A "Burj Eyeview" of What is Big and Small

My wife and I had the chance to go up the tallest man-made structure in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai -- 828 meters and 163 floors high. It took us just exactly 1-minute to go all the way up the view deck at the 124th floor. That was really fast! Though we barely felt the speed and pressure.  The view from the top was amazing!  We could see the whole breadth of the city: the sea and the sunset, the modern infrastructure, the systematic highways, and the wide desert. Everything below was so miniature.  There was something about seeing the world from the "Burj Eyeview".  It made me feel big and small at the same time. Big, because I was the one beholding from above. Small, since I knew that if I was the one below, from the standpoint of 828 meters high, I looked smaller than an ant.

We always have to reminded of both our "bigness" and "smallness". First, God is our biggest

fan; we are big in God's eyes!  The psalmist exclaims: "What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them?" (Psalm 8:4) We're such a big deal with God, that He sent His own begotten Son, to liberate us from the dominion of sin.  Yes, God loves in a very big way!

Second, we too, have to be small before God; "He must increase; I must decrease." (John 3:30) Man, through the sin of Adam and Eve, has a tendency in wanting to be god or be bigger than God -- rationalizing that the Maker does not exist. We sometimes do not notice it, but the moment we allow pride to take over -- we want ourselves to increase, and God to decrease from our lives; a total opposite of what St. John was conveying.

We---at the same time---realize that we are big with God's love and genuinely have an inner disposition of being small before the Creator.  In acknowledging God's greatness and through our humility alone can we be granted by the Holy Spirit the gift of faith to decipher how to apply---in our own lives---Jesus' teachings: that the "first shall be last and the last shall be first" or to "love your enemies" or that "if anyone wishes to be great, he must be the servant of all." The paradoxical wisdom of Jesus is the key to life, a revelation, that requires of us to follow Him in faith with absolute freedom for our salvation. 

Reflect the Light of Christ

I took this picture on a rooftop of a friend's house. I was struck by the beauty and splendor of the moonlight. Generally we know that the moon's light is a reflection of the sun's. But as I read...

"The real mystery is why does the moon reflect at all. Like most objects in space, the Moon possesses a reflective characterisitic called albedo. Albedo is how well an object reflects light. This characteristic seems pretty straight forward. Material like ice and snow have very reflective albedos. Land and Greenery have very low reflective albedos. What makes the moon so interesting is that it has the same Albedo as coal. That means that it has almost no reflective quality up close. " http://www.universetoday.com/75891/why-does-the-moon-shine/#ixzz2fejsFkUb

How high is our reflective characteristic -- our spiritual albedo? How well do we reflect Christ's light? When we encourage people to succeed, we often tell them, "It's your time to shine." But like the moon, we cannot produce our own light. Everytime we try to "shine" by our own efforts, we end up proud and conceited. True light can only come from the Son reflected through a humble spirit. A better encouragement would be, "It's HIS time to shine."

Let us remember:

1. Receive His light daily

 Numbers 6:25  The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!

By God's grace, through daily prayer and especially the Eucharist, we receive His holy light that illumines our minds and hearts to reflect His glory.

2. We are Children of Light

Ephesians 5:8  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

 Jesus brings us out of the darkness of our own sin and pride. We are God's children, bringing the Father's light to overcome the temptations that call us to hide in the shadows.
 

3. We shine Christ to others

As the classic praise song declares -- shine Jesus shine! The presence of Christ radiates through our smiles, our humble posture, and the love we give.

 

Like how the moon is likened to coal because of it's high reflective quality, we too, must remember that God's radiance can only shine if we remember who we are---our own insignificance---in relation to the light of Jesus.  Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me. Galatians 2:20.

 

 

How is Christ reflected in your daily actions?

