In the Company of Vodka

2 Chronicles 19:2

Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, ‘Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you.’

Should a Christian go to a bar? Ask me, fifteen to twenty years ago, I’d give you a hard NO.  After graduation, all the while I thought, it was just the bible school’s version of legalism. I don’t do such, but when asked for a stand, my script was: for as long as you just order Coke, and not participate in their dirty talks, and not flirt around with strangers, then you’re safely hanging out with friends or cousins maybe - - in your hopes to soon bring them to Christ, right? But of course, I’d end with, ‘Still best if you’d rather not.’

I guess that too was Jehoshaphat’s line of reasoning. For as long as he’s right with God, rooted in the Scriptures, firm in his convictions, he’d be strong enough to stand for his faith even amidst idolaters. His allegiance to Ahab’s family by marriage was nothing but plain political. Who knows, maybe he can even persuade his Israelite brother to come to terms with God. We can see him in chapter eighteen exactly doing that. When Ahab proposed a tag-team against Syria to regain Ramoth-Gilead, he boldly said ‘First seek the counsel of the Lord’. That’s quite like an opening prayer before your friends have their vodkas. Impressive actually. And he did it twice. But he was outnumbered and thought it best to play cool. Against his will and God’s, he ended up quietly consenting to a war and to the imprisonment of the prophet Micaiah.

‘Should you love those who hate the Lord?’ was Jehu's rebuke to Jehoshaphat. Should we defend him and say, ‘Can’t we at least count that opening prayer as good?’ Yes, there were some good in that, but beside the point. He should have sought the Lord before going to that bar. Yes, evangelism is to those people, but would they respond amidst such socialization context? Will the Spirit ever prompt us to go to such places at any time? Sure you can think of more creative ways to deepen your relationship with your friends, without the risk of compromise. David’s warning is clear: do not walk, stand or sit in their sinful way of life. Believe that God can provide you with His appointed meeting grounds. But first, seek the Lord.  

Kids Education

2 Chronicles 17:5

The LORD established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor.

Even before I got married, I already accepted the fact that husbands would rather not have long talks afterwork. And so, last night was one of those special times. Especially because it was his initiative. His opener was ‘What are those things you wish we could have as a family?’  Dreamily, I blurted out more eat outs and vacation trips. That’s a homemaker talking after a tiring day. Then our conversation moved to really ‘settling down’, meaning having a house of our own. More maths followed ‘til we both agreed our kids' education is priority one. Reality bites, hahaha :>

But is education important really? Even our government allotted the biggest slice of its 2012 budget to the DepEd. Is it for advancement? For security? For stability? In his third year in office, we can read that King Jehoshaphat sent five princes, two priests and nine Levites throughout Judah for one purpose: to educate the people with the Book of the Law. Unlike today where the church and state have different handbooks, Israel then, had but one. One book for all matters of faith and practice. From government to neighbor issues, to sanitation and real estate - - name it! They all had it there. It was but wise for Jehoshaphat to do that given the benefits of education to nation-building. But was it his move that made his kingdom established and the surrounding nations giving him peace? Verses 5 and 10 noted it was all God’s hand.

So what role did education play in all these? Why the effort to read and teach - - the Bible at most - - if it has no direct bearing in life’s successes? Then I remember how my C.E. teacher asked us in class what’s the other verb in the Great Commission?  ‘Teach’ she said. But what follows is the make or break of it all. Oftentimes what we aim to do as parents and teachers is to equip our kids with everything they need to know in life.  But it wasn’t what the verse said. Jesus said ‘Teach them TO OBEY everything I have commanded you’.  God blessed Jesoshaphat because he walked in His ways, not because he knew His ways. Being well-versed alone was what the Pharisees did. Not a good career path for our kids right? So maybe the next time we contemplate on what’s best for our families, let’s move from providing them with good education to making them obey God first. (And make sure we’re doing it ourselves :>)

Trust Issues

2 Chronicles 16:7b

‘…because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God,’

It was another Martha experience for me last weekend. Tris’ family came for a three-day vacation, along with the inlaws of his sister. Top stress factor for me as the homemaker is their meals of course. For one, my pots and pans are used to cooking for four; second, I have to consider the seniors’ not-salty, not-sweet rule; and third, I’m really not a seasoned cook! You can imagine me praying really hard as I sautéed, boiled, and served that pochero. And yes, God answered my prayers. It tasted well enough that I just have to boast it was all from above. The next morning, when I served them the breakfast omelet, my father-in-law commented: ‘This tastes very good too. Your prayers worked again!’ I smiled and said nothing. Because I did nothing. And what my heart actually heard was that I didn’t trust God for that simple dish. And that was distasteful to Him.

Thirty-years in service and you would expect the godly King Asa to end his term in flying colors. He was the reformist of their time. The one who abolished idolatry without reservations and who restored true worship in the land. But in this chapter, when the northern king came to his doors and threatened to put a siege outside his walls, the always-been-trusting ruler was found wanting. At the first sight of crisis, his logical faculties did some math and found a winning way out. His solution: send a bribery to Ben-Hadad to betray his treaty with Israel’s Baasha. It worked actually, with a surplus of stones and timbers from the siege structure. Judah was safe and everybody’s happy. All except Asa. For God sent the seer Hanani to meet and rebuke him for not relying on the Lord, plus more wars and a foot disease affliction on the way. Sadly though, instead of turning back to God, he went on walking with his pride. Up until he breathed his last.

