Faithful God

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

- Psalm 46:10

A catastrophic storm is being forecast to hit our islands within the next 48 hours. 

The fury of Yolanda (international name Haiyan) which devastated many parts of our nation only a year ago is still very fresh in our minds. And so, with another impending tropical depression (international name Hagupit) which is said to be taking the same path Haiyan did, and with nearly the same intensity and force, we are driven to our knees, pleading with Almighty God to protect us.

Years ago, one week after typhoon Ondoy caused severe flooding and untold damage to Metro Manila Pastor Edgar of Victory QC said something that I will never forget. 

He said, "The floods in our lives serve one purpose, to drive us to seek Higher Ground."

How very true indeed.

Two months ago, I was down on my knees crying out to Abba Father for His protective hand to be upon my daughter in law and her baby who was about to be born one month premature. 

It is in times like those, when the circumstances we are facing are beyond our control, that we truly realize how helpless we are, and how utterly dependent we are on a Power and Force much greater than ourselves.

In sickness... in the face of natural calamities... and many other such situations, we come to the end of ourselves.

We can only bow before our Heavenly Father, the Faithful One, the God of the How Much More, and call out to Him for a way out of the storm.

You are So Faithful (Bob Fitts)

Like the sun that rises everyday,

You are so faithful, Lord You are faithful

Like the rain that You send,

And every breath that I breathe,

You are so faithful, Lord.

Like the rose that comes alive every spring,

You are so faithful, Lord, You are faithful,

Like the life that You give

To every beat of my heart

You are so faithful, Lord.

I see the cross and the price You had to pay

I see the blood that washed my sins away

In the midst of the storm

Through the wind and the waves

You'll still be faithful, You'll still be faithful

When the stars refuse to shine and time is no more

You'll still be faithful

You'll still be faithful, Lord.

Welcome, Year of Advance!

photo credit

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

- Psalm 84:11

Rosh HaShanah this year will begin tonight, at sundown.

According to the Hebrew calendar, this is the year 5775, ayin he. The fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is written this way:

It stands for grace.

As I meditate on the significance of this day, I want to focus on  a few simple thoughts.

Abba Father, in this new year, is ready to pour out His grace upon our lives. But an emptying is required.

Just as Abram was at the end of his hopes for the promised son to become a reality, God meets him, and inserts he at the middle of his name. And Abram receives a new name, Abraham.

With the change of name, he is given a change of identity, and calling.

This year, I say to Abba Father, I am ready to advance and to move forward. Another level of emptying is required for this to happen.

Dying to self... my own goals and dreams for self-fulfillment... that God's kingdom purposes for me may be given room.

I embrace Psalm 84... as a pilgrim going through the Valley of Baca, with a heart that is hungry for more of God, I will transform it into a place of nourishment and fertility.

My Abba Father is a sun and shield... 

He bestows favor and honor...

No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

These two quotes speak powerfully to me this morning:

We too are called to withdraw at certain intervals

into deeper silence and aloneness with God...

to be alone with Him--

not with our books, thoughts, and memories,

but completely stripped ove everything--

to dwell lovingly in His presence,

silent, empty, expectant, and motionless.

We cannot find God in noise or agitation.

-Teresa of  Calcutta

If you're brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting,

which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments,

and set out on a truth-seeking journey,

either externally or internally,

and if you are willing to regard everything that happens to you

on that journey as a clue,

and if you can accept everyone you meet along the way

as a teacher,

and if you are prepared, most of all,

to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself,

then the truth will not be withheld from you.

-Elizabeth Gilbert

The Comforter

But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things, And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.

- John 14:26 Amplified Bible



The past two days Abba Father has been speaking to my heart about the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit is 

Love... Joy... Peace...

Patience... Kindness... Goodness...

Faithfulness... Gentleness... Self-Control...


Only one fruit, but nine facets.

I've been soaking myself in these two verses found in Galatians 5:22-23.


Against such there is no law.

Nothing and no one will ever be able to stand or work against this fruit.


Cultivating this fruit in our lives is God's answer to the environment of death in which we live.

The fruit of the spirit has powerful, healing qualities.