 

 

 

Point to Jesus: My prayers For Max's First Birthday

It's Max's first birthday. Firsts are always special. Max won't remember this day unless he sees the pictures and videos and--reads something about it. And so I go back to blogging after almost a month. John Maximilian Siatong-Llaban was born on August 29, 2012. I got to witness how Michelle gave out all her strength to bring Max out into the world. I salute all Moms!

 Max was the fruit of our Holy Land Pilgrimage. During that blessed trip while renewing our baptismal vows in the river Jordan, I was inspired by the humility of John the Baptist. Though he was great and people followed him, he never lost sight of his purpose--to prepare the way for the Lord.

John answered them all saying, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Luke 3:16)

I want Max to be as humble as John, never clouded with pride amidst the great things God is doing through him.

Max's name is also inspired by St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, Martyr and Marian devotee. 2012, Max's birth year, was the Magnificat year for Couples for Christ. In the community we were inspired by Mary's words, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord! (Luke 1:46)." I was looking for a saint that experienced and honored Mary in a very special way, thus, Kolbe. I pray that like the great saint, Max will embrace a deep devotion to Mother Mary and emulate Our Mother in proclaiming God's greatness.

Both saints, John and Maximilian, always pointed to Jesus. Max, my prayer for your 1st birthday is to grow up leading others to Jesus Christ--pointing to Him always. May God do great things through you and envelope you with the virtue of humility. Happy birthday my dear boy.

Hunger for Learning

The hunger for knowledge and wisdom is a sign of humility. It expresses our admission that there is yet much to be learned. When one resigns from trying to gain wisdom from prayer or from others, he is a person lost in his purpose. Our brains are created by God to accommodate more than what we can learn in a lifetime. Scientists say that we are only using 10% of our brain cells.
The fastest way to learn is to be an apprentice to a master. To have a student-teacher kind of relationship makes us learn with more speed and better imagery than reading books alone. Because life is short, the more mentors we have in our lives, the more knowledge we gain.
Books are an attempt to fully transmit one's learning to another person. Yet written words have limitations, for it cannot capture the full emotions and the body language of the author.
May our lives be blessed with mentors that guide us and books that allow us access into the minds of people who are far and long gone.

The Building Blocks of our Character

We went to a kids recreation area and I was fascinated by how my children were excited to play with wooden building blocks. I guess I'm so used to seeing plastic toys with lots of fancy designs. With the blocks, their imagination started to work and they tried out their own design ideas. With a solid base of blocks, my son was able to build a tower! The simplest of toys gave them great joy and tons of fun.

What is our character made of? What are the values that we consider to be building blocks of who we are? On the surface we can try to express and even impress, but sooner or later when unguarded, our true character comes out.

Let us recall the times when we were in crisis or when people offended us. How did we react? How do we behave at home? These are the unguarded times when we find out the strength of the foundation of our character.

I have heard once in a homily that humility is the mother of all virtues. It is the strength of God and the weakness of the devil. The crucifixion of Christ was an act of utmost humility that saved us all.

Funny thing about humility is that when you admit that you are humble you automatically lose the virtue.

Like the wooden blocks, it is humble in appearance but rich in value. Let humility be the foundation of the building blocks of our character. May humility be evident in our unguarded moments, when no one is around to judge. May Christ, our sure foundation, build us up to be like Him.

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Who We Really Are

When ordering in a coffee shop or fastfood, 9 out of 10 times my name gets misspelled. It's either Kervin, Kerby, Korby or some other version. I find it very amusing.

Names have a lot to do with identity. 'Who we are' is very important to us. We may have different concepts of our own identity, but there are truths about our identity that are constant.

1. Our real identity is that we are God's children.

What does it mean to be identified as a son of God? It means that we have to reflect the goodness of our Father king and that we are heirs to His kingdom. The devil, like Rumplestiltskin, wants to snatch us away from the Father's arms and entices us with deceivingly attractive deals and compromises to our own demise.

2. As God's children, we are to be like Christ, our brother. We are to be identified as Christians. "No longer I but Christ." Gal.2:20.

