In a way, he meant for evil to prevail, good people just need to be passive.

It also reminds me of some lines from “the Lesson of the Moth” which says, “it is better to be happy for a moment and be burned up with beauty than to live a long time and be bored all the while…it is better to be a part of beauty for one instant and then cease to exist than to exist forever and never be a part of beauty.”

Many people tend to stay within their comfort zones, holding themselves back from their real potential. For this writing, I want to touch on the passive Christian. As Christians – ‘born-again’ believers, we claim to be children of God because we believed in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Some people flaunt their Christianity but to an extent this is mostly superficial – they are like tombstones, white on the outside but inside is a dead, rotting corpse. Some people are Undercover/ Secret Christians who keep quiet about their faith and hide it from the rest of the world.

Either way, we need to evaluate our behaviors if we are such. Are we content to say we are Christians, that we are saved and we do not really care if the whole world gets eaten by sin all around us? Are we content with keeping our salvation to ourselves? Do we say this is my belief but limit ourselves from showing other people what is acceptable or not in God’s sight?

It would be like knowing a bridge is down and can not be crossed but not warning incoming traffic of the imminent danger up ahead. It would be like watching people around you drink contaminated water that you were aware could cause disease or death.

Do you SMILE people to HELL?

The believers of this day and age should cry out like a voice in the wilderness, shouting,”REPENT! Make straight the way of the Lord. Prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.” And yes my friends, Jesus Christ will come back again. This is how it ought to be but unfortunately it is not how we see it.

Many Christians are content to just keep quiet and SMILE knowing that their friends, relatives and other people around them are on their way to HELL.

I pray this message gets read by believers and skeptics alike.

The message is this: Believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He came from Heaven to earth, clothed Himself with humanity to become the sacrifice for our sins. He restored peace between man and God. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the ONLY way back to God.

May the Holy Spirit move upon the earth and provide refreshing to all weary and lost souls, to lead them to the fountain of Jesus Christ. If you see yourself as a passive Christian, I pray for strength and wisdom for you to creatively share the gospel of Christ and the joy you have in His salvation.

It would be better to get angry in upholding the truth, angry in telling this world it has to change it’s wicked ways – to stop the compromise and obey God in love rather than to smile ourselves and others to hell.

Another year has past, another one to journey.

I want to start of this year with a reminder from our Lord, Jesus Christ. He called upon the believers to become the salt and light of this earth.

Salt - to preserve and Light - to shine upon the darkness, to illuminate one’s path so that we might not stumble.

The year is 2010, it has been a long time since Jesus Christ walked this earth and spoke to the people about being Salt & Light.

In these days, we see society although claiming to be civilized, it’s morality has continued to drift away from what is right, from what is moral and acceptable in the eyes of God. We see society embrace the God of Love and yet forget that that same God is ALSO a HOLY GOD. A God who despises sin.

We see how the age of gangsters become younger, how corrupt our officials in government are, how people would sell their bodies and souls to gain wealth,fame and riches. They would sell themselves on TV for 15 minutes of fame. This is how we see ourselves. We see how violent this society has become.

Jesus said the Christian should be SALT & LIGHT of the earth. We should PRESERVE this rotting society – like salt preserving fish and keeping it from rotting. We should PRESERVE and NOT COMPROMISE – for if salt looses its saltiness then it would useless. And yes, we see this today as well. Christians who instead of becoming salt and light will be in the forefront of the action. They lead the way to SIN instead of leading them away from it.

We need to ask ourselves, those who said they believe upon Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior – am I the SALT & LIGHT of the earth or have I lost my saltiness? Have I hid my light under a bushel?

These are times when the children of God must shine forth as stars in the darkness. They must proclaim the righteousness and glory of God in Christ Jesus. They must cry out in the wilderness declaring REPENTANCE – prepare the way of the Lord – MAKE IT STRAIGHT!

Or have the Christians lost their saltiness that we are now unable to preserve this earth? If God would walk upon the earth and see the condition of each country, is He going to spare someone? Or is He going to destroy the land as Sodom & Gomorrah?

