How Dare Me

Ezra 9:13

What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this.

For two weeks now, God has been calling me to do something which I just don’t have feelings for.  I tried to manage the guilt by calling it mere delay and by compensating it with diligence in other worthwhile things. But who am I fooling here?  If I bring that alibi to a boss, I’d probably get fired. If I give it as an excuse to a professor,  I’d still flunk the course. If I offer that to my husband, he’d sure feel not loved at all. And if my kids do that to me, my kindest would be to nag them for days : )

Ezra's spirit was still high from their historical return from Babylon to Jerusalem when he heard the shocking news: the exiles were intermarrying. Why was that a big deal? First, it was their direct order from God not to. They were set apart as a nation under God and a marriage with a Gentile would compromise that bond. Second, it was exactly why they became slaves for seventy years in a foreign land, and in sin's bondage for many years prior that. The relationship of their kings and leaders with these pagan neighbors paved the way to idolatry resulting to God's wrath. And third, they all just got back from that mess! God’s word was clear to them that their release was so they could start anew with Him and be that holy nation again. Ezra sat down utterly appalled the whole day. Probably wondering how and if they could lift up their faces to God again.

‘Try offering your crippled sacrifices to your governor! Would he be pleased and accept you? Where is the honor due Me?’ Still, despite our evil deeds, God’s mercy still offered us clean slates in Christ. Even overwhelmed us with much grace after that. Now imagine Him hearing my ungrateful excuses to His call. Seriously? After all that He suffered on that Cross for me? Despite clearing my record of sins and shame? Add to that all the blessings I received from Him? How would His mercy appease His justice to pass over me again?  And so today, like Ezra, I had to throw myself down before the God who deserves utmost honor and my obedience. Oh how dare me : (

Better with Names

Ezra 8:15

I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there.

With Holy Week coming up early this year, my hands are already full in preparation for our church’s summer VBS. For starters, I have next week’s kick off to focus on. The pressure is to make it an exciting and excellent first impression. With the task manuals printed, schedules to follow, PPT presentation checked and invitations set, the OC-in-me bugs me of what I might still have missed. And again, like last year, God’s word came right on cue.  

Opening on chapter 8, a list of names welcomed me. I quickly rushed through the thirteen verses thinking it was just one of those lineage thing-y. I jumped to the verse noted above and the phrase ‘(Ezra) found no Levites there’ hit me.  With around thousands of people gathered there, he found one tribe wanting: the Levites. What’s happening here was, supposedly, they were the second wave of remnants who will return to Jerusalem. The temple was already rebuilt, but not so much true worship. Ezra, being a scribe in the line of Aaron, was called for this reform.  Seeing no Levites in his team posed a problem. Only these people were set apart to assist the priests in the temple work. Without them, the priests will probably multi-task. No reason was given why they didn’t respond to the recruitment call. Some said, it may be because it was no position of prominence. Regardless, Ezra did not leave without their representation. And when they arrive, each of their names were likewise registered.

When I imagined Ezra writing their names, I also saw him asking their father’s line and meeting the family they brought along with. That’s ‘taking time’. I may understand that the scribe-in-him bugged him on these details, but the fact that the Scripture gave them one-fourth page is something. It made me realize how each name in my volunteer list is as important as my tasks on hand. It readied my heart for possible ‘no-show’ and that I should seek them out and wait on them. Not because Ezra did it. But because God Himself sought the lost-me, called me by name, and relates with me to this time. I know better how that feels like. Time to do better is what’s next.

Worried Pockets

1 Chronicles 29:16

O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.

Last Monday, the complete kit for Rilian’s homeschooling finally arrived. Now that he’s officially a student, with tests and all, I felt like we became official parents too, with responsibilities, and more. Plotting their school years to determine how much we need to raise and save every time, my initial thought balloon to those figures was: there goes my hopes for a house, and the car, and the dream vacations.  But I quickly rebuked the discouragement and remembered my parents, and theirs. They weren’t well off either, and to think they lived with eleven other siblings. But they’re living proof that it’s manageable. I myself finished school, and my sister will, by God’s grace next year, become a doctor. Now in faith I see my kids and a bright future ahead of them. I know. Because God said He will provide.

