Oo, Siya ay Dios ngunit hindi niya pinagpilitan ang Kanyang pagka-Dios bagkus hinubad Nya ito upang magdusa ng kamatayan bilang isang tao.

Mateo 27:45: “Diyos ko! Diyos ko! Bakit mo ako pinabayaan?”

Ito ang mga katanungang binigkas ni Hesus ng mga panahong batbat ng kanyang buong pagkatao ang hirap at dusa ng Kanyang pagkapako sa krus. At kalimitan sa mga mensaheng katulad nito, tinatangkang talakayin ito sa pamamagitan ng tuwirang pagsagot kung si Hesus nga ba ay tunay na pinabayaan ng Kanyang Ama o hindi. Ngunit ako po ay naniniwala na magkaroon po tayong lahat ng mas malalim na pagkaunawa sa bagay na ito kung uungkatin natin ang mga katanungan sa likod ng katanungang ito ni Hesus: Kung pinabayaan nga ba ng Ama si Hesus, alam kaya niya ito bago pa man ito nangyari? (Did Jesus know before hand, that His Father would turn His back on Him?) At kung batid Niya ang kaparusahang dadating, bakit pinili pa rin Niyang lakarin ang daan ng kamatayan? (Why did He still went through with it?)

Siya ay Diyos ngunit hinubad Niya ang pagkaDiyos upang tanggapin ang dusa ng kamatayan bilang tao. Naghirap siya bilang tao upang maihayag ang kaluwalhatian ng Diyos.

Joh 19:28 After this Jesus, knowing that all things are now finished, that the scripture might be accomplished, saith, I thirst.

Ang pagkauhaw ng Panginoong Hesus ay isa sa literal na pagpapakita ng kaniyang pagiging laman. At katulad nga ng mga naunang pahayag, ito ay kaniyang piniling gawin. It was His choice to be a man and suffer to attain a far more beautiful picture. Alam Niyang sa pamamagitan ng pagpapakumbaba, ang kaluwalhatian ng Diyos ay higit na maitataas. Nais ko pong ibahagi ngayong hapong ito ang sumusunod na mga talata:

Col 1:19 For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him should all the fulness dwell;

Col 1:20 and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.

Things had been easy for the past weeks. Though I may be denying but I’d been resting too much on the power of my resources. That could be a valid reason why God does not give me more than what I’d been dreaming of. Fantasizing over multimedia gadgets, dreaming of driving my own vehicle and sleeping over my own place, wow, these could be my wildest. But, looking on these things makes me miss the point. The offers of temporal joy are too far so exciting and tasty. And I find them so hard to refuse. But still, even if I have these things in my hand, I may be still missing the reason of my existence.

The fulfillment of one’s own desires is a wow. I find it amazing seeing someone wearing a great smile which is an expression of his current delight. I find it great to have myself resting too on my own desires. But to have myself sleep in the bed of my flesh demands, to drop myself dead over the pillars of fortune, I may be missing the single point of existence, that is, to take delight in the Maker Himself. God offers unseen joy, but it lasts forever. He gives man happiness that can never be shaken. He teaches His people to take delight in His Person, in His shade, in the shadow of His being. And all His gifts are so far unmatchable with the tangible offers of the world.

Resting in His shadow is something that I’d been praying about. And it’s not about doing nothing, for God does not tolerate idleness. Resting in Him is trusting. Resting is speaking dependence. Resting in Him makes room for knowing Him. And in that act of rest, we just simply and boldly declare His infinite power over us. It is about resting in the presence of God who calms our seas, plows our tasks and pushes our limits. God’s desire is that we radiate His glory, and that is through thoroughly resting in Him, savoring the beauty of His trunk and the taste of His divinity.I may have been walking the different stages of my life thinking about my future endeavors. But I thank God for his infinite help. Because of His mercy, my ties to my pleasure are easily shattered. As God said in His word, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart”. I just let my heart be filled with the joy that comes from the Lord then… my so-called fleshly demands vanish in the thin air. Maybe, when my heart’s ready to handle richie thingies, He’ll make me desire more of it, but never less of Him.

Matthew 28:19-20. The great commission wards us to go, proclaim the kingdom of God, baptize and teach all the ethnic group in the whole world. A division of thoughts reclaimed me. I’d been raised in a christian environment, lived inside the premises and standards of the common church, and hoped all to my God. And in just a night, it became questioned. Doubts are so overwhelming that it affects everything that i do. My will to be used as an instrument of proclaiming Him was so disturbed. I was calloused, down and almost… hopeless. It was discussed last Wednesday that the kingdom of God is not contained in our local church, i’ve always affirmed this. But welcoming people who don’t confess Jesus by works and by mouth is simply, an insult on how i’ve looked on Him. The teaching that the church is inclusive to all whether they admit Jesus as their Savior or not is a big deal to me. I don’t find it fair with Jesus, who casted all His Godhood on that cross to save His fallen creation, to be unnamed in a certain church. It’s hard for me to accept a teaching that minimizes the Deity of my God.

It would be of great help to have my queries below to be answered.

1. The Church. A deeper explanation.

2. The role of Christ and His part on the Church.

3. The Kingdom of God and the NRMs. (New Religious Movements)

Thanks… Hope that a good discussion would come out of this…

God bless all..

I’d been down for several weeks. My assignment was long overdue. Crashing… crashing… crashing…BLAM! Woah! After 2 weeks of ego-tripping and soul-ripping, i have finally come out of my carapace and have set a deal with my assignment. Now, It’s with Piper’s Desiring God, (one of my faves, actually.), chapter 1: The Foundations of Christian Hedonism.Let’s begin with the author. 

But instead of typing it here, i preferred to link it with you so can have better infos about the baptist minister.The first chapter discusses God and His pleasure. It revolves around the causes of everything, and that is, God’s glory. And though it was subdivided with numerous items. I took out two (three was assigned) major breakthroughs.

1. The chief end of God was to glorify Himself by enjoying Himself forever. God takes delight in His own glory. The creation, the sabotage of the human life, the favor on a certain nation, the redemption plan, and the ekklesia, are just a glimpse of what He really aim, and that is, to glorify Himself, to display His awesome majesty. Everything that we see is a result of Him promoting and declaring His own glory. And without that Self-promotion, we won’t be inhaling right now. And worst, the Hope that we are now clinging on is hopeless.  

 

2. God allowed evil to work with His plan. He isn’t powerless to remove it. He allowed it to make it more savory and beefy. The fact that we are sinful makes us more dependent to Him. It makes us weaker and He, stronger, if not the strongest. As the author summarizes, God looks in two lenses. The first is a narrow lens, where He looks on evil and grieves on it. His tears fall on the lenses of the first scope. It is unwanting but He allowed it. He allowed it because the second lens, the wider one, shows a bigger picture. The ugly part makes the whole picture beautiful, attractive and wholesome.Reviewing the first chapter had my engine working on again. It reminded me how God is in control of all the things in my life, whether they are harmful, beneficial or whatever. It keeps me on-track of what i am. And knowing that God holds me dear, i can still hope of a beautiful tomorrow when i wake up.I know, this assignment is a crap. I’m still working on my new skeds so as to better work with you guys. The next time i’m having this, i’ll allow myself to float in the ark again, even if it has to take long light years…