Putting away the holes in your pocket

One evidence that we have matured is to find out that we are not anymore dictated by the course of this world as much as we are by the Holy Spirit. There are many reasons why a Christian is supposed to be guided by an internal source rather than by external circumstances that violate volition and clear mandate from the Scriptures. More than a

The Holy Spirit filled believers to the brim so that they were overwhelmed with joy and fire to proclaim God's message to the world

philosopher or a scientist, to be a Christian does mean you must be a thinker. Faith does not preclude reasoning, rather, both reasons and external evidence in the natural world is interpreted by the internal faith of the person based on His Word living in him. This is why we are to eat the Word of God more than our daily meals three times a day! Those who forget to eat from the Word of God will find out that they are the most compromising of all Christians or are abiding in death already.

These become empty waters, alive but walking dead and their rot only makes the church all the more look repulsive outside the fellowship ring. These listen a lot but do not keep the Word and as soon as they go out of the building or the church premises, so soon they bury the Word in their beds and lick up the boots of this world. Others listen a little more and do still a little more, these are passive followers, they do not want to take risk and find the Lord on top of the Mountain or deep in the caves of solitude like Moses or Elijah did. They are satisfied to be good enough Christians. No wonder we find that the church is no longer advancing and the most prolific and widespread religion at this time is not Christianity anymore but Islam. Where have all those heritage of passionate pray-ers gone? Where have all those committed disciples toiled? Where is the fruit of their labors? Or better yet, why have we not entered into their labors?

How can we reclaim our heritage? How can we help advance the cause of heaven? Many renewal movements have come and gone in the church scene but few remained with steely resolve to help clear the way and remove the weeds that has so entangled the church today. The shaking that is currently upon the world is a grace of God, if you will, because these shakings are being allowed by the Lord to purify and cleanse His Bride of whom He is coming for without spot or wrinkle. Because the description of Paul is clear, that Jesus will come for a Bride without spot and wrinkle, there is a necessity of cleansing and period of wallowing in the water to bath and ceremonially cleanse and beautify her. In the ancient times, the bride of a king is given a period of time to cleanse, purify and beautify her such as the case for Esther, who was taken into the king’s palace for cosmetics and food and a rigid discipline of beautification for about a year before being presented to the king, “six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women…” (Esther 2:12).

In Ephesians 5:25-27, it is written that Jesus is likened to a husband who loved the church and gave Himself up for her, “so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” One method to remain clean as we are told here is to be washed by the Word and just as Esther was anointed with oil of myrrh for six months and with spices and cosmetics for another six months before being presented to the king, spending our time daily in the Word of God and year round is a sure way to be lifted up into the presence of the King of Kings. If Jesus, Who is the very Word of God has to spend time and memorize the Word of God, how much more should we?

Whether you are a practicing teacher, scientist, worker, businessman or pastor or priest, it does not matter, everyone is called to study the Word of God and to see to it that we are approved. We all must be diligent to present ourselves approved to God as a “workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). And in the King James Version, this is more accurately translated us, to “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The approved workman of God, of whom Paul is a foremost example is one who studies the Word. Does this mean we should not even eat if we cannot read the Word? For some this may be the case, and they may even need to sacrifice all their living just to get into the Word; the persecuted church could be the most powerful church on earth today because of her resolve to remain close to the Lord in spite of the injustice and unfair treatment she is receiving. No wonder then that the Spirit of Glory is in their midst doing countless signs and wonders. To be a successful messenger today, it is inevitable to be grounded in prayer and the Word. If we want to have Jesus in our message, if we want to have Jesus in our meetings and in our writings, then we must find Him in the Word, we must fellowship with Him in prayer and study.

Only the fool thinks that the greatest treasure lying dusted in many library shelves is useless. But we do this often, as long as we keep on deliberately forgetting to meditate on the Word, we also keep on delaying His Kingdom to come on earth. For such Kingdom to exist on earth, it must first touch and burn the earthly soil within our hearts and His throne set-up within the dominions of our hearts. If the thrones and dominions in our hearts are not ruled by Him, how can this inner Kingdom manifest in the natural? Then we find it really hard that such Kingdom will come on earth through ordinary vessels who have been conquered and overcome by the King of Kings.

The greatest call is simply yielding ourselves to the King and allowing Him to conquer us in all areas, then we find that indeed He has made us His abode where He dwells and His presence forever enshrined within us. This manifests through the aroma of fruit of the Holy Spirit growing and increasing in our lives. Is the King of glory reigning in your life today? Then you must ask, where is the fruit of it, in gentle lips, in quiet and meek spirit, in humility, goodness, peace, joy, love and true discernment. Are you abiding in living hope? Or you have forgotten your first love and went awhoring in the world at large? Now is the time to return to your King, now is the time to return to your first love. Now is the time to be filled with the Holy Spirit, now dictates the urgency and the need of the moment for us to take action on what otherwise could be a catastrophic failure. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

submitting to one another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:15-21).

The actual manifestation of being filled with the Holy Spirit is to speak in Psalms, sing hymns and songs, give thanks to the Lord and being submitted to one another. The person who abides in the Word and prays continually is closer to fulfilling these things, not for the sake of discipline but out of passion for the Lord. He who is in love will do everything for His loved one which is why we are commanded to love God with all that we are in mind, heart, soul and body. If we don’t, the reverse is also true; we will walk like fools, wasting time and resources that are otherwise invested in things that shall bear for eternity. Therefore as the New Year comes in nearer, let us seek to firm up our footing by resolving to be filled with the Holy Spirit every day of our lives.

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,

who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV)

Finding Christ in a broken world

Fröhliche Weihnachten! Naragsak a Pascua kadatayu amin. These two words are often painted in canvass of mixed colors, splashed with creativity, they hang almost everywhere in most shops and department stores. Some even glow at night with neon brightness. This happens not just in Europe but around the world where Christ is named and the

To the extent that we do good deeds to the least of His Brethren, we did it to Him

practice celebrated with assiduous religiosity. Sometime ago, I felt the pang of loneliness struck me as I saw how some people celebrate Christmas. Others have their families with them, adding joy to a somewhat gloomy cold and dark night if one doesn’t have those loveliness in sight.

Others have to grapple with reality, they are in the home for the aged, alone, though with other people of their age, their minds racing back in time when they were young and filled with glee as they lit up their candles, draw up the cut tree and placed them in their yards or in their living rooms. Forty years, fifty years, it seems those were just a while ago, though now they have the will to make it, yet their bodies weakened by their years of toil has finally give up on a white mattress bed. Some young men equate this season for a drinking spree, happiness means simply being out with your friends and drinking beer all night, going from shop to shop to spruce up what could be an actual loneliness inside. Christmas has come to mean many things to different people according to their own image, of what Christmas is.

You may have celebrated the previous Christmases with joy and love, you may have felt the surge of emotion coming from deep within your belly to give to others as you are motivated to do during this season. If it is so, then Christmas means an occasional event to you. Others religiously tell us and preach to us that Christmas must be year round, but often those who even preach this fail to practice it. Some even argues about the righteousness of celebrating such momentous events as we call the birth of Christ, but sooner or later the reality sets before us, it seems no one can really practice to be giving all year round. But the message has been sounded 2000 years ago in Calvary, it was a simple message, a blameless Man came to give His blood to purchase for Himself, a people, pure, spotless and blameless. Can we be that generation? Can we give love apart from Christmas?