But the most awesome thing about it is that the nine facets of the fruit are all found in God's heart. This fruit speaks of the very nature of God.

And it is available to you and me freely... abundantly... without measure.


Each part of the fruit is God's antidote to the toxic negative situations we find ourselves in.

A specific example is in the area of offense. There are people who are still easily offended even though they have been Christians a long time. Offended with life situations... offended with political decisions... offended even with harmless Facebook comments...

Then the on-line teaching I was listening to this morning mentioned this one simple statement, and I paused to let his words sink in:

If you're easily offended, it only shows one thing -

you do not have a relationship with the Holy Spirit as Comforter.

Wow... that's so simple, yet so deep.

Carrying an offense has a lot to do with feeling like you have to fight a battle, not necessarily your own. And it is a heavy burden to carry. Because, it also has a lot to do with self-righteousness.

And, I think that self-righteousness makes you want to protect your own interests and your rights, including your own treasured opinions, beliefs, and doctrines.

But, when we know the Holy Spirit as Comforter, we can let Him fight our battles for us, and let His comfort surround us like a "comforter" to keep us warm on a cold winter night.

The enemy lies to us, making us think we have a right to be offended.

But the truth is... we have no right to be offended! Not, if we are God's children.

For if God is our Father, then we have every right to be comforted and shielded from fighting battles that are not intended for us.

Beloved friend, if you are carrying a heavy burden of offense, put it down right now. Let our Comforter embrace you and cleanse you.

We have every right to be healed from the wounds that hold us back and weigh us down!

Healing is our birthright.


I love You my Abba Father...

I love You Jesus, my Savior, Redeemer, Lord...

I love You Holy Spirit, my Comforter, my Healer, my Guiding Light...

With the Breath of Kindness

Two Women Having Tea

by Frank H. Desch

source

But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely.  Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."

 - Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

This quote from Dinah Craik is undoubtedly my top favorite of all. What a beautiful picture it paints of kindness and gentleness. 

There are times when I say, without intending to, wrong and inappropriate things. What a blessing to have a friend with whom I can feel safe and accepted, "a faithful hand" who will take and sift my words, "keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."

Lack of tact, and lack of wisdom is definitely not condoned here. But there are times in our life when we need to pour our heart out to someone with skin on... and how liberating it feels to have someone like that who will not judge you or jump all over you, dig up all your past sins to hit you on the head with, and leave you feeling like you're outside the door, standing in the rain, with your broken heart in your hands.

Purple Flowers

by RoseAnn Hayes

source

The job of the artist is to offer a sanctuary of beauty to an ugly world.

- Jeff Goins

Gentleness - Life with Margins

photo source

Of all the character traits mentioned in the nine-faceted fruit of the Spirit, gentleness is the one that catches my attention.

I have often shared in my writings how my father was the most important influence in my life. He was a gentleman... a gentle person with a tender touch.

We never heard him speak a harsh word in his life. To his dying breath, he was a picture of contentment and gentleness.

There is a Hebrew word for that, yafeh nefesh.  Literally,  "beautiful soul" or "bleeding heart."

When I was a little girl, while Mama prepared breakfast and packed our lunch boxes for school, Papa would fix my hair. It was a bit long, and he would take time to fix it a different style each morning. Sometimes he would loosely braid it, and put a ribbon at the end. Then he would say, "Look at yourself in the mirror, you're beautiful..." and I would see his eyes beaming with pride.

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Many years later, I met a man like that - more rugged, I should say. But still, a "beautiful soul." He would often look into my eyes and say, "You're so beautiful." So kind, so caring. He was my husband.

Gentleness.

It also means meekness. 

Meekness can be defined as "Living life with margins."

I first heard that definition from Craig Hill, the founder and senior leader of Family Foundations International, and I've never forgotten it.

Living life with margins means we do not live life to the max. We leave margins... we surround our life with enough spaces, or pauses.

We do not use up all our energy in pursuit of something. 

Meekness can apply to almost everything we do.

We do not always have to state our opinion. It's okay to keep it to yourself.

Giving the other person the benefit of the doubt.

Saving some money for the rainy day.

Using time wisely by having margins on your day, so there is enough of it to share with others.

