Day 38--Praise Him in the Storm!

'Sing to Yahweh, praise Yahweh, for he has delivered the soul of one in need from the clutches of evil doers.'

JEREMIAH 20:13

The world won't like it when you follow the Lord, when you refuse to do things that everyone else seems to be doing. But take courage! You have your own personal superhero: God himself. When people want to harm you, when you are persecuted because of the Gospel, remember that the Lord won't give you more than you can take--and yes, He will allow these things to happen--such is life--but hang on to Him with all your strength and He will get you through. He will deliver you in His own time. DO NOT LET GO. Sometimes it feels like it would be easier and more convenient to just forget about God and live a 'normal' life in the world. In fact, there are 'Christians' out there that will tell you God wants you to have everything you ever wanted--money, prestige, fame--and that if you don't have it then you must be doing something wrong or your relationship with Christ is not real. Well, newsflash: that's not what Jesus said. Jesus said to us 'if you want to follow me, you must take up your cross!' Now, who wants to do that when the world is so much more luring and comfortable (at first glance)? Who wants to take on unnecessary suffering just to be in the way with Christ? 

Well, no one does it out of sheer pleasure. Do you really think Jesus thought 'YAAAAAAAY, CRUCIFIXION!!!'? He went through with it out of love for us, not because it seemed fun or awesome to do it. And the thing is, once you have a profound experience of the love of Christ and initiate a relationship with Him, you can't help but to love Him and you can't see a life without Him. So you will take up your cross and follow. It might not be the path to riches and fame, but it will be the path that will satisfy the deepest desires of your soul. Besides, life will have challenges anyway, so why not go through it with the hope that at the end of it you get to be welcomed into heaven by your lover, your best friend, Jesus.

So, if you are in a very difficult situation at the moment, trust that He will get you through, sing and exalt His name for He is good.

Day 37-- THE GREAT I AM!

'Jesus replied: In all truth I tell you, before Abraham ever was, I AM.'

JOHN 8:58

If you have ever heard a 'Christian' say that Jesus was the son of God but was not actually God, this is the Bible verse you should have thrown at their face (figuratively). 

This blog is usually a space to talk about the love of God and turning to Jesus and all that, but today I want to address this issue because I've encounter endless numbers of people who claim to believe in Jesus but don't believe in his divinity. Look, in this passage, Jesus tells the Jews, firstly, that before Abraham ever existed, He was already around. Secondly, Jesus calls himself 'I AM', which is the name of God himself as revealed to Moses in the burning bush-- YAHWEH,  the holy name of God, which translates into 'I AM'. So Jesus is telling the Jews He existed before Abraham because He himself is God--no room for discussion. And if you think Jesus was just using symbolism, take a look at the Jews' reaction: they almost stone Him because to them this was a great blasphemy.

So if you ever had a question about the divinity of Jesus, please do yourself a favor and study Scripture. It's all in there. 100% God. 100% man. How? Just because God can do it. Is the offspring of a horse a horse? Yes. Is the son of a man a man? Duh. So what is the Son of God? Bingo. If he were just a simple human, why would we think that his sacrifice in the cross would have the power to redeem the whole world? So when Jesus says I AM, imagine the split reaction: some people tore their garments in indignation, but others must have been like: 

May we be like the latter!! May the name of Jesus  make our hearts tremble!!

'that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth' (Phil 2:10).

Day 36--The truth will set you free!!

'To the Jews who believed in him Jesus said: If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples; you will come to know the truth, and the truth will set you free'.

JOHN 8:31-32

The truth will set you free, Jesus says. But what is 'the truth'? Well, Jesus himself! He is the truth, the way, and the life. And we believe in Him, if we make His word our home, we will be free. Because freedom is not about being able to do whatever we want whenever we want. True freedom is about being unchained from sin and dwelling in the love of God, who is all goodness and who want to give us life in abundance! 

The world will tell you that freedom is living life on your own terms. But what the world fails to tell you is that this so-called freedom will fail to satisfy you. Because we were created by God and we will not rest until we rest in Him. Jesus is our true freedom simply because he lifts up the burden of our sins and takes it upon Him and to the cross. He loves us unconditionally. But He doesn't force anyone to follow Him. He waits patiently for us--and boy, some of us take a very long time! Some of us go our lives looking for something to fill up that hole in our hearts and souls, and we use all kinds of things to fulfill that need--other people, careers, money, drugs, alcohol, food, etc. But seriously, that is a hole designated to be filled exclusively by God, so nothing else will work. 

