Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Psalm 139: 7-12

Before the advent of digital cameras, I remember one commercial of a film in the Philippines with a banner line saying “Nothing Escapes Agfa.” It prides itself as a film that captures all the range of colors. I thought about it upon reading the Psalmist's realization that there is no place in heaven and or earth where one can hide or flee from the presence of God. The Psalmist covers it all – from heaven to Sheol, the place of the dead, not even darkness. It is powerfully said when the Psalmist wrote, the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

One the games we played when we were children was “hide and seek,” tago-tago, as we call it in Visayan. It is a game when a group of players hide at the count of ten or twenty and then one seek to find where the rest hides. It was a fun game and there were children especially the small ones who can sneak and hide in places that no thought it was possible hide. The favorites hiding places were back the back of the doors, under the bed or inside the cabinet. At one time, one child went into the attic bringing his snacks and the rest was worried because no one can find him.

There are times in life when we wish God would not be watching us. Moments when we can say we can hide from God’s spirit and from God’s presence. It comes when we do something shameful, something contrary to who we are. At times, we just want to be left alone, all by ourselves. But the reality is that we cannot escape from God. In fact, one of the drawings that depict God is that of the All-Seeing Eye.

No place to hide – the concept is both frightening and rewarding. Frightening because none of our sins escape God’s scrutiny but also rewarding in a sense that God is always there watching and ready to help in times of need. This truth teaches us another character of God. God is omnipresent, meaning God is in all places at all times. “Nothing Escapes Agfa” it only speaks about colors. Nothing escapes God – it covers everything!

Prayer

O Lord, our God, you are omnipresent.

There is no sin that you cannot see

    no need that you cannot respond. Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139:1-6

The hymn “Search Me O God” draws its inspiration from this Psalm. It is a prayer of confession, a plea for forgiveness and renewal. According to records the lyrics was written J. Edwin Orr in 1936 at a revival meeting in Ngarua­wa­hia, New Zea­land. Although it can be sang in three different tunes but the original tune is named Maori, which is the Polynesian Indigenous Tribe in the island. “Search me O God” is a prayer and a request that sounds unnecessary. After all, God knows everything in our lives whether it is the outward expressions or the inward longings. 

What does it mean when we pray, “Search me O God?” First, it means acknowledgement of God’s infinite knowledge. One of the characters ascribed to God is omniscient. When we say God is omniscient we mean God is all knowing. And it includes not only the affairs of the universe but in the language of the Psalm writer even the affairs of our own personal lives. We remember Jesus who advised us not to fear because God knows what’s going on. He said; “But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:7)

Second, to say “Search me O God” is to put ourselves under God’s scrutiny. It is an act of humble and complete surrender to a power that is incomprehensible and greater than we are. There are folks who don’t like the word surrender, some prefer the word yield. Whether it is yield or surrender, the end result remains the same. In the presence of God we do not pretend to be someone who holds a bargaining chip. We just simply bow down and submit ourselves to God’s examination. The phrase “bowing down” either in prayer or in the presence of God signifies not only respect but also our acceptance that God reigns supreme above us.

This is our prayer today “Search me O God.” Even if it is unnecessary with God, we cannot help but articulate this prayer with our lips because a heart that longs for God finds its outward expressions in words and in deeds.

Prayer

Search me O God, Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.

Do not fear, or be afraid; have

I not told you from of old and declared it?

You are my witnesses!

Is there any god besides me?

There is no other rock; I know not one.

Isaiah 44:8

Do not fear or be afraid! The statement is a word of comfort and assurance but these words have power depending on who said it. Imagine yourself climbing on a mountain together with guys who grew up in a city and your guide who is an indigenous folk who lives in the area. It will take hours to maneuver the terrain until you reach the peak. You will go into dark places underneath trees, cross streams and rivers. Then in a moment you hear a strange sound. If your colleague will say, don’t be afraid it’s nothing you will begin to wonder, how did he or she knew that it’s nothing? But if your guide will say, don’t be afraid it’s a sound of a non poisonous snake, whose word will you take?

