Be careful what you say: Mark 7:14-23

14Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "^[f]

17After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18"Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? 19For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")

20He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

I used to have this passage on my Post-It and carry it within my Bible. I think the reason that I started doing it in the past was because I used to make judgmental remarks which were borderline offensive. In some sense, I do bear some semblance to PD who says things which are borderline offensive and hurtful.

We are all human beings. We are fallible and mistake-prone. I do say things which I regret later on. However, what the passage says is quite true. What enters into one's mouth can not defile that person because it comes out of his body whereas what comes out of one's own mouth does defile a person because it comes from the person's heart.

On many occasions, people say things which they haven't "meant" to say and then they try to defuse their remarks or awkward situation by saying that it was only a joke. But, nothing can be further from the truth. When a person says things more often than not they really "mean" it. It can not come out of one's mouth unless it had been simmering in one's heart. Somehow, this passage stuck with me all day today.

Have a great week! May God bless you throughout this week!

Obedience: 1 Samuel 15

Tonight was the second day (and probably the last day if we were to exclude the Sunday service) of the revival meeting. I went to the meeting without expecting much, but it seems as though God works his miracles in a mysterious way and tonight was no exception.

One thing that I didn't realize from the day one was that the theme of the revival event was obedience. Not just any obedience but total obedience. Jesus' obedience to God was total, however in this chapter we see Saul, who was handpicked by God to lead the kingdom of Israel, not completely submitting himself to God.

Saul did "obey" God, but he did not follow his commandment word by word. His self-serving attitudes and words angered God because he first did not obey God's commandments spoken through Samuel and at the same time he blamed everyone but himself for his failures.

Looking back at my life, I remember many times that I blamed God for my own failures. Although back then I did neither have spiritual maturity nor accumulated wisdom not to make those mistakes since there was no such thing as "God's commandment" telling me how I should behave in those circumstances or any secular guidance that I was able to extract from my readings.

I am aware of my sins and my failures to obey God. At the same time, I am unaware of the consequences of my disobedient life. The consequence of Saul's action was him being rejected as the king of Israel. Although that didn't happen right away, we do see David being groomed as the future king of Israel as a successor to King Saul.

What is the consequence of my disobedient life? What is the consequence of my disobedient action? There will be "grave" consequences of my sins and that does give us more incentive or I should say a reason to live by the word of God.

1 Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD. 2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy ^[a] everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.' "

4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites, "Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves ^[b] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

10 Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11 "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.

12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, "Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal."

13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD's instructions."

14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?"

15 Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest."

16 "Stop!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night."
"Tell me," Saul replied.

17 Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, 'Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.' 19 Why did you not obey the LORD ? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD ?"

20 "But I did obey the LORD," Saul said. "I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal."

22 But Samuel replied:
"Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has rejected you as king."

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the LORD's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD."

26 But Samuel said to him, "I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!"

27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. 29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind."

30 Saul replied, "I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God." 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.

32 Then Samuel said, "Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites."
Agag came to him confidently, ^[c] thinking, "Surely the bitterness of death is past."

33 But Samuel said,
"As your sword has made women childless,
so will your mother be childless among women."
And Samuel put Agag to death before the LORD at Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Liability: Hebrews 12: 1-3

Lately, I had been bothered by my lack (or I should say unwillingness to obey). I had been praying for the Holy Spirit to intervene so that I could overcome the very sin that had been in my own treasure chest all this time. It has become something that I can't do without. If there was one thing that stood out in tonight's message, it was the "liability" which hinders our walk with God. Hebrews 12:1 -3 talked about two things that we should strive for as a man of faith. First off, it talks about relieving ourselves of the "liability" (anything that hinders our walk with God) and the sin that so easily entangles for the sake of those who are watching us (those non-believers or those believers who are not full-fledged - our liability and sin can adversely influence their walk with God). In addition, we should keep up our walk with God. You should not make a decision to obey God one day and then go about sinning on the very next day.

So, what are "liabilities?" As Pastor Iorg succinctly described, it is something that we do not categorize as a sin, but something that hinders our walk with God. If your hobby, physical condition because of lack of exercise, your eating habit, the way you engage with others, your humor, etc. hinders your walk with God, you should immediately do away with them. Wow... Is that easy? I must say that it is not something that can be easily done. It takes the accountability of the Holy Spirit as well as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ overseeing your walk with God.

As a man of faith, we should focus our eyes on our goal or I should say the "taste of success." Jesus exemplified a "man of faith." He showed how a man of faith should behave under persecution to other Christians. He also kept his faith to the very end (i.e. obedience to death). What was the end result? He resurrected (although isn't it harder for God, an immortal being to die than resurrect?). Knowing that Jesus (God as a man) was able to endure the hardship of an ordinary human being and the fact that he resurrected from his death, give us hope and courage that despite our fallibility we have a standard to live up to.

Have a great weekend!

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The Father: Ephesians 3:14-21

We will probably study the rest of Chapter 3 next week, but we won't be having any Bible study this week because we are having Jubilation this weekend. Hopefully, I will get to see most of you during the revival (hopefully I will be there).

I thought about writing a blog sometime before, but I never had the diligence or time to do it.
Hopefully, this will be the start and I will be able to continually share the Words of God and little that I learned from it. Besides, I won't be cluttering your mailboxes with my opinionated pieces, so you will have a piece of mind with this change.

14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name.

As a Christian, we are of God's lineage. We owe our existence and identity to the Father in heaven.

16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

Obviously, this passage is specifically meant for Christians. Paul prays that despite difficulties we remain steadfast in our walks with God through the help of the Holy Spirit.

17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

We will not have any room for Christ unless we equip ourselves with faith in God the Father in Christ.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Can we "know" God? Obviously, we as creatures are limited in terms of what we know of God and how much we can know of him. However, when we are firmly rooted in love for God the Father, we come to recognition that it is love that transcends everything that we want to know about God. Pharisees and high priests claimed that they "knew" God, but they knew not because they did not understand God's love for the Gentiles as well as Jews. I wonder how deep, long, and wide our love for Christ is as well as others in our group.

20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

God will always provide us with more than what we ask of him because of his love for us. How do we respond to that? How do we glorify God the Father? We glorify the Father by showing our heart-felt love for him by being obedient to the words and teachings of the Spirit.

Have a great week.