If you are seeking with all your heart to fill that void, don't despair. Those who seek with an open heart and who truly desire to find the truth will find Him. Ask God to help you find Him, ask Him to show himself to you! He won't relent until He has you. 

Day 35--the Bronze Serpent

'Moses then made a serpent out of bronze and raised it as a standard, and anyone who was bitten by a serpent and looked at the bronze serpent survived.'

NUMBERS 21:9

Yes, this one is pretty odd. So the Jews were walking around the desert for a very long time after Moses got them out of Egypt, and they became impatient and began speaking against God, so God sent snakes to them and many died. So the Jews tell God 'oh no, we're really sorry, please stop this!' and what does God do? He commissions Moses to make a bronze serpent, just like the ones that were biting the people, and lift it up on a pole, and those who looked at it were healed.

Symbolism much? Just to give you an idea...

Does it look familiar? Ringing any bells? Anyone? Anyone?

LET ME GIVE YOU A HINT--

BOOM!

The bronze snake is lifted up so the people  could be healed of the attack of the snake. The Son of God, Jesus, is lifted up on a cross so that we can be healed of the attack of the snake--the devil, sin. And why is a snake the cure for snake bite? Well, it's not that the snake is the cure--it's that the snake up in the pole is rendered powerless. And our sins, nailed up in that cross, are rendered  powerless!! Jesus, the Lamb, the blameless victim, is covered in our sins--he rips them away from us and takes them up on his shoulders and up to be crucified with Him. 

This is why, in today's gospel, Jesus tells the Jews 'When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am He' (John 8:28). When we look up at the crucified Christ, lifted up in humiliation, we see how great is His love! A symbol of death,  the most horrible method of torture and humiliation became to us the biggest demonstration of the most pure, beautiful, overwhelming love of God, stretching up His arms towards us, shedding every drop of His blood for us, who can never possibly deserve it. Breaking our chains, setting us free, healing our wounds, giving us the peace we so long for. That is the awful and awe-striking truth of the cross.

Day 34--Oh, Susanna, don't you cry for me!

42 She cried out as loud as she could, 'Eternal God, you know all secrets and everything before it happens;

43 you know that they have given false evidence against me. And now I must die, innocent as I am of everything their malice has invented against me!'

DANIEL 13: 42-43

What a power story we read today (and what a long first reading!!). Susanna had been accused of adultery by two nasty old men who were lusting after her and were resentful because she declined their advances. She chose death over offending God! What an example for us, huh? She clamors to the Lord for justice and she is heard: God, through the prophet Daniel, saves Susanna from execution and punishes the two men. Susanna's faith is truly inspiring!

Oh, don't we all wish we were righteous and faithful like Susanna? Yet it's so easy for us to sin!!!! We don't even need to be coerced into sin by two creepy men--we manage just fine on our own, huh? Sometimes it looks easier to do bad than good things. Heck, some of us might even be like the creepy old men--peer-pressuring and manipulating and doing all kinds of things to bring people to sin! And the worst part of it all is that these 'elders' were men of authority and good standing in society, so they abused their power to get their way. Haven't we met people like that before? Yeah!! 

But do not despair--if you read today's gospel, there's also another bunch of weird old dudes, but this time actually trying to stone a woman caught in the act of adultery. These men take the woman to Jesus and--in order to put him to the test--ask him 'hey, what should we do? Moses said we should stone adulterers, but what do you think?' Notice how these guys, all in apparent good moral standing, want to catch Jesus contradicting the Law. But Jesus can outsmart anyone any day of the week--even on Monday!

Jesus says 'well, that's all right. But let someone who is sinless take the first shot'. PWNED. Yeah, these men might be a bunch of self-righteous men, but they don't dare to make the affirmation that they are sinless... so they all leave the woman alone, with Jesus. 

10 Jesus again straightened up and said, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?'

11 'No one, sir,' she replied. 'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus. 'Go away, and from this moment sin no more.'

