No Crown, But Not a Coward

1 Kings 20:42

He said to the king, This is what the LORD says: 'You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.'

Around this time yesterday, the web walls flooded with Miss U posts. It may be Miss Angola who bagged the crown, but our very own Shamcey Supsup definitely did not lag behind. Malacanang had three words for her: humility, intellect and grace. The Q&A portion displayed an admirable fourth one: faith. When asked if she would change her religion to marry the one she loves, she answered, ‘If I would have to change my religious beliefs, I would not marry the person that I love. Because the first person that I love is God, who created me. I have my faith and my principles, and this is what makes me who I am. If the person loves me, he’ll love my God, too’. Some found her last sentence fatal in a competition where mutual respect is highly observed. But who says it was her personal principles? It was God’s in the first place and she merely acted in obedience. And that, for us, is her winning crown.

Many would give up everything for the crown. Five chapters back, we read of Judah’s King Asa bribing Ben-Hadad to break treaty with Israel and side with him instead. That same king of Aram reappears here and besieged Samaria. His pride and malice called out King Ahab to surrender everything under his feet. If not for God’s hand, there was no way Israel’s flock could fight against this vast army – twice! The win was for both Israel and Aram to know that He is God, the Gracious and Just. But when Ben-Hadad pleaded for mercy, Ahab gave him full pardon. He even called him a brother and made a treaty with him. He sure could win a title for this world peace act. But was it for him to give? As ultimate judge, we find God’s verdict to Ahab’s seemingly humanitarian answer: ‘You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.’ Woew! I guess not even God’s answer could win by popular vote. Play-rewind to verse 36 and you’ll find a prophet killed by a lion for refusing to strike a fellow prophet as commanded by God. It was an object lesson for Ahab for putting his personal convictions ahead of God’s. He thought giving mercy was better than God’s justice. And for that, the crown was taken away from him.

It is God’s rule above all. His mercy above ours, His love above ours. Many were offended by Shamcey’s insisting her faith on someone (although it shouldn’t be out of love for her). But reflecting on Elijah’s fight against the Baal prophets, God was not calling Israel to respect other beliefs. He wants us to act in obedience and declare there is only ONE God. He is the jealous One who demands man's exclusive devotion, like a husband who has every right and reason for his wife’s full affection.  Christianity’s voice on society has long been muted because of crown-compromises. We’d rather win than win them over. We easily let go for respect’s sake. Jesus didn’t. The crown of thorns was proof to that.

Ruins Revisited

1 Kings 18:30

Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins.

My mother is one very sentimental person. She keeps memorabilia of days old, from newspaper clippings to baby cloth diapers, to even our umbilical cords. One fond memory her siblings shared with us was during a big fire in the early 70s and all my mom picked up to save was her box of photo albums. They were laughing hard remembering how our grandmother was so furious in disbelief.  ‘You could have at least grabbed a pot with those photos!’ were my lola’s words, hahaha :> Only now did they appreciate her ‘passion’ whenever they come home from abroad and my mom will show their kids those sepia shots, with once-upon-a-time subtitles of course. That’s ‘history comes alive’ to us :>

After the prophets of Baal failed to call down fire, all eyes were on Elijah. It was his turn to prove his God, is THE God. He called everyone closer so as not to miss a detail. They saw him approach a ruined structure. It was an old altar. Probably from the days of the Judges. It was smashed down, neglected, and forgotten. Next they saw Elijah take twelve stones and with those, he built an altar. Now they became nostalgic. Surely they heard of Joshua and that great story when the rushing waters of Jordan was cut off for all Israel to pass and claim the promise land. It was said that their fathers took twelve stones from there, one for each of the twelve tribes. History would have regarded it as their glory years. Their nationalistic pride was stirring now.  When they heard Elijah pray to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, it struck a chord that shook their hearts to the core. ‘ISRAEL! That’s Us!’ Suddenly, stories of God’s deliverance from Moses’ time in Egypt to David’s great victories over the Philistines and the Canaanites nations came back to life. So that finally, when God answered with fire from heaven, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord- He is God!’  They were actually the ruins which God rebuilt and revived anew!

Do you have stories of old? Stories when God delivered you from sure troubles and insane people? Stories of timely provisions, of miraculous healing, of answered prayers? Have you kept them down deep, far from reach, and buried in rust and ruins? Then you go about life and wonder why it seems so stagnant and running in circles. You paddle harder and cry louder, but it seems prayers were stuck in that ceiling. You slash your skins day in and out and yet there’s still no fire in your heart, no passion to move on. Elijah said ‘Come closer. Look.’ There you’ll see your worship of God in ruins. When was the last time you prayed? When did you last sought God’s forgiveness? When was the last time you died to yourself and surrendered to His Lordship? Call unto Him. The One true God. He alone can turn your ruins and set your life ablaze again.  Make His-story come alive now!