Spending time in quiet meditation at sundown, to welcome the new day... 

Reading or listening to soft music at bedtime, to wind down after a long day...

Greeting the morning at daybreak...

Being willing to be misunderstood, or not appreciated.

Giving part of my lunch to a beggar, standing by the restaurant door. Quietly, without anyone noticing it.

Gentleness is one of the character traits of Jesus - He said, "Learn from Me, for I am gentle..."

Eugene Peterson translates it so beautifully, Learn the unforced rhythms of life.

I really love the idea of gentleness... 

We all know how it feels to be in the presence of a complainer and a grumbler.

One who doesn't easily see what is beautiful in difficult or painful situations. One who walks into a situation and sees only the wrong things. One who always has a "better plan."

There was a time in my life when I was that kind of person. In my quest for excellence and perfection as a young wife, I was a fault-finder. And I was self-righteous.

Towards the end of the 1980s, and up to 2000, my husband and I went through a difficult season in our life.

I call it my pruning season, my season of hiddenness and obscurity, like stew simmering in a back burner, unseen, unnoticed. 

It was at that time that I learned to embrace adversity as my friend... when God taught me the value of having margins around my life.

The start of my journey toward becoming a gentle soul.

Gradually the spiritual equation in my life changed... thank God!

Now, in the autumn season of my life, I am finally learning what it means to be gentle.

The wise woman builds her house, 

but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. 

Proverbs 14:1

It is okay to be good enough.

I don't always have to be right.

There is always room for the other person to change. Give hope.

Tomorrow is another day.

Quote from Max Lucado

And, here's a tender quote, about the touch of kindness and gentleness coming from a yafeh nefesh kind of friend:

But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject: with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."

- Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, in A Life for a Life

May I be this kind of friend in the life of another.

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Also published in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarf: Gentleness - Life with Margins

When Less is More

Widow gives all she has

image source

I grew up in a home where love was abundant. My parents were both government employees, and we lived in the city. For the first 11 years of my life, we lived in a duplex -- twin houses that were joined in the middle by one wall. It was owned by my maternal grandfather, and my mother's brother and his family lived next to us. Very happy memorable years of close bonding with my four cousins.

When I was 12 years old, we moved to a brand new house, our very own. It was in another city, with rolling hills and wide open spaces, compared to the noisy and congested neighborhood where the duplex bungalow was located.

I remember the excitement of having a huge and beautiful home to finally call our own. My dad had hired an architect to draw up the plan, and it was built in about four months or so.

The beauty of this home was in its simple elegance. My parents had bought many brand new furniture, but we had also taken with us most of our old things. With his innate creativity, artistic flair, and touch of class, my dad was able to blend the old with the new. The house soon became a warm home, and the garden around it tended by my father also blossomed through the years.

I know now that we were not among the very rich in Philippine society. But as young girls, my sister and I didn't know that. I found out only much later that the school my sister and I attended was a very expensive exclusive school for girls in Manila. My classmates were children of ambassadors, and top politicians in our country. We never felt that we were different from them.

What was the secret? It was the joy of contentment. Papa and Mama made us feel that we always had more than enough, and there was no lack. We didn't have an abundance of things, like toys, dresses, and things around the house. But everything we had was what we needed, and maybe just a little bit more.

Mama bought us only three new dresses a year - for our birthdays, for Easter, and for Christmas. Sometimes more, when there was extra. She also bought us brand new school books and beautiful things to use in the classroom. Therefore, school was something we were always excited about. I found out only later how Mama and Papa endeavored to save from their monthly salary to be able to give us the life we had.

To be honest, it was not a perfect childhood. But there was lots of love. And laughter. And song. That's what I remember the most.

Papa believed in beauty. Beauty that was not ornate or excessive, but simple, and elegant. 

I have no doubt that for me, everything was beautiful because there was contentment. 

Another secret was this: we were not over-indulged. Mama and Papa taught us the value of delayed gratification at an early age. If we wanted something, we knew that we could always save up for it, and eventually we could have it. There was joy in the waiting, joy in the eager expectation, and joy in finally receiving what we wanted.

