The Easy Way Out

GCF Youth L.I.V.E.'s #Prayer247

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. -Proverbs 3:5-6 

We just have to have it our way... because in the end, its all about us. We claim that life presents us with circumstances that enable us to make decisions based on what feels right, what seems logical. We feel we have been left with no other choice but to simply take what we think is the 'best' option available. But our view in life can be at times clouded by fear, dampened by doubt, covered by hurt, shattered by pain... numbed by sin. It distorts our view on being able to make a Godly decision. Consider and see what God has to say in the matter through prayer, through counsel of Godly, mature people and finally through his word, the Bible. Run to him. Ask him. Wait on him. Because faithful men and women will not rely on themselves. They rely and trust on God who provides a way to those who faithfully ask from him.

LaSallian meets Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola

Having grown up and having been reared by La Salle through high school and college, it became second nature for me and my co-LaSallistas to simply dislike the boys from the hills of the Katipunan. Now that I'm years removed from college, and having been able to develop friendships with Ateneans (which thankfully enabled me to change my perspective on the so-called "rivalry"), my curiosity regarding 'The Ateneo' has led me to one of the current ironies of my life: spending much time studying the life and works of the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit) himself, Ignatius of Loyola.

How Ignatius met the Lord

Ignatius did not experience a typical, normal childhood. At an early age, he was orphaned due to the tragic death of his parents, and was subsequently taken in by family friends. His encounter as well with God was unlike that of typical church-goers, finding God in probably the most painful and most trying time of his early life. Ignatius, in the middle of battle as a soldier, suffered a very severe leg injury that rendered him immobile and incapacitated. He needed time to recuperate and heal, and it was a toilsome and difficult time in his life. However, in the process of physical recovery, he also found spiritual healing. His isolation from the outside world became the opportune moment for him and the Lord to finally meet intimately. In isolation, he read through writings and accounts of noble saints and their faithful service and devotion to God. He read how they lived and how they served God. He met the Lord in pain through the stories of noble men of faith, and had become the comfort for both his physical and spiritual struggle. However, despite the spiritual awakening, Ignatius’ life experienced further hardship (http://bin.jesuits-chgdet.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Partners_WI03-4_pp16-17.pdf, accessed October 8, 2012).

Struggles and Difficulties
Having decided to equip himself for God, Ignatius studied in Spain and still went through many difficulties. He was abandoned by friends, ridiculed, faced inquiries about his beliefs, and even suffered physical beatings from his detractors (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07639c.htm, accessed October 8, 2012). But through it all, it was his stern spiritual walk with God and the early trials in his life that contributed and inspired the recording, writing, practice and teaching of arguably his major contribution to Christianity, his Spiritual Exercises.

Ramon Ma. Bautista, S.J. records in his book “Hearts Burning: The Consciousness Examen as an Authentic Ignatian Formation in Discerning Love” that Ignatius was a truly passionate man of God. He deeply loved the Lord and gave himself deeply to service of God and for God’s people. Service was his primary goal and priority in life, and it was also what he preached and taught to his followers.

19^th century Karshuni manuscript of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Spiritual Exercises
According to Bautista, Ignatius wrote about the following: 1) How God’s servant should give the highest possible glory to God all the time, and 2) highlighted the importance of the centrality of God in one’s life. He wrote about 3) Jesus Christ, about his passion, death and his resurrection, and 4) man's ensuing natural response to his own sinfulness in view of Christ. He also wrote about 5) the joy man would receive and find through the grace of God and by the triumph of Jesus Christ from death.

Ignatius' impact to the Church

The book would be evaluated by Papal censors and was officially approved and commended by Pope Paul III for legitimate ministerial use (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07639c.htm, accessed October 8, 2012). As described by the Pope himself, Ignatius’ work was “...full of piety and holiness and that they are and will be extremely useful and salutary for the spiritual profit of the faithful.” (http://www.jesuit.org/ignatian-spirituality/spiritual-exercises/, accessed October 9, 2012).

Ignatius’ work in the Spiritual Exercises left a great blue print and manual for teachers, missionaries and ministers on how to properly treat their calling as God’s representatives, and leaving believers a very useful guide and reminder on living up to their identity in Christ as workers of the church. Ma. Christina A. Astorga, in her dissertation about Ignatius records that, “In relation to this fundamental engagement of persons in decision making, Ignatian discernment is the distinctive contribution of Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises to humanity and to Christian spirituality.” Indeed, despite a seemingly outdated material, it is amazing to see how the exercises can still be used today by believers, reflecting what it means to truly be a believer and follower of Christ.

As revealed by his work and his life, it seems that even St. La Salle himself, the man of God who championed education and social service to the poor and needy, would benefit much from the teachings and the lifestyle of Ignatius. Maybe, it doesn't always have to be black and white, left or right, or even Green or Blue.

Questions for further discussion

·         Are trials, difficulties and hardships (abandonment by friends and also physical beatings like what Ignatius experienced) essential and a “must have” for church leaders, workers and volunteers?