Jesus is the Word become flesh. His life meant to be an example for us to follow, for our own salvation. Christ is in us, in our hearts, and He will shine through us if we let Him.

3. The expression of our Christian identity is to be a witness.

More than preaching, the way is to live out our identity in Christ. When people imagine Christ, can they relate through our lives? Witnessing is a day to day challenge and a measure of the depth of our relationship with Christ.

Knowing ourselves is a journey of humility. When we look at our real intentions and motivation, we discover our weaknesses and how far we are from becoming like Jesus. But acknowledging our weaknesses before God is the way to move forward.

"But He gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scripture say, "God opposes the proud but favors the humble." James 4:6

Gloom to Glory

August 7, 2012, 8pm
And the monsoon rains keep on pouring down...It's been raining like crazy. I wonder when the rain will ever stop, it's relentless. Watching the news of flood victims breaks my heart. Water levels are at the roof tops in many areas. Some flyovers are almost caught up by flood. While all these are happening, my wife Michelle can give birth anytime. She's starting to feel the contractions. It's probably the worst time to go to the hospital since the streets are flooded and our doctor's residence area is also affected by it. It's a gloomy situation on the streets as I made my way to buy some emergency groceries. There will be days of gloom in our lives. But gloom doesn't mean doom. Times like these remind us that there are things beyond our control and that Someone bigger than us can help.Days of gloom bring us down to our knees before God. We are brought to a point of an honest and sincere conversation with Him. Yes, the trying times will bring us closer to Him. We may find it hard to understand His plan for us, specially in painful circumstances. Our 'rational' minds and the feelings in our hearts are too primitive compared to God's infinite wisdom and love. Yet, our Lord Jesus showed us the way to the Almighty by teaching us to relate to God as our Father. Like a little child, there are things that we cannot comprehend about the father's ways. We sometimes cry over things that we do not know can be good for us in the future. Days of gloom are allowed by the Father so we can bloom in the strength of our faith.There will always be times of testing, especially in days of gloom. Here we come to know our true self; where we stand, what we believe in, our level of courage, and the depth of our faith. We might breakdown or breakthrough. We can either lose hope or find faith. We were not created puppets. We were created as children in His likeness. With the gift of life, through His love we are granted the freedom to choose. Hoping that we choose what is right, what brings life, and what reflects His love. Times of testing, these days of gloom, will surface our weaknesses and how far our pride and self-idolatry has taken us. We pray to God for mercy and the grace to embrace humility.Gloom does not mean doom. There is hope in every person and in every season. The best in us also surface in these times. Our heroism, our faith, and our love go the distance in these unusual occasions...if we choose to. Christ, in His days of gloom suffered and died. His sacrifice was not that of doom, but of resurrection. From gloom to glory.Let us then choose as what Christ had chosen in His days of gloom. He chose the Father's will amidst excruciating and unimaginable physical and emotional pain. Christ's heroism cannot be surpassed for He saved us all. He chose to see the glory of God beyond the gloom.
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Your Servant is Listening

When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
the LORD came and revealed his presence,
calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!"
Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:10)


When the Lord first revealed Himself to Samuel the prophet, Samuel did not recognize His voice and thought it was Eli calling Him.  Eli advised Samuel that it was the Lord calling. So, on the third time, Samuel recognized the Lord and said, "Speak, for your  servant is listening."


Here are some of my reflections:


1. We need a mentor.  Eli was Samuel's mentor and helped him in recognizing the voice of the Lord.  In our spiritual journey, when we do not seem to hear the Lord, the Lord has sends us people to help us hear Him.  That person may be a priest in your area, your prayer group leader, your parents, or a friend.


2. We need to obey. Samuel could have dismissed Eli's advise for visions and revelations were uncommon during Samuel's time.  But He followed Eli's advice and he recognized the Lord.  Obedience  requires discipline, commitment, and humility.  Most often, obedience does not require us to fully understand a situation, but to trust.  When we are given a new service assignment by our leaders, we do not fully understand yet why we were chosen or if ever we will succeed.  Often we only realize the wisdom when we have obeyed and proceeded with the service.