What are we doing to preserve society? Are we hiding the light?

If we lose and fail to act as Salt & Light then I believe the time has come for the Lord to send forth His angels to reap the chaff and throw it in the furnace and burn them.

Lord, teach us to be Salt & Light for the glory of Your name. Show us the way and give us wisdom and courage to stand upon Your word, to share this for the lost to be found and the blind to see your glory.

However, if we turn back the hands of time farther back, there was a time similar to what we see in our present society: the time of Sodom & Gomorrah. The Bible tells us that during these olden days, men slept with men. The story in Genesis when God sent His angels to Lot to save him even mentioned that these men opted to “know” the angels rather than “knowing” his daughters. And by “knowing”, it is an old language referring to having “sex”.

It is because of this SIN that God destroyed Sodom & Gomorrah by burning these cities to the ground and only saving Lot and his family.

Why?

First, God created Man and Woman – there are no “tweeners” – you are either a man or a woman. If you are having problems with your identity my friend, PRAY. Ask God to help you with your confusion and clear your mind of what really is your TRUE IDENTITY. Honestly, I do not buy all the psychological babble and whatever justification out there that says being a homosexual or a lesbian is NORMAL. God says it is a SIN.

Second, if we look at this from a BIOLOGICAL point of view, I do not think we would be able to REPRODUCE properly if we end up marrying someone from the same sex – again, God DID NOT design this to be like this. He did command Adam and Eve to go and multiply. (How can Adam & Steve do so unless one of them had a uterus?) And by the way, let us not cite earthworms or other creatures which are at the bottom of the Animal Kingdom to compare how they reproduce.

The point I want to send across is this – HOW CAN SOMETHING WHICH IS MORALLY A SIN BE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE?

I do not hate Homosexuals or Lesbians, I hate the SIN not the SINNER. I am not here to be a judge but to be a light – to shine the light of the word, to be salt and hope that with this writing, I could help preserve a bit of this decaying world.

There is ONLY one Judge who will pass His sentence upon all who have sinned. And His Kingdom is coming soon.

My friend, if I have offended you, I hope I have also awaken your conscience to seek the answer in Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. If you have sinned – whether homosexuality, murder, or even petty lies (all these are still the same: they are qualified as SIN), the punishment is death. Not physical death but SPIRITUAL DEATH. There would be ETERNAL PUNISHMENT in HELL for sinners who did not REPENT and BELIEVED in JESUS CHRIST.

I pray that you turn your heart back to Jesus. But if you do not, this does not change who He is – He is GOD.

If you choose to stay as you are then it is your choice but remember that as it is written in the Bible, God will allow people to ‘get lost’ because of their ‘reprobate minds’.

Choose this day, life or death but if you must, choose life. Life…Eternal Life is in JESUS CHRIST.

Remember Sodom & Gomorrah. It is true that Homosexuality existed back then and people did it because it was the “in” thing BUT remember God is a HOLY GOD, He is a JUST GOD (not just a God of Love). What He did to Sodom & Gomorrah, He can do again.

It is time to REPENT and FEAR GOD.

This year, I started Blogging. I find this a great release of stress, an excellent avenue for exercising my writing skills and to glorify God. (My other Blog -The Chronicles of Juan Delacruz focuses on my love for my country and personal thoughts on current events.)

Glory to God for using Rockmando’s World to provide comfort in it’s own small way to people surfing the net and stumbling upon it. I hope and pray that at the right time, people do get to read and understand the messages being communicated. Again, all for the glory of God.

This Blog has helped me reflect upon God’s goodness and mercy in my life. This is not for ‘show’ and frankly I do not care if it does not get ‘hit’ often. What I do care about is that I bear witness and testify of God’s glory, that I have used this media to raise Jesus Christ’s name as my banner.

I am thankful for whoever invented Blogging.