The Man on the tree

Yet today many have forgotten the Man who was hung on the tree, they in fact changed the message to Christ having come to give His life as a ransom to many to Christ providing feasts! If this is your Christmas, then you are sure to miss the substance of this tradition. Traditions have their own places. Not all traditions are to be celebrated except those

Giving is not the whole equation of the Christmas season, it is giving and sharing Jesus to a sick and dying world.

that reinforce to us the truth of our doctrines and those memories of victory that have clearly dictated the course of our history. Regardless of the ancient traditions of the Roman world, it is true that Christmas was used to replace an evil practice of giving offerings and sacrifices to a god whose hands and feet are lame and whose eyes are blind. It was rededicated to the birth of the Savior and the meaning of His coming which was prophesied, as the outpouring of God’s mercy, the breaking of the morning light, the Day Spring that will “give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace” (Luke 1:79). Initially, the celebration of Christmas was a means to redeem this pagan holiday of celebrating the dies solis invicti nati (“day of the birth of the unconquered sun”), a popular holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun and the casting away of winter and the heralding of the rebirth of spring and summer. Viewed in the context of redeeming the culture of the pagan world, since Christ Jesus is the Light of the World, the Savior who rescued us from the bondage of sin and darkness, He is the Son who came to save us and conquered death.

Various celebrations, one lasting message

In various parts of the world, the meaning of Christmas has become synonymous with giving, teaching the truth that the grandest deed of man is not to die for himself alone or even to live for his own. It is indeed that next gift for the orphan, the destitute, the widow and the fatherless that has all made Christmas more memorable and far more meaningful to us than the feasting on lechon or the roasted calf next door. Giving gifts is part of man, it is sharing oneself whether this is in the form of service or material endowment to others. The idealist thinks that giving alone must be in the form of the material donations but more than these, it is the motive of love that animates us, because he who loves is far greater than he who doesn’t even if he gives all that he owns or gives his body to the poor and needy.

The greatest gift one can give this Christmas is not the diamond studded ring but oneself in the service of the poor and needy, having compassion and love poured out for those who need our service and care. For James once said, how can one confess that he loves his brother when he knows that he is destitute running in the cold and yet he care not to give him any garb or food for the body? To him who knows how to do good and deliberately forgets it, it is sin indeed regardless of his previous confession. I’d rather believe a man who does not speak and yet do, than someone who greets us in the market place and turns his back when the dreary night comes to assault us. Again it is not confession that justifies a man but his deeds just as Abraham was justified by his deeds, even Rahab the harlot or Gideon the coward. For what does the Word say my brethren, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.  But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:14-24).

Justified by works through faith

To sum up, Jesus came into this world, having left His own abode, shed His tears and deeds of love to show us the way that this is the truth and the life that we are to seek. Man does not live for his own, but for Him who died and loved him from the very beginning. As James elaborated above, those who have true faith manifests this through works or deeds that makes it hard to doubt their salvation or justification. It is not the other way around, because the phoney will be found out sooner or later for his commitment lasts only for the season. The true sons and daughters of God will love and give themselves gladly even in season or out of season. They have found bliss and consolation out of the sufferings they endure, out of their blood, toil and sweat, they found love incredible as it is as they follow the command of their Master and Commander, “love thy neighbor as thyself” and this is the epitome of Christmas, to find love and to give it wholly, undivided in its entirety.

The fear of the Lord maybe the start of wisdom but it is the love of the Lord, by loving others that we demonstrate its highest ideals. We need not to go far away and look towards the slums of Manila to find Jesus there but in every big Cathedral small garage like churches, or in palatial homes and drab houses, Jesus could be there waiting for us to visit Him for to the extent that we do things to His brethren, we have done it to Him, even the “least of them” (see Matthew 25:40). In this we will be judged, whether we have lightly taken the meaning of this, Jesus is non-sectarian, whether you are Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Charismatic or Pentecostal. It is too small thing for Him to be put in a box. And when He visits us as a Baptist, we fail Him whenever we close our doors behind us and do not accept Him as He came in the cloth of a Baptist. Or when He came to us as a Pentecostal, we also fail Him when we close our doors because He is not Protestant or Catholic. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the summation, the pinnacle of love and He could not be placed in one cozy box we have imagined Him to be, for God does not reside in man-made structures but in the heart of individuals whom He is building fitted to be part of His Body.

During this yuletide season, find Jesus among your brethren; find one whom you have not forgiven and release that needed healing in Jesus name. Giving definitely can lower one’s high blood pressure and forgiveness heals those arthritis, heart diseases and crumpled bones. If you want to be whole, keep the healthy habit of forgiving the slightest blight you see in others, for you know you too are not made perfect. When children knock on our doors and slap us with their gentle monotones, let us not regard their voices whom we may pity, but let us regard their joy and give them sumptuous value by providing them with food, candies or gifts. To that lonely gentleman, widow, or orphans indeed, let us give them the fellowship they need, provide them with the comfort of a family that cares. And to those whose husband or wife maybe away, let us never forget to call or send creative cards and let them know that we care. Rebuke is better than love because a concealed love cannot be love at all. To bind up the broken hearted, to comfort His people, these are just small ways of what we can do to find Jesus in this hurting world. A good deed you may do, a good thought you may share could save others from torment and hell.

The cry for justice and righteousness

Vehicles along with the victims were apparently dumped in ready made pits by the perpetrators

It has since been more than three weeks and we have been seeking justice for the sake of 57 innocent people who have been mercilessly killed for the sake of selfish ambition and territoriality of the Ampatuan prowling lions of Maguindanao. In due time, the Word of God clearly elaborates more and let us hear what could be the cry for righteousness and justice of those who have been buried in the ground. Psalm 57 speaks of David’s cry for grace and mercy as he sought refuge from the terror of his most vehement persecutor who wanted to kill him; this Psalm too encapsulates what happened to the victims of the grim Ampatuan Massacre that has taken us aback. It is prophetic of what is currently happening and what could happen in the coming days, this is our cry before the God of Heaven.

    “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,

    For my soul takes refuge in You;

    And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge

    Until destruction passes by.”

Verse 1 is a cry for grace and mercy, and there could be no force more powerful than the grace of God which accomplishes everything for us. For by His grace John, Peter and Paul withstood the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem and obtained justice for their causes. It is the grace of God by which every disciple of the Lord could stand and it is also the grace of God that allows every human being to exist in this planet whether they know Him or not. By His grace, we are covered under the shadow of His wings and take refuge in Him who is able to protect us. There is nothing to fear, not even the threats of the enemy. As David was pursued high in the mountains of Crags of the Wild Goats by Saul and his army, he eluded their vicious pursuit and twice he had the chance to kill Saul but he was even loathe to have cut the edge of his robe (1 Sam. 24:5).

Though Martial Law was imposed upon Maguindanao, we must not slip our eyes and keep our guards off but be on the alert and continue to plea for God’s help as David did for His mercy endures forever. Those who remain vigilant shall find the justice of their cause pay off.

    “I will cry to God Most High,

    To God who accomplishes all things for me.

    He will send from heaven and save me;

    He reproaches him who tramples upon me.

    God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth. Selah.”

Verses 2-3 demonstrate to us that men may ask for help from institutions or fellowmen, but the spiritual man first considers His place of refuge the instant he senses danger. King David even confesses that the help of man is useless, and cried, “Give us help from trouble” (see Psalm 60:11). I always tell my children that the moment they need help and sense danger, they must cry to God, for God answers our call. “Call to me and I will answer you”, “Seek Me and you shall find Me” are His promises that are sure to get answers. God’s delays are not injustices though the natural eyes could decisively think it is. Just as David was about to be trampled by his oppressor, God sent men to warn him of the danger and God delivered His servant from the hand of his master. Indeed David can confidently say that “God accomplishes all things for him.” When he had saved the town of Keilah from the Philistines, and Saul decided to pursue David in that town, the Lord warned David to move out of the place because the people there will deliver him to Saul. In spite of this, David did not regard anything bitter to these people. He knew that soon God will bring damnation to his enemies for He will surround His servant with lovingkindness and overflowing cup of grace.

    “My soul is among lions;

    I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,

    Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows

    And their tongue a sharp sword.”