When the chronicler shared the story of chapter 29, I imagine the remnants in blank stare and deep breath, wondering how could the same building project be possible at their time. David was here pouring treasures as seed money for Solomon’s temple, and it’s extravagantly a lot! And because King David gave over and above what was expected of him, that is, he shared even from his personal treasures, the leaders of the land were inspired to give much to the treasury too.  No wonder Solomon’s temple was literally shining in gold. So how could the remnants ever fill those shoes? Coming from seventy years of foreign slavery, they barely had anything to call their own. ‘Impossible!’ was their logic’s cry. Then they heard David’s prayer and his acknowledgement that it wasn’t his treasures that provided for the temple. The verse above pointed it all came from God’s hand. Later on, the remnants saw how God’s faithfulness proved it true. In the book of Ezra, King Darius decreed, based on the scroll issued by King Cyrus, that the royal treasury of Persia will fully pay for the construction of the temple. How in the world that happened? One answer: God can do that!

How’s your finances today? Any pressing payables this week? Any savings for rainy days? If your answers are in the tune of worry, I know how that sounds. Been there, done that, still there - - minus the worry. Today at least. Tomorrow? That’s another faith decision. But clearly, truth says, everything comes from God’s hand. With His unlimited, unimaginable treasures in heaven, it’s actually more impossible for Him to not to provide. That implies, resource is not the issue here, but our heart questioning His goodness, and the humility to simply ask.  Like a child to a Father. Completely trusting. Fully expecting. If He can give His Son for us all, which is the greatest of all gifts, can we really picture Him withholding the less? Impossible! What is our need today compared to His life’s value? What is our worry compared to our need for the Cross? God’s been providing for the world ever since, will He stop now with us? I don’t think so.

Linsanity

1 Chronicles 18:13b

The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went.

Surprising. Sensational. Shooting Star. That’s Linsanity. Giving Knicks eight wins out of ten games since his stunning February 4 feat, he became a viral name.  With half a million twitter followers and paparazzis digging his roots, he recently pleaded for his family’s privacy. But what he won’t seem to mind being talked about is his Christian faith. He actually prefers to be defined by it.  To others, it may seem like an overnight fame, but he saw it as God’s blessings, one after the other. Even his season of being undrafted, overlooked and cut twice were to him training days, spiritually, and by default, skillfully. With their loss last Friday night, which snapped their seven straight winning streak, it all the more proved his humility, and maturity. He knows he’s a work in progress. It’s just exciting to see him greater still considering Who’s behind his road to completion. That’s worth watching :>

Seeing chapter eighteen as another almost copy-paste account from 2 Samuel, my top question all morning yesterday was: so why was this story chosen in light of the remnants? How could David’s war victories be of relevance to the homecoming, ex-slaves? Wouldn’t it highlight their low status all the more? For those who would not guard his heart from despair and envy, probably yes. But to those whose heart is seeking God and His ways, this was the perfect answer. God wanted them to note that He gave David victories because he went, wherever needed. The golden age of Israel wasn’t an overnight sensation. There were long, tiring, bloody battles that David had to go through. The victory was promised but he had to claim it. One unique inclusion here was the mention of the great quantity of bronze that was brought to Jerusalem. God wanted the remnants to have a trace that even the beautiful temple that Solomon built had roots here. His provision for the temple wasn’t a one-time, heaven’s-floodgates-widely-opening. Those treasures had been saved and kept ‘til the appointed time. So as much as God would want to build Israel anew, they needed to actively work on it, not passively wait on it. They had to start somewhere.

In our church bulletin last Sunday, there was a challenge to start on a discipline. It could be a diet, a new hobby, or some family project. Anything. The point is to move those feet from plain wishing to actually doing it. Laziness and idleness according to the Bible is sin. It directly negates the God who is productive and all-powerful. For how could anyone see the greatness of God’s working to and through us if all we do is wait and wonder for a miracle from heaven? His promised blessings of strength, wisdom and success are all in the context of mobility. Not that He can’t do it apart from our inch-contribution, but more for us to experience His grace in detail. Jeremy Lin saw God in his every game. His praise wasn’t after shooting those straight wins. It has always been one game at a time. The ruins of life can be so overwhelming we’re clueless where to start. From today, we heard Him say: just one stone at a time. And when do we start? How about now.