3. We need have a posture of servant.  The word servant had a deeper impact in the Ancient times.  It meant that you have no freedom and that you have been bought to do your master's bidding. So when Samuel said, "Speak for your servant is listening," he had the posture of being fully disposed of whatever the Lord wants Him to do.  Often, we are choosy. We complain and grumble.  The posture of a servant is humble and submissive.  It is through humble hearts where the Lord speaks loud and clear. 


Today let us listen to our Lord and do his bidding.

Our Hearts as Mangers

Inside the Church of the Nativity. The star represents the spot where Christ was born

We were able to visit the birthplace of Jesus Christ, Bethlehem.  I was in awe of being able to touch the place where Christ's manger was standing.  One has to kneel and reach in to be able to kiss the area. There are latin inscriptions on the star saying, ”Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est” (Here the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ”).  I felt like one of the shepherds who witnessed the new born Christ.

Here are some of my reflections regarding this experience:

1. You cannot save someone without being there for them. Jesus, Son of God, out of His love for us came down to earth, became flesh, to save us from our sins.  We long to help others, but they need us to be present in their lives.  We want to help and save the poor, but we are only content with our donations.  We want to help our own family, but we do not give time to talk and heal.  The only way for Christ to save us was to be there for us by becoming human, so we can be brought to heaven with him through the saving power of His death and resurrection.

2. If we are to be like Christ, we are to be born out of humility.  My 4 year old son, Sev, can already narrate the nativity story in his own words.  He would stress that the place where Christ was born did not smell nice because there were animals around.  Following Christ is a nativity experience.  We will always be humbled and put in a "manger" instead of a comfortable or pleasant position. Truly the Lord blesses us in abundance. But without the experience of being humbled, we will never be genuinely grateful for what we have.

3. We kneel before the King to also be reminded of who we are.  We often kneel in prayer for reverence to God, but kneeling is also to remind us about ourselves and that we cannot be above our King.  When pride comes into our hearts, it is often difficult to kneel.  Although Jesus was just a baby, both shepherds and earthly kings knelt before Him.  They understood who they were in the presence of the One. Therefore the best way to know ourselves is not to psycho-analyze but to be in God's presence.  If we were to realize our purpose, we can only discover it from the reference point of God.

Experiencing Bethlehem made this year's Christmas extra meaningful for me.  I believe that what is important is that we are able to transform our hearts into humble mangers so that Christ will be born in us.  Have a meaningful Christmas season!

Mother of All Virtues

October 29, 2011 (Saturday)
"Pride is the root of all evil and Humility is the mother of all virtues," a priest mentioned in his homily.
So, if there is one thing we can work on, then it is our humility. And if there is one thing we should avoid, it is pride. This approach sounds simple, yet true.

Mission-Ready!

I just came from a meeting with people whose hearts are on fire for the work of global mission! I couldn't help but be set ablaze in love for God. The Holy Spirit dwells in the praise of God's people and pours upon those who truly seek and desire His gifts for empowerment.

These are the qualities I noticed of Mission-Ready people:

1. A great desire to do God's will.
Setting up the mission is not easy. Along comes many challenges, but the desire for mission always lets us see beyond a seemingly hopeless situation. To be on mission is the command Jesus gave in His great commission. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19).

2. The humility that God will use them powerfully. 
Mission-Ready people know that victory is the Lord's and that God just needs their yes for Him to work His marvelous deeds. We feel unnecessary pressure if we are too reliant on our abilities or backgrounds. Genuine confidence comes from the realization that we are merely God's instruments to do His holy will.

3. Infects others to do mission.
One thing about mission-ready people is that they are very contagious. People can't help but be drawn to be part of the mission they are passionately talking about. When we form teams for mission, many of those who come are influenced by the team leader.


