Jesus is my Avenger. - 2 Samuel 22:48

2 Samuel 23:12, “But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.”

Shammah is one of David’s mighty men. He was one of the trio of a group simply called the Three. The other two was Josheb and Eleazar. Previous verses mentions both Eleazar and Shammah both standing there ground when the rest of their comrades flee from the enemy (v. 10, 12). They stood their ground, they fought with fierce courage, and the passage was careful to say that it was the Lord that “brought about a great victory.” 

And such is true in our Christian lives, if we want to witness God bring a breakthrough in our area of struggle, we must be willing to stand our ground, even when the rest of the world tells you to flee, retreat, give up or give in. For me to witness God bring victory, I must be where the action is—where God is at work and my faith is required. I will miss God’s move when I hide in the crevices of my comfort zones.

I remember again a talk given by Andy Stanley about courage. He says one way to know if you’ve made the right choice (to stay or to go) is if you fast forward your life and in that future look back to this very moment when you are in a forked road, which would be more noble to recount? Is it when you went even when you’re tempted to stay or stayed even when you’re tempted to go? Either way, obeying God despite the challenges would always be a winning remembrance.

Tempted to give up or give in? Too soon. One of God’s names in the Bible is that God is Jehovah-Shammah (The Lord who is there). The Lord, your Commander-in-chief, is always there with you in the battlefield. So don’t let your faith waver, stand your ground and you might just witness God’s bring about your victory.

Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Last night we’re at our usual hangout at Starbucks Drive Thru.. the two pics were taken at two different times. In the photo are Nette’s cousins who have maintained a close connection even now as grown ups. Mine is not as close as before, since we are now living far from each other and reunions are only times to connect and catch up.

Last week was the only week I stayed in Manila the longest time. Before Manila I was in Mindoro, Cebu and Iloilo. And after Manila I will be in Legaspi, Baguio, Ifugao, Batangas and Pampanga. I tried to cram in as much design work as possible, work what needs to be done for APMedia and ICI and catch up on our house to-do lists before leaving again.

Tomorrow we’re flying to Legaspi for our Chi Alpha Leadership Training. Looking forward to see this towering beauty. Last time I’ve been to Bicol, I was only able to see the tip from a mountain top in Daet six hours from Legaspi.

Proctor and Gamble has made this very touching ad about moms few more days before Mothers Day, few more months before the 2012 Olympics. The hardest job in the world is the best job in the world. 

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful … (2 Samuel 11:2)

I’m reading through the book of Samuel in my Time Alone with God these days. 1 and 2 Samuel is about Israel’s transition from a people to a nation, from being led by judges to being led by kings. It’s about the early years of Israel as a kingdom. The citizens thought by asking for a king much of the nation’s problem will be solved (in fact their reason for asking for a king was because they envy other nations surrounding them who had a king leading them). But it’s far from becoming a perfect government, especially with humans involved. We read Saul’s rise and tragic fall. Even David, who was even called by God a man after His own heart, fell for a married woman thereby unleashing chaos on his own family. It was only by God’s grace and unfailing love that David was restored.

It got me thinking, leaders are not perfect people. We have followed “kings” leaders who at one point of your life have let you down. Leaders who are supposed to do the right thing; who are supposed to know the answers. But as leaders ourselves we are not exempted. We have instances that we feel or know that we have let down some people in our lives. One thing is sure. Apart from God and the recognition of His lordship, His kingship over us, we are surely to mess up, because our heart is prone to deceive itself if not in constant submission to Christ.

Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

John 15:5, “apart from me you can do nothing.”

And may I add, apart from Christ, we can do nothing good.

Despite Israel’s foolishness to put a king above them instead of having God lead them as a nation, God’s sovereign will is in effect as the age of kings through Samuel, Kings and Chronicles become a foreshadow of the coming Perfect King. God at one time promises to David:

When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. - 2 Samuel 7:12-13

While this prophecy found an immediate fulfillment with the reign of David’s son Solomon, God was also alluding to a future King whose kingdom will be established forever—Jesus Christ. And truly He is our Perfect King. The King who will not let us down, the King who does the right thing. He’s the kind of King we leaders aspire to be, selfless yet mighty. The King who could empty Himself without losing Himself. The King who became the ransom for many. The rightful King who alone can pardon our sins. Though His death and victorious resurrection, He becomes our righteousness—even to the worst of sinners.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 
Do not cast me from your presence 
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 51:10-12

He is the Perpetual King. The Selfless King. The Mighty King. The Returning King. The Perfect King. Come, Lord Jesus. 