Here in verse 4 it is clear that David is alluding to men who have despised him and wanted him dead. Men who cursed him to death, and want nothing but to torment and kill him. Satan not only delights in killing men and oppressing them but doing so in the most barbaric manner because he thinks that the contorted images of men in pain and bondages are the images of God pleading for his mercy. Like many persecutors of the ancient past who knew only hatred and fiery anger, we now know that those 57 dead who were first abducted and taken by men who “breath forth fire” of threats, are literally sons of men whose “teeth are spears and arrows” whose lives bent on killing others for the sake of filthy lucre and power. Yet in spite of these circumstances, the next verse tells us that God is still in control and He is in exalted position over all the earth. It was when Nero thought that he owned the Roman Empire that his reign crumbled to ashes and his vision for glory was dashed to pieces by his own lust for pleasure and power. Men may think they “own the land” but it is God who decides to whomever He wills and gives it.

The British Empire sunk to oblivion and eventually has to be obliterated to pieces when it forgot the Lord and turned her back to her promises to the Jews. Had she been decisive to give herself wholly for the Jews or for the Arabs, both enemies could have known their actions earlier. Yet indecision or lukewarmness on such urgent issues further made her adrift until finally she has to bow before another Super Power raised up to finally replace her. When one shoots up like in the sky like flying a rocket or an airplane, one can only see the view of the marvelous blue planet beneath him. Some see the clouds as well as the contours of the mountains and houses below for a time. But soon we can only see the clouds that reflect only light.

Likewise, the earth below us when we are flying could be dealing with a lot of injustices that would even make the sane man revolt in fear or cowardice because of the degree of the crime, yet in spite of these, God does not focus on the evil, nor should we. We must look high above where God dwells and see like He sees, till we have understanding and be the agents of His justice on earth. It was only when Isaiah was caught up in the throne of God that he saw God’s glory enshrines the earth. No matter what happens, let us never lose hope, even when people try to prepare a trap or dug up pits for us. God does not wring His fingers and worry above, we only need to pray and He will intervene in our behalf. Those who think they are too mature not to pray will find themselves in great difficulties that not even their efforts or help of another man could move their mountains. Only God can move mountains, and only the prayerful man can dump it into the sea.

     “Be exalted above the heavens, O God;

    Let Your glory be above all the earth.

    They have prepared a net for my steps;

    My soul is bowed down;

    They dug a pit before me;

    They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah.”

It is noteworthy to find here in verse 6 that indeed those who tried to persecute others will also literally try to dig up pits for their prey. Silence in the grave, they think will keep them mum forever, but even the dead speaks! Today we understand that those who truly dug up pits for the 57 dead have fallen into their own pits of depression, despair and destruction, “They themselves have fallen into the midst of it.” Not only do those 57 dead speaks stronger than the Ampatuan clans, they even multiplied, in the web, in broadcast, in dailies and around the world, the cry for justice has not stopped 3 weeks since the incident putting up the pressure on Mrs. Arroyo to finally declare Martial Law in the province and allow justified arrests on individuals or armed groups who may resist the law and the call for justice.

This may not be easy because people who have been kept in the dark for long, who have been used in serving their masters are loyal to that house where they are fed, as do dogs to their masters. But once light is shone on the brutality and degree of savagery of their masters, these people will find it easier to fend for themselves. People often loathe change, especially sudden change, but the judgment of God on the house of Ampatuan will be swift just as they thought they could manhandle everything as they “own” the land. These men are no gods as they claimed to be, these are but flesh and blood, and they shall reap what they sow on the land. They will get terror as their own properties and hideouts will be confiscated, abandoned and looted. Their supporters will also melt in terror as they try to hide and soldiers will hunt them down. Justice is the only means to redeem the land and the only way to bring good things back into it that is why it is said, “Learn to do good; Seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:17).

    “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;

    I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!

    Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre!

    I will awaken the dawn.

    I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;

    I will sing praises to You among the nations.

    For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens

    And Your truth to the clouds.

    Be exalted above the heavens, O God;

    Let Your glory be above all the earth.”

No wonder in the end, we have to trust in the Lord, we have to have a heart that is steadfast or one that abides in Him. Many of us find it hard to believe that justice can be served, but let us learn to give grace to our government praying for wisdom on those with authorities that they will do their job well and that peace and justice will be achieved in the end. It is not our work to complain when we do not pray and take action on what should be done. Better be silent than a babbler who contributes confusion instead of life, liberty and clarity in the situation. When I know nothing of a situation, I always pray that God will enlighten me and help me see what He is doing in the midst of it and how I can be His voice or hand on that matter. This is how the “mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice (Psalm 37:30).”

If we all do this, then we can sing praise to the Lord, awake in His glory, awake in the dawn, and give thanks to Him for God will speedily answer our pleas with the justice His cause when we break the bands of wickedness, break every oppressor, clothe the naked, feed the hungry and not hide from those who need our help. The promise of God to those who do this is clear, “Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard (Isaiah 58:8).” If we pursue helping others instead of oppressing or threathening them because they are most like us, the light that we shine will eventually serve its purpose, be a rearguard to those we are helping and teaching. Otherwise the fruit will be jealousy that results to murder. Let us seek the Lord’s justice and pray that the Army and the National Government will do valiantly through God, for it is He who show shall tread down the enemies of injustice and intransigent people.

Standing for what is right: the Maguindanao debacle

We are taking sometime to absorb the lessons that we can get from the recent albeit macabre Ampatuan massacre. As Christians who are called to be the salt and light of the earth, we are supposed to be shining our light on issues in our

For there to be justice in the land, a judge must be impartial, decisive and takes action on the basis of evidences and witnesses

communities that beg us to question why? And how we can avoid those same pitfall that our brethren has fallen to. We are deceived if we think that we too are above those who committed this barbarous act. We are also deceived if we think that we cannot fall into the same traps that these perpetrators fell into. As Peter learned that fateful night, only by the grace of God can a man stand and not fall into evil.

It is true that we cannot judge another man but the Bible also says that under two or three witnesses, we must hear the matter and give our judgment. Sometimes it is understanding the terms or context of the terms that this judgment must be based. What the Bible says that we must not give judgment is to “condemn a person” (eg in Matthew 7:1; Romans 2:1; 14:13; James 4:11-12) without any basis or eyewitness accounts. In Matthew 7:1 the word “judge” in Greek is krino which means to pronounce or execute a sentence. That kind of judgment is what Christ has condemned but we are exhorted to also pass our judgment or discernment of a matter such as what Paul exhorted the Corinthian church when he wrote, “Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?” (1 Corinthians 6:5 NKJV) or what Christ called righteous judgment (see Matthew 7:24). We do all need to distinguish this because men have to know how to judge themselves in the light of truth. If we will rightly judge ourselves we will not be judged.

Most men could not even judge themselves rightly because of the problem of a “deceitful heart” which the Prophet Jeremiah spoke. Deceivers in history has no qualm but to deny their atrocities when conscience awakens them. Even Nero denied that he set fire on Rome and put all the blame of his horrendous acts on the Christians. When bankruptcy failed Germany, Hitler was quick to blame the Jews! Blame shifting is a telltale sign of refusing to accept the truth or be in the truth. This deception first came to man in the midst of the garden so that the Lord has to first ask the man, “Adam where are you?” My Teacher taught me that when the Most High asks a question, He is not after the answer but for us to know where we are standing in relation with Him. Adam and Eve had just eaten the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, cover-up followed and blame-shifting begun.

“Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:9-10)

When God further asked Adam who told him he was naked, and if he had eaten of the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he begun to shift the blame to his wife, “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12). And so begun the blame game on all Adam’s descendants when they discover themselves to be in sin. No one wanted to take the responsibility, the man blamed the woman and the woman finding nothing to blame but the serpent threw all her tirades to that lowly creature.  And the rest of the problem lies to God because He made the serpent and the humans. No one wanted to accept responsibility for the crime that has been committed. This in essence is the delusion of the Ampatuan clan who even rallied supporters to prove their point that they did not commit any horrendous act on behalf of the innocent civilians killed who were there to exercise their basic right of suffrage.

