Day 21: Deuteronomy 9-18

The Responsibility of Power

Understand then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are stiff-necked people.

-          Deuteronomy 9:6

To be called as Children of the Lord is a great privilege that comes with Royalty because He is after all the King of kings. But as what it was said in Spiderman, “Great power comes with great responsibility”. As leaders, we are not simply leading people but we are guidance to them. In fact we are only to be used by the Lord. Humility has to be evident to us when we know our real purpose.

1.     Servitude to God

Fear the Lord your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take oaths in His name.

-          Deuteronomy 10:20

2.     Obedience comes with strength

Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

-          Deuteronomy 11:8

3.     Set Priorities Straight

Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.

-          Deuteronomy 11:16

4.     Kingdom Leadership not worldly sovereignty

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”

-          Deuteronomy 17:16

5.     Wisdom seeker in the Word

It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees.

-          Deuteronomy 17:19

Day 19: Numbers 30-36

Dream like a 10-year-old

If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.

-          Numbers 32:5

When we were in elementary, we were asked “What do you want to be when you grow up”. My answer to that evolved over the years. First I wanted to be:

a teacher,

then a singer,

a dancer,

an astronaut,

a writer,

a theater artist,

a theater director,

a traveler,

a chef,

the President of the Philippines,

the Chief Justice,

the Mayor of Baguio,

a Senator,

the Commissioner for COA,

the Dean of SABM,

a college professor,

a CPA lawyer,

and to be a CPA.

Of course I don’t plan on achieving all that (LOL). But if you can notice, my dreams change over time. First I was too general until I began dreaming bigger and more specific until, I became more specific. But another observation was, as I was becoming more specific, my dreams were diminishing. I wonder, if I became a CPA, what would be my next dream?

See, in our journey in life to success, we tend to land in a green pasture and we suddenly decide to stay there and not anticipate on a greener one.

Being a child of the Lord guarantees us that we can reach our dreams. We need to understand that sometimes, God puts us in a test where we can be too comfortable, where we can say that it is already enough. Nevertheless, we need to dream bigger than our present situation because God designed us to be the head and not the tail. Certainly, there is more to us than what we are now. We can’t settle for something we know is temporary.

The only key is, to stay in God’s side always.

Day 15: Numbers 1-6

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His Face Shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace”

-        Numbers 6:24

Day 14: Leviticus 21-27

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

-        Leviticus 26:13

COMMAND:

Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest.

-        Leviticus 23:10

~When you reach your dreams that I have planned for you to have, you must devote your first salary to the Kingdom of God and thus it will be your First fruit offering.

Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the Lord.”

-        Leviticus 25:2

~When you reach your dreams that I have planned for you to have, you must still be consistent in your commitment to your ministry and your responsibility as a cell leader.

Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the Lord your God.

-        Leviticus 25:17

~Do not take advantage of the authority that will be given to you soon. Fear God with your license and power. He is your highest authority in life.

PROMISES:

I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and trees of the field their fruit.

-        Leviticus 26:4

~I will make sure that your investments in my kingdom will yield you more success

I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.

-        Leviticus 26:6

~I will protect you from any dangers in this world

You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.

-        Leviticus 26:7

~ You will be able to face all your troubles with me.

I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.

-        Leviticus 26:9

~I will promote you in everything you will do and make you fruitful in your ministry.

You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.

-        Leviticus 26:10

~I will give you more than enough of what you need

I will put my dwelling place among you and will not abhor you

-        Leviticus 26:11

~I will be with you always and never leave you behind

I will walk among you and be your God and you will be my people

-        Leviticus 26:12

~ I will walk among you and be your God and you will be my Jully J

WARNING:

If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over

-        Leviticus 26:18

Day 13: Leviticus 14-20

Past vs. Future

You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.

-        Leviticus 18:3

PAST: You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live

               Before we have totally dedicated ourselves to God, sin has always been a part of our lifestyle in the past. It may be dominant or quiescent or we just never really recognized it until God corrected us in the present.

               Thing about following Christ is to really leave the past behind and to learn from it. In our journey of knowing and experiencing God’s grace in our everyday lives, we grasp that we’re also in a process of learning from our times of yore and leaving it behind. Thus, it must be clear that whatever is in the past must not be a part of our future.

               Otherwise, the past destroys our future.

FUTURE:  you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.

               God will definitely put me in such a place that I have been preparing for years. In the present, God puts us in a training ground to put in order to us for our future, which He has flawlessly planned already. Thing is, the promise land isn’t always the end of every journey. Even if God did gives us what our heart desires, it doesn’t mean that the battle stops there. Sometimes, endings are the start of new beginnings. Thus, however authentic we are to God in the present, such authenticity must level up to that future.

               In the present, God is preparing us for enormity. And when we reach that greatness, we must then be able to face it as if it’s a new battle field. Nevertheless, we must always keep in heart that the Lord has given it to us and that He’ll never leave our side.