Words of comfort and assurance matter when it is said by someone who is an authority. We are used to this in our daily life, the doctor’s words are crucial when it comes to medical matters. The pilot words are reassuring when we hear it from the sound system of the plane during turbulent weather. Lately, we have a dose on how words matter and who said it. The recent upheaval in our banking system that leads to the Federal take over of the IndyMac Bank in California is a classic case. Some blame our NY Senator Shumer because he sent a letter to the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, saying he was ‘concerned that IndyMac's financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers.’ Some claim it triggered the massive withdrawal because of the stature of the one who said these words. Just observe also how the markets watch closely and react immediately whenever Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks.

The one who spoke guarantee the substance of the words. We take value the words of persons who walk their talk. It will take a life time to build this trust and confidence; it will take one misstep to loose it. Today we hear these words; Do not fear, or be afraid, word not just from anybody else but from God, who said, “I am the first, I am the last… there is no other God besides me. What a comfort and what a reassurance. In times of uncertainty, when the future seems so bleak this is what we need, a word from God, a word spoken not just with confidence but with authority – Do not fear, or be afraid!

Prayer

We take your word O God as it is!

Because you said so, we believe. Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.

Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, 
let them declare and set it forth before me.

Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be.

Isaiah 44:7

Who is like me? This is God’s challenge. Name anybody or anything that is like God – one who can tell what is yet to be. In the temptation story in Genesis, the devil’s proposal was simple, "You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  (Genesis 3:4-5) The Psalmist also declared; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.  (Psalms 8:4-5). If there is any on earth that can challenge God and even claims to be like God – it would be no other than we, human beings.

To be like God is the most tempting proposal we have to face. Today, we have the potential and the capacity to tell ‘that what is yet to be’ in a small scale. We can now predict the weather, when a low pressure can become a typhoon and a hurricane and the probability of where and when it will hit the land. With satellite and radar tracking folks during Isaiah’s time will be fascinated. We can map out diseases through genetics some even suggests engineering designs to resolve problems projected in the future. There are still many things that we cannot control but the desire to control is part of the overall temptation to be like God.

Believers should not be against science or anything that helps us understand and address issues of life and death. What we should guard against is the appealing inclination to make science and our abilities as gods themselves, making them our ‘king’ and our ‘redeemer.’ With each success we will be tempted to think that we don’t need God anymore, anyway we can do it ourselves. So when God asks, “who is like me?” we do not look at others but we look at ourselves because as always the devil keeps whispering to us – “you will be like God.”  A Visayan proverb captures the essence between Creator and creature relationship, “ang langaw nga nakatungtong sa kabaw magpabilin nga langaw” (a fly resting on the carabao’s shoulder remains a fly). Let us work diligently to discover the wonders of life but let us not think even for a moment that we have absolute dominion life and all creation.

Prayer

You are God, we are your creatures.

Instill this truth in our hearts, always. Amen

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, 
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:

I am the first and I am the last; 
besides me there is no god.

Isaiah 44: 6

One of the things that people associate with Silliman University is the acacia trees. It provides shade and relief from the scorching heat of the sun. Walking under its shade I often wonder what if these acacia trees can speak, what will they tell us? I told my children one time that those trees were there when Silliman was founded. When the war broke out the trees were witnesses of the events that happened in the campus. I saw pictures in the 60’s or 70’s were students sat under the trees in groups and also in pairs. Oh, if the acacia trees can speak.