With enormous amount of evidence piling up and a number of witnesses standing for what is right, still the Ampatuans refuse to accept their hand in the Massacre. This certainly is a great delusion and a case in point made by the Apostle saying that there will be, “…evil men and impostors [who] will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13). To be deceived means to be in contrary to what is right and true, just as Adam did not know the enormity of his disobedience, a deceived person cannot usually understand his depth of deception. Most of people live deceived or are living in deception whenever they forget to walk in the path of righteousness and truth. The level of light or understanding that we have dictates the level and depth of how much truth we know, but this is not enough. Knowing any truth can even become a judgment in itself if we do not walk in it.

This is why witnesses who do not bring their testimonies into courts are often beleaguered in their conscience and hiding because they knew the truth but they feared for their lives. Once we allow fear to be lord over us, we cannot do anything for justice. If we want justice in this land, we have to walk in righteousness, and that means to have the fortitude and courage to do what is right. Stand then and be counted. Jesus once said, “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25). The moment a person tries to save his own but, he will lose it! The 57 dead did not die for nothing, they died for freedom, to exercise their basic right as citizens of a free country! This we must never compromise and we must be ready to take action and die even valiantly.

For it is easy to write and speak but to stand on them, on truth, on freedom, this requires life. Jesus died for every person, everyone of those 57 chose to die for freedom to come upon Maguindanao; 5+7=12 which is a number that speaks of governance. These martyrs of freedom must be honored by providing a decent choice of governors or politicians in the province of Maguindanao. But this also is not only for Maguindanao but for all the Philippines—only the foolish thinks that he owns the land, that he owns the people. No, not so, it is them that we owe— whether of power, service or right of access to resources and even life. We can only move on when justice and repentance is fully paid for by the perpetrators. Blame shifting is a sign of cowardice, the inability to accept the consequences of one’s decision and the immaturity if not the insanity of a person. May the grace of God be with you and keep you.

 

The Maguindanao Massacre

The carnage that left 57 dead at Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao on November 23 has left us all wondering for what barbarity and primitive acts has been committed not just to the Maguindanao populace but to us all. This begs us not just a simple what? Or why? But a condition that existed already and burst out of control, finally the devil has been exposed for what it is. Political violence that marked many provinces is a color that has co-existed among many

The killing fields is a deliberate attempt to cover up the gruesome murder of 57 innocent people in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao

especially during times of election; for there to be a political system that would be essentially democratic, certificate of candidacies must be filed and witnessed by the people. Fear and the savage barbarity that were inflicted among those who were about to file their candidacies can only be described as a looming failure of democracy in Maguindanao. Nevertheless, this does not have to be the future of our political system, neither should it repeated elsewhere if we allow justice to reign supreme in our midst.

When there were just two brothers on earth, they could not agree on anything. They cannot get along even on matters of worship. One has to dominate and eventually kill his own brother to maintain his position. People proved harder than the stone to move, for even Jesus said that if we do not praise Him, the inanimate will rise up and clap their hands. Cain’s sin is the result of unresolved conflict which became an open door for the devil to oppress him and later to kill his own brother. Wherefore should he kill him? The Bible speaks plainly–because his deeds were evil and his brother were righteous. From this, we can understand that the acts of Cain are truly evil and his profane offering was just a symbol if not an example of his many evil deeds. He is a tiller of the ground, whose mind is captive to the ways of the devil. Farming is good but when our minds are given to the ways of the world, then this is evil. The murder of Abel resulted to the release of death on the earth.

Even the ground cave in and won’t produce any fruit because of the blood of the righteous that was spilt on it. In Genesis 4:5-7 we are told that Cain’s offer was rejected and he became very angry, “but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.  Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Two men who were both taught by their father how to offer their sacrifices before God gave their rendition of worship, one was accepted and the other rejected. God’s rejection is not so much to put down Cain, but a means to awaken him to his senses that his profane offering is not fit for the One he wants to worship. The only solution to this is “to do well.” God did not even point out that his offering was profane! He encouraged Cain saying, why are you depressed? Why is your countenance fallen? But if you do well, won’t your face be lifted up? Nevertheless, if you do not do well, sin is waiting to grab you, but you must overcome it.

Outrage in the city is demonstrated by activists over the mass murder of 57 innocent civilians

Our obstrusive view that selfish ambition must rise up like a protruding mountain before others can be hard to swallow and even to give up. Yet when ambition, no matter how lofty and noble it is if it gets in the way of others, if it is not legitimate, if it is debased why should we pursue it? We have been condemning the Abu Sayyafs and even the treacherous acts of MILF but this murder of more than 50 men and women in one day can only be described as catastrophic failure. I question the humanity of those who did this gruesome murder, and much more, I question the authority of those who seem to be governing officials in the area but could not do anything else on what had happened. This is assault to our basic human rights, the freedom to file for a candidacy and challenge the leadership in the area is not a family feud, but rather an exercise of democracy that everyone has the right to do. To interpret this as challenging ones leadership is to narrow down and make democracy fit to our feudal thinking, which has no room in this modern world. Cain killed as a result of his anger. Men will always try to kill whenever hatred is unresolved and reconciliation and forgiveness is not found within one’s vocabulary. This act has no place in a modern society, much more in true leadership. A godly, servant leadership will not be insecure even when challenged by the younger or another clan because his trust is not on his gun or his money but on the Almighty. The problem is, we always try to rationalize and bring our table feuds into the ballot box or into the community at large.

This act is bringing back the old ways of thinking into our present society which has no room for this. All murders must be brought to trial and made to pay no matter how influential they are in Maguindanao! Justice must be served if we want to make precedents that are righteous in this land. Without true justice, no righteousness will be served, and fear will be the boss of everyone in that place. This is the reason why the foundation of God’s throne is righteousness and justice (Psalm 89:14) because no true authority can be established without the proceeds of righteousness and justice in the area. If the government will allow the fear of man to bind her hand and not serve justice for the sake of the 57 killed, then we know that this is just the beginning of the release of even greater death, more gruesome than what happened now.

The murderers have become bolder each step of the way because of the prevalence of lawlessness in the area. Whenever we don’t serve true justice for the others, greater danger looms before us. You have only sent a message of how incompetent and how fearful you are of these terrorists. Our fear of man will not only hinder us of true justice but will bind us to not move and do the right things, this will end up to confusion and every evil thing. The death of the 57 is the mark of a boldman, proclaiming himself as a king in Maguindanao but his reign of terror has been sealed because exposure of these acts of darkness has become widespread and the call for justice will reverberate not only in the Philippines but also abroad. If there are march for justice in your area, or if you can organize one, go and do it.

We must be alert, we must be proactive and we must right this evil whose epic proportions is a conflict between light and darkness. Justice must be served! As James has written, this happened because of selfish ambition, ^“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing” (James 3:16). The fact that even the government backhoe and bulldozer was there only proves the participation of the local government in the heinous crime, and in the deliberate attempt to cover this up with lies, mud and gravel. God has forbid this to happen so that quickly the news of it spread into the islands. During these times, many journalists have given up their lives for the sake of proclamation of truth, but these seeds of life, were meant to give full meaning and cast down this evil found in Maguindanao; death is defeated because Calvary won by His resurrection. Where the enemy has tried to release so much death and destruction, it can also become a place of rest, relaxation, life and revival because where sin abounds, so is His grace also upon His people.