Don't Change Channels

1 Kings:18:21

Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’

Growing up in my mom’s ancestral home with just one television set for sixteen people was a heartbreaker. The big boys – my lolo, my uncles, plus my dad of course – and their sports channel reigned T-Th-F and Sundays. The big girls and their afternoon telenovelas were my other competition. Sometimes, they’d allow my cartoon network in between commercial breaks. It’s usually the time I’d pray hard they wouldn’t notice time. The frustration comes when both shows have their ads simultaneously and in our clicking channels every so often, one either missed a crucial peak or a momentous ending. At a young age, I’ve learned that peace and satisfaction only comes when one submits fully to the other. Since both couldn’t enjoy a half-show, I, then, bitterly accepted my Saturday lot. It may just be a day for me, but at least I have the tube all by myself.

When Elijah came face to face with Ahab and the northern kingdom, this was his opening statement: you cannot keep serving two gods. On one foot, these people submitted to the king and queen’s idolatry for it was trending and compulsory. Their other toe, however, was still clinging to their traditions and identity being seeds of Jacob. Elijah called them limps, or like birds hopping from one branch to another. They were mixing religions and in the process, pleasing none. God wouldn’t share seat with another. For there is no another. He wouldn’t accept half-hearted, half-devoted worship. For it wouldn’t be worship at all. Once and for all, Elijah called them for a decision. ‘Choose a God - not out of preference or popularity – but choose Him WHO IS God, then follow Him’.

Everyday, we come face to face with decisions and we hear voices left and right urging us that theirs is the best way in.  We have our parents and their years of care; our peers and their utmost loyalty; our teachers and bosses with their professional counsel; the social media and their latest inputs; and, yes our resume and what experience taught us. But is there anyone with God-credentials there? Anybody able to bring fire from heaven? Our frustration in life comes because we depend on people who like us are imperfect and limited. We cannot expect them to fill our every need because they are not God. We all wished for a perfect mate: someone who’s there for us 24/7; who know us inside out and would love us unconditionally; a doctor would be ideal for health purposes, or a lawyer maybe, to defend us; better if that someone would go out with us in nature trips, or stay all night hearing our complaints and bitter cries; best if he’d grow old with us so we don’t have to be alone again. You can add up more to this list, and the longer it gets, the more impossible you’d ever find all in a single person. Because they are not God. He alone is able to do all, and much more. But He is a jealous God. He calls for total, complete, undivided devotion. He is either your Lord of all or not at all. Don’t allot Him your commercial break for He deserves a full show. No changing channels. No peeks in between. That’s for your peace and satisfaction. And everyone else’s :>

Comparing X and Y

1 Kings 14:22

Judah did evil in the eyes of the LORD. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than their fathers had done.

In our Ladies lifegroup last Wednesday, I was asked to read a portion from Bill Hybel’s ‘Essential Christianity’ BS material. It was about the author’s conversation with a beautiful woman on a plane. Leaning she was dating an NBA player and another one back home, he asked if she feels a little bit guilty about that. (She also bragged about her party lifestyle, doing grass and all). Let me copy-paste her reply. ‘I am not an Edi Amin, Adolph Hitler type. I am a decent woman. I am well-educated, well-adjusted.. I consider myself as medium as anybody else out there’. To this, Hybels replied, ‘I am interested why you compared yourself to Edi Amin and Hitler. Why not Mother Teresa, St.Francis of Assisi, or Jesus of Nazareth?’ That ended their talk.

We last saw Rehoboam, Solomon’s heir, being stopped by God in his pursuit of uniting the twelve tribes. Now we read him sinning more than his fathers had done. Having the devoted David as your grandfather and the wisest Solomon as father is a big shoe to fill. But if we remember them as David the adulterer-slash-murderer and Solomon the womanizer-slash-idolater, and exceeding that, no wonder we next read of God’s stirred jealous anger. He was no different from the ruler up north. (I wouldn’t push comparing them for one might appear ‘better’). Same Asherah poles, same shrine prostitution. What is worse though is that God chose His Name to reside in Jerusalem. They have the advantage of having His golden temple and His appointed priests there. Unbelievable that they would exchange their beautiful worship set up to stones and poles on hills and under every spreading tree. It’s like preferring to dine in scums when you have a mansion in Forbes. They exchanged a living God for lifeless, man-made idols. It is a child preferring his toy rather than his parents multiplied a million times over.  How insulting it is to equate the highest Being with not even His creation, but His creation’s crafted work! That’s two levels down. A wife may be reasonably jealous of the other woman prettier than her, but how nerve-wracking it is to be disregarded for an aged whore?  God as a holy God means He was set apart from the rest. Peerless! And they represent Him with calves? And we depict Him as man? Oh we should not! The second commandment forbids it – not just the bowing, but the making. He considers them God-haters.

We may not directly and consciously dethrone God in our lives, but by elevating another to our highest gaze is but the same idolatrous, insulting act. God will not share His occupied space - - that’s the heart of this matter.  Anything that robs Him of centrality and our foremost attention is an idol that provokes His jealous anger.  Let’s check our schedules, our finances, our goals, our relationships. Who’s on rank one? Who got the bulk pie percentage? Christ or You? Who or what are those items compared to God? Anyone on the list all-powerful, ever-present, and who knows all things? Anything sure and able to help us out in times of want and troubles, sickness and death? And yet we make them gods? A foolish exchange. A million times fall far short. Definitely not worth comparing.