4. Willingness to Sacrifice.
They set aside personal resources to make the mission possible. They also use up their limited leave of absences to do mission. There will be discomforts in mission and a lack of rest. But it is the sacrifice that makes our offering pleasing to God.

Being Mission Ready sets us up to receive God's providence. How can we receive His blessings if we are not ready as a vessel to be filled? Readiness is very impotant since God opens up divine opportunities or kairos, and we have to seize the moment or we will lose the chance to be used fully by the Lord and experience His awesome power.

Let us be like Abraham when God called Him, he immediately responded, "Ready!" (Gen 22:1)

The Least of All

Is it our concern to be great? I do not think the saints and even John Paul the Great was concerned about being  great. Our concern is to be like a child, a servant, a shepherd.  To be the least, so that Christ will be great.

An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest. jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side, and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest." (Luke 9:46-48)

The problem with pride is no matter how much we conceal it, it's nature is to surface in the open.  Pride is full of hot air and it's tendency is to rise, making us shallow.   The practice of humility is one of temperance and invisibility. Humility is from the word "humus" means earth. Humility brings us to the ground and leads us to a life of depth.

Co-workers in the Lord's Vineyard

I just came from a conference of different lay missionary groups.  Together, these different communities form the CALM or Catholic Association of Lay Missionaries. The venue was in Taytay, Palawan. It was a weekend of bonding, learning, and loving the mission. All working for the Lord in His great vineyard.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field (Luke 10:2)."

 Each of the groups has different approaches on mission. It's clear that the Lord molded each as such that they will cover the different purposes of evangelization. Some are focused on the youth, some for the whole family, some for the environment, and others for the poor.  Here are some of my realizations:

Overcoming Our Weaknesses through Others' Strengths. 


The Lord has blessed each community with a strength that can complement the weakness of other communities.  Not one community has all the talents and skills to build the global mission.  I have noticed that many groups have a deep understanding of different crucial topics for mission. There's a group that is strong on Missiology, others are good with Youth Formation and team building, another on the issue of Social Justice, one on Creative Evangelizaton, another on International Missions and Mission exchanges, some on Catechetics, another is strong in the Social Media evangelization approach.  What these groups have learned is a product of decades of experience and study and they are willing to share it. What a great blessing.  Reflecting on our immediate work and family surroundings, what strength do you have that can be of service to other's weaknesses?  What are the key talents and abilities of the people we are working/serving with, that can help hasten an area of our work that is slow moving? In our family, how can we utilize each others God given gifts to help achieve our family goals?

A Humble Heart for an Open Mind

Another realization is that we cannot have open minds if we do not have humble hearts.  There is a tendency for our cups to already be filled before going to a teaching, conference, or training.  We have to undergo the process of kenosis (emptying of one's self) so that the Lord can fill us with His wisdom.  A humble heart is the key to deeper understanding.  A humble heart understands the idea of emptying our mental and spiritual cups.  A proud posture closes the mind and wanes the interest.  The presence of the different lay missionary organizations gain abundance of wisdom by learning from one another.  Without humility, one will not bother to mingle and initiate conversation.  In our lives, do we pass up opportunities to learn from people who can enrich us?  How attentive are we during talks?


Faith Fascinates Us


Lastly, with pure faith, the work of evangelization and mission will continue to fascinate us.  Some of us are doing mission work for years. Whether as full time missionary, clergy, or simply as a faithful Christian.  We see many of our friends lose heart to continue in the mission. They become inactive, disillusioned, or victims of friendly fire.  Lay mission work is not easy. For many of us, it is not our full time job.  I have met many lay missionaries in the conference who also have secular work, but go full on with the mission. Faith will dictate that it is the Lord who commissions us and not men. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations (Mt. 28:19)." When mission ceases to excite us or fascinate us, it is usually because of being distant from the Lord.  The farther away we are from Him, due to lack of faith and lack of prayer, the more we lose touch of God's exciting plan for the mission he has prepared for us to do.  How excited are you to do mission?  How far can your faith in God take you?