As I have been seeking the Lord concerning these things, God gave me the following,
“No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:9-16)

These verses tell us that there is no life abiding among those who commit crime, and instead they are dead. All unrighteous deeds are evil and has its origin with the devil. Murder is the result of allowing hatred and anger to dwell in our hearts. Since this is done by the spirit of this world, we can overcome by the Spirit of God, showing love, care and true respect to others. Love never fails. To those who established their leadership by hype, self-promotion, and fear, they will find themselves trying to maintain this by their own hands of power. The insecure will always tend to be the most callous, obstrusive and obstinate holders to power. They have been drunk, fatted by the blood of many innocents but their time has come to decapitate their heads off the leadership in this land. This massacre is too egregious to simply be allowed to pass us by without bringing justice for the sake of the 57 dead.

“For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12)

Solomon wrote that if the sentence against an evil deed is not punished quickly, men will become more evil. This observation has not stopped getting our nod, and if we will just let this pass us by without quickly bringing to justice anyone, then more blood will flow. Let us pray that justice be served and that boldness will come upon all the people of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato City so that they will cry out for deliverance from this deception and evil.

A functioning body

“For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

Just as the body of man is but one, so is the Body of Christ but one

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.

And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?

If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body.” (I Cor. 12:12-20)

Key points: 1. There is only one Body of Christ but many members 2. There is only one Guide in the Body of Christ 3. God has placed us into the Body where we can function best

Just as our body is composed of many bones and muscles, with tendons and ligaments that join the different parts of the body, thereby enabling it to move and do its work, we are called to be the same. There are many parts of the body but each part is not the whole body. The ear, no matter how good it is in hearing, the nose, no matter how great looking and smelling it is, and the eyes, no matter how vibrant it may look or attractive it can be, all of these parts of the body are just that, parts and not the whole body.

Jesus called Himself as the Head of the Body, and throughout the ages, He has been filling and building up His Body, now we are at the last stages of this process of building up, we are the feet of Christ in relation to the ages and the whole Body of Christ in generations past. As feet, we are called more than the eye, the ear, the nose or the mouth or the hands to move and bring heaven on earth to all nations (see Rom 10:15; 16:20; 1 Cor 15:25). The church is the house of God, the gate of heaven where the Lord can meet His people so that they can impact their communities (see Gen 28: 17; 1 Cor 3:17; 2 Cor 6:16).

If we are a functioning member of His Body, then we are supposed to be growing up like Him, becoming like Him and His ministry is summed up in this, that we too were sent “to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1).

Salt and Light of the World part 4

William Tyndale

A man with genuine faith once stood without regard for his life and said, “I defy the pope, and all his laws;” and added, “If God spared him life, ere many years he would cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scripture than he did.” So William Tyndale begun the English Reformation that changed the very flavor of Christianity in the

William Tyndale, reformer and Bible translator

west. He was a man raised up in the farming counties of Wales but as a child was taught in Oxford and Cambridge. He was sincerely looking for truth and life that cannot be denied in its righteousness and holiness. But all that he could see among the clergy in his country are men clad in rich, velvety suit whose mouth calls evil good and good as evil. They twisted the very meaning of the Scriptures that could very well saved the souls of their countrymen.

They controlled the ways of the people because they controlled what the people could read and learn. This was the very time when God sent one of His workers whom He molded in the crucibles of the academically inclined „Oxbridge“ centers. He took pains to learn well his Greek, Hebrew and Latin so that he could translate the New Testament into his native tongue. Tyndale foresaw the need of his countrymen for the Word of God so that they can verify for themselves the truth, whether what is being preached to them is right or wrong. He saw that the only way to turn the laity who have no means to study the Scriptures in the original tongues is to actually translate it into their very tongue. He could find no other means to set his people free from the tyranny of lies and deceit coming from the tongues of the messengers of a false religion. The Scriptures when read and readily accepted by believers will become the radiant light and the source of hope that it is. Sadly, most take for granted the readily available translations in various tongues that has flooded our generation. We indeed have the Scriptures but we do not have the same power and the same authority through which those who have gone before us stood with it. We are like lame ducks sitting by the wayside while the prince of darkness shoots dart of lies.

The key to powerful witness

Where then is the power of conviction so that we too can stand like Tyndale did? The problems of their generation though it seems to have disappeared has also continued to beset us. We have the translations but we do not have the power. When I inquired of the Lord why there is so much darkness in spite of the prevalence of available Bibles in the market and among households, the only answer He gave me is Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success“ and in John 5:39 Jesus reiterated this by wording it this way, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me“ in my vocabulary this reads you read the Scriptures for in them you find life. It is not owning the book that will free us from our platitudes but devouring it so that its content becomes life to us.

Persecution will only fan the flames of truth, though Tyndale died, the truth spread abroad even more fiercely.

Has it ever crossed your mind why prophets in the scriptures were first commanded to eat the scrolls before they are sent to proclaim the message? Life comes by living the truth. True messengers don’t just proclaim, they live the Word, breath His presence and pour out the new wine of revelation to His people.Tyndale’s witness is not only in translating the Bible; it is in establishing ordinary people like you to become a formidable fortress of truth. He saw that lies could not be fought by rigging the Pope and the clergy with accusations but in demonstrating the power of truth which he did by dying for it. Truth cannot die and it will prevail even when the vessel that contained it expired. This is the paradox that satan has to deal with Jesus Christ; he thought that by killing the Master, he could stop the power of the cross and win the epic battle between light and darkness. In contrast, he lost it by neglecting to understand that a seed is more powerful when sown than when it is kept in storage. Those who gave their lives for the witness of the Lord did not die in vain because their lives continue to exert the message of God, those who come to Him, come not by their own righteousness but because He called them to Himself. Those who are alive are alive for the sake of His Kingdom.

“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.“ (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

We return to an earlier question, if Jesus died for people, what are the priests and pastors doing? Aren’t they called to be fishers of men too like Him? Aren’t they commissioned to plant His Kingdom in every place where they have set their feet upon? Yet we miss the whole point if we only think of our leaders, if we continue to think of them as the greater people. Jesus has called everyone to go as far as they can with Him, like He did to Wycliffe and Tyndale who stood against lies, hypocricy and mixture, He has called you to stand for purity, holiness and truth so that you can abide in Him. As He has said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing“ (John 15:4-5). Unless one really yearns to work with the Lord and for the Lord, he cannot do much in this world. Too much analysis can paralyse our minds just as a computer will lock up because of too much task to be done at once. One can only do His will apportioned each time and season.

There is a progressive revelation of His will and those who catch this will run with the vision that God has given them but those who don’t will even have their eyes gouged by the searing fire of confusion. The righteous will run with the vision and they shall run and not be weary because God is their strength and sustenance. He shall be their fuel, their eyes and their plan; above all He shall be the light of the dawn that increases daily in their hearts and minds so that they can know and understand His will. Because it is He who wills and works in us. To be salt and light is to grow as oaks of righteousness, firm, grounded in truth and alive exuding purity, holiness and marvelous works that could only be heavenly in nature. (A personal note from the author: Edison has written two books, The Surpassing Peace of God and the Restorers of the breach that deal in depth about disasters, lawlessness, and terrorism and how such can be repelled. Send your request to his email: edmacusi@gmail.com and he will send it to you free.)

Leadership roles in the 21st century: helping others see and take action

There are many definition for the words leadership and leaders. Just googling the word leadership gives you 122 million entries to look up. That is how desperately varied we are in defining what leadership is, some definitions of leadership are the following,

Bro. Edison Macusi giving a lecture on Leadership-seeing and taking action

“The history of the world is but the biography of great men.” Thomas Carlyle, writer, historian

“Times produce the person and not the other way around.” Herbert Spencer, philosopher, social darwinist

“Leadership is influence.” J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership

“Leadership is influencing people.” John Maxwell, Leading from the lockers

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.” Robert Greenleaf, The servant as leader

“A leader take people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” Rosalynn Carter, former first lady of the US

“Leadership is leading people to God’s agenda.” Henry and Richard Blackaby, Spiritual leadership

By giving definition to what a leader is, we are attempting to delineate what a leader is supposed to be and what he is not. The above quotes are attempts of some experts from varied backgrounds to give their definitions of what leadership means to them. Once we give a definition to leadership, it would then be easier to add the characteristics and types of what a leader is. Our first concern in this discussion is to get a general overview of leadership, give our definition for that and our reasons why this must be our definition. Carlyles’ definition of leadership, that the world is simply an agglomeration of the history of “significant men” greatly exaggerates his bias on men who accomplished history. The accomplishment of history can be misleading because not all civilizations have writers to record notable events at all times.

