US Vacation Blessings

1. Watched a playoff game between the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks.

2. Went to NYC and visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

3. Shoes, shoes shoes!

    Left to Right: Me in Zapato del Barcos, sister on Orange Classics and little brother on OTWs.

Thank you Lord!

Atonement

Leviticus 16: 30

“Because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from your sins.”

One of the things I learned working for a Japanese company is the value of discipline. To promote this kind of environment, unique programs are created by the company, supported by all levels of the organization, from janitors up to the President. One activity exemplifying this is “Yoshi Yoshi”. Before crossing a street inside the plant, employees must follow these procedures: Look, point to right and shout “Yoshi”. Look, point to the left and shout “Yoshi”. If the street is clear, then the employee can cross. Anyone caught not complying can be verbally reprimanded on the spot. It’s so simple to do, right?

The problem is, there will always be employees who just can’t seem to follow even the simplest of procedures. Employees who continuously make mistakes will never be tolerated. If an employee repeatedly fails to comply, there is a chance that employee will eventually be fired and let go.

In the same way, God gave us the bible as our employee handbook. It contains rules and procedures we must follow. But unlike the corporate world, despite repeated mistakes, God through his love will not lay us off and will not fire us. There is always a second chance, just as Moses time and again doubted himself (Exodus 3-4), God never gave up on him. Just as the Israelites through the atonement they received, can always come before the Lord, we too have Jesus Christ, the atonement for our sins.

Application

Remember that just as the Israelites offered up sacrifices for their sins, we too have Jesus, the perfect sacrifice. Through him, we are made clean. Through him, there is no shame.

Elijah

1 Kings 18:21

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing. 

During King Ahab’s rule, Israel was under a state of calamity not because of natural environmental disasters like the recent earthquake in Japan, but they were rather under a more devastating and destructive force: a spiritual calamity. Israel was not worshipping God anymore. Temples were being built for Baal not because of a foreign rule that forced its construction and erection, it was because of King Ahab himself, who constantly disobeyed prophetic warnings, murdered Naboth, married Jezebel and worshipped Baal. No wonder the Bible records and remembers Ahab as being "more evil than all the kings before him" (1 Kings 16:30). Elijah saw this happening and confronted his people, and challenged his people to finally realize that there shouldn’t even be a comparison that needs to be decided or be reflected upon. God is the only God, the same God who brought them out of Egypt. The true, real, living God of Israel (1 Kings 18:16-45).

In the same way, we today have found other gods that have taken the Lord’s place in our lives. Whether its money, success, fame, career, even relationships, our worship of the Lord has shifted to the worship of everything and anything that is of this world. We have allowed ourselves to forget God’s faithfulness and have instead focused and put our efforts in everything and anything temporal. Nothing spiritual, nothing worth eternal.

Application

Is God still the center of your life? Pray to Him and ask for forgiveness. Let Him know by word and by deed that you worship Him alone.

Inconvenient

Isaiah 55: 8-9 (NIV):
⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. ⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Following Christ means being an inconvenient friend, means being ready to let go of people who would rather hear what they want you to tell them, rather than hear the truth.

Thank God for friends!

Temper Trap - Love Lost

Keep me in mind... When you're ready,

I am here to take you every time.

Cold Play - The Scientist

And tell me you love me, come back and haunt me

Oh and I rush to the start.

Runnin' in circles, Chasin' tails

Comin' back as we are.

I'm goin' back to the start.