Some financial principles our parents taught us:

Buy only what you need.

Spend less than what you earn.

Live a debt-free life.

Save for the rainy day.

Be generous to those in need.

Charles Ringma writes that 

the Christian experience is not simply one of green pastures and flowing streams,

it is also the place of emptiness.

We live today in a world that tells us we need so much to be happy, but actually the opposite is true.

A lot of times, it is in experiencing emptiness that true joy comes. There is joy in having, but there is also joy in not having.

Because in the end, it is when our cups are empty, when we are not too full of ourselves, that God can fill our hearts to overflowing.

I end this day's post by a quote from Henri Nouwen, one of my favorite authors.

Less is more when there is contentment and joy.

Less is more when there is a willingness to let go.

As I look back at the legacy my parents left behind, I thank God for what they have taught us. May I, like them, pass these principles on to the generations after me.

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Also published in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarf: When Less Is More

When Abba Father Sifts

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And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon!

Indeed Satan has asked for you,

that he may sift you as wheat.

But I have prayed for you,

that your faith should not fail;

and when you have returned to Me,

strengthen your brethren."

-Luke 22:31-32

See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven."

Now this, "yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.

- Hebrews 12:25-29

For thus says the Lord of hosts: "Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory." says the Lord of hosts. "The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine," says the Lord of hosts. "The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former," says the Lord of hosts. "And in this place I will give peace," says the Lord of hosts. 

- Haggai 2:6-9

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 

- Matthew 3:12

For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
- Amos 9:9

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel:

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name;

You are Mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,

Nor shall the flame scorch you.

- Isaiah 43:1, 2

Certain friends of mine are in pain and hurting. They are in a season of sifting in which God is teaching them valuable lessons the hard way. Circumstances in their lives are happening not the way they planned or intended it, and I consider it a privilege to be an agent of healing in their lives, even without a full understanding of what is going on behind the scenes.

It is easy to point the finger, and accuse.

But I choose not to look at them with judgment or condemnation but to believe in what the Father is doing in this difficult hour in their lives.

Oswald Chambers says that the Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to correctly judge... for He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding.

I truly appreciate and agree with what he writes in one of his devotionals:

There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about,

in every person's situation.

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From another angle, people have pointed out wrong and sinful responses. Their assessment seems correct, when things are viewed from where they stand.

But it is also true that there is another angle, and one more fact about them, which we know nothing about.

Abba Father alone knows the real score.

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Dear friends,

It may be a painful season for you to be in, but Abba Father knows the real score.

May I be to you an agent of healing, understanding, and peace in the midst of what you are experiencing.

May your hearts be soft and pliable, tender and flexible in the hands of the Father.

May your healing process go deep, and may the restoration be complete.

May this result in a humble response of obedience and extending forgiveness to those who have wronged you.

Above all, may God our Father be truly glorified in all your responses.




The Journey

Now I'm struggling with what has always been
And I stumble underneath the load of sin
The questions to the answers never end
Can I ever find the peace within
But You loved me through it all
Your grace embraces me every time I fall

I know this is a journey
I can't walk alone
Carry me Jesus
I can't make it on my own
When I can't understand
You guide me by Your plans
Carry me Jesus
My life is in Your hands

When I think of how Your love has rescued me
On a lonely cross You died to set me free
Looking back it isn't hard to see
How Your loving arms have always carried me
Lord You loved me through it all
Your grace embraces me every time I fall...

Through the fire
Through the flood
Carry me Jesus
Surround me with Your love

When I'm broken
When I'm weak
Carry me Jesus
You're everything I need...

When I can't understand
You guide me by Your plans
Carry me Jesus
My life is in your hands

Kintsukuroi

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart--

These, O God, You will not despise.

- Psalm 51:17

He heals the brokenhearted

And binds up their wounds.

- Psalm 147:3

For I will restore health to you

And heal you of your wounds, says the Lord

Because they called you an outcast saying:

This is Zion;

No one seeks her.

- Jeremiah 30:17

If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, 

and do that which is right in His eyes,

and give ear to His commandments,

and keep all His statutes,

I will put none of the diseases on you

that I put on the Egyptians,

for I am the LORD, your healer.