We would also fail to note the accomplishments of a group of people if we only become individual centric. Mr. Spencer’s definition of what leadership is all about fails to encompass the indomitable will of men, making it incomplete. While the next two definitions are similar, it does tell us that leadership is influence but what happens after that influence wanes? What spheres does it control or affect? These are not included in their definition. The other one presupposes that leadership must be service, one that must be conscious in leading by serving others first. And the last two which we agree that it is moving people towards where they ought to be, generally broadly defines what spiritual leadership is in our lives. Though all definitions are valid for some purposes by the authors, this writer adds another dimension and emphasis to that by defining spiritual leadership as “seeing and doing what God wants done” and leaders are “those who yield themselves as vessels of honor to rise up to this call.” What are inherent in this definition of spiritual leaders are the following:

1. They are empowered by the Holy Spirit

Leaders can be filled with either the world, that is their own wisdom and knowledge, or they can chose to be filled by the Spirit of God. The fruit of either is evident in the lives of leaders who are following their own agenda or following God’s agenda. The Spirit filled leader walks in the newness of life and in the power of the New Creation that greatly transcends the old creation. Because sin has evidently lowered the capacity of man to walk in righteousness and integrity, the Holy Spirit empowered man can overcome what others struggle with greatly. For example, Ronnie and Ben are two contrasting leaders, the first one leads by being a boss to the company while the other one though lower in rank than Ronnie obviously is well- liked by everyone because of his exuding character that is truly impeccable. He reads his Bible daily and attends cell meetings in his local church, and though not as eloquent as their company boss, he commands the respect of his peers and other employees.

They look up at him as the next in rank to their present boss. One time when the he was out in the canteen with his boss sipping a Mango Juice, his boss asked him, “what is your secret in being so plastic?” Ronnie was stunned. He never thought that showing a good behavior in the office could earn the stigma of his boss as hypocrite. “You are just the same as me, a wild boar deep inside,” he added. This remark took the attention of others in the canteen but Ronnie simply dodged the question away by telling his boss that he believes in the power of partnership. This quickly disarmed the antagonistic position of the boss and made him asked who was his Partner. Likewise, the Spiritual leader is supposed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If we are, we can distinguish that by asking ourselves what comes first in the morning from our mouths. Are you thankful for God? Are you praying daily for others and for yourself? Are you abiding in holiness?

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”(Galatians 5:22-24)

“Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.” (Ephesians 5:18-19 NLT)

2. They work according to God’s agenda

No amount of carnal strength can keep a work on going indefinitely. That which is man’s will be burned and will never last, but that which originates from the heart of God will always bear fruit and lasting fruit to eternity. Monuments/sacraments are things that men have built over time to celebrate their exploits in the past but it is still that, a dead thing. The work that God breathes and imparts life is those that have been borne out of His heart for His purposes. This is why Ishmael has to be banished from Abraham’s presence because the inheritance of the son of promise cannot mix up with the son of the flesh.  Those works that were birthed out of our own strivings will be lost, and there will be a time to drive them away just as Abraham did to his son and to his concubine. When Jesus was asked about His works, He said He only did what “He saw His Father was doing” or in short, He did the things that His Father wants Him do.

In this statement is summarized the work ethics of all the great Christian leaders, they only did what they saw the Lord wants them do. Spiritual leadership to be effective must be borne out of intimate encounters with the Lord. Like the apostle John, we all need to lay our heads on His breast so that we could have His heart for this generation and fulfill His purposes. Passion is the definition of the rising generation that will possess all the promises of God. Reluctance and passivity entered the heart of Solomon when he started to compromise and gave his heart away to entertainment instead of the ways of repentance, worship and truth. When he begun to add more women than necessary for a King, he started the spiral towards the way of the harlot, worshipping another creature because of based desire. Those who love the Lord will be kept from such evil. This is what Jack Deere tells us that a passion for the Son of God conquers a thousand evil in our lives.

“Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.

“For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and greater works than these will He show Him, that you may marvel.” (John 5:19-20)

We can glean some truths from the above verses, first, the key to doing is seeing. And in order to see, it is the Father that shows these things. But again we are also told, that He does this because the Father loves the Son. Or in other words, the seeing and the doing comes because of the apparent love of the Father and the Son. As wonderful as having many works to broadcast before the world, the real secret of success of any leader is really his intimacy with the Lord. Developing this secret relationship must be our priority if we want to gain more fruits that will last. No one will be too heavenly minded that they will not be any good to earth. Those who give themselves in abandon to God, His Spirit will satisfy them without measure.

“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)

“…These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes…” (Revelation 14:4)

3. They have the character and will to do things God’s way

There is no falsehood, lame or blind in heaven. All the blemishes of earthly life have been cleansed away because of the perfection that came from the atonement of the blood of Christ. Though it does not seem as it looks like we are now perfect, God perfects us through the sufferings and trials that we experience in this world. Trials mold character because they bring endurance and faith that cannot be shaken. Untested faith remains with the person only but not as a seed broken down and offered in true worship before the Lord. Just as Jesus was like a grain of wheat broken for many so that it multiplied, our faith cannot grow unless tested by fire of sufferings and anguish. Trials as James saw them must be the way we must also see them, a chance to be promoted by the Lord.

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

As the Lord Jesus Himself declared, “everyone will be salted with fire” (Matthew 9:49), ordeals have a cleansing effect that are rarely seen under any given circumstances. It can purify the motives of person, clarify his vision and feed his purpose. “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15 NIV). Spiritual leadership costs nothing but standing for truth and the ability to navigate the press though unpopular it might be. Many would be leaders who are thronged by the crowds love to appear before the mob and wriggle their paper swords, trying to impress with their plastic painted banners. The character of a leader prevents him from engaging in deceit and living in hypocrisy because his only interest is to gain the commendation of the King who has send him as emissary in this world.

“Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” (Matthew 16:23)

Because Peter was inflated by the one of the greatest commendation ever been given to man by the Lord, he thought he could stop the purposes of God by trying to convince Him not to go to the cross any more. Such folly can happen to us if we do not realize that day by day we are battling  several voices in the world, the Lord, our own and the devil.  There can’t be any compromise. One must choose to serve the one he loves the most, either we are all the way for Jesus, or turn our backs from Him then hit the road to hell. There is no easy way for the path of the just.

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)

4. They communicate God’s agenda to His people

Terence is a CEO of a business company in Makati which owns the franchise for mudworkZ, a group game of throwing mud to your opponents until all their shirts are ashen gray. He works full time and engages in writing for a Christian magazine. One time the board has decided to sell cigarettes and liquors as an added business within the premise of the business. Terence who is a Spirit-filled believer objected in horror to the proposal but the board won the most popular support from the employees.

What should Terence do? Another teacher from a private school named Manolo organized a creation club to support students who are believers in the account of the creation in the Bible. During one PTA meeting some parents who have liberal views tried to object in the new organization citing that this is an old-fashioned belief in a post-modern world. He was asked to write a justification for his organization and submit it to the principal for evaluation. After a week, his organization was given credits because of tolerance, character formation and academic freedom that it espouses. These two instances tell us that in this world we will face the scorn and ridicule of a ready enemy whose arrows have long been aimed to destroy anyone who ever thinks of taking back his dominion.

