Envy: part 1

I’ll start with a series of posts on my reflections on this week’s message at Grace Place entitled “Envy” (Part of the series “The Sickness Within”)

Envy. Everyone of us is plagued by this. No one can say that they are exempted. Let’s be honest: we envy people with better jobs, better gadgets, better relationships.

The Bible says, envy rots the bones. It does, in a lot of ways. Remember Cain, the brother of Abel the sons of our first parents Adam and Eve? Cain, in his envy of Abel, led him to murder. You may start with an envious feeling towards an office mate who’s got a better cellphone than yours. But it may lead to a slippery slope of stealing, lying, hatred or murder (ok, that one’s too much).

In this series of posts, we will try find God’s cure to envy. I will discuss 1 “do” and 2 “don’ts”. I’ll start with the first one tomorrow.

What or who do you envy? I‘m encouraging you to participate in the discussion by placing your comments here.

How God looks at you

Look at the mirror. Do you like what you see? What do people say about you, do they call you names? For most of us self-worth is dependent on our appearance, achievement, other people’s approval, affluence; all of which are, needless to say, superficial and temporary. If we’ll judge ourselves by these, we’ll end up frustrated because we won’t measure up to that standard, the society’s ideals.

The Bible tells us of a story about a man named Zacchaeus (Luke 19 ), who by people’s morals can be considered a midget, a thief, a social eye sore. But despite all of these Jesus chose to speak to Him, amidst the throngs of people, on a first name basis. That is because our reputation as an individual does not affect the way God looks at us. In His eyes we are a prince, created in His own likeness and purchased by His Son’s blood.

There are 3 fundamental truths on which we should base our self-worth:

No matter how insignificant you feel, Jesus notices you. In this world full of important and famous people there may be times when you feel irrelevant. But just so you know, you are not an accident. The thought of creating you excites Him long before you were conceived by your parents. God planned the day you were born and how long you would live; He sculpted your face and the distinctiveness of your personality. Each one of us was created for a purpose and our own place under the sun. We are God’s masterpiece and he loves us so. He definitely takes notice.

No matter what others say about you, Jesus affirms you. People may have something to say about you, but who cares about bad rep, the Lord looks pass on who you are right now, rather He is thrilled on who you will become in the future. The bible says, “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.” Ps.27:10

No matter what you’ve done, Jesus wants you. You may have done something wrong in the past, countless times, but the bottom line is God still loves you. He never stop running after you. The proof of the matter is Jesus, who came not to condemn, but to bridge the gap between us and the Father. All of us is far from Mr. or Ms. Perfect but God doesn’t care. For Him our value does not depend on what we’ve done, but on what Jesus did for us. All He wants is a relationship with us.

Understanding this truth will free us from the lies of this world and from a rat race existence, this truth shall transform our lives. That is if you open your heart and see for yourself how Jesus looks at you. You are that person who’s picture is in His wallet, He thinks of you day and night. For Him you are one priceless jewel, and why wouldn’t you, your soul cost Him His Son.

The next time a wave of insignificance drives pass you, think about this:

I am not what other people say I am.
I am not what I think I am.
I am who God says I am.

(a cross-post from a lady who’s a better writer that I am. This one’s great, hon.)

What’s so special about Christmas?

Let me be a little controversial as I start: I believe that Jesus WAS NOT born on Dec. 25. Do your research, dudes. Jesus could have not been born on a winter. Commemoration of Jesus’ birthday on Dec. 25 came only later during the time of Emperor Constantine.

No, I’m not trying to start a “Do we have to celebrate Christmas or not?” debate. The reason why I mentioned that controversial fact is for us to shift our focus from what this season, most liberals calls only as the “holidays”, has clouded our minds of — gifts, shopping, parties, santa, reindeer, lights — to the real essence of the celebration.

What’s so special about Christmas?

Well, what’s so special about July 20, 1969? It is the day where man landed the moon. President Nixon, overjoyed with this breakthrough, proclaimed, “This day marks the most important event in the history of mankind”.

The great evangelist Billy Graham corrected him, “With all due respect, Mr. President, but the day man landed the moon isn’t the most important event in the history of mankind, it is when GOD landed on earth in the form of a man in the person of Jesus Christ”.