This year, I have also started taking up Digital Photography. This hobby has allowed me to experience how powerful God is – I have learned to appreciate the Landscapes that God made, the sunset, the sun rise, the small flowers, the smile on my wife’s face and almost everything that my camera lens’ points at.

Everytime I see the beauty of creation, I am cautious to step back and remind myself that I should focus on the greatness of the Creator. It is so often that people lose themself with the creatures and worship these instead of the majestic Author of Creation. We have loved life but forgot the Life-giver.

This year, I have continued to learn and study Project Management. And it just amazes me how God is the best Project Manager I have ever known. Why? Look at the products of His projects: Who could create the heavens and the earth and everything in it in six (6) days? How could you define the limits of the ocean, the horizon, the land at a short time? Who has created light in one day? God said, ‘let there be light’ and there was light… AMAZING!

Today, Project Management has defined phases throughout a project, the importance of certification, staying on time, staying on budget, maintaining project quality, etc. It makes me wonder, what is God’s Project Plan for me? for the world? And then I just turn to the Bible and everything is defined there. All the details an intellectual or an Obsessive Compulsive individual expects may not be there but those are not important. Otherwise, that would not be FAITH my friend. Faith is believing in what you do not see but what you know – NOT what you FEEL.

This year, I was humbled by the Lord. I almost lost my job. My prayer request for this year was for a promotion – although I did not get a demotion, God did not give me that promotion but instead gave me my job (He had me stay). At this point, I turned to the life of Joseph – how he started from the flock of his father, hated by his brethren, sold into slavery, sent to prison but through it all, God was with him and blessed the works of his hands.

I read about the life of Daniel and his friends. In the interpretation of the king’s dreams, they sought God’s guidance to interpret the dream to save the wise men of the land. This made me realize that to understand things which are vague, I need God to enlighten me – He will show the way.

I am reminded that God brings down the proud, that if we humble ourselves before God, He will raise us up in time…in His PERFECT time. If one wants to become great, he should become a SERVANT TO ALL.

Jesus Christ came to earth in the form of man to save man from sin and death. He came to show the way back to our Father.

This year, we had to go through a FLOOD. (My family was a victim of ONDOY/ KETSANA). And though the waters were not that high compared to the other places, the waters did damage our property – especially our family van.

It was the first time this happened to us and I hope and pray that it should never happen again nor should we experience such calamity once more.

There was a time when the van was being fixed and it seemed that problem upon problem would just pile up and I turned to God for his help. Still, we have to bless the God who gives and takes away. I said in my mind, if God does not will it for me to have the van fixed then so be it. Nothing will change, GOD is STILL GOD in my life. JESUS CHRIST is still SAVIOR.

Through the calamity, I saw how much God was with us. I saw how He comforted our children and my wife.

A little background, I became a Born Again Christian ahead of my wife – before we got married and we used to fight over this. Now, God has shown me how He changed my wife – how much faith she has in God. She has been a source of strength for me to turn to God and hope in Him during these times. This truly is an awesome gift from the Lord.

Again, as I have shared in one of my blogs, it is always easier for God to calm the Storms we experience externally than to calm the storms within. It is always easier for Jesus Christ to say, ‘Peace, be still’ and the wind and waves will obey than to tell man to be still and know that I am God.

The year has not yet ended but I think it is appropriate that I summarized these lessons and share it to you my friend. If you would hope, hope in God. If you need help, ask from God. If you despair, are weak and need comfort, Jesus has invited all who are weary to come and He will give rest. The good shepherd will lead us to still waters, anoint our heads with oil and prepare a table for us in the presence of our enemies. To enjoy these, we have to REPENT & BELIEVE in the Lord JESUS CHRIST and accept Him as our LORD & SAVIOR knowing that through Him alone is SALVATION. Through Him, we gain access to the throne of grace.

I pray for more learning from God to share in this blog and that whatever I write would feed the soul and spirit of the people who read them and that they look to Jesus Christ, beholding the glory of Almight God.