Now we ask what if God speaks to a nation, what will be God’s word? The prophets, always preface their statements, ‘thus says the Lord.” Though it comes from their mouths but in a sense it is not their words but that of God. So have a word from the Lord today through the Prophet Isaiah. He introduced the Lord first – the Lord is the King of Israel and his Redeemer. This sounds strange because the nation Israel had series of kings ruling the land. Can you imagine someone saying that God is the President of the United States and God is the redeemer? Isaiah introduced God in this manner. There were no lawsuits claiming usurpation of power or claims about separation of church and state. Though kings sat on the throne and decided the day to day affairs of the nation – but they were all in agreement that at end the final say rests on God alone.

This is what the Lord said; “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” The Alpha and the Omega – the writer of the book of Revelation picks up this theme. God stands beyond what we call time. Everything on earth lives within the first and the last. In fact, our ‘time’ is just a small portion of the larger ‘time’ that God is talking about. God’s first and God’s last is so wide. If we can put it in another language we can say, “Thus says the Lord, I am God, I am so big, you are so small, even the biggest that you can imagine is within me because I am where everything begins and where everything ends.” What is it that you create or imagine outside the first and the last? God has set the parameters we live and play and die within the ‘first and the last’ framework but not outside of it.

Like a child in tantrum we can kick and shout in defiance. We can protest and in fact refuse to believe but God simply says “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” The truth of this statement does not depend whether we accept it or not. God is God, period and there is no other god. It is a bit scary if acacia trees can speak, it will tell the widely kept secrets, the painful happenings and so with the joyful memories that it witness all through the years.  Now imagine if Lord, he who holds the years of time in his hands speaks.

Prayer

O Lord, our God

there is no other god besides you. Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Romans 8: 9-10

“You are in the Spirit” this is who we are. We do not live according to the natural inclination of the body. We live according to the prompting of the Spirit. For this reason, we are called Christians because the Spirit of Christ dwells in us. In the same measure, Paul reminded believers in the church in Rome of their identity. Living in a pagan world their lives served as a distinct witness of Christ who empowered them. What does it mean to be living in the Spirit today?”

Living in America is not the same as living in Rome during the time of Paul. Back then the Emperor and those who ruled over the Roman Empire did not claim the Christian faith as their own. They did not care about religion as long as it will not interfere with their governance. Today it is more complex, every politician claims to be a Christian to some degree, otherwise if you run for office and you are not clear about your Christian faith then you will be in trouble. Some groups define Christianity along ideological and controversial issues of the day. Christians are either pro-life or pro-choice, or whether they are for or against abortion, death penalty, gay marriage or civil unions, race, gender sensitivity, war, global warming and other environmental concerns or any issues that excites them. It is rally hard to pinpoint with certainty those who are in Christ because the dividing line becomes so thin and not as clear when Paul wrote his letter to the Romans. In fact there are issues and concerns which are unique to our times. You will find passionate folks on both sides of the spectrum claiming the Christian faith as definitive in their lives.

We do not know and we cannot know 100% who has Christ’s Spirit. Only God knows. But while we do not judge nor classify people according to their faith expressions, we can go back and see for ourselves the Jesus portrayed in the Scripture to ensure whether the claim of Christ’s Spirit match at all. This exercise is more helpful for us in measuring whether we ourselves are living according to the Spirit. In the Scripture, we encounter Jesus who dined with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus who refused to condemn an adulterous woman but challenged her to sin no more, Jesus who refuses to bless vengeance in the old teachings such as “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” Jesus who forgives the criminal crucified with him, Jesus whose lifestyle reflects utmost simplicity and childlike trust of God. Actually, Jesus has a lot to say, whether we classify ourselves as “conservative” or “progressive” or whether we use the label “left” “right or “center.” Nobody has a monopoly of Jesus, so with Christ’s Spirit. One thing is certain we do not live according to the dictate of the flesh. We live according to Christ’s Spirit and living in Christ is not simply following a checklist but a dynamic interaction between us and God in our given context.

Prayer

Living in your Spirit is a constant challenge,

 a never ending engagement with you O God.

Blow gently upon us your Spirit

 to keep us alert and alive. Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.

