Can a Burden Be a Stream in the Desert

Being burdened is being in a desert.  Or so I thought.  A burden can actually be the stream.  We just need to grow up first to realize that.

Being in a Desert.

I haven't been in a real desert.  But I've seen enough movies to know that it is dry and barren and dusty and lonely.  I've read enough about deserts to know that to be stranded in a desert is like having cancer when the only thing you have going for you is hope. 

Being burdened can leave us dry and lonely.  When things get too rough and too tough, we feel like we are stranded in some abyss and only a miracle can save us. 

I was never really one to believe so much in miracles.  Being burdened changed that. 

The Burden of Burdens.

It's stupid to think that some people are free of burdens.  Everybody has some burden to bear - at different degrees at different times. It's up to us to see it as a desert or a stream.

Funny that when I have insignificant burdens, I never really saw it as a stream.  We burden ourselves with traffic, with an insufferable boss, with the black sheep in the family.  We even burden ourselves with the noise the neighbor makes or how they put their garbage at your end of the fence.  We make our lives miserable in the process, living in a desert of dissatisfaction, burdening ourselves with the insignificant burdens.

Multiplying the Burdens

The insignificant burdens never really made us grow up.  We learn to manage the traffic, leave the insufferable boss and avoid the black sheep.  We make as much noise as the neighbor and put our garbage on his side of the fence.  We think we've won this way.  Only, we didn't.  We just multiplied the misery.

The Burden is Not Ours.

I had to go through the most harrowing burdens to realize that I can only do so much.  I can't do it.  I am powerless.  I had to give it all up to a Higher Being whose power is big enough.  He had turned my burdens into learning experiences, a flowing stream in what used to be a depressing desert. 

I am experiencing miracles.  Everyday.  Because the burdens are not mine to bear.  Not anymore.

God told me "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden". (Matthew 11:28).  I did.  And he gave me rest.

You'll Never Know What You'll Get From a Ferris Wheel Ride

You'll Never Know What You'll Get From a Ferris Wheel Ride

I have acrophobia.  Well, sort of.  I don't think it's that serious. I can still go up a building, cross a high bridge, climb a mountain, get on a plane.  Just don't ask me to look down.  

Imagine how I felt when the kids asked me-no, pushed me-to ride this ferris wheel.

It's "117 meter tall and one of the tallest sight-seeing platforms in Tokyo" (source:http://japan.apike.ca/japan_tokyo_kasairinkai_park.html).

It looked menacing enough from way below.

But there were enough people riding it to show that it's safe.  And fun. I also know, for a fact, that the Japanese are one of the most safety-conscious people in the world.  Still, I spent a few endless (for the kids) minutes deliberating whether I should dare it or sit it out.  Maybe I can just go fish-watching?

I dared!  And what was supposed to be scary turned out to be not just fun.  My 117-meters-ferris-wheel-ride reminded me of valuable life lessons I wouldn't have realized (again) had I opted to sit (or lie) on one of the 'safe' benches in the park. 

WE SHOULD LISTEN TO KIDS.  From time to time.  They are the most trusting creatures in the world. And how can we not trust them? They make suggestions without malice.  Not based on preconceived notions.  They have no fear because they have not yet been subjected to harsh realities.  Just look at them. 

They are the ones who know how to be truly happy!  No Fear!

FEAR IS AN ENEMY. Fear robs us of the opportunity to experience life as we should.  Fear has a way of immobilizing us.  We stay where we are because we are afraid of what could happen, of what we will have to give up.  Why are we letting the unknown cripple us when there is so much more to see and live for when we let go of our fear?  Had I stayed on safe ground and not venture into the unknown, I would not have seen the beauty of God's creation from a different perspective.  I would not have this story to tell.  Nor these pictures to share.

FAITH IS THE ANTIDOTE TO FEAR.  When we don't have faith, we fear.  I didn't want to hop on the monstrous wheel because I did not have faith.  I did not have faith in myself, acrophobic as I am.  I did not want to pay Y700 and die of embarrassment because I looked down while I was 383 feet up from the ground.

THE WRONG KIND OF FAITH.  I hopped into the ferris wheel after seeing lots of people hopping on the same wheel.  I decided to put my fate into the hands of the ferris wheel operators knowing that I can trust the Japanese when it comes to safety.  As the ferris wheel started its ascend, I felt a gentle nudging in my heart.  What kind of faith is that? These other people may have ridden for all the wrong reasons.  And the Japanese? They are good. No doubt about it.  Safety-conscious and one of the best cultures when it comes to problem solving.  They have even managed to control their floods. But the March 11 earthquake and tsunami have brought something undeniable into the forefront.  There are things that only God has the power to control.  By the time we reached the peak of the ferris wheel ride, I was already apologizing to God for putting my faith on other things and not on Him. Colossians 1:17 states "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."  What was there to fear?  He has sustained me all my life.  How can he not sustain me during a ferris wheel ride?