While it is not evil to desire increase, it has become evil that we think of ourselves more than we ought. In our prayers, we come to God as if He owed us something or that he is like a genie that should grant our wishes. We hold on to the Word and claim the written promises – thinking that because God has promised this and that, God is obligated to fulfill them, that if God did not fulfill them then He would not be God.

Let me slow down and clarify so that I would not be taken out of context. We need to use wisdom in reading God’s word and understanding the promises He has.

The promise of God is for those who believe in Him. How can an unbeliever utter God’s written word and promises and lay claim for them? You need to have Faith in God. Before we believe in God’s promises, let us examine our hearts and check if we believe in God first.

How do we know we believe in God? If we believe in His son, Jesus Christ. If we do not, the Bible is perfectly clear that those who do not believe will perish.

Ok, so you say you believe in Jesus Christ then does this give you the license to lay claim to the promises God has given? Again, use wisdom. What does the whole context where you read the promises say? What did God want to say in that context? Is the promise for you or for a specific person? Although it could be true that what God did for this person, He could do for you but then again, whether God does it or not, God is STILL God.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego told the king – they believed that God is God and that He is able to save them from the fiery furnace but even if God DID NOT save them, God is STILL God!

How soon does one person’s faith become shaken when one of his prayer requests gets denied by the Almighty Father? Why does our faith depend upon the blessings of the Lord. The God who gives is also the God who takes away and whether He gives or takes away from us, He still deserves our PRAISE. God is God ALWAYS and FOREVER.

We have come and knelt before our Father and have lifted up our afflictions and desires to Him. And when He heard our plea and chose to bless us, we easily turn away from Him. It is only in our sorrow and want do we most often come to God. Only in our times of need do we search Him. And when He fills that need – do we even THANK Him?

The recent events that have shaken my life have showed this wonderful fact about God. My request were to be promoted in my job but I actually almost lost it this year. Through His grace, I am still working in the same company. My request was to move back into an Operations role however God let me have a Support role instead. It is here that He taught me valuable lessons in humility, faith, patience, hope and love. I have requested things which I wanted and have not really asked God what He wanted in my life. In His sovereignty, He gave me what I needed instead.

These lessons I have learned this year are priceless. They have brought me closer to God. I believe that God is GOD whether He blesses me or not, whether I perish or succeed in this life, whether I be rich or poor. I am thankful that God remains the same – all powerful, all knowing, loving, righteous, just – yesterday, today and forevermore. This is enough reason to praise, worship and fear the LORD.

Thank you for not giving me what I want Lord but for giving me what I need and for showing me Your GLORY. To You alone, be all honor, power and praise, in Jesus Christ’s name. AMEN.

Do you want to know who God is? Turn to Jesus Christ, REPENT of your sins and ask for the Holy Spirit to teach you the way. Jesus Christ died for you my friend to raise you up again with Him. Believe in Jesus Christ and know God!

Read the Bible and learn from the Faith of the early saints and martyrs – don’t take my word but look at the WORD.

We all know that the writer of Proverbs is the wisest man the world has seen, Solomon, the son of David who succeeded him as king.

Solomon desired of God that he may have wisdom over riches and for this God gave him not only wisdom but riches beyond what we can imagine.

He notes that a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor, silver and gold. Realistically speaking, how many of us in this present day and age would exchange a good name over such things?

As that song from Madonna goes – we are living in a material world…

Today, who can stand up and say they have a good name?

In terms of music, when we mention Madonna, we understand that she has a good name in music. The same goes for Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, etc. – all so called music icons. The mere mention of their name alone would attract crowds and do instant marketing wonders – which is why Advertising uses music to attract consumers.

Another point would be seen in movies, we are usually drawn by the name of the star or the director of the film. If it is a movie done by Steven Spielberg or Jerry Bruckheimer or Ridley Scott then we know it is a good movie. If the lead star is Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, George Clooney or Will Smith – it has star power.

Convinced?

A good name is rather to be chosen…

Looking at the other end, if you have a bad name it would not be worth any.