And yet, though this may be the case, spiritual leadership takes action and does not wait for the enemy to gain his grounds. Rather than not raising any single fight, the spiritual leader seeks to bring effective, and clear enunciation of godly principles even if this means giving up his position. Leaders do not give a budge without any fight even if this means losing everything. Jesus came to set the captives free, and to do that, He came and proclaimed the Kingdom of God. It cannot be anything less with us. The Kingdom has to come and invade the earth in every sphere of opportunity that we have in business, education, science, family, religion, government, and media. We have to become effective communicators and if we lack in that area, we must learn to collaborate with those who can do, or to bring trained others who can. Our generation must overcome the passivity of the past and lead toward the full purposes of God. If we do not learn how to speak out effectively, then we will be held accountable for the lost of other lives (Ezekiel 33:8).

“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God.”( Acts 18:9-11 NLT)

“You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15)

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;

do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”(Philippians 2:3-4)

5. They live for tomorrow

The Lord once told me that as far as I can see, that is how far I can go. The first step He told me is to live for tomorrow and not for this perishing age. Our grasp of history, the future and our present epoch can have repercussions in the way we live our lives. Those who live only for the past will be drawn into depression and insanity while those who live for the present will not see the future. If we draw the lessons of the past, see the future and live today, we will almost certainly be with the Lord. But how about those who cover themselves with their own goodness? These are men and women who are dissipated and needing crutches to make their lives feasible today. They will not last. The only way is for us to find the Way, possess the Truth and live His Life today (see John 14:6). Unless man repents and be born again, how can he possess the divine nature of God that could clothe him with eternity? Those who lived for tomorrow are those men and women who also have given their lives for God’s eternal purposes. They reached eternity because they lived for tomorrow. If we forget to blush with the slightest sin and compromise, we are endangered in having walked on dangerous grounds. Spiritual leadership must move people not only where they are now, but into their destiny that God has for them, and that is glorious eternity.

“O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens.” (Ezra 9:6 NLT)

“Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame.” (Jeremiah 3:3 NIV)

“And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.”(John 17:3)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

“Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…” (1 Timothy 6:12)

II. Five essential traits of spiritual leadership

1. Vision-the eyes of the leader beholds the panorama of how far, how wide and how long he can go in the revealed purposes of God. Vision takes precedence in the life of leader because he must see so that he can lead others. The lack of vision sounds the death knell to any existing enterprise or organization. It is by having a vision that we can understand and see how many more steps we need to get nearer to what God called us to do. Just as Jesus said that the eye is the lamp of the body, without vision we will only see darkness or we will remain confused, bewildered, and end up walking in the assembly of the dead. Life without vision is also a life that lacks purpose and is as good as dead. It is calling forth one that does not exist yet to become one.
2. Courage-courage is the indomitable will of the leader to persist even when things have gone awry. It is completing the task that one has started regardless of circumstances. The recent story of the five fishermen that drifted ashore to Micronesia from their starting point in the Davao Gulf tells us how much endurance and steadfastness these men have. They endured even when the only thing they could see was a vast blue sea and their skins blistered under the heat of the sun. Their courage to live even when things seem hopeless bear fruit when a Japanese boat spotted them drifting near the islands of Micronesia. It was terrible, but in the same way, true leaders never give up. When Winston Churchill blurted out to his people that they must stop Hitler now, he only received castigation by the press and the government. However upon Hitler’s attack of Poland, the sinister heart of the dictator only came into full view before the Britons and the French, too late for them to put a stand against the war machine that Der Fuhrer has accumulated and produced in the past four years. Such discernment and insight of Churchill made him both loved and unpopular at the same time. Nevertheless, true leaders are not easily swayed by the opinion of others, they stand for their own even if this means foolhardy.
3. Patience-patience is discipline under pressure. Almost everyone nowadays have their own profiles and visions. Yet few seem to achieve what they have elegantly written in prose at their doors. Though many profess to have faith, or to have visions, few possess the discipline to grow and cultivate their vision little by little until like the seawater that covered a pool, it has spread all over. Certainly, it takes no discipline to simply scatter around the seed of a squash and then watch it grow. In contrast, a Mahogany or Narra tree takes time to grow and deepen its roots, the crown is just a reflection of the branching roots deep underground. Big trees are well rooted, anchored deep and stable, they show us the leader who possess the discipline in this life. Disciples are supposed to be the most disciplined people in the world because one cannot really follow Christ who does not learn to discipline himself.  Those who lack patience cannot inherit the promises of God (see Hebrews 6:12).
4. Integrity-integrity means living right. It is honoring God not just during Sundays but even when no one is looking around. Those with integrity walk with blameless hearts. Like Daniel, the only thing that critics should find accusation in us is our relationship with God, that we are praying too much time with Him. Even the apostles were accused because they were with Jesus. To walk therefore in integrity is to walk in true authority. No one can ask anybody with true authority without having first learned to be  obedient to his own words. Others obey us, only when we have been faithful in obeying others too. Without obedience, one cannot command others to obey. The life that we live is the greatest message that we can have in this world. When a man of God sins, part of his integrity is marred, it is hard to recover a good name that is destroyed by one careless act.
5. Initiative-living with initiative does not mean coercing others. No, it means planning what needs to be done and doing it creatively so that you have done it the smart way. Leaders do not wait for others to do what they can do as long as they understand what needs to be done and they knew how to employ the necessary tool to do it. One should never refuse to do what they can actually do. Our refusal and underestimation of talents could cause us to bury and forget the deposit of good seed which the Lord has given us. Everything starts with a seed, so none should despise the day of small beginnings. A prosperous business has only prospered because someone took the initiative to establish it. If we do not take risk and make mistakes on the way, we have not really entered the real world of discipleship. Everyone stumbles in some ways but the wise always learns to get up because they knew this is never the end and there is hope to begin again. (Transcript of lecture delivered by Bro. Edison Macusi on October 25 at Kiangan, Ifugao for the NHAC-CYF Leadership Training Institute)

Salt and Light of the World part 3

Even if Wycliffe had not translated the Bible in English, his action of training lay preachers or common men to preach the Word of God in England before the priests of his day was a rebellious act tantamount to excommunication. But he excelled even when pressured to stop his program and it was during these times when he was already under fire of

The lollards were disciples who took up the vision of Christ to preach the gospel to all men as Wycliffe activated the movement

Rome that he was able to finish translating the English Bible. As a result he was able to send missionaries in groups of two each based on the vision of Jesus who sent 70 men into the different villages of Israel (Luke 10:1-9).

“Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;

therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. “Go your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. “

Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. “And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ ” And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him;

but if not, it will return to you. “And stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. “

And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them,’ The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (Luke 10:1-9)

This pattern of sending missionaries with two men each on a particular house and village has not failed to produce a fruit and convert. It was only recent that missions came to be known as burden instead of the joy and adventure that it truly is. Most churches today are consumed by a disease that is eating away their resources, platitude and wrong investment. This is a terrible delusion.

No one can be adequate enough for the work of God, those who do think this way will never even launch a vision which they have. Because they have been deluded that to do great things for God, He calls us to be adequate by our abilities and finances alone. What blindness, what delusion! History points otherwise that no church became adequate enough before really launching out into the missions. God’s work must be done God’s way and it will never fail to get heaven’s support. This I suppose is the slogan for the bold, the dastardly and the cowboys of Christianity. If we wait for the right time, the right feelings and the right moment, we will always be forever waiting.