Trusting God is one of those front pagers in our Christian Walk Manual. We knew it since Day One. From trusting Him as our Savior, we progressed to trusting Him with the daily facets of our lives. However, at Year 10 or so, it seems that our trusting became more like a byword and a given. As if the statement ‘I trust Him for my life’ - uttered years ago- will encompass the whole lifespan. Why else would the model prayer say ‘daily bread’ if He designed it sufficient for a month’s supply? Why would He command unceasing prayer if my Sunday prayer is already enough? Are His miracles only for parting seas and raising the dead? Don’t we need His help for our every breath? Will you dare not trust Him for that?

It’s More Fun...

2 Chronicles 15:15

All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.

Identity crisis. Theorist Erickson described it as the struggle between feelings of identity versus role confusion. Meaning, the battle between who you are and what you want against the what you oughts. I can vividly remember mine some twenty years ago. The college dormitory walls witnessed it all. Someone impatiently told me to grow up and act my age. She was referring to my baby talks, LOLs and unladylike running to and fro. All the while I thought it was cute and charming. It was the happy me. But that day, I bitterly said goodbye to it.  I moved to isolation, insecurity and invisibility. I even ate my meals an hour past everyone’s. It took me quite sometime to recover from that extreme. Actually I still edit my moves if I’m not around good friends.  I wish my days are all fun, but I also know I need to take it seriously (a.k.a. be taken seriously).

After the victorious battle against the Cushites, Asa found no time allotted for afterparties and the like. Azariah came to meet him for some serious talk. The long and short of it was to be strong and to continue the good work of leading God’s people to seek the Lord.  On cue, he took courage and started the serious work: removed idols from the whole land, repaired the Lord’s altar, assembled all Judah in Jerusalem, sacrificed hundreds and thousands animals from the plunder, entered into a covenant and took an oath to seek the Lord, deposed his grandmother of her position as queen mother, and, brought the silver and gold into the temple of the Lord. It was an overhaul of everything. A first-things-first, no-nonsense response to God’s call for faithful living. But what legalism didn’t expect coming was that ‘they took the oath WITH loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns, and all Judah rejoiced about the oath..'.  You’d get raised eyebrows from senior Pharisees for that.  The disciples might hush some kids too. T’was kinda out of place for a solemn assembly. But we’re they rebuked by God? The cheerful demonstration was born out of the sincerity of their glad hearts. It did not in any way made their commitments half baked. It was still an appropriate response to God’s immeasurable grace.

Our church multimedia manager lately got fond of adapting the ‘It’s More Fun’ bandwagon and applied it to almost all our ministry activities. There’s that ten jump-shots to the beach for the baptism tag. Then last week were seven ‘sleeping in class’ after the Brigada Eskwela drive. It may look like we’re taking things lightly, but ey, shouldn’t Christianity be also fun? It was His idea that man will walk alongside Him in the garden, and enjoy it. Yes, it does involves reverence in worship, in-depth study of the word, prayers for repentance and grief, but it is also true that every encounter with Him, even the most painful ones, will never leave His children void of that gladness of heart. It’s the unexplainable joy of being in the presence of God.   So let’s not give that impression to our children that the things of God are all too formal and stiff and strict rules. He orchestrated a time for that. That means, the other half is also His ordained time for laughter, enjoyment and fun. For why else would author that if it isn't for His glory? 

Rest Days

2 Chronicles 14:6

He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the LORD gave him rest.

Ever since college, Monday’s been my considered rest day.  It’s the most logical choice considering how weekends overload people like me. My leader even has that strict no-work-related calls or texts on Mondays. He encourages us to do the same, for he expects that we’re all recharged for work the next day. But it’s quite harder now that I’m home based. It calls for more discipline to really set aside Mondays for break, and the rest of the days for work. Yesterday was one of those ‘beating my body’ days. You have to understand that it is during my rest day that I have to clean the house.  And yes, I’d rather do ministry research than scrub the tiles. But records show that if I delay, it’d be a grumpy week for me. For I can’t work in an unclean, disorderly environment. With that end scenario in mind, I was able to talk myself into doing it. I’m glad I did. For now I’m free to do what I really love doing. 

Unlike his father Abijah, whose three-year rule was characterized with war against Jeroboam, Asa’s first years were seasons of rest for the whole land of Judah. The verse above noted that it was God-given. Move five verses up for context and we’d find that it was also God-rewarded. ‘He did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord’.  First, he removed idolatry in all the towns, and second, he commanded Judah to seek the Lord. He put to right use his position of authority to do what’s really good for the people, that is, to make peace with God. And when it was theirs for enjoyment, what they did with their rest was far from how others spend their blessed years. No, they did not sleep all-day nor drink all-night, or thoughtlessly declare extended holidays. Asa instead called everyone to build up the towns and fortify the cities. He also equipped his soldiers with weapons and skills, preparing them for battles whenever. Because true enough, a vast Cushite army soon threatened their doors. But more than their physical readiness, it was their seeking the Lord in good times that pulled them off in hard times. One cry for help and God readily struck down the enemies before them. Not to mention the large amount of plunder they carried off from the enemy camp.

While pondering on these verses, I realized that I myself am given rest on every side: health, finances, relationships, family, ministries. Knowing full well what a down picture looks like and mine wasn’t painted as such, it's a blessed season indeed! But this account of Asa reminded me to ‘be very careful how to live – not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. To not be foolish, but to understand what God’s will is’ (Eph5).  Rest was never in the context of idleness. To us given this trust, stewardship is required. This is our time to strengthen our defenses, to be equipped for soon-battles, and to seek the Lord’s favor. All these will come in handy in days of want.  So save for the rainy days!