·         Should church leaders, workers and volunteers follow and submit entirely to his/ her organization’s policies, rules and guidelines in ministry and in personal life, or should they plainly follow scripture? 

·    God desires that his servants simply love him in everything they do, so is love for people even fully essential and necessary in gauging effective ministries? Why/ why not? 

Sources

Astorga, Ma. Christina. Ignatian Discernment: A Critical Contemporary Reading for Christian

Decision Making. ATLA Religion Database EBSCOhost. http://www.search.ebscohost.com (accessed

October 16, 2012).

Bautista, Ramon Ma. Hearts Burning: The Consciousness Examen as an Authentic Ignatian Formation

in Discerning Love. Makati City, Philippines: Bookmark, Inc, 1990.

Link, Mark S.J. “The Life of St. Ignatius Loyola: A Prayerful Introduction.” jesuits-chgdet.org. 

http://bin.jesuits-chgdet.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Partners_WI03-4_pp16-17.pdf (accessed 

October 8, 2012).

Loyola Press. “St. Ignatius Loyola”. http://www.ignatianspirituality.com. 

http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/st-ignatius-loyola/ (accessed October 8, 2012).

Pollen, J.H. “St. Ignatius Loyola”. http://www.newadvent.org. 

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07639c.htm (accessed October 8, 2012).

The Society of Jesus in the United States. “The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola”. http://www.jesuit.org/. http://www.jesuit.org/jesuits/wp-content/uploads/The-Spiritual-Exercises-.pdf (accessed October 9, 2012).

The Society of Jesus in the United States. “Frequently Asked Questions.” http://www.jesuit.org/. http://www.jesuit.org/jesuits/wp-content/uploads/The-Spiritual-Exercises-.pdf (accessed October 9, 2012).

http://www.hmml.org/preservation10/OLM.htm (accesed November 26, 2012).

http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/seil/index.htm (accessed November 26, 2012).

The Comfortable Church: Breaking the Comfort

The problem remains for the church today: We are just too comfortable. The "problems" we see are but a speck compared to the reality of the world we live in today, a world beyond the confines of our comfortable "problem filled" lives, a world that desperately desires a hope... a world that needs Jesus Christ. 

So the questions is: "What can I do? How do I get out of my comfort zone?"

The bible did not complicate things when it recorded how Jesus commanded us to take part in sharing God's blessing of salvation (Matt. 28:18-20). The misconception is that a Christian has to follow one ideal formula in sharing the love of God through Christ. It doesn't have to be that way. We can do it in many different ways. How? In our case today as a comfortable church, breaking the barriers of sharing the love of Christ and breaking the comfort can be done in two ways:

1) PRAYER

Have you been proactive in praying for the concerns of other people? Or have your prayers been focused on only yourself? Do you remember your country men during their time of need, ceased on helping when relief operations have slowed down, or have you been helping out still?

What we can do is simply pray. We should continue to pray for our country men still affected by the recent floods, who have lost loved ones and have lost their homes. Relief operations may have stopped but our prayers continue, our prayers should remain.

We can also pray also for the unreached people groups remaining in the Philippines and in other parts of the world! Get to know them through The Joshua Project, a website dedicated to research about ethnic groups who have yet to know Jesus Christ. Pray for these groups together with church members through the upcoming 1Gospel Conference, a conference encouraging young people aware about the power of prayer in missions!

We do not have to leave our country to be involved in cross cultural missions. We do not need disasters and relief operations to remember the needs of the less fortunate. We bring the love of Christ to other people through the power of our faith in the Lord, and it is proven in earnest, honest prayer.


2) PARTNERSHIP

Like prayer, partnership is not a one-time thing. It is being able to connect to people who need a more definite, clear, and real gospel message. 

Join an NGO, look for an orphanage, school, children's hospital or community and help the needy on a more concerted, intentional and consistent basis. Show love to them not by just simply reading to them the story about Jesus' sermons, but by sitting beside them, talking to them, asking them about their dreams, aspirations, having lunch together with them, interacting with them side by side. You can even support and partner by simply buying a shirt from Liberty Street Clothing and help survivors of human trafficking, child sexual abuse, or extreme poverty.

Pray and Partner for the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(IGSL - PMA Ministry Week, Sept 2012)

So this is how we roll up our sleeves, how we can be less comfortable, be less concerned about ourselves. This is how we can be thankful, how we can be exposed, how we can pray. This is how we can break church norm and obey God's command to "Go and make disciples", how we can share God's blessing of salvation today. 

People need the gospel message personally applied, not impersonally preached. 

The Comfortable Church

My kids in Kaunlaran High School in Navotas (through the partnership of International Graduate School of Leadership-Asia and Breakthrough Community Church-Navotas) wrote the following down when I asked them about their dreams and aspirations: 

"Know Christ"

"Change"

"Be Helpful and responsible"

"Expect more knowledge (Know) about God"

"Help my parents"

"Help my family"

"I want to help others to be God's followers"

These are what these kids hope for, what they desire in life. They desire a life out of poverty, out of daily financial hardship, out of broken down communities, and they desire Christ. They desire God. 

