Made Strong for a Reason: The Return to Mt. Batulao

"Strength is for service, not status."

Mt Batulao we meet again

I was feeling awesome. The ascending mountain trail of Mt. Batulao (Old Trail) that I "crawled" through only 2 and a half months ago, I was now almost effortlessly and swiftly climbing. The long drops that made my knees shake before, I now thoroughly enjoyed. It was an amazing feeling. 


Since the 7-day mission climb in June, I wanted to train myself to be a faster and stronger climber so that we could reach the summit faster and have more time for ministry in the villages. I was so happy to know that the great challenge of the mission climb changed me as a mountaineer for good, just as God had changed my heart on that summit and it hasn't been the same since.


But though I wanted to rush away in the front of the group and be one of the first to get to the peak as fast as I could (since this was a training climb), by the second pit stop, my plans changed. 

Eka's first climb

My dear friend Eka, who I invited at the last minute to this climb was there with us. It was her first mountain ever. Though Mt. Batulao's New Trail is considered an easy climb, the Old Trail of Mt. Batulao, which we took, is not easy. And for a first timer, climbing for at least 3 hours is no walk in the park. 


At the second stop we had, Eka, who was right behind me, was nowhere to be found. She came up a few minutes later at the tail end of our group of 15, heavily panting. I knew exactly how she felt, for this was my experience. 


During my first climbs, one of the most helpful aspects that got me to the top was the constant support of our our group leader and my mentor, Tito Ace, and how he kept on encouraging to me and climbing with me at my pace. I knew that this was also what I wanted to do for Eka.


We let the other climbers go on and we took the tail end of the team, going at Eka's pace and enjoying each other's company, laughing and singing our way to the top. I thank God so much for the wisdom of this decision, for towards our final ascent, Eka began to get terrible cramps. I know that I would have regretted it dearly if I wasn't there to support her. 


In a quite amazing feat, she made it to the peak, despite her limping and constant cramps. I was overjoyed and everyone was congratulating her, but no one as ecstatic as she was. 

Climbing for Christ

Tito Ace introduced me to some of the climbers as a "veteran", simply cause I've already done a mission climb, and I did feel somehow proud of how I had improved in climbing, but then in what happened, God humbled me revealed the  real lesson to me: Strength is for service, not status. 

Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I help?" (Romans 15:1-2 MSG)

We are made strong by God so we can be of service to others, just like Tito Ace would stay behind to support those who are not as strong as he even if he could climb fast to the peak. We are made strong so we can carry more burdens for those who are overburdened. 


And as it goes in climbing mountains, so it is for our climb in faith. The stronger we grow in our faith in God, the more we will use it to serve others and help them grow stronger in their faith as well.

There's more to climbing that just reaching the top.

If I had climbed to the peak of Mt. Batulao at a run and made it there before any of the team did, I would have been proud of myself. But falling behind to support a friend and seeing her overcome her difficulty and cling to God for strength, made me proud of her and amazed at God's ability to change people in the mountains. 


For when our bodies break down, our spirit surfaces. And in the middle of the vastness of a mountain, God shows up clearly, and we realize how small and how weak we are, but God steps in with His strength and we are forever changed. 






Read Eka's blog on her climb here.

Back To The Vine

A lot of you were probably like me-- privileged enough to have known Jesus from childhood. Probably through Sunday School and being born into a Christian family. Just like the Jews, we were "in" with God. From the moment we were born, we were immediately introduced to Jesus through songs and storytelling. Eventually, we get to know Him more personally and we got the chance to pray to ask Him into our hearts as our Lord and Savior before we even began to read. 


We didn't have to go our looking on our own. It was all brought to us. And for a lot of us, growing up in a home with Christian values generally gave us a good childhood compared to most, though of course not a perfect one. 


But just like the Jews, at some point, we walked out. 


We fell to the floor as deadwood and detached ourselves from the Vine- the holy Root, our foundation. (Romans 11:16-18). We did this for many possible reasons, driven by pain, by rebellion, by revenge, by influence, by escape, by curiosity or simply by standing for nothing, that's why we fell for anything.