Remember Me Project

1 Chronicles: 14:13,14

Once more the Philistines raided the valley, so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, ‘Do not go straight up, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees’.

Last Friday, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum hosted a candle-light ceremony to honor the victims of the Nazi persecution and to promote awareness to help-prevent future genocides. There was an estimate of 1.5 million Jewish children and tens of thousands other youths who died during the Holocaust. Thank God, there were survivors. After the war, social service agencies across Europe were able to photograph some 1,100 of those displaced children. As of November 2011, 230 of them were found and their stories heard via the Museum’s Remember Me? Project.  Newer pictures were attached to their old, younger versions, meaning, they’ve survived and continued life. I’ve cried over Schindler’s List and Life is Beautiful , but these best pictures are no match to these photographs. They’re worth our remembrance.

Walls broken down and every building burned. Rubbles were all that’s left in the once glorious city of David. The remnants knew his name as the greatest king who ever lived. That he fought against giants and armies, as a fugitive ‘til he’s crowned. They probably wished they were born in his timeline instead. Or prayed for someone like him to help them rise from ground zero. It was at this point that God moved his chronicler to choose this story of David against the Philistines. He had just been anointed as king when his enemies full-forced-raided the valley, twice. As listeners, I imagine the remnants awaiting to know his signature moves, or his battle strategies, or at least his quotes to live by.  And it did not disappoint them. For he had all three. His winning move was to inquire of the Lord. Two wars, both times. His battle strategies were dictated by God: one straight up, one by circling around.  The second one with the note, ‘God has gone out in front of you’. That was the quote he likewise lived by. It made his fame spread throughout every land; made him the greatest king in Judah’s eyes. He’s worth their inspiration. Worth their remembrance. 

Holocaust survivors had people to thank God for. Latest finds mentioned a nanny who pretended to be his non-Jewish mother; another remembered an American MP who escorted them safely to an apartment; one was already lined up against the wall for the shot when an army lieutenant appeared, placed them under arrest, and then miraculously set them free. These stories were already engraved in their hearts. The same engraving that David’s army and the remnants many years after kept treasured because they experienced God’s salvation. Our stories may not be as dim as the holocaust. But sin’s slavery and its sure eternal punishment in hell was the worst ever written. To us who have already been saved, may we see the need to publicize those photos so that the world would see and hear His grace. To those of you still trapped and in deep pits, He said ‘Call upon Me in the day of trouble and I shall rescue you’. He will leave his ninety-nine other sheep just to find you. His heart is set to see a new you on His wall, reconnected to Him and with a beautiful story to share.  Let’s Remember God today.

So Good to Be Alive

1 Chronicles: 14:1

And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.

When Anthony Bourdain’s travel and food show ‘No Reservations’ featured going back to Cambodia, it felt like time warping with him. Only mine landed two years prior his episode for my sister-in-law’s wedding, while his interview with the locals moved him to Pol Pot’s massive massacre thirty plus years ago.  It was heartbreaking to see that those ruins saw the death of 1.7 million able and promising Khmers. The Rouge saw to it that their history records were all burned as well. It was an episode less appetizing, but with more heart to it. The simple dish prepared by the farmer’s family was probably the tastiest of all considering what they went through to survive. It made the world’s vanities fade into background - - so pale compared the truth of Bourdain’s closing words: ‘It’s (just) good to be alive.’ 