Imagine, you produce a CD and you are a complete unkown or no one knows your reputation, etc. Do you think it would be easy for you to succeed?

What if you decide to produce a film but your reputation as a cinematographer is pathetic? Let us say you are unknown in the industry or negatively famous because of your bad image or your less than credible credentials – you would be a flop.

A good name then is not something that comes along easily. You have to prove your stuff and gain the respect of people for them to believe in you.

In advertising, would you choose Pepsi or Coca Cola? It depends but you know both of these brands are credible. What if you place these besides a lesser known brand or a new brand like Tiger Cola or something like that? Would you be adventurous enough to drink a Tiger cola? (Disclaimer – if there is a Tiger cola out there I apologize – just making this up)

Solomon said choose a good name rather than great riches – DO NOT BE CORRUPTED. 

In the Philippine Society, we see officials from the Barangay level (not all) bribed and accepting bribes. Traffic enforcers harassing jeepney/ bus drivers for petty cash. And let us not go up the government organizational chart so that we do not get dismayed.

We must realize that we have to take care of our name and maintain it to be good. There is a need to go back to basics where Honesty is the Best Policy.

Gone are days of Integrity, Chivalry and Righteousness. Who cares what other people say – everyone seems to be doing it anyway!

In the queue lines of paying for taxes or applying for licenses, we pay for ‘loving favor’ of the fixers who make it easy for us to secure or expedite our documentations faster. It may be fast but it is wrong. A good name must be chosen rather than…’loving favor’.

What about silver and gold? Will you still hold on to your good name?

Let us review the moral decline of society and look at the Television.

Shows such as Survivor, Fear Factor would test one to eat things which are unclean or do utterly stupid tasks for monetary gain. Amusing! Yet, if we go down to the core – we choose silver and gold over a good name. How many people steal and kill – give up their reputation to gain riches?!? How many? (Look at the roster of Philippine Congress and list of officials of the present government and I am sure you would see how many.)

Despite all these, there is one Name by which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess to be LORD -that would be the name of JESUS CHRIST.

His NAME is the name by which all of us are saved if we believe and accept him as our LORD and SAVIOR.

Hear this, the God of creation came down and removed his Godliness and took human form to SAVE us from our SINS.

As a human being, He CHOSE his GOOD NAME rather than GREAT RICHES (being tempted by Satan) and LOVING FAVOR (of the Pharisees & Saduccees) than SILVER and GOLD.

Peter (in the book of Acts) told a sick man that SILVER and GOLD he has none but in the NAME of JESUS CHRIST rise up and walk! Now this is TRULY AMAZING!

My friends, there is NO OTHER NAME that is good as JESUS CHRIST’s.

Read the Bible and see how good this name is.

If you are looking for a good name to rely on, JESUS CHRIST alone is all you need.

Choose this GOOD NAME over all!

This shows the humanity of Jesus. He was probably too tired from the work He did during the day – preaching the gospel, healing the sick, casting out demons, glorifying God – thus a deep slumber not even the tumultuous wind can disturb.

Reflect: do we sleep well at night? Or do we worry – about what? What did we do this day that would provide us a deep sense of peace, such calm that not even the physical storms can rip? Jesus was asleep.

The apostles – they knew who Jesus Christ is and yet instead of focusing on Him who was with them, they looked at what was against them. They saw his power and miracles, heard his preaching and the words of life first hand and yet they were shaken. Some of these were fishermen who should be used to the raging waters and yet they were scared. Would you be scared also?

How true is it that in our lives we claim we are Christians believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and yet when the storms of life come, we are toremented. Where is our faith? If we believe that Jesus Christ is God then why do we limit Him? He is not only God according to His word, according to His works but sovereign over His creation. The wind, the sea, the waves – these are the works of His own hands.He is God over these.

As David put it, Why so downcast o my soul, put your hope in God and Bless the Lord. He is the lifter of my countenance.