MY GOD WILL SUSTAIN ME. While the ferris wheel was on its way up, my hands were busy clutching the bars. My thoughts were full of "what if's" and "maybe's". My heart felt constricted. My head was feeling dizzy with doubts and fear. By the time, the Kasai ferris wheel started it's descent, another scripture started coming to mind. "...He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need." (Acts 17:25, NLT).   I freed my hands from the bars and I started taking pictures.  My heart suddenly felt light, my head giddy with expectations for what God has planned for the rest of my day. For the rest of my life.

I am still acrophobic.  But it will never be serious.  With God in my life, I can go up higher buildings, cross more bridges, climb higher mountains.  Who knows?  Maybe I can fly a plane someday.  I leave it all up to God.

Not Self-Help, But Supernatural Help!

Not Self-Help, But Supernatural Help!
“Seek from the book of the Lord and read…” - Isaiah 34:16
From Right from the Heart Ministries

Ever notice how much self-help information there is in our society? There are books, radio programs, seminars and numerous talk shows that urge you to take a look at who you are and then change yourself by your determined will.

Have you tried all those methods and yet you're still discouraged by repeating the same old habits?

There are some things that self-help cannot help; things like disease, overcoming certain sins, and most of all, death.

But I have good news: God has a plan for us that goes beyond our abilities. It comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who supernaturally changes us where we can't change ourselves. As a bonus to that faith, He promises us victory over death, and eternal life. If you really want to help yourself, look beyond yourself to the only One who can save you and give you the ultimate victory. His name is Jesus Christ.

MY THOUGHTS
"Where we can't change ourselves"-isn't that always the issue? Sometimes we want to change, but we can't. The saddest part is when we don't want to change because we feel we don't have to.  It's that old excuse that we should be accepted as we are-no matter how bad we have become. 

It will be indeed a tragedy if we don't have a Higher, Supreme Being who can change all that for us.  The best gift I have ever received is having God in my life.  Changing myself is still a struggle.  But when in the past, there was no effort, God has now implanted that desire to be a better person.  I still cannot do it on my own.  The 'fruit of the spirit' seems to be a long way off.  But nothing is impossible with God.  He had made a disciple out of a murderer. He's the only one who can 'mold me and hold me' and make me more and more Christlike.

GARBAGE IS GOLD

 See What God Sees In You

Last month, I bought a second-hand car.

The car was a beauty. (Yes, I’m still a guy. As a little boy, my favorite toy was the matchbox.)

I was curious why the owner was selling it—because it was just four years old. The leather seats still smelled nice. The paint was still shiny. The engine was still powerful.

When I visited his home to pay for the car, I realized why.

In the parking lot, he had newer, bigger, better cars. No wonder he was getting rid of his older car.

To him, the car was garbage.

But to me, the car was gold.

It’s funny how one thing can be garbage to one person and gold to the other.

God Chose Me

Once upon a time, I felt like garbage too.

That was how I saw myself.

I was a man with an uncontrollable sin. I was so messed up I was ashamed that I was even alive.

But Jesus looked at me and didn’t see the garbage.

He only saw the gold.

And He loved me so much, He bought me. He said, “No price is too high. Not cost too big. I want you.”

He ended up paying with His life, shedding his blood.

Friend, this is the Jesus whom we follow.

This Good Friday, I invite you to see what Jesus sees in you.

Find the gold that He insists is there in you.

And receive His love anew this Holy Week.

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez

PS. See You Easter Sunday! Join me for our Easter Grand Feast on April 24, 8am to 12noon, at SMX (near Mall of Asia). I’ll be preaching on Today is Friday but Sunday’s Coming. It’ll be an experience you’ll be talking about for a long, long time. Don’t miss it! By the way, there are no tickets. No cost. Just walk in! And bring your family and friends. Don’t miss your Easter Blessing. For more information, call Tel. 09178424101. See you there!

MY THOUGHTs

God sees the best in people. It's hard to feel that way when all you see is filth. But God's command is for us to 'treat others as we want to be treated'. It's not easy. It's so hard. Until you see it the wasy Bo sees it - that I'm garbage and yet God saw gold.

looking beyond

i've never looked at faith that way - looking beyond this life and waiting for "the city...whose builder and maker is God." (Hebrews 11:10)

looking beyond. whatever the circumstances. knowing that His grace is sufficient and He had lovingly special place for us.

looking beyond.