That’s why Christmas is special, folks. Christmas, whatever day it is that we want to celebrate, marks the day when the creator stepped into our lives in the form of a creature. It is a day when he decided to “come out of his comfort zone” because of his love towards mankind — that includes you and me. It is the day when Jesus started his journey that will eventually lead to him sacrificing his life and pay for the sins that you and I had been committed, is committing and will commit.

If you’re doubting if God can ever understand you when you’re afraid, when you’re tempted, when you’re discouraged, when you have the biggest problem on your shoulders, think again. Christmas made it possible for God to understand your deepest struggles in life because he himself became man and dwelt among us like a normal baby, a normal kid, a normal teenager, a normal worker (he was a carpenter). He had problems with his staff — one betrayed him and one denied him. He had problems with his family members including his brothers — at the beginning of his ministry, they won’t believe him. Jesus knows how you feel because he went through the same struggles that you and I am undergoing through. That’s because of Christmas.

(Incidentally, Grace Place will have a special Christmas celebration this Sunday with a very special message entitled, yes you got it, “What’s So Special About Christmas?” This blog post is NOT the summary :D So, if you’re near Makati area, I’d like to invite you to be my guest)

All the other stuff are good, those are fun and can’t-celebrate-without. But understanding the real essence of Christmas can make you enjoy the season even without those, even without gifts and the lights and the fancy activities. Because you know that God has already given you the most precious gift you can imagine, in fact the most precious possession in heaven — Jesus Christ. Make him the love of your life. Your Lord. Your Savior.

The eye of the storm

At this very moment, 11:30 am, Sept. 28, 2006, Typhoon Milenyo (international code name “Xangsane”) is pounding Metro Manila. Its good that I reached the office before it actually landed at around11 am. Looking outside my window, I can see that really, there was storm outside! Scary sounding winds, heavy rains, almost floody streets — man, I’m trapped! :D

I’m actually anticipating something right now. The “eye of the storm”, where there will be absolute calmness, no winds, little to no rains, no nothing, just peace. And then the storm again hitting the reverse direction. The last time I experienced the eye of the storm was during college when Typhoon Rosing hit Cavite. I was with my choir-mates practicing with our music director — Kuya Sherx. What a way to experience storm — sing! :D And then calmness — we went out to see the devastation. After a few minutes, we had to go back inside — the storm was now hitting the other direction. It’s very interesting to observe this natural phenomenon.

Life can be really stormy, isn’t it? A broken relationship. Financial mess. A Lost job. Unsecured future. Sometimes, you don’t even know what hit you! You’re broken, you’re lost. You don’t know where to go or whom to speak to. You reach the end of the rope, you hit rock bottom.

There is, in fact, a “place” in this life where you can go to — the “eye of the storm”. This is where you will find comfort and security and peace despite the stormy life around you. The eye of the storm is Jesus. The Bible says, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out …? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matt. 11:28-30 The Message)

Life isn’t fair. Life isn’t easy. But we can find comfort in the midst of the storm through the One who commands it. Reuben Morgan, my favorite Praise and Worship music composer and leader wrote the song “Still”. Here’s the chorus:

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God

Be still. Find the eye of the storm. And rest.

Wait, I think here comes Milenyo’s eye!

Life lesson on the road

For those of you who are reading from outside Metro Manila, the “odd-even scheme”, or more popularly known as “color coding scheme” (even if this doesn’t have anything to do with colors anymore) is a vehicle volume reduction program being used by the road authorities. Simply put, you’ll have one day holiday (read: your car is banned on the road) out of the 5 working days. Mine is Monday.

Here’s the thing — most of the time, I disobey this rule. Ok, I admit, this is wrong dudes! But I’ve justification for it, a good one (or bad, depending on who will look at it). You see, my office building (located along Shaw in Mandaluyong) is about 1 kilometer away from Shangri-la mall (also in Mandaluyong). At Shangri-la, I do most of my business meetings with prospective clients and partners. Joy and I also spend our time together on Mondays in that mall. “Color coding” is up to 7 pm. But I have to meet clients in the afternoon. Sometimes I meet Joy at 6. I was thinking, 1 kilometer will not hurt the traffic. Read the rest of this entry »