"Now, if their leaving triggered this worldwide coming of non-Jewish outsiders to God's kingdom, just imagine the effect of their coming back! What a homecoming!" (Romans 11:12 MSG)

But Paul says in Romans 11, though their fall has taken them out of the Vine, there was something good that came our of it. When the Jews did something wrong- closed the doors on God- it opened up for the Gentiles. Then Paul says, imagine what would happen when they do something right- what God can do with that.


God can turn our bad choices into something good for His purpose, but imagine what He can do with the things we can do right.

"Behind and underneath all this there is a holy, God-planted, God-tended root. (Romans 11:16a MSG)

 Beneath all the rebellion and rejection of God, there is still a holy root. Reminds me of the verse that says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)". A good foundation was laid in us in our homes and in Sunday School. Our knowledge of God when we were children was real. We just got lost along the way. But Paul has hope for us.

 "If the primary root of the tree is holy, there's bound to be some holy fruit. (Romans 11:16b MSG)

We just need to get up off the ground and back to the root. We need to be grafted into the Vine again and be brought back to life. Imagine what good fruit we can bear through Him.

"If they don't persist in remaining deadwood, they could very well get grafted back in." (Romans 11:23b MSG)

In one way or another, for a short span of time or for years and years of it, God  allows us to be "on the outs" with Him. This gives us a chance to experience the stark contrast of a life in Him and a life devoid of Him. Before and after. Old and new. Dead and alive. 

"In one way or another, God makes sure that we all experience what it means to be outside so that he can personally open the door and welcome us back in." (Romans 11:32 MSG)

But the longer we remain in that place- deadwood on the ground- the more we're missing out, the more were wasting time, the more we're collecting things that will weigh us down and make it harder to get back up.


But when we do return, He immediately does everything for us to set us right with Him- breaking chains and turning everything around. And we just end up saying, "What have I been doing all this time?"

"For from him, and through him and for him are all things." (Romans 11:36 NIV)

He chose me to be born into a Christian family. He laid out his purpose for me even before birth. And even in the times when I was in the "outs" with Him (which wasn't so long ago), His grace still followed me.


How could I explain completely being free of thieves and other dangers in the streets while commuting heavily for 5 years? How I would fall asleep several times in cabs at around 2am and still get home safely. I made so many mistakes that could have led me into bigger pitfalls and irreversible damage, but somehow those arrows missed its target. 


If you are currently still on the "outs", His grace still follows you, if you take a moment to notice. But why settle for this kind of life, when an immensely more powerful Grace awaits us in His arms? Not only does it give forgiveness, mercy and undeserved blessings, it gives us the power to do what is right and be who we were made to be. Nothing but the best of the best comes from this Root of Life. 


Just like me, if you grew up in Sunday School or if you had an early start in knowing Jesus or if you're a Pastor's or Missionary's kid or if you were active in church as a teenager or if you came to know Christ somewhere along the way....and then left, veered away from Him, fell away from the Vine and allowed the world to take you away---


Here is what I feel God is telling you through this passage. 

I will call you back and you will recognize my familiar voice.And when you hear it, you would want to come back to me.And I will let you return.And if you are not strong enough to make the journey,I will go to you and carry you back home.

Imagine what happens when we all return.
When we all, like the Prodigal Son, choose to come home.
When we all go back to the Vine, the root of our existence.


What a homecoming it will be.




PS: Here is an original song that my brother IoHann composed entitled "Back To You". It could pretty much summarize this entire blog. (Lyrics appear in the video) :)

Thoughts on Eternal Life: Beyond Dracula, Twilight or Wolverine

The most memorized verse in the Bible is John 3:16. Together now, say it with me: 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." 

Eternal life. Because of all these vampire films and my adoration for time-travel themed stories, and of course reading Romans 6 which prompted this entry, I've spent some time pondering on it. 


Eternal life. I was trying to make it more real and personal (and practical too) for me, since in every teaching, we are trained to always have a practical application to do at the end. This is of course to make sure that what you learned, you apply.


So I was thinking: God gives us eternal life. Almost anyone knows that. His gift is eternal life, for those who believe in Him. But most of the time, we think, or at least I used to think, that this gift of eternal or everlasting life is only something we will receive when we die or when the end of the world comes. 

Because obviously, I don't have eternal life now. I'm no Dracula who can live forever, or some kind of Wolverine whose body heals and heals, preventing age and death. I would only finally receive that gift of everlasting life when I die and I go to heaven and live there forever. 