"the closer you are to God, the bigger your heart for people"

i have this habit of reading old 'daily breads'. i think this is a 2006 edition.

today's reading is about (guess what?)love (what else?). but it's not about romantic love. it's the scary kind of love. sacrificial love.

have you ever thought of that? scary, isn't it? sacrifice means giving up things, doing the hard part, 'blood, sweat and tears'.

John 15:13 says "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."

we may not have to die for our friends, but having a love that is centered on God, means sometimes forgetting our own needs to give way to the needs of others. may be giving up our own plans, our own schedules because someone needs your help?

"we say we love humanity,
but it is only true
if we're prepared to sacrifice-
for those God asks us to" - Sper

BEING THANKFUL WHEN YOU'RE IN PAIN

The Way to Rejoicing
Written by Rebecca Sample

I gave a homeless man five minutes of my time, a smile and a chance to earn a few dollars. In return he taught me a valuable lesson.

Honestly I had tried to avoid him at first. I saw him walking toward me as I pushed my grocery cart across the parking lot. He wore cutoff jeans, a t-shirt with holes in it and some beat-up sneakers. His curly hair hung in a ponytail down to the middle of his back.

“Can I wash your windows for some spare change, ma’am?”

I hesitated trying to remember if I had any cash on me. I finally said “okay.”

“What? Really?” A grin spread across his face revealing a few missing teeth. “Wow.” He shook his head. “You caught me off guard ma’am.”

I wondered how many people had said “no.”

When I drove off a few minutes later, my windows sparkled. He smiled and waved.

Back at my apartment, I unloaded my groceries and wondered, “Do I show God the same kind of gratitude for His good and perfect gifts that this man showed me? If I don’t give thanks in good circumstances, how will I ever manage to do so during the not-so-good times?”

Paul’s Super Power

The apostle Paul gave thanks locked in a prison cell or shipwrecked on an island just as readily as in the company of good friends. In his letter to the Philippians (4:4) he encouraged his readers to do the same. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!”

Paul seems almost super-human in his contentment, doesn’t he? No food? No problem! Imprisonments, beatings, shipwrecks? Praise God! But what about the rest of us ordinary humans? For those who have watched a loved one die, or for those who have known the heartbreak of a lost romance, the command “rejoice always” seems near impossible to carry out. But I have good news. Paul does not leave us stranded on our own islands of discontent. Later in his letter to the Philippians (4:13), Paul shares his secret: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Paul assumes the Christian empowered by Christ can do the near-impossible.

Paul’s “How-To’s”

He also gives some “how-to’s” to help his readers on their way. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil 4:6).

How-To #1: Don’t Worry

We read in Luke’s Gospel where Jesus said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (12:25–26). In this crazy world we take great measures to protect ourselves from harm. When we buy a car, we check Consumer Reports for the safety rating. When we buy a house, we ask about the neighborhood’s crime rate. When we buy a carton of eggs, we check to make sure none have already cracked.

And yet we know that at some point bad things will happen. So what do we do? We buy insurance: car insurance, health insurance, life insurance, home owner’s insurance, insurance for floods, fire, wind. There comes a time when we’ve done everything we can do. At this point we should sit back, kick up our feet, and give it to God, but instead we worry.

Worrying comes naturally to me. If this describes you too, don’t fret. When that familiar feeling comes, you and I can remind ourselves that we have direct access through Jesus Christ to the God of all creation, and then go to Him in prayer. We can use worry like a string tied around the finger. We can present our requests to God and remember to give thanks.

How To #2: Give Thanks

When I took a typing class, my fingers moved clumsily across the keyboard. I made a lot of mistakes, and I typed slowly. Today when I type, my fingers move of their own accord, apart from any conscious direction from me. The muscles in my hand seem to perform automatically. Our minds work the same way. Once we establish a habit we can use that built-in muscle memory to our advantage. Paul instructs his readers to dwell on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable” (Philippians 4:8) for that very purpose. The more we think about praiseworthy gifts, the more we will give thanks and praise.

Let’s start by thanking God for the small things, the things we take for granted. When we wake up in the morning let’s thank God for our comfortable beds. As we go through our morning routines, let’s thank Him for indoor plumbing and a hot shower. We can thank God for a pantry full of food, and the electricity that keeps our refrigerators cold. When we imagine life without these conveniences, we realize how big these “small” things truly are. Look around your home. For what can you thank God?

Paul Shows Us How

In 1 Thessalonians, Paul instructs his readers to “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (5:16–17). How many times have we prayed to know God’s will or searched the Scriptures for answers? Right in this verse Paul says it plainly: God wills that we give thanks continually. Establishing thankful habits will prepare us to give thanks even in the not-so-good times.

God does not promise His followers lives free of suffering. When Paul pleaded with God to remove a painful circumstance in His life, God answered “no.” But He also said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). God did not remove Paul’s pain, but He did enable Paul to praise Him through it.