One time back in college, I was scheduled to report in a class about Michael Graves, a famous post-modern architect in the States. I like research and reporting then, so I told myself that I’ll do this project seriously (in Filipino, kinarir ko yung project). I did a good research paper. I put all my creative juices in my presentation (Powerpoint presentation was new then). I even got a short interview from Graves’ office in the States. I was so confident I would do well.

So the day came for my time to do my report. 15-minutes past and my professor didn’t arrive. So my peers and I decided to leave class and go to the mall because my professor was absent. Or so I thought. 5 minutes later, our professor came and did class. End of story: I failed the project because I missed my slot. No matter how I pleaded and explained, it didn’t matter. I thought my professor wouldn’t come anymore.

The Filipino adage that says, “Maraming namamatay sa akala (Many people are destroyed by wrong assumptions)”, is very true in my story and the next.

David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!” (2 Samuel 4:9-11)

When Rekab and Baanah learned of Abner’s death (Abner was Saul’s army commander, later served his son Ish-boseth), and felt that Ish-boseth’s reign will soon wane, they put matters into their own hands by killing Ish-boseth so to gain favor with David, Saul’s self-made nemesis.

This verse also alludes to an earlier scene when an Amalekite, whose nation is at war with Israel, came to pronounce Saul’s death in the presence of David, assuming that David will be glad upon hearing Saul and his son’s demise (2 Samuel 1:1-15).

They thought that by killing what they thought as David’s enemies (Saul and his house), that that was what’s on David’s mind, that it would please David to see the house of Saul destroyed, and what I think is the primary motivation of their actions, that David will regard them in high honor. They thought they were doing David a favor.

But they were so mistaken. Because everything they thought about who David was, is far from what was true of David. They were no citizens of David’s kingdom, lest part of David’s army. They have no direct connection or even a glimpse of David’s heart and vision. Perhaps what they knew about David was merely from faulty “second-hand” accounts of David’s enemies.

Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”

And sometimes, like Rekab and Baanah, we think we know the mind of God, we think our actions are pleasing God, and we think we are doing God a huge favor. Without the knowledge and the guidance of what the Word of God says about living a life that pleases God, we make our own rules, follow our own way.

For example: Relationships. Is your belief about relationships and how you are living it congruent to what the Bible says about it? Does your relationships—boy-girl, friendships, family relationships—please God? Are you sure? How?

How about in the areas of money, purity and thought life, and pursuit of success? 

Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

So how can we walk a way that leads to life? 

1. Don’t assume. Discover and pursue what God really wants. You can only discover what God really wants when you spend Time Alone with God by reading the Bible and spending time in prayer. And once you discover what God really wants, act on it.

2. Find godly advice. Beware who you listen and look up to. Are they a picture of godly character? Do they have an intimate relationship with God as well? Rekab, Baanah and the Amalekite got their view of David from faulty, second-hand views from David’s enemies.

3. Make God’s pleasure your number one goal. We make Christ truly the Lord of our life when we align and subject our plans and desires to His plan and desires for His children. Live to make God famous. Decrease so God can increase in your life!

I’m back on my desk at home coming home yesterday from Iloilo. Participated in the 2012 PGCAG Triennial Convention held in Central Philippine University which kicked off last Tuesday and ended Thursday evening. It was an awesome time of fellowship with friends and co-workers. But I also missed some who were not able to join. The messages of the speakers rocked, especially Gary Denbow’s closing message about being a true disciple of Christ. That was so powerful. We also had our election and installed new leaders who will lead our movement. I am glad that Ptr. Rey is still leading our movement, especially in this season when we need to focus more on the Great Commission God has given us.