For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law-- indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 8: 7-8

Water and oil don’t mix. Even if you shake it as hard as you can, when it settles down you will see the two in its separate and distinct form. Oil always rises above the water level. Just like water and oil Paul explains the distinction between that of the flesh and the spirit – ‘the flesh is hostile to God, it does not submit to God’s law – indeed it cannot.” So it is not just a question of the will or will power, it is a close proposition. The flesh cannot submit itself to God. This is the framework where Paul stands. Humanity, all by itself cannot do anything to please God. It takes an outside power to do so. We cannot fix the problem we need God to fix it. The coming of Christ, meaning the savior is rooted in this understanding.

I remember a friend who vehemently objects this perspective. He said; “this is the problem of Christianity, you begin with sinfulness and weakness rather than with the strength and the potential of humanity.” Lately, there was a news item about a rich couple in Long Island who was sentenced because they enslaved their two Indonesian house helpers. They were badly abused and the inhumane treatments they got were just unbelievable in a civilized society like America. As someone said, “I thought things like this happened centuries ago.” Yes many cruel things and those even beyond our imagination happen in 2008. There was a time when people thought that education will solve all the problems of the world. But it did not take so long for people to realize that education is not the overall answer and it is not a guarantee that educated people act morally and ethically right. Today, we have seen the worst of what humanity is capable in doing in spite of the “progress” we claim to have in all areas of life.

The group Alcoholic Anonymous has a 12 step principle in addressing the problem of alcoholism. The first two said; 1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. This is similar to what Paul was advocating long time ago – we have first to admit that the flesh cannot please God. But let us also remember that this is just one side of the coin. God also provided for us a way out of this predicament.

Prayer

We are helpless, we are powerless

We need you O God. Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 8: 5-6

One of the favorite styles used by writers and speakers in presenting a case is contrast. Contrast enables us to have a perspective from both ends. Biblical writers employed contrast as well in presenting spiritual truths. So we read imagery of light and darkness, the desert and fertile lands, earth and heaven, life and death, among others. In this verse, Paul used the contrast between things of the flesh and things of the spirit.

Flesh or sarx in Greek, refers to the body, the physical or the carnal, the “animal nature” of humanity. In the lexicon it says, “the flesh denotes mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God.” (G4561) On the other hand, the spirit or pneuma in Greek, is referred to as the “vital principal by which the body is animated, the power by which human beings feels, thinks, decides, it is the source of power, affection or desire. (G4151).  Paul is portraying two types of living, either according to the flesh or according to the Spirit.

Living according to the flesh is just mere existence. One is preoccupied with the self – what to eat, drink, cloth, what excites and gives pleasures. This kind of life best describes what sin is all about. It is a life whose overall focus is the self. There is no room for others and much more for God. A person living according to the flesh always asks the question – what’s up for me? On the other hand, living according to the Spirit puts God as the primary focus. In fact, the word pneuma can also mean the Holy Spirit. It is a life that highlights the inner and higher nature aside from the bare necessities. A person living in the Spirit also thinks about food and drink and other physical and material needs but these things would not be the primary consideration in defining what life is all about. Paul made the sharp contrast when he said, To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

I remember the debate when Jovito Salonga was the Senate president and they voted against the continued stay of the U.S. Military Bases in the Philippines. At that time he spoke about the concept of sovereignty and integrity as a nation. Those who oppose him spoke about the economic benefits provided by the U.S. Military Bases. I do not forget the lines uttered, “you cannot eat sovereignty and integrity.” Yes, there are things that we cannot eat yet they are more substantial and more important to those who look at life from a perspective larger than mere physical existence. For us who are in the Spirit, we live not just to exist; we live to have life, as Jesus said, “life in all its fullness!”