So, they woke up the Master because they were sore afraid of the things that were happening all around them. Not really realizing that the safest place is on that boat where they were with God though it may be tossed and turned – God was with them. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego was thrown into the fiery furnace by the king and yet there was one who seemed like the Son of God with them in the flames – God was with them. Daniel was thrown into the pit of hungry lions but they stayed put – God was with him. Fighting Goliath, David said you come to me with your sword, spear and shield but I come to you in the name of the Lord.

Jesus stilled the storm and calmed the sea. They were in awe and said, what manner of man is this? They tried to understand. It is very easy for Jesus Christ to stop this storm. Why? The wind and the waves did not have any choice but to obey. But it was hard for the disciples to believe. Why? Because they can not fathom what just happened. They can not reason how the waves and the wind obey the command of one man. They have seen how they cured the sick and how he made the lame walk but are struck in awe with how can this man still the storm and calm the sea.Jesus said he could make the rocks cry out and praise Him and yet we see people hold back their hands in worship, keep quiet in praise and sit down instead of standing up for Jesus Christ!

So often, it is more difficult for our Sovereign God to calm us… to have people just be still and know He is God and that He is in control.Not realizing that in waiting for God, we renew our strength and we rest upon His love and promises. It is often too difficult for us to believe that God can calm the storm in our lives, that He can provide for our need, that He can resolve the problems we face, that He can bring us rest as He said in His word.

Too often it is easier for God to command the wind and the sea to be still and calm – to command the ravens to bring food to his servant, to carve out a pathway between the Red Sea so that His children can pass through, as it was written, He makes a way in the wilderness, where there seems to be no way. This is how powerful God is and yet, the storm within rages and rumbles and our souls are restless. Why? Because we do not really believe with all our heart and mind just with our lips and outside appearance. We say, “Yes Lord” and yet our actions turn away. We say, “You are my Lord” and yet rely upon our wisdom and so-called knowledge to solve our problems, map out our plans without really consulting the Word of God.

If God says, “Be still and know that I am God” – what should you do?

If God says, “Be strong and take courage, do not fear or be dismayed…” – how would you react?

If God says, “Come unto me all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest…” – will you believe?

If Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me…” – do you go another direction? Do you have other alternatives to go to God?

In these times of trouble when we are swayed by the woes of this world, and an inner storm rages within, let us look towards Jesus Christ. He can still the storm and calm the sea, He can still our inner storms. All we need is be still and believe.

The winds were stilled and the waves were calmed – this is easier for Jesus to do than convince us that He can give us rest.

The peace He gives is not like what the world gives. The life He gives is not how the world would like to live. His ways are not our ways – they are higher.

All we need to do is believe.

David described the Good Shepherd to lead us beside still waters, prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies, anoints our head with oil until it overflows. Read Psalm 23.

In another instance, Jesus tells us not to worry – to look at the sparrow, of how our Father takes care of them. These do not worry where they get their food but God supplies them their need.

Tomorrow, I will be sending in our family van for service for it’s regular 5,000 kilometer checkup. It has registered almost 20,000 kilometers after almost 2 years since we got it.

How important is it for our vehicles to be maintained and checked regularly? Very important, the parts of the car deteriorate in time even though we are careful in using it.

If this is how we should treat our cars, how should we treat then our bodies? Much more, how should we treat our spirit?

Too often, we are stressed out.

Why?

Because we are overworked, because we want to earn more, get promoted sooner, impress other people, or simply because we are workaholics. And yet we ask ourselves why we are stressed.

Let us check our motivations for working then. Life is not a rat race where one would have to be better thant the other or should have more. We do not live to work but rather work to live.

Are we living the life then? Are we enjoying the fruits of our labor? Or simply gathering fruits, never tasting any and letting them rot?

In this present day and age where everything is automated and done with a simple push of a button, where people desire to do it faster, easier and get results easier, we get caught up in the rush and never really stop to smell the flowers anymore.

In driving, there are times when I speed up and selfishly hog the road – not letting any other car or even bicycle to overtake me and yet if I think about it – I was not really going anywhere important and not really pressured under any time limit.