Two things the Lord has impressed in my heart during this time:

Psalm 2:8, “Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” - God’s encouragement to me as to what the future will hold for our movement and our ministry. Again, prayer, and fasting, are the foundation of revival, hungry hearts seeking the Lord Jesus Christ. I rejoice that more souls will be ushered into the kingdom of God, not only locally, but overseas. 

Nehemiah 6:3, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” - The work must not stop regardless of what the future holds. God is Sovereign and in control. Never let your guard down so that you will never be distracted from the one thing God has placed in your heart to do. The great task of rebuilding and strengthening our local churches and ministries is before us.

Here are some photo’s from the convention:

National youth department and Chi Alpha helping out with the convention’s program. 

We had our Chi Alpha booth during the convention and we got as much airtime as possible to promote our programs and services.

A thousand strong delegates and ministers of the Philippines General Council of the Assemblies of God! Praise the Lord!

After convention lunch at Alfrique’s with the National Youth Department and Chi Alpha. A visit to Alfrique’s is a non-negotiable when visiting Iloilo. 

All the days of Saul there was bitter war with the Philistines, and whenever Saul saw a mighty or brave man, he took him into his service. - 1 Samuel 14:52

At this point Saul’s integrity and leadership had been spiraling down so fast. He was growing insecure and disillusioned. His decisions compulsive and indecisive. The men and even his son Jonathan did not respect him (Jonathan did his own exploits without his father’s knowledge, and the men saved Jonathan despite Saul’s oath to kill him ch. 14). All of this because Saul fell away from the Lord. Disobedience begets disobedience. It was trying to clean a mess with a dirty rag, you just spread the mess even further.

So it was said “All the days of Saul there was bitter war” on every side, not only with the Philistines, but with other nations around him. Saul did not find rest in his leadership until his death. And his growing insecurity had been obvious. Whenever he saw a mighty or brave young man, he took him into his army and tried to make it stronger.

When we fall away from God, and sometimes it’s the unsuspecting that leads us away from God like missing our time alone with Him in prayer and reading His Word. Inch by inch we step away from the throne of grace. And thus as we reject grace, everything we have once enjoyed freely, peace, provision, presence and protection, we now have to work for with our bare hands, struggling to meet the bare minimum. We find ourselves in No Man’s Land, struggling for survival. But abounding Peace, provision, presence and protection can be found in God. You don’t have to work for it! It’s now the work of grace, and Christ’s righteousness that clothes us.

What now?

1. Watch out that your leadership is subjected to God’s lordship

2. Sin begets sin, don’t linger in sin, it will only get worse. Run to God, you can never be careless in running to God, and the Bible says, “If you confess your sins God is faithful and just to forgive us.”

3. Don’t miss your time alone with God. It’s through prayer and God’s Word that we get a clear picture of our destiny. 

“And I give You praise, for You are my righteousness.” - I Worship You, Almighty God

Courage is a very important character in the life of the follower of Christ. The world and our enemy has laden the Christian journey with traps to distract and deceive Jesus’ followers. Traps of worry, traps of fear, traps of wealth and such. Without courage in Christ, we cannot keep our heads and follow our way to Christ. In fact, the common adage says that courage is not the absence of fear, but doing the feat in spite of fear. And this is true. We don’t lose the threats of the traps, but we shift our focus to the One who will lead us through the field of fear. Shifting our focus is simple yet very challenging, if we have not yet fully entrusted our lives to Him.

Courage is the doorway for the extraordinary. Andy Stanley says this. A single act of courage can be the tipping point for something extraordinary to happen. God invites us to experience Him in ways we have not experienced before. He invites us to offer our lives to be used for His glory. And yet, between us and us being a vessel of Christ, lies the path of courage on which we must put a step of faith.

It’s rare that we find Jonathan, David’s friend on the limelight of a Bible story, yet in this particular passage in 1 Samuel 14. We see that Jonathan at the center of the action. We find Saul and his army resting in the camp, waiting for their next move. But Jonathan and his armor bearer slips out of the camp to go to the Philistine camp. The full story is in 1 Kings 14. And here are some of my insights that I drew from this story:

Jonathan had courage because he is founded on the truth

“Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few” (v. 6). 