Let us therefore be generous with the strength God has given us. Strive for humility, so our open minds can gain wisdom. And be faithful for the work ahead of us is more exciting than we can ever imagine. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"-- (1 Cor. 2:9).  We are all workers in the Lord's vineyard, helping one another to achieve one goal, "to sum up all things under Christ (Ephesians 1:10)."

All Eyes on Jesus

Today, here in Sydney, I witnessed one my best friends getting married. Weddings are truly blessed occassions. There I saw all the people who mattered to the couple. They set their day off and gathered to show their love and support for the holy bond.  I flew from the Philippines to Australia (with the help of some friends) to be part of this once in a lifetime event of my dear friends Fredney and Christine. I was the best man.  It was their special day and all eyes were on them.

The challenge for us Christians today is to live in a way that Christ will increase in the eyes of others. Like the bride and groom during the wedding, all eyes must be on them and we fade into the background as we do our duties.

During the time of John the baptist, his followers saw that Jesus was also baptizing people and there was a dispute among them.

Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew about ceremonial washings. So they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him." John answered and said, "No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven (John 3: 25-27).

John knew that his role was to prepare people to receive Christ. He knew that all eyes should be on Christ.  John further says...

You yourselves can testify that I said (that) I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease. (John 28-30)."

Like the best man, we shouldn't steal the show from the bride and the bridegroom. We must therefore be conscious of who is being praised for the good works we do.  In our thoughts, we are to dismiss temptations of claiming glory which is rigthfully God's.

"He must increase; I must decrease" is something we can say to ourselves everytime we do service or do our jobs. In this way, we are reminded that we merely play the role of best man or maid of honor humbly supporting Christ who should be at the center of attention.

Let 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 (Hebrews 12:2).

Serving God in 2011

2010 was rough and tough, but abundant in grace.  A year of great challenges, fulfilled dreams, and wonderful friendships. I thank the KFC family, who showed me how it is to Dream Big and to make big dreams real.  Yes, we are out to change the world for Christ, and with Him nothing is impossible.  The Island Kids Villages and the 13th IKV in Singapore will forever be testimonies of the great faith we share in the Lord and how our brotherhood can conquer impossible feats.  To the KFC fulltimers, thank you for sharing your love with my wife and kids. Sev never fails to include your names in his prayers. We will, forever be, FAMILY! Thank you for 3 Spirit-filled years in the service with the Lord.

My 2010 journey has taught me a lot. Allow me to share a summary of lessons I learned from the year that was:
Value your faith, family, and friends.  Many things may change in our lives, but these 3 F's, we have to treasure and guard well.  For if we lose them, we may have lost our whole life.
Do not be afraid to dream. Our goals do not hold meaning if they are not faith goals.  Our goals, offered to God, is one of the best ways to honor Him.  At the end of the day, we only hope that our dreams will coincide with God's dreams for us.  But He always, always has a better plan for our lives.
Peace will be given to those who seek it. The path to peace, specially in discernment, is a rough road.  Prayer, patience, persistence, and sacrifice will help us along the way.

2011 for me will be about "serving God with humility, passion, and excellence." Taking on a new service in the International Missions, meeting new people, and learning new ways will once again bring me to a point of "nothingness." Once more I will be a student, learning from my predecessors, making some mistakes, and challenging myself to do better at each time.  Once again, I am brought on my knees in prayer, submitting to God in full dependence. For I yet not know what lies ahead and it is up to Him to bless me with His wisdom.

Have a blessed new year everyone.  May God reign in all our plans and actions.


So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Cor. 5:17)

Asking Questions

This picture was taken in front of the Academy of Athens in my recent mission trip. Above me are the statues of Socrates (right) and Plato (left), two of mankind's great philosophers. The Socratic method, described by Plato (Socrate's student) in the Socratic dialogues, influenced much of Western thinking. It is a method of problem solving wherein a problem is broken down to a series of questions. And the answers to these gradually reveal the solution a person would seek.