A couple of months back I asked the Lord why he wanted me to serve in this community. God's answer? The kids themselves. He wanted to expose me to his heart... a heart that longs to be connected and reunited to his people from all cultures, nations, from every tongue, every tribe and from every land. 

A recent study shows that most churches today do not share the Gospel. This is what is happening in churches nowadays.

In light of the study, one of the problems today is that as a church, we look inward, instead of outward. We fret about poorly air-conditioned worship auditoriums, frown upon bad sound systems, and complain about the poorly seasoned lunch offered in our monthly ministry meeting. These kids? They have their algebra class during midday, under the shade of the quadrangle stage due to the lack of classrooms. The Track and Field team practices on 40 feet of parking space on worn out training shoes. No grass, no track oval. They miss out on school 1-2 times a week during the rainy season due to constant and regular flooding in the city. That is their reality. 

We are simply just too comfortable. The "problems" we see are but a speck compared to the reality of the world we live in today, a world beyond the confines of our comfortable "problem filled" lives, a world that desperately desires a hope... a world that needs Jesus Christ. 

The bible says:

"Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace"  (Acts 18:9b)

"I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ"  (Romans 1:16)

"(Pray)...that I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak"  (Ephesians 6:18-20)

"Be not thou ashamed of the testimony of our Lord" (2 Timothy 1:8a)

"We were bold...to speak the gospel of God"  (1 Thessalonians 2:2)

God wants us to reach out to all people, and we achieve this by not just simply sitting comfortably, sipping freshly brewed coffee in the posh cafes where we hold weekly bible studies. God wants us to get out of our comfort zones, roll up our sleeves, and to confidently go. 

Are you too comfortable? Be thankful. Be exposed. Pray for divine appointments outside your comfort zone. Share God's blessing of salvation today.

Holding Grudges

Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” – Genesis 27:41

Lord, I feel angry, bitter and have much hate in my heart. Will you heal my heart, give me peace, and give me the strength to finally forgive. AMEN.

Jeremiah

“What are you doing, O devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why shade your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.”  -Jeremiah 4:30

The family is up and about for church and she’s once again having a difficult time deciding what to wear. Forty pairs of shoes, twenty pairs of pants, hundreds of blouses and dresses, yet she still can’t decide. The fashion police scares her, and on the worship center’s red carpet, she gets the attention of the paparazzi congregation, and focuses to live up to that ‘responsibility’. Everyone is ready for church except her.

This modern day scenario may seem funny and quite true in our respective families, but it is as well reflective how we Christians today tend to be like the Israelites. This Christian worships the glamor of the world. She has given way to modern-day idols. Her God has become herself, and to please her desire and please people have taken over meeting, focusing and experiencing God.

Jeremiah Chapters 4-6 depict Israel’s sin, Jeremiah’s frustration and describes God’s anger. Israel has given way to the gods of other nations and wore jewelry and gold to favor gods, instead of God. They have forgotten their identity and forgotten God’s love, mercy and compassion to their nation. God saw the nonsense Israel was doing, and this spurred God to give them an intense awakening.

We go to church and our focus is on our appearance. We go about our business in school and work and our focus is on getting ahead. Does this describe you?

Application

Do we wait for God’s wrath to realize that we sometimes choose the world instead of Him? Pray and ask for forgiveness now.

Trust

Psalm 20: 7

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

In the NBA, success is measured by consistent per-game production, by total wins, and ultimately by championships. Michael Jordan was able to meet and achieve these parameters exceedingly. But it was not always smooth sailing for Michael. He had to go through years of disappointment against the “Bad Boys” of the Detroit Pistons, or the “Big Three” of the Boston Celtics. Individually he was an immovable force, but his flaw as a leader always got in the way. Michael learned this the hard way. He learned by losing. So in 1991 against Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers, he wowed the basketball world not by his off-balance shots and board-shattering dunks, but by his maturity as a leader. He finally passed the ball to John Paxson who made open shots in crucial situations, and allowed Scottie Pippen to share in playmaking and scoring responsibilities. He finally trusted, and had faith and confidence in his teammates. In his first finals appearance, he led the Chicago Bulls to their first franchise championship.

In the same way, David and his army did not rely on their protective equipment and weaponry to succeed in battle. They relied and trusted on God. They put their faith and confidence on the Lord who had always delivered them time and again against their enemies. David always had this confidence, faith and trust in the Lord during times of great adversity, even at an early age when he faced Goliath (1 Samuel 17: 45-47).

Application

We should always have confidence, faith and trust in the Lord in all things. We should remember how the Lord will always be faithful in our time of need.

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.

Psalm 46:10

Be Still and know I am God.