Maybe like Paul you have experienced a depth of pain unfathomable to most. But God’s truth remains true through any crisis. He commands us to give thanks in all circumstances because in hard times a thankful heart leads us out of our pain.

Noemia Cessito works with Children’s Relief International serving the poorest of the poor in Mozambique. Speaking about the AIDS victims in her ministry, she said, “Here in Africa girls become women early. Many become mothers at age 13 or 14. Real babies suddenly take the place of their dolls. When these women have an opportunity to play, they quickly become children again. They run like they never ran as children. They laugh until their bellies ache. In that brief moment of time, they give themselves over to joy and they forget about their AIDS.”

Acts of thanksgiving will not quick-fix our pain. But like those women who embraced the opportunity to rejoice even in the most dire circumstances, we too can find relief from our grief when we lift up a prayer of sincere thanks to God. When we see God and His good gifts through our pain, healing eventually comes, and through that process we learn worship. That worship turns our suffering into joy, our mourning into mirth.

After my encounter with the homeless man, as I put away my strawberries, my yogurt, my bread, my milk, and especially my ice cream, I thanked God for His provision, and the gift this man had given me. His abundant gratitude for my meager offering made me keenly aware of the meager gratitude I offer to God for His abundance. While I filled my refrigerator, thanks filled my heart, and I realized God’s command to give thanks is a gift in itself.

MY THOUGHTS

to be thankful when everything's falling apart? it's hard. and only God can bring back the song in your heart. no matter what.

in times of crisis

Molten Moments
Editor's page
Marshall Shelley | posted 1/17/2011

Nobody wakes up and starts the day thinking, I hope I find myself in a crisis today. Ever known anyone to write at the top of the personal wish list: "A real crisis"? I didn't think so. Me neither.

While no one longs to be in crisis, that's where we often find ourselves, especially as leaders. The crisis can be personal, or it can be organizational: a financial crisis, a painful conflict, a health concern, a crisis of faith, a public failure, a costly loss, a season of grief, a crucial moment of decision, or some other high intensity defining moment.

And in a church, with the number of people we deal with, someone is in crisis almost continually. In fact, as veteran pastor Alan Redpath once observed, "If you're a Christian pastor, you're always in a crisis—either in the middle of one, coming out of one, or going into one."

Crisis can become the norm for those of us in church life, not unlike it is for those who work in an emergency room or homeless shelter. But we don't often think of it that way. Too often a crisis catches us by surprise.

On the positive side, crisis moments are often the times God does his best work. Ask almost any mature believer, and they will tell you that they grew more as a person, as a Christian, during seasons of loss, pain, and crisis than they did at any other time.

While no one longs for personal crisis, the saying is true nonetheless: a crisis is too valuable to waste.

In one of my favorite PreachingToday.com sermons, Bruce Thielemann calls them "molten moments." He describes work in a foundry and that brief period in which metal has been heated enough to be shaped into something useful. And when things cool, it's too late.

Similarly, crisis is a short-term opportunity to do some long-term good.

And in the current issue of Leadership, John Ortberg writes: "Actually, the wonderful and terrible thing about crisis is that it's the one resource we do not have to fund or staff or program. It just comes. However, pain does not automatically produce spiritual growth. Ghettos and barrios and abusive homes and trauma wards may produce scarred souls; they can cripple more human spirits than they strengthen. Crisis can lead to soul strength, but not if the soul is starved of other nutrients, and not apart from certain responses."

To develop this theme, we've gathered the stories of various churches and the different kinds of crisis, and crisis response, they encountered. And we'll be featuring them on our website over the next few weeks. You'll learn from the responses of the leaders involved.

In some cases, the crises became a "stress test" of their faith, revealing areas of weakness that needed to be strengthened. In other cases, the crisis was a "proving ground" of faith, revealing the resilience and equilibrium that confidence in God can produce.

But what becomes clear in almost every case: The time to prepare for a crisis is before it happens. Jesus' example in the Garden of Gethsemane is instructive. There Jesus does his intense preparation for the upcoming crisis, praying in anguish till "his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." But after that, when Judas arrives and throughout the crisis itself—his arrest, interrogation, trial, and crucifixion—he is steadfast and demonstrates astounding poise.

While crisis may not be your favorite leisure activity, it's certain to come. And when it does, we hope that you'll be prepared to face it in faith, knowing that God is at work.

Marshall Shelley is editor-in-chief of Leadership.

MY THOUGHTS

i call it "crunch time". it's like a tea bag. you see the true color only after it is soaked in boiling water. that is what crisis does to people. you may have glimpses of a person's character through your daily , normal encounters. wait until after a serious problem crops up. then you'll see the real score.

Copyright © 2011 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.
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