In the midst of the threat of the Philistine army, Jonathan didn’t lose the main truth: God is unstoppable. “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving.” It doesn’t matter if they were there just the two of them, or if they have the whole army over there. One truth was his solid foundation. God is unstoppable. Sometimes we mix up facts and truth. Yes, the challenge you have right now is as real as it can be. That’s a fact. But the truth is more powerful—the truth of God’s Word. No matter how grave your problem is, or how daunting the challenge to step up to a higher level of faith. God will see you through. Now, if you knew that God is unstoppable and nothing can hinder him. What’s stopping you from stepping out in faith?

Jonathan consulted the Lord before taking action 

“If they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the Lord has given them into our hands” (v. 10). 

Jonathan did not make any move without seeking God’s approval. And the approval that Jonathan sought was not a vague assumption of the Lord’s will, but it’s as clear as black and white. As followers of Christ we must seek God’s undeniable affirmation, and not just assume what you think God wanted you to do. Know this: God can and will mightily use you, but God doesn’t put up with double-minded people. Don’t just assume what God wants. Seek and discover what God wants. And He has given us the gift of prayer and the gift of His Word to know His will.

Jonathan acted on what he knew and believed

“In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre” (v. 14).

Discovering God’s will is not the end, but a means so that we can act upon it. Knowing that God has given the Philistines over to Jonathan, he began his descent and launched an attack on the Philistines. Many of us ask and eager to know what God’s will is. But are we prepared to act when God places it before us? And then we discover, most of the time the reason why we what to know God’s will is not because we are too ready to follow it, but it’s because we want to know if we are going to be safe. And there it is again, your old self who wants to be in control of your own life rearing it’s head. Didn’t the Bible say, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path” (Proverbs 3:5-6). God doesn’t only want you to obey him blindly, but God wants you to obey Him because He is in control.

Jonathan’s victory was only a part of God’s bigger plans. 

“Then panic struck the whole army—those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts, and raiding parties—and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God … Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords … So on that day the Lord saved Israel, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven. (v. 15, 20, 23)

Jonathan’s victory was only a portion of God’s overall plans to deliver Israel from the Philistine army. Jonathan killed twenty, God sent a panic that made the Philistines kill each other. Ultimately it’s not Jonathan whose the lone victor, but more was to be credited to God. Always remember that if God is bringing you success, it’s ultimately for His glory, and you’re just have to be thankful that He brought you in the ride. This perspective always leads a leader to a place of humility and awe of God’s offensive grace.

So what now? 

1. Be founded on the truth of God’s word. Don’t believe the lies of the world and the enemy.

2. Consult the Lord before making a move. God has given us access through prayer and through His Word to discover His desire for our lives.

3. Act upon your godly convictions. Remember, a single act of courage can be the tipping point of something extraordinary.

4. Recognize your place in God’s bigger plans. Ultimately our victories should place us in humility and should bring God all the glory. 

May we find the courage to respond to the call God has placed in our lives. 

I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:13 (NLT)

Candy, Me, Richard & Neri, Nette & Carrie

Yesterday, we have once again witnessed the goodness of God through a wedding. Richard & Neri finally solemnized their vows as husband and wife before an intimate crowd of close family and friends. Not only was I attending to witness this memorable event, but I was there to serve as a ninong to both of them. Richard and I grew up together at church and had the privilege to speak into his life as I served as a youth leader and youth pastor. He met Neri while working a few years ago in Citibank Makati, and eventually moved and promoted to Citibank Sydney, Australia. Both of them loves the Lord that’s why I’m confident that they will do just ok.

The wedding was one of the best weddings I’ve been to. It was so intimate and heartfelt. The wedding was held at Shangri-la Mactan. The ceremony was held on a chapel on top of a hill over looking the sea and the sunset. The reception followed in the evening on the beach side and feasted on a bountiful spread of grilled seafoods among others. The program was beautiful in that, it was filled with details that made it personal and intimate.

To Richard and Neri, may you have a long and fruitful life ahead. The best of your days are yet to come. Continue to make the Lord the center of your relationship, and all will go well with you. Mabuhay ang bagong kasal!

Beautiful mother of the groom and our ninang Lourdes Say.

The path to the reception.

Me, Mark & Brznf

Best weddings ever.