How often do we see drivers racing their cars through traffic whilst they already see that it is a jam?

How often do we push our agendas just to get what we want? We maximize our influence, our position, our knowledge, our power over other people.

In the context of Philippine Driving, we see cars with blinkers and sirens – they meant to say, clear the way, I am a government official, we see people with special license plates – they meant to say, I am a VIP, clear the road, we see big SUVs heavily tinted bullying their way through the streets – they meant to say, my car is bigger than yours so get out of my path, we see cars fully loaded roaring like the sound of thunder – they meant to say, I am a better driver than you are so eat my dust…

Writing this blog, I have begun to change my paradigm. I intend to enjoy my trip as I drive to wherever destination I am headed.  Believe me, it is a challenge to be humble while driving!

In life, my destination is Heaven – in the loving arms of God by His graced through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As long as I live, I would like to enjoy my life and not rush it – opposite to that old Hollywood saying that goes – live fast, die young.

Stop and smell the flowers.

God’s creation is too beautiful to pass by in a rush. Life has so much to offer – so much to enjoy, why burn out sooner.

It does not matter whether it is secular work, ministry or study – we all have to slow down and get ourselves checked up.

Where then does perfect rest lay? In the loving presence of Jesus Christ – the one who promised us rest, for His yoke is easy and His burden light.

The shepherd that leads us besides the still waters.

Enjoy the times of refreshing – getting lost in Jesus – in prayer, in praise and worship, in studying His word.

This is the rest – not the one the world offers but the one coming from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So often, we think of rest as a calm environment, peaceful and serene. A world without problems, without any worry or any care.

I think this is how the worlds sees it.

But the PERFECT REST is if there is peace within even though the world outside crumble and fade. Even though the world is consumed, war is waged, Wall Street falls, the environment goes into chaos, the peace that Jesus Christ offers surpasses all understanding.

He can calm the storm within and yet have you unaffected by the storms outside.

As in the night when there was a storm that Jesus was with the apostles on the boat, Jesus was sleeping and yet there was a raging sea. His disciples knew they were with the Lord and yet gave in to the physical disarray. Why did they have little faith? (Jesus said that not me.) They were with the Creator of the universe – they saw His miracles – they heard his preaching and yet did not trust in Him during the storm whilst He was with them – physically.

One of the most wonderful topics my wife and I discussed for devotion was how it is easier for God to calm the storm around us than to calm the storm inside our hearts.

Why? Creation will never resist the calming of the Creator and yet man will choose not to listen to God’s words – even though these are for our own good.

What then should we do?

Go deeper in this relationship with Jesus Christ. Learn from Him. Rest in Him.

REST – DO NOT RUSH.

As in any Pit Stop where the crew replenishes the car to ensure it can finish the race, pull yourself over and enjoy the spiritual pit stop that Jesus Christ offers.

And reflect, would you want to have God calm the storm outside or rather calm the storms inside your heart?

Unfortunately, he was also very arrogant, impulsive, a drunkard and eventually because he gave in to the lusts of his flesh, he fell from grace.

It would be interesting to note that Samson is a product of prayer and how he was only one of the people mentioned in the Bible as a Nazarite (the other one was Samuel) – people set apart to God who should not be drinking wine nor grape juice and vowed to purity.

At the time when he met Delilah and the Philistines were unlocking Samson’s secret of  his strength, Samson failed to truly realize and recognize the source of his power. In the end, he told Delilah that when his hair is cut, it is then that he would loose his strength. God’s Spirit left him – he grieved the Spirit by not recognizing him.

In a way, I think Samson missed the point that his strength came from the God, that it was the Spirit of the Lord upon him that gave him this.

His confidence was placed on his hair and not on the true source – God.

The Bible accounts that the Spirit of God was upon Samson and it is because of this that he had power to overcome his enemies. Again, unfortunately Samson did not give credit where it is due.