- Exodus 15:26

kintsukuroi - n.

lit. golden repair

the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with lacquer resin dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, a method similar to the maki-e technique

(Source: Wikipedia)






I came across a beautiful post on Facebook a few days ago. It was about the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery, called kintsukuroi.

It deeply touched my heart for it is such a beautiful picture of how Abba Father heals our brokenness.

As a philosophy, kintsukuroi speaks to brokenness and repair becoming part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.

I have been thinking a lot about this the past days, and the possibilities of being made beautiful, even after being shattered and smashed to pieces by the painful events of life, just blows my mind away.

Not a single piece will be discarded from our lives when the hand of the Potter begins to repair our brokenness.

It is a process.

I can imagine that in heaven, our wounds will not be hidden, but will be displayed with splendor, because the healed and restored portions of our lives will be glorious to behold.

Abba Father promises to restore all the years that the locust has eaten.

This has a literal fulfillment here on earth, and an eternal fulfillment for each one of us, in heaven.

What a glorious day that will be! Another reason for me to look forward to heaven!

The moon will shine like the sun,

and the sunlight will be seven times brighter,

like the light of seven full days,

when the LORD binds up the bruises of His people

and heals the wounds He inflicted.

- Isaiah 30:26

My Sabbath Musings:The Aaronic Blessing

The Priestly Blessing

The Aaronic Blessing, Birkat Kohanim in Hebrew, is the priestly blessing recited by the Jewish priestly class, as commanded by God in Numbers 6:22-27.

And the Lord spoke to Moses saying:

"Speak to Aaron and to his sons saying,

In this way you will bless the children of Israel, saying to them,

'The Lord will bless you and He will keep you.

The Lord will make His face to shine upon you

and He will be gracious to you.

The Lord will lift His countenance to you

and He will establish Shalom for you.

And they will put My name upon the children of Israel

and I will bless them."

(One New Man Bible)

Reading it in English translated from the Hebrew is different from understanding it in the Hebrew language.

We look at the words bless... keep... face... shine... gracious... countenance... peace, and we understand them only in abstract terms.

The Hebrew alphabet is pictorial, and each picture refers to a concrete idea.

I came across an amazing blog (Christina Chronicles) that opened up my understanding of this blessing in a whole new way.

Here are flashcards for the Blessing and its meaning in Hebrew:

The LORD will bless you

and He will keep you

The LORD will make His face

shine

upon you / to you

He will be gracious to you

He will lift up

His countenance

to you / upon you

and give you (establish)

shalom 

Putting all these pictorial language together, we come up with an amazing, powerful blessing:

YHWH, the head of the house with His own work strengthens His own hand

By His work He binds and overpowers the destroyer using the authority in His hand

YHWH, the Chief Ruler, secures life and order, His teaching strengthens, His work secures the hedge, strengthening life

YHWH's strong pressing hand lifts up, His work adds living utterance,

He strengthens authority, His hand destroys chaos,

His authority covers, destroying the authority attached to chaos.

The flashcards used in this post were downloaded from Christina Chronicles.

Those Who Sow in Tears...

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy,

He who continually goes forth weeping,

Bearing seed for sowing,

Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,

Bringing his sheaves with him.

- Psalm 126:5-6

It's a cool and quiet Wednesday morning.

It's almost daybreak... 

Another day is upon us.

Already the promise of God's word fills my heart with so much hope, joy, and assurance.

These past months I have seen God working steadily to show me some answers to prayers that I have sown in tears.

There is a coming harvest of answered prayers. Thank you, Abba Father.

He who continually goes forth weeping,

Bringing seed for sowing,

Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,

Bringing his sheaves with him.

Here's a beautiful song by Esther Mui on Psalm 126:

My Sabbath Musings: A Sabbath Heart

Thou shalt remember the sabbath day, to sanctify it.

- Exodus 20:8 (Jubilee Bible)

A beautiful quote from Mark Buchanan's book The Rest of God:

Before we keep a Sabbath day, we cultivate a Sabbath heart. 

A Sabbath heart sanctifies time. 

This is not ritual. 

It's a perspective. 

And it's not a shift in circumstances.... 