In Physics, you can only change the direction of a moving object but the stationary object remains pinned down unless an outside force is applied to it. True to this principle, the most successful missionary endeavours such as by Paul and Barnabas, the Moravians, David Livingstone, George Muller, Hudson Taylor, Bill Bright and Loren Cunningham including many unnamed others show us that God spoke and provided as needed and as they obeyed His voice. Those who waited to be nudged into action will have to wait forever. God is a God of movement and momentum. Thus, even nature shows to us how much movement and action are taking place everyday just to speak that the idle and passive disciple, is no disciple at all. One cannot remain sitting forever in the sidelines if His Word has truly penetrated our hearts.

I would have to find one scriptural verse saying that Jesus sit idly. If He was a down-to-earth pray-er, teacher, worker, worshipper and healer, should we remain as pew warmers every Sunday? No destiny, no adventure and no challenge at all? Think for one moment, if this was the Christianity that we are called to live as challenged by the life of Christ. Chemistry provides us another sense of illustration in that calibration is an important word. Every time we use chemicals in our experiments, we have to calibrate that with the desired amount as compared to the original. Likewise, in this life, those who are successful in the pursuit of God are those who also mostly followed His ways. I was talking one time with a friend and minister who has sent a team of people to the Mangyans of Mindoro and successfully established a model farm and community of believers in that region. When asked about missions he blurted, “missions is failure unless the congregation gives a helping hand.” I could not agree more. The Lord highlights this fact by saying in the Scriptures, How can they be sent unless someone sends them, or how can they preach unless someone supports them?

This is made more clear in Romans 10:14-15, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (NIV). Without volunteers willing to be sent, and people willing to pay for their expenses, missions cannot be a sustainable enterprise. When my wife and I visited the home of Martin Luther in Wittenberg, we were actually surprised by the prudence of the couple to have built a poultry and piggery near their home as an added insurance to the cold. Apparently, Luther’s income could not keep up with their large household, which keeps a number of itinerant students and disciples inside their own lodging. Yet the Lord kept them and provided well for them so that he never had to beg for money in his entire ministry. Neither did Jesus or Paul begged or coerced anyone to support them.

Money and God’s works

Even if we are blessed with money, it is to be used for the works of the Lord. It baffled me to think how Warren Buffet who is said to be the richest man in 2008 and the “Oracle of Omaha” pledged to give 85% of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He is obviously keen in seeing those who are truly wise stewards of resources. If he could have heard that there was a more trustworthy man, church or organization, he could have given it too. In a similar instance, the recent works of ABS-CBN and its stars particularly touched the Ambassador of Bahrain so that he dole out 25 million pesos for the Sagip Kapamilya cause.

All these attests to our need to continue to become trustworthy servants in everything we do. If we are called to handle money well, why not propagate, diversify and multiply it? There is nothing wrong with money, it is a neutral object but when this becomes the idol and love of men, that’s the time it becomes the root of all evil. Pastors need money, so are the evangelists and teachers, in fact everyone on earth needs to hold some currency nowadays. The following scriptures however remind us that we can actually live even without money, “Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13).

If this world collapses, and we too collapse with it, then it speaks to which foundation we built our lives into. The wise will build theirs in the Kingdom that cannot be shaken. Even when the world will collapse, no true Christian will become paranoid because of it, because they have learned to live in the Kingdom whose economy and currency cannot be shaken. Only those who have placed their feet on shaky grounds will snap their brows and clunk their chins when this world slips into oblivion. Let us be careful to invest our lives and properties in the Kingdom that will never be shaken. To do that requires everyone to live and seek the Lord’s will for their lives. If we cannot hear His voice during these relative time of calm, who promises us that we will have learned His voice by the time when fires and shakings have come? Invest for your future, but more so invest and discern which way the Lord wants you to go.

The heart of a shepherd

John Wycliffe might probably be the first shepherd-teacher with a heart for the masses to let them know the truth and point them to their true Shepherd. A true shepherd cares for his flock. The Lord restored Peter by asking him three times, “do you love me?”, to which Peter replied “yes” three times. But in each reply the Lord also said, “feed my lambs and feed my sheep” (see John 21:15-18). The lambs here represent the spiritually young, and how can one properly

John Wycliffe (mid-1320s – 31 December 1384) did much to prepare the English people for the Reformation that would later ensue in England

feed the lamb? Except we teach them and reach out in their levels, we cannot delve and change the trajectory of our young men and women. To disciple the youth, we need to stop our tirades and focus on shaping them. We need to teach them how they could expend their energies trapped in their minuscule bodies. Work is the best antidote for the hyper-energized and sometimes mistakenly branded as rebellious cranks.

This is why we need to disciple them fast, teach them basic lessons, and bring them into the fray, let them preach, let them sing, let them write, let them run and above all, teach them how to pray. When I asked the Lord how we could keep the youth in the church, the only answer He gave me is to let them give Him their passion. In fact He told me, that we are to “give them a break, let them give Me their energies.” This is a true observation and it has not failed. Idleness could be defined psychologically as the state of man when his brain yanks and his body craves for the yuck. Passivity is the devils activity. Just as nature works fulltime when God created man, such as the running streams, the rivers that coarse and meander into the oceans, the sun that revolves on its orbit, the planets that rotate on their axis and the stars that twinkle their lights at night, He has designed man to fully use his energy for His honor and glory.

When passivity strikes us, think for one moment and break that spirit of bondage. If ministries will not use their youths fulltime and only does religious exercises every Sunday, we won’t be able to sustain our churches in the coming days because the world will capture them. This is why many youths line up for concerts, symphonies, cinemas, talent search, clean-up activities, packing reliefs and donations, volunteer activities and other organizations they deem are important to them. Youths are imbued with energy, so much that they cannot contain this nor direct it well unless we disciple them, guide them into properly using it for the sake of truth and life.

No true youth wants to be sidelined. Could there be a more adventurous place for the youth than the church? It is called a sanctuary, why shouldn’t it be a sanctuary of bustling activities for youths? Why preserve this religious Sunday exercise? It’s a waste of resource to use only the building one day a week and four times a month, which is why it does not give any return of investment. Shepherds lead their people to feed on the Bread of Life. Unless we are feeding our youths daily, when Sunday comes, they are already emaciated.

Do you know any pastors or priests who are equipping their youths like this? Are there ministries presently doing this? If none, then there is much to be desired and much to learn how to do it. (A personal note from the author: Edison has written two books, The Surpassing Peace of God and the Restorers of the breach that deal in depth about disasters, lawlessness, and terrorism and how such can be repelled. Send your request to his email: edmacusi@gmail.com and he will send it to you free.)

Updates on the Ifugao CYF leadership seminar

As some of you may already know, we went to Kiangan, Ifugao for the CYF leadership conference that has instilled a greater zeal and devotion on our part who oversaw the work there. Truly, God’s army is moving forward and I could find no other encouragement than that my survey of the youth leaders there showed that 87% of these young men and women wants to do ministry and 95% of them in worship/music area. This is not a coincidence because it is during these dull, boisterous and chaotic period that the Lord is calling forth His children to dance and play the harp for Him. He is restoring the house of David in the Church.

Facilitators and participants at the Leadership Training Institute held last October 24-27, 2009 at UCCP Kiangan, Ifugao

Worship brings joy to God like no other activities that we do. The youth of this generation will either succumb to the music of this world or to the harp and drumbeats of Heaven as revealed in the contemporary Christian music that we hear today. These were not released for any other time and season, it is for our time, and as such it is because we need it. God reveals and creates new things every day; although the past can be relied on, there are things that God gives us today so that we can be victorious of our present struggles and trials. One of these is the much despised contemporary worship of whom some old line denominations are trying to discredit. Nevertheless, God’s work will always prevail because the gates of hell cannot prevail over what God is building for His people. Worship is the heart cry of this generation because boredom is essentially sleeping with the lullaby of the world. For us to overcome boredom, live above average Christian life, we must covet to worship God alone and remove any stumbling blocks far away from us that could snuff out our worship of the Lord. (Keep in touch with us through facebook and be one of our fans.)