Day 12: Leviticus 5-13

The Form of the Offering

The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

-        Leviticus 6:13

I have been trying to guess what these different offering God meant but the Lord has given me a broader view of offerings. First off, what is an offering? In the times of Moses, God specifically gave instructions about what and how these offerings are to be presented. I can just imagine myself bringing a dead cow in the church when I sin (LOL). But of course, since money has been invented in our generation, we have to see things monetarily. But more than that, the Lord have also specifically described the manner of offering.

1.      It must be clean

The Lord has enlisted a couple of animals that are allowed to be eaten and to be offered. As to our generation, how can money be clean? I interpreted it this way. The offering that we have to give must be ours. It must not be stolen, it must not be borrowed. It must come in plain for the Lord.

2.      It must be pure

The word “fat” and “blood” has been used in the passages for a couple of times. So how do we make our offerings pure? Simple, it is seen in our hearts, in our own intentions. We cannot give to the kingdom with an unwilling heart. We can’t give out of compromise, out of a condition for our own self. We must give for the fact that the Lord owns us, thus He owns everything we have.

3.      It must be slaughtered in front of the Lord

The people in the time of Moses could have just given their offerings dead already but why did God require it to be alive and be slaughtered in His presence? Because God knew what was gonna happen in our century. We must not hold a string towards our offerings. Sometimes people treat money as if it has life that it multiplies, it flies, and it disappears on its own. But we have to kill that perception for money. We must see it not as something we lost but we gained.

4.      It must be burned

Once the offerings are made in the Temple, the priests must burn them afterwards. Thus, when we give our offerings to the altar, we must then treat it as holy not as an expenditure.

Day 11: Exodus 36-40 and Leviticus 1-4

When too much becomes bad

Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more.

-        Exodus 36:6

Before I had many close friends and before I was given a ministry inside the church, people barely see me there. In fact, I’d only be seen in the center if its either Sunday or Friday, or for mentoring.  I didn’t like the idea of becoming a “tambay ng church” because not only that I hate idle time, i also hate going there for no reason and wait for not very important people. But then these past few months, the church has already been my second home. In fact, there is no day that I don’t go there even if we don’t count the Morning Prayer.

In other words, I have given much much of my time for the church, until it became wrong. People see me there every day now even when there’s nothing really that I should be doing there, at first I thought, “not that it’s a bad thing, right?”. But now God has revealed to me otherwise. I have given the church too much to the point that my time given there wasn’t useful anymore.

Command: Clear your purpose of making the church your second home

Warning: Too much can make you even more unproductive, thus can lead to destruction

Day 10: Exodus 29-35

Why is God a jealous God?

“Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.”

-        Exodus 20:23

This character of our god has always been confusing for some Christians; in fact, even those who have strong faith can’t always briefly explain this matter.

God, being a jealous God, actually compliments his character as a loving and merciful God.  It might not be as accurate as I imagine it to be but we can just put it this way. God and the enemy may have had a treaty where a person who worships anyone should be subject to whom or what it worships.

See, when Satan was named as the “king of the world”, it meant, anything that can be against the Lord is his’. For example, money, which is the common source of worship for pagans, happened to be under the enemy’s dominion. Thus, without further explanation, anyone who worship’s money is subject to the enemy and not to God.

Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

-        Genesis 23:13

When God said that He was a jealous God, that meant He wanted you to be His’ and Him to be yours. It was actually an act of grace. Thus, with that thought, we must be very conscious of our priorities. Does God top it all? Is God always number 1 in your list or orders?

If we worship other people or things in this world other than Him, we deviate ourselves from god’s promises in life. But if we did receive God in our lives and prioritize Him over all, then, we receive His grace every day.

“Worship the Lord you god, and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry of be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.”

-        Exodus 23:25-26

Why God does require us of offerings when He owns everything?

“Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.”

-        Exodus 25:1

God created this world, even man, of course God owns everything. Even our lives. But because of His love and Grace, He gave us possession of His creation. The best example for this is our own lives.

In business, anyone who created or innovated something is the presumed owner of such thing, unless it is further sold to someone else. God never sold His creation to anyone. Nevertheless, He appointed man to rule over His creation. But that didn’t mean we own them. We are merely the possessors. In more concrete term, we are just care takers of His creation.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

-        Genesis 2:15

In business law, we have this Disputable presumption that anyone who bears possession of a thing is the owner of the thing. But the beauty of law is seen here. This is only a Disputable presumption. Why? As my Law Reviewer said, the Law of State respects the Law of God. Thus, this being a disputable presumption, we therefore derive the fact that the possessor won’t necessarily be the owner.

Bottom line is, anything we have right now is not of our own ownership. We are merely possessors of it.

Now, to answer the question, why do God requires us to, as I may give it as a term, return to Him what he requires us to return? Does He need it? What will he do with it? Give it to the poor?

Answer:

God owns everything, He doesn’t need it. But we do. We need to give it to Him.

Why? Because He loves us.

How’s that a basis?

1.      To refrain ourselves from the warning of the above topic/question

2.      To make ourselves selfless and be more transparent and/or submissive to God

3.      To be even more blessed

Day 9: Exodus 20-28

Why is God a jealous God?

“Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.”