In life, we ask ourselves many questions. Questions like, "Why me?" or "Why now?" We even pose questions to God, like many of the verses written by David in the book of Psalms:

Psalm 13: 1-6

How long, LORD? Will you utterly forget me? How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I carry sorrow in my soul, grief in my heart day after day? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look upon me, answer me, LORD, my God! Give light to my eyes lest I sleep in death, lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed," lest my foes rejoice at my downfall. I trust in your faithfulness. Grant my heart joy in your help, That I may sing of the LORD, "How good our God has been to me!"

We pose questions to be able to understand clearly our life's situations. For us to find the right answers, then we have first to ask the right questions. In the Psalm above, David asked God questions, to be able to convict his own trust in God and affirm God's faithfulness to him. Not to doubt Him.

In my own life, 10 years ago, our family went through a great trial. We were swindled a great amount of money that significantly affected our way of life. It was at the same year when I was about to start in my missionary work. In my prayers I asked God, "Why Lord? Have I not been faithful?" I asked that question to be able to seek deep in my heart and be convicted that the Lord has a plan. Jeremiah 29:11 always affirmed me, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." True enough, I saw God's plan unfold as He allowed my family to live a simple life, away from the temptations of drugs, infidelity, corruption, mysticism and other things that would lure us into great sin. Then I realized later that God has answered, "Yes, my son, exactly because you have been faithful."

As we probe our hearts and go deeper in seeking God, we humble ourselves and ask difficult questions. When being in a state of unforgiveness we ask, "Is my pride higher that my love for God?" Questions like this can help us come face to face with ourselves and be brought to the point of surrendering before God. For He alone holds all the answers to all of our questions.

Socrates posture is this, and I quote, "I know that I know nothing." This is one of his Socratic paradoxes. Coming before the God of the Universe, we also say, Lord, I know that I know nothing. Therefore to ask God questions is an act of humility and the gateway to great wisdom.

A Good Collection

I visited a friend's house while on mission and he has this amazing collection of action figures. There were all sorts of comic heroes, iron man, batman, superman, hulk, g.i. joes...you name it. All my childhood dreams of collecting these toys are in one single room.

What are the things in life we collect and store in the room or our hearts? Unknown to us, we might be collecting grudges, dissapointments, frustrations and other negative emotions. Once these things store up in our hearts, we can't help but talk about it. We then emit a negative presence with the people around us. We want to share our negativity to others and make them see our perspective. Often times we catch ourselves talking bad about other people.

We have to be conscious to collect and store in our hearts love, humility, and forgiveness. When these things build up inside of us, we also can't help but talk about 'em. We command a presence of encouragement and nourishment. When we are faced with challenging and humbling situations, our posture should be forgiveness, for we all fall short of His graces as humans. We then transform into persons who care, share, and honor the people around us.

May we collect what is good and discard what is bad.

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).

Human, Humility, and Humiliation

Christian maturity is much measured by one's humility. At the end of Christ's mission on earth, He went to the lowest of low... death on a cross. Wikipedia describes crucifixion:

The goal of Roman crucifixion was not just to kill the criminal, but also to mutilate and dishonour the body of the condemned. In ancient tradition, an honourable death required burial; leaving a body on the cross, so as to mutilate it and prevent its burial, was a grave dishonour.

Under ancient Roman penal practice, crucifixion was also a means of exhibiting the criminal’s low social status. It was the most dishonourable death imaginable.

Christ sacrificed the powers of His divinity and experienced the most humiliating human experience. Come to think of it, the words; human, humiliation and humility are very closely related. Man cannot be humble without experiencing a degree of humiliation.
Well the more we love, the bigger the sacrifice. Thank you Lord, for saving us by your sacrifice and humiliation.

What humiliating experience humbled you?