If we’ll time warp to Jerusalem at the time of this chapter’s writing, we’d probably see the remnants clueless on how to rebuild their once-great nation. As seventy-year-captives, they were more used to servitude and low self esteem. Like those ruins, they were broken too. Settling down was a big pill to swallow, almost difficult to grasp. T’was heartbreaking to see them pick up their puzzle pieces. God, feeling their fragile state, moved His chronicler to copy-paste two verses in David’s early life as king. First, He wanted them to see that He who provided David with the building materials for Zion from King Hiram of Tyre, is the same God who worked in the decrees of kings Cyrus and Darius to fully cover their expense. Imagine your empty pockets filled up with royal treasuries. It was overwhelming. But as always with God, it’s not done until you’re bursting with praise. He added the beautiful truth that David’s establishment as king and the kingdom’s exalted spot in history were for this reason: it was for the sake of His people. “US?!”  They sure stared at the chronicler in disbelief. God’s love seemed distant in a foreign land. But now that they’re back in their homeland, it all made sense. It’s undeniably grace. What others saw as ruins, they see home. What others called pitiful, they call life. Others may belittle their history, but they believe that hope was alive.

We were heartbroken hearing the news last week that my ninong was missing. As chief cook in a seafaring vessel, his work included inspecting galleys for storage and cleanliness. His last chat with his wife points to his going there. They found him gone the following morning. Initial investigations said he might have accidentally fallen off. It was shattering news. We were crying for days, pleading for a miracle. Our hope is in the God who can bring him back home. But if He chooses not to, if our ninong’s already home in His comfort, then we will hope that the dark ruins in his family’s life today will soon meet His gracious provision to rise anew. That though others may expect it as void, they’ll experience His fill. That although God took him away, they’ll praise Him still because he was first given to them. Our hope for a beautiful future can be traced back to the time that God established David’s Branch and exalted Him above the nations.  It was because of His love for us, His people, that Jesus came to live. He is the One reason why we can look forward to life. He makes the world’s vanities fade into background - - so pale compared to His words that gives eternal life.  Oh, it’s just so good that God is alive!

January Jitters

1 Chronicles 11:10

These were the chiefs of David's mighty men--they, together with all Israel, gave his kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the LORD had promised.

We’re just on the third week of this new year and it seems some have already lost the glitz and joy of the season.  Highlighted by the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona, which started Monday, lawyers fear that this scrutiny, implying an undermining of the judiciary system, is endangering the country’s democracy. The back-fence talk that the president is shifting to dictatorship brings much distress especially because we feel we’ve just been there. Ironically though, such proceeding also surfaces the fact that the people’s power will make sure freedom and justice is kept. The Senate president promised that. They knew we will be watchful. We have our history to back us up.

From seventy years of exile to claiming back their homeland, we can imagine the hopes of the remnants. They probably can’t stop praising God for how He worked in the heart of King Cyrus to make them free. When they reached Zion, after settling in the towns, first on their list was what they long ago neglected: the Temple of God. Upon laying its foundations, it is said that there was mix of joyful shouts and loud weeping. The crying was from those old people who’ve seen its former glory. They knew it will take a lot of hard work to build their nation anew. With the Samaritans also occupying the land, oppositions were expected. God’s grace moved the chronicler to write chapter eleven at this time. It was the account of how the mighty David rose to power because of Israel’s support and his mighty men behind him, fighting alongside him. It features impossible exploits of individuals and God’s victory through them. Verse 9 wrote: ‘David became more and more powerful, because the Lord Almighty was with him’. The remnants needed to hear that part of history to strengthen their hopes and hold on to their faith. They needed to realize that the city of David became great not because of one bold man but because the people stood united and strong behind him, and foremost because God was with them.

How was your first three weeks so far?  Are you already tired, discouraged and overwhelmed? Is the thought that there’s eleven more months to your rough routine and with that difficult person enough for you to shout out that life sucks?  Well, it isn’t the first time, and you’re not the only one that road. Last year may have hit you hard and seeing January not promising either doesn’t mean it couldn’t go better. David is proof that God can raise one mere shepherd to the throne. Israel’s history is witness that battles can be won even against giants and empires. Our country survived despite leadership flaws and amidst crisis and floods. Romans 15:4 says: ‘For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.’ If we choose to put our trust in Him, He can fill us with joy and peace each day this year. We can have His strength to pursue impossible exploits and be one with our leaders in winning them. There is so much to look forward to this year. And God will make sure it will all end in praise. Happy 2012!