JOHN 8: 10-11

That's right, you got two bible quotes today--you lucky you. In all seriousness, though... look at that! Jesus tells the woman, who was guilty as charged, that He won't condemn her!! See, that's the beauty of our Lord-- whether you are Susanna or the adulteress, God hears your cry! That's why Jesus died on the cross, not because of who we are, but because He is God and He loves us!God's justice is for all!! He saves Susanna for her faith and righteousness, but He also saves the adulteress out of pure love, to give her a second chance. The only condition? 'Go and sin no more, change your ways, convert, turn to me!' God has love for both the good and the bad, but in order to abide in that love we--the bad--must recognize that we are sinners and be contrite of heart. 

And yes, there are people in positions of power--even within the Church--that sin horribly and lead others to sin. And yes, one of the biggest illnesses attacking our Church is self-righteousness and hypocrisy (like the men in both these stories). But God is also waiting for them to turn around and truly follow Him. And look, if they don't convert, don't you worry about them and don't make them your excuse to stay away from Jesus' church because, as we saw with those two creepers, God will take care of it--on His own time and terms, but He will.

Lord, thank you for your love and forgiveness! Praise and glory to You forever!

Day 33--Fist Pumping for Jesus!

24 Martha said, 'I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.'

25 Jesus said: I am the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me, even though that person dies, will live,

26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

27 'Yes, Lord,' she said, 'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.'

JOHN 11:24-27

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, singing 'HE'SSSSSSS DA RESURREC--TIONNNN!' Guys, this is one of those times in scripture when Jesus is very blunt about his identity and I'm just like WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!! Jesus is the resurrection, our source of eternal life!!!

And I love Martha in this. You see, there were hundreds of women following Jesus, and Martha is one of the few that gets named in the Bible, but for all the wrong reasons. The first time we encounter Martha, Jesus scolds her for worrying too much about other things (cleaning and cooking, etc) that have nothing to do with Him. But this time Martha makes up for it as she makes a huge declaration of faith--just like when Peter tells Jesus 'you are the Christ!'. 

I always identify myself with Martha--in fact, my friends started calling me "Martha, Martha" for a while because the Lord kept telling me to stop being so much like Martha and be more like Mary (her sister) and just rest in His presence. Yes, I've tried to be less Martha and more Mary, but I've also learned to embrace my marthaness, particularly because of this passage. Martha is strong and a doer and a go-getter, and she tells Jesus straight up 'look, I'm unhappy about this and I wish you would have done this, but I trust you because you are God!' We see Martha grow in faith.

So yeah, I am a Martha. I believe, Lord! And when my faith is assaulted by doubt, help my unbelief! We are all in a process of growing in our faith, but the Lord reaches out to us and meets us where we're at, no matter if we are like Mary or like Martha.

And to hear Jesus say 'I am the resurrection' is so comforting because we have the hope of an eternity with Him in heaven, because, by his sacrifice, we live! He saves us from our spiritual death, from our sin, our dirtiness, our darkness, our tomb and gives us life everlasting! Thank you Lord for being my resurrection. Because of You, I am alive again.

Day 32--Follow through!

44 Some wanted to arrest him, but no one actually laid a hand on him.

45 The guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, 'Why haven't you brought him?'

46 The guards replied, 'No one has ever spoken like this man.'

JOHN 7:44-46

The pharisees had sent the temple guards to arrest Jesus, but when they heard Him speak, they just couldn't do it. They felt in their hearts that Jesus was truly a prophet--and could possibly be the messiah! However, they ultimately follow through with their orders when they apprehend Jesus and take Him to the chief priests. What on earth makes them change their minds? Is it their sense of duty? Is it the pressure exerted by the pharisees? Do they fear losing their jobs for becoming followers of Jesus?

We are not strangers to this type of thing. Those who follow Christ are persecuted today as they were almost 2000 years ago. I've seen people lose friends, become estranged from family members, pass on job opportunities, success, money, and fame all because of Jesus. Yes, of course it's hard, but Jesus himself rewards us for it! Don't be afraid to follow Him!! At the end of the day, if you leave Jesus to chase something else, you won't be as happy. That's the bottom line. If only these guards would have followed through. But who knows, maybe they did... maybe seeing that innocent holy man crucified changed their hearts. That's between them and God now. 

Choose Christ, first and foremost, once and for all. Seeking His Kingdom first and everything else shall be given to you! If a promotion, a relationship, or a friendship is going to put your relationship with the Lord in jeopardy, then that's indicative enough that you should drop everything and run, run to Jesus! Don't allow anything to come between you and God. Remember that you are His and everything you have is His. Keep your eyes on the cross.