive to and from work. I have never entered the church. Yet, the church has deeply inspired me by the sign in front of the church. Once, the sign read “Anger is one letter short of danger.” It gave me the conviction to control my temper. The other month the sign presented, “The future comes one day at a time.” It prompted me to thank God who supplies my daily bread. One memorable message the sign carried was “When carrying heavy loads, bend your knees.” It reminded me to kneel and pray. The church sign has no sound system. It has no pulpit. No flares and stage. It just stood.  Rain or shine, the sign was always there. Its presence presented the message.

When Jesus sent the seventy two men, He told them not to carry money. He sent them without bags. No sandals were allowed in their mission. No friends are to be asked for help in their ministry. They were tasked to go in unfamiliar territories. Imagine doing this missionary work. Yet, these men brave the mission. All they have was their blessings from Jesus and faith in God. To wherever they were sent, they went there. Their presence presented the message.

These scenarios are very far flung nowadays. If I am going to mission, I want connections and budget. I must have a team with me. I will bring the best administrator. I would bring my bible resources.  If there is a mission trip, I have a music ministry with me. The best servants must be chosen to partake in the mission. If available, I would bring audio and video devices for sound system effects. It would also help to have a computer to present my ideas and talks.  All these will allow me to present the message.

Jesus calls us to depend in Him, not on the resources we have.  He sends us to mission empty handed but heart full of faith. He calls us to be that church sign, maybe to just to stand and let others read our lives.  Living signs who will encourage others to live positively in following God.  He calls us to be like the seventy two men. Our hands not clasp but open to His leading and mercy. Jesus calls us to an exciting lifetime of mission. He calls us to be there. By His grace, our presence will present the message.

Disciples’ Distinction

(he appointed the twelve:) Simon, whom he named Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; Mark 3:16-17

His name is Alan Bondoc yet we named him Bijong. Alan looked like my cousin from whom we derived the name. Joram Vitug is his legal name and we re-named him Dodong. There was a little boy, who looks like Joram, with that name in our outreach service for children.  We call Edwin Eco as Balugbug (Ear), for his ears tell the story. Jocas is for Jose Castro, a dear brother in Christ. Elmer Lacsamana prefers to be called Mheayaye. Allan Angeles is Apa, being a look-alike of a popular journalist. These are some of the brothers and fellow followers of Jesus with whom I have served. Their nicknames bring distinction among us. They serve God with the same passion and same zeal. Each one has a role to occupy. Bijong after his volunteer work with us became a missionary priest in East Timor, Indonesia. Dodong became a faithful husband and loving father but before that he has served the group in every capacity.  Balugbug is an excellent music leader whose gift is still unparalleled as of this writing.  Jocas is best remembered for serving with us with his availability in providing his administrative and management skills. Mheayaye and Apa are well-known for their leadership skills. Mheayaye continues to work in building a covenant community among our brothers and sisters.  Each has made an impact. Distinct from one another yet united in serving God and His people.

Jesus named Simon as Peter. He gave James and John the name Boanerges. Thomas was also called Didymus since he has a twin.  Maybe, all these disciples have another name to make them distinct. Whatever they were named or called, these men followed Jesus. These men loved Jesus. They followed Him. They walked and ate with Him. They slept where Jesus slept. They went with Jesus for mission. They left their work and families for Christ.  Each has made an impact, and their lives are our models to follow. Given their names, they were distinct from one another yet united in serving God and His people.

Today and two thousand years ago, we are differently called but respond to one similar calling – to be a disciple. That is the distinction.

Stretched and Restored

…he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. Mark 3:5

His hand was withered. If he would compare the other hand with this one, he would find this withered hand has shrunken.  This hand has wasted.  It has dried up. It has thinned. It has no life. It has no power to lift. It has no grip to hold. It just hangs on his shoulders.  Good thing this withered hand sticks to his shoulders. Good thing this man sticks to the synagogue. Good thing Jesus saw him and his withered hand. Jesus told him, “Stretch out your hand.” He gave his hand completely to Jesus. He stretched out his complete trust to Him. He stretched out his faith in God. He stretched it out and his hand was restored.  His hand is now equal with the other. It has life. It can lift. It has grip. Man stretched it out completely, God restored it completely.

Do you think your life is withered? You may have been following God for the past years and you seem to be burnt out. Or you may be a new disciple going through a deserted place. You compare your life to your friends’ or relatives’ and find your life is too shrunken. Maybe you think your life is wasted. It is dried up. Yours is life that has no life. Yours is life that has no power to lift and inspire others.  It has no grip to hold on to. You just hang on day by day. Here’s the good thing – you still have life. Good thing, you still have God. Stick to God. Stick to your prayer time. Stick praying with your family. Stick to going to church. Stick going to that worship service. Stick going to that prayer meeting. That is where Jesus is. At the right time, hear Jesus saying, “Stretch your life.” Give your life completely to Him. Stretch out completely your trust in him. Stretch out your faith in God. Stretch it out and your life will be restored. Your life will have life. You can lift and inspire others. You can grip on God. Man stretched it out completely, God restored it completely.