But you make a deliberate choice to shift point of view, 

to come at your circumstances from a fresh angle 

and with greater depth of field. 

You choose to see your life otherwise, 

through a different lens, 

from a different standpoint, 

with a different mind-set. 

The root of the Hebrew word for "sanctify" means "to betroth." 

It is to pledge marriage. 

It is to choose to commit yourself, all of yourself, 

to this man or this woman, 

and then to honor that commitment in season and in out. 

Sanctifying time works the same way. 

You pledge to commit yourself, all of yourself, 

to this time, 

and then you honor that commitment 

whether it's convenient or not.

...Sabbath is time sanctified, time betrothed, 

time we perceive and receive and approach differently from all other time. 

Sabbath time is unlike every and any other time

 on the clock and the calendar. 

We are more protective of it and generous with it. 

We become more ourselves in the presence of Sabbath: 

more vulnerable, less afraid. 

More ready to confess, 

to be silent, 

to be small, 

to be valiant.

There is no day in all creation that can banish our aloneness, 

even while meeting us in it, 

like this day.

My Sabbath Musings: Pilgrimage

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out

to the place which he would receive as an inheritance.

And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

By faith he dwelt in the land of promise

as in a foreign country,

dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob,

the heirs with him of the same promise;

for he waited for the city which has foundations,

whose builder and maker is God.

- Hebrews 11:8-10

To move outside the comfort zone is something Abba Father has asked me to do time and time again.

Just when something gets too comfortable for me, I get the nudge to fold up my tent and move on. 

Not in a literal way of course.

But just the inner discontent, the longing for something new, or something more.

Our God... He knows just how prone our hearts are to settle down.

But Abba Father wants us to taste what it is like to live in a tent where there is no sense of permanence. 

Because really, permanence is not His plan for us.

He created us for pilgrimage, a holy restlessness... a seeking for the deeper things of God.

Indeed, our hearts are restless until they find true rest in God alone.

The Apple of His Eye

This morning I am reminded of the words of Jesus in Luke 9:26 where He says:

Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.


Paul also writes something similar to this in Romans 1:16, and I stand with Paul in what he declares:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.


I am not a Jew, I am a Gentile believer, someone so grateful that God has given me the opportunity to understand the message of salvation. I am a branch that has been broken off from a wild olive tree and grafted into the cultivated olive tree, grateful for the roots that support and nourish me through which I have also become a recipient of God's redeeming grace that entitles me to eternal life.

In recognition of the Hebraic roots of my faith, I am among those who stand with Israel and fully believe in God's everlasting covenant with her.

The nation of Israel has always had an important prophetic destiny.


It is therefore unfortunate that many people are embracing a wrong understanding about the role of Israel in history.

I am talking about the increasing popularity of Replacement Theology, now being openly taught and creating confusion, especially in the minds of those who still have little understanding about the end times.

It was my beloved Pastor Jerry Osbron who first opened my heart to have a special love for Israel.
I will never forget how we would observe the feast of Passover as a small congregation way back in the 1980's.

That Israel has an important role in God's prophetic timeline is among the important legacies that our beloved Pastor Jerry entrusted to us. A legacy of spiritual truth that we as recipients would do well to treasure and pass on to the next generation.

In this day of increased knowledge, we need to ask Abba Father for soft and humble hearts, that we may not fall prey to the wiles and schemes of the enemy of our souls, the one whose name is Apollyon and Deceiver.

I am constantly reminded that the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking for someone to devour. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus has come to give abundant life.

Like Peter I run to the Lord for protection, saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal Life." (John 6.68)

Jesus Himself said that the words He speaks are spirit, and life. (John 6:63)

There is something that works against us when we begin to treat God's word as mere information, and not as life.

Among Pastor Jerry's favorite verses was 2 Timothy 2:2 -

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses

entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

As faithful stewards, let us guard jealously the rich deposit of truths that have been entrusted to us.
(1 Timothy 6:20)

Let us carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to us. (2 Timothy 1:14)

It is for this reason that I have the courage to write this post. That I, as a faithful steward, may carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to us. And not simply watch what is happening in our midst without so much as lifting a voice, while others might prefer to be intimidated into silence.