Reflecting on our own lives, where do place our confidence? Is it upon our riches, our position, our education, our family name, the company we work for,  our physical strength – like Samson?

When we interact with people, do we hide behind our stregth, imposing ourselves over those who are weaker in stature – physically, emotionally or economically?

Has this become our‘ Samson’s hair’?

Are we like Samson? Forgetting God, the TRUE source of strength, wisdom and understanding.

If we think about it, even as Born Again Christian believers, do we hide behind the good things we did for other people, the church when we come to the throne of grace and miss out that this is a privelege given by Jesus Christ?

I am not saying that it is wrong for one to have a good education, belong to a good family or even in being rich but what I want to drive at is that we should see beyond these and realize that such are mere instruments being used by God and that He is ultimately the source of everything we have.

When we stand, we remember that if not for God we would be weak and nothing. We should realize that it is foolish to tell people that our source of strength is our ‘hair’.

These are trying times wehn our society is faced with uncertainty, economic meltdowns and if we rely on something unstable like our education, riches, people we know, etc., everything can come crumbling down – the Spirit of God could depart from us anytime and then we will be left weak.

Let us not commit the same mistake Samson did. Let us learn how to run to Jesus Christ our strong tower and refuge in times of trouble – rely upon Him and rest.

Often, we think that we can meet everything head on not knowing that we have limits instead of turning to God who is limitless.

Bringing this to a close, remember where does your help come from? The Bible declares, “My help comes from the Lord, creator of Heaven and Earth.”

Samson’s strength did not come from his hair, it was the Spirit of the Lord that strengthened him.

Are you more Self-confident than God-confident?

Nowadays, people seem too eager to travel all those thousand miles in a single step. So many people are too eager to go their destinations at the shortest possible time. As in life, most of us want to earn more, gain more power and influence at the soonest possible time thinking that if we have more, we will be secure.

On the road, we see drivers hustling their way, weaving through the sea of vehicles. Even though traffic is bumper-to-bumper, they still manage to squeeze into every inch and turn onto tight spaces. They seem to either be chasing time or there are demons running after their coat tails.

Why do we rush into things? Is this the natural order of life?

In my experence as a driver, I have encountered times when what I thought to be a short cut eventually turned out to be a longer way, wasting more resources simply because I assumed that way would be better.

In my experience as a leader, a person does not become a leader overnight. He/ she is tempered by time and trials. The Bible teaches us that if we are to appoint overseers, they should not be new converts because they might be puffed up or become proud of themselves. Someone who have not yet gained enough experience nor built up a reputation as a good overseer/ leader should not be tasked to become one just yet. As gold is refined by fire, so should a good leader or overseer pass through different situations/ projects to allow development of skills and become mature.

From the Bible, we see that before Joseph became second to the Pharaoh of Egypt, he had to become a slave then a prisoner. He was taken from his father’s house thrown into the pit, to Potiphar’s house, to prison and then become second to Pharaoh.

David was the least of his brethren, tending to sheep but became king. He had to experience leading and protecting sheep from a bear and a lion before becoming a warrior whose main weapon was the Lord God becoming a champion of Israel slaying the giant Goliath and leading a nation.

All of these did not happen overnight.

As Jesus Christ taught, unless a seed is planted on the ground and dies to itself, it will not become a tree that will bear fruit in season.

The key is ‘in season’.

Let us reflect, in our life why do we take short cuts? Why do we hurry about in our journey?

In Driving, there may be many short cuts we can take but in life, God has a better way. Man might have ways but God’s ways are greater. His thoughts are higher. There are no short cuts – life is hard and unfair but instead of living it in the fast lane to make it easy or to gain personal ground, let us look towards God for direction and strength.

The objective for the Christian is not to reach the end of the road soon but to travel this road under the guidance of God having the light of His word upon our feet’s path. It does not matter who runs first in this race but it matters that we stay on this race and let the hand of the Potter work accordingly in our lives.

At the end of the finish line, after the race – everyone is really a winner.