-        Exodus 20:23

This character of our god has always been confusing for some Christians; in fact, even those who have strong faith can’t always briefly explain this matter.

God, being a jealous God, actually compliments his character as a loving and merciful God.  It might not be as accurate as I imagine it to be but we can just put it this way. God and the enemy may have had a treaty where a person who worships anyone should be subject to whom or what it worships.

See, when Satan was named as the “king of the world”, it meant, anything that can be against the Lord is his’. For example, money, which is the common source of worship for pagans, happened to be under the enemy’s dominion. Thus, without further explanation, anyone who worship’s money is subject to the enemy and not to God.

Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

-        Genesis 23:13

When God said that He was a jealous God, that meant He wanted you to be His’ and Him to be yours. It was actually an act of grace. Thus, with that thought, we must be very conscious of our priorities. Does God top it all? Is God always number 1 in your list or orders?

If we worship other people or things in this world other than Him, we deviate ourselves from god’s promises in life. But if we did receive God in our lives and prioritize Him over all, then, we receive His grace every day.

“Worship the Lord you god, and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry of be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.”

-        Exodus 23:25-26

Why God does require us of offerings when He owns everything?

“Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.”

-        Exodus 25:1

God created this world, even man, of course God owns everything. Even our lives. But because of His love and Grace, He gave us possession of His creation. The best example for this is our own lives.

In business, anyone who created or innovated something is the presumed owner of such thing, unless it is further sold to someone else. God never sold His creation to anyone. Nevertheless, He appointed man to rule over His creation. But that didn’t mean we own them. We are merely the possessors. In more concrete term, we are just care takers of His creation.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

-        Genesis 2:15

In business law, we have this Disputable presumption that anyone who bears possession of a thing is the owner of the thing. But the beauty of law is seen here. This is only a Disputable presumption. Why? As my Law Reviewer said, the Law of State respects the Law of God. Thus, this being a disputable presumption, we therefore derive the fact that the possessor won’t necessarily be the owner.

Bottom line is, anything we have right now is not of our own ownership. We are merely possessors of it.

Now, to answer the question, why do God requires us to, as I may give it as a term, return to Him what he requires us to return? Does He need it? What will he do with it? Give it to the poor?

Answer:

God owns everything, He doesn’t need it. But we do. We need to give it to Him.

Why? Because He loves us.

How’s that a basis?

1.      To refrain ourselves from the warning of the above topic/question

2.      To make ourselves selfless and be more transparent and/or submissive to God

3.      To be even more blessed

A Test of a Cell Group Leader

For two years of leading cell groups now, I still haven’t chosen my disciples. Reason for this is because; I’m usually the weather type of a leader. I get myself back in and in sometime I still manage to pull myself out of the fire.

A few months before, as I blogged about this, I seem to have a lot of questions that turned into doubts about the vision and the church. I’ve been stumbled down because of the human flaws I can see around me but all my questions were then answered by God Himself.

So I went back in, this time having a stronger grip on the Vision. I now see the worth of having to complete my 12 disciples which many may not understand yet. I now desire in my heart forming my own close cell group but my problem was my old members. As I left the Vision, I seem to have left them behind as well. I needed to start new cells to meet my goal.

I started winning high school students, by myself as a challenge, entering classrooms and sharing the gospel. I now have two open cells in BCNHS, one open cell in PSHS (my old cell group) and one mixed open cell as well. Because I knew I had that desire, in a month I already have 26 members all in all.

So I’m very happy that the Lord is really helping me with my goal

But today, I’ve been tested, big time!

We had our One-Day Ignite Retreat today in the center. Out of those 26 members, I expected 8 of them to attend. I prayed a lot for them. I even asked my Christian friends to pray for them as well. I woke up with the strong wind. When I arrived in the center, I’ve been told that we don’t have classes because our city’s signal leveled up to #3 so I thought that was a good sign. But no one came, not one in those 26 youths….

I decided to just attend the ignite myself but I’ve been very depressed. Constantly asking the Lord why? How can they have such little faith because of the typhoon?

A few times I considered quitting that I really can’t do this, that I’m a failure and all. But of course, the Holy Spirit would always help me on times like this. My friends helped a lot too.

I completely understood that the Lord is testing my patience and faith. I don’t have to expect my members to have established within themselves the loyalty they must have for me as their leader considering the fact that we only started our relationship last month. Then I truly discerned on God’s time and trusted on Him.

And in that point in time, I knew my biggest reason of depression is because of compromise. It is true that we have to obey our leaders but God knows I did my best on my cell members. I put a lot of prayer and sacrifice for them to know the Word but having not to convince them to attend either the Ignite Retreat or the Encounter God Retreat wouldn’t mean I failed in meeting God’s expectations. I know in my heart that I’m doing my best to please Him. People’s way of looking at things that I have not done must not turn me down. I just have to pray, pray and pray and stay faithful and fruitful and God will soon reward me of my efforts.

This vision, as the Lord has revealed is not for the church or for anyone but for Him alone, thus I must only consider whether I pleased Him or not.

God’s time is perfect, thus, I will depend on Him alone.