At the end of the day, what other people believe is their own lookout.

However, if a person has the crucial role of being a spiritual leader and authority, then as shepherd of the sheep, he has an important responsibility to make sure that what is being fed the flock is truth based on an honest and intelligent study of God's word.

On him rests the vital role of leading the sheep to green pastures and quiet waters.

Will not the shepherd stand accountable to the Chief Shepherd?

Isn't  wrong behavior the result of wrong belief? Even just a slight deviation at the start will ultimately lead to a huge discrepancy from what is true. Wasn't that how Eve fell from grace? The enemy lured her with a half truth; the rest is history.

Let me use the analogy of being on a wrong bus: one may believe with all his heart that this bus will take him to his desired destination... but he will never reach it! He has to get off that bus and board the right one which will take him where he wants to go.

By your patience possess your souls. Luke 21:19 - This is one of the verses in Luke 21 that speaks volumes to my own heart. I do not want to fall into disputes and arguments which is what the enemy wants. But rather, with a genuine hunger for truth and patient trusting in the Holy Spirit who will teach us all things... we can save our own souls from falling into error.

The whole Bible is completely true and trustworthy. If God's word says that Israel is God's first born son, and that whoever touches Israel touches the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8, Exodus 4:22), His word stands as truth.

Replacement Theology is a  Biblically unfounded doctrine which affirms that "God has finished with the Jews" and that the literal Israel has been replaced by the Christian Church, as it now exists.

Those who embrace Replacement Theology also say that the present day established visible Church is God's Elect, and that today's church comprises "the chosen ones."

According to the tenets of Replacement Theology the Jewish nation has no future role in the purposes of God.

This is a denial of the promised restoration of all Israel as taught by Paul in Romans 11. It is also a denial of the promised salvation of the Jewish nation prophesied by Zechariah in Zechariah 12:7-13:1.

Replacement theology ignores what God is doing in and through Israel today.

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

Get out of your country

From your family

And from your father's house,

To a land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation;

I will bless you

And make your name great;

And you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,

And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

- Genesis 12:1-3

And I will establish My covenant between Me and you

and your descendants after you in their generations,

for an everlasting covenant,

to be God to you and your descendants after you.

Also I give to you and your descendants after you

the land in which you are a stranger,

all the land of Canaan,

as an everlasting possession;

and I will be their God.

- Genesis 17:7-8

Paul's exhortation to us in Romans 11 states the case quite clearly. There is a warning lest we be wise in our own opinions. All Israel will eventually be saved... That refers to the literal Israel: 

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery,

lest you should be wise in your own opinion,

that blindness in part has happened to Israel

until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

And so all Israel will be saved,

as it is written:

The Deliverer will come out of Zion,

And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

For this is My covenant with them,

When I take away their sins.

- Romans 11:25-27

Rev. Malcolm Hedding, former Executive Director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, sums it up so beautifully:

"Israel has always been God's vehicle of world redemption (Romans 9:1-5). In a way, she is God's microphone, the means by which He speaks to a lost world. Moreover, she has birthed all God's covenants into the world and has now come back to her ancient homeland, by the promise of the Abrahamic Covenant, to birth the final great covenant of history, the Davidic Covenant. Herein lies the ultimate purpose of her modern day restoration. Jesus will return to Zion as the root and offspring of David (Revelation 22:1-6; Psalm 2:1-12; Psalm 75:5-11).

"No wonder the conflict over Zion is so great. [ICEJ's ministry] is removing the stumbling blocks from Zion and thereby preparing her for the arrival of her great and most blessed King (Isaiah 62:10).

"Replacement theology is thus an instrument of the powers of darkness to frustrate the purpose of God, by disconnecting the Church from this final great redemptive initiative in history. We reject it and stand fully on the promises of God concerning Israel and the Church." Source


All throughout the Scriptures we read of the promise of Israel's coming restoration.

In that day I will raise up

the tabernacle of David that is fallen

and close up its breaches;

and I will raise up its ruins,

and I will build it as in the days of old.

- Amos 9:11

Restoration is God's heart for Israel. Who are we to say otherwise?