Prayer

Kindle the fire of the Spirit in us O God

so that we live life as it should be. Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8: 3-4

Last month, CNN featured a news item about a High School Valedictorian, Arthur Myokan, 17 years old who together with his family were due for deportation to Armenia 10 days from his graduation. They have exhausted all legal remedies of their case and the judge already ruled against their petition. According to Virginia Kice, Public Information Officer of Immigration and Customs Office, “it’s a simple matter of enforcing the law.” The law is the law, this is why I was told, that lady justice who holds the scale of justice, has blindfold because the law should not discriminate and should be applied to all equally. As far as the current immigration law is concern, everything is close to Arthur Myokan. But there was one remedy, his Senator in California, Dianne Feinstein filed a bill which if passed will become another law that will save him and his family from deportation. Although according to CNN, of the 21 private immigration bills introduced last year, none was enacted. None of the 117 introduced was enacted in 2006. The year prior, 98 were introduced, and four were enacted.  (June 11, 2008 CNN). We do not know the result yet of this bill but the filling itself is an attempt to remedy the requirement of the law.

The idea of satisfying the requirement of the law helps us understand Paul’s explanation on what God has done for us through Christ. Christ fulfilled the requirements of the law on our behalf so that we can be free. The difference between Myokan’s case and our case is that he is still waiting for the outcome of the bill filed by his senator while for us the result has been out long time ago when Christ died and rose again for us.

What do all of these have to do with our life today? It means we should not spend our energy worrying whether God will forgive us. Instead what we should be concerned about is how we should live our lives according to the Spirit. From time to time, we encounter people who ask us bluntly, “Are you saved, brother or sister?” Our answer should be a definitive and a bold YES. We were saved by Christ on the cross, long time ago! Christ paid for what has been required by the law. What we do today is seeking a closer communion with God as we grow towards spiritual maturity and in the fullness of our faith in the risen Lord.

Prayer

Requirements satisfied,

   this is what you have done for us

     as far as the law is concern.

 Walk according to the Spirit

   this is what you require of us.

Thanks to be you, O God. Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.

There is therefore now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus.

 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus

has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 8:1-2

One of the key words to watch in reading Paul is the word therefore. When you read it you are in the main point he is driving at, in this section he speaks about “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Condemnation means a guilty verdict in the legal system. A condemned person serves the sentence rendered by the judge according to the prescribed penalties. This is the framework used by Paul to explain our relationship with God in his letter to the Romans. So he speaks about the law – the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus and the law of sin and death. Trained as a Pharisee and at the same time a Roman citizen, Paul knew how the legal system works both in religious and civil affairs. In those days’ people had to know the legal implications in day to day living from prescribed offerings in the temple to the tax system that everyone had to comply. As the old maxim says, “ignorance of the law excuses no one.” So explaining our relationship with God in the legal framework would be easy and simple for them.

It is quite a challenge for us today to go into this framework in explaining our relationship with God. A friend of mine said to me; “what’s my case all about? What did God accuse me of?”  Well, this is not a specific case against us personally. This is like a corporate case against humanity. As Paul wrote earlier, “all have sinned…” and each of us have to account this sinfulness expressed in the way we live our lives. So I suggested to my friend that if we are in a court, he can file a case proving that he is not a sinner and he does not deserved condemnation. We can imagine this scenario as a lawyer arguing for a client claiming he or she is sinless or we can be the client itself explaining to our lawyer our case. But this is not the way our case is portrayed in the Bible. The story begins in the heavenly courts with all of us already found guilty of being sinners.

We have to understand this framework to appreciate its merit. In the heavenly court, all of us, including Paul himself were found guilty of sinfulness. So it is but proper that we will be judged, we will be condemned but the good news which is Paul’s main point is that there is no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus paid the penalty for us. Notice the word, there is therefore now no condemnation. Not tomorrow but now, instantly! We don’t have to wait for a while we can begin living as a forgiven condemned-person.  We are set free, now and we can get out to the world to live life anew.

Prayer

We were condemned yet you redeemed us O Christ.

Teach us to value and take care of this redemption. Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.