But I realized this wasn't the case. There's more. So much more.


The gift of everlasting life has been given to me and the gift starts NOW. This kind of everlasting life is already at work even now, here on earth, while I am still living. I have been given the gift to have Life, real Life and "life to the full" (John 10:10). 


Not death. We know that death is not simply the literal death of the body, but there is also death of the soul and spirit, which is worse, cause it's a living death- progressing, evolving, infecting. A man who decides life is not worth living and lets hopelessness and depression eat up his soul is already dead. A woman who is imprisoned in a place of long-term abuse, losing hope of ever escaping that life is already dead. 


Death doesn't only come when we stop breathing and end up six feet under. It can happen to us even today, as we go on with our everyday, mundane routines. More than just using it as an expression, everyone knows that there can be "hell on earth".


On the other hand, Life is not simply breathing and existing. Life is growth. I remember back in my elementary days when we'd have science projects of planting little seedlings and caring for them until they grow. We'd water them and make sure they have enough sunlight for a few weeks. Each week we list down its changes- when it's taller, greener, sprouting new leaves or buds. And eventually, when a flower blooms or a fruit finally appears, we are ecstatic.

Why is it that when we are on vacation, communing with nature, relaxing on the beach, feeling the fresh air and smelling the sea water, we say "This is the life!"? For me, when I'm in nature, especially up in the mountains, I feel most alive, because I am surrounded by trees, birds, plants, rivers, mountains. I feel them breathing around me. I feel them growing around me. I think that when we relax, clear our minds, allow ourselves to feel the wind and the water, beyond all this concrete, we feel that growth, that life all around us. 


To be able to live "life to the full" may mean different things to different people, but I know it doesn't mean perfection, as though from beginning to end you are comfortable. It is actually the complete opposite. 

It is to have an adventure. To be able to see the world and make something wonderful of it. To create good things. To use your God-given abilities and talents to influence, to bring joy and peace. To experience danger, risks, obstacles, hardships, to ride out a storm, to slay a dragon, to jump from a waterfall...an adventure that will bring out the best in you. 


Life to the full is fulfilling who you were meant to be, here and now.


Everlasting life is not a gift from God that I'll only receive when I die, this gift is already working in me now. This is not like the most popular take on "eternal life" nowadays, which is the vampire version of it- living forever and ever, but living in hiding, running from enemies, living in fear, hiding your identity, living in sorrow and loss. 


This kind of eternal life is an overflow and abundance of being completely ALIVE--- in body, mind, soul and spirit. To live life to its fullest. To fulfill my God-given destiny. And after this lifetime, there is the greatest pleasure of being with the Creator and Father who led me through this very personal journey, holding my hand, giving me His words, caring for me and loving me. 


Everlasting life in Heaven is something that is so wonderful that my mind can't even begin to grasp it, but I know everlasting LIFE here on earth is already happening, through Him who is Life itself. 


Don't miss out on this. 

Where would I be without you?

Lord, where would I be without you?
I'd be nowhere.
Or worse, I'd be somewhere.
Somewhere worse.
Somewhere deadly.
Somewhere dead.

Thank you for saving me.
Thank you for choosing me.
To live for you is not a sacrifice.
It is a gift.

More than words

To simply say that you believe in God, and that's about it, is not enough.

For even demons believe in God.

"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." James 2:26

Believing in Christ means more than merely saying the right words or accepting certain facts. It means that we have put our trust completely in Him. In essence, real faith implies that we have rejected all other alternatives and fixed our attention on Him. (Chapter 3, The Purple Book)

As it is always said, actions speak louder than words.

Where your treasure is

This passage I read this morning got me thinking about this typical "what if" question:

"What if your house was burning down and you could only take one thing out, what would it be?"

Would I rush for my laptop first, cause that's where all my work is and my work is how I earn money?

Would I rush for my expensive gadgets, like the DSLR, cause somehow it's common sense to take out the most expensive item in the house?

Or maybe I'd go for my baby photo albums and family albums cause there's no back up copy of those anywhere.

Or maybe my favorite book or a box of letters or my purse which was my wallet, cellphone and iPod.

Or I'd just carry my 3 cats out of the house (of course this is what I would do!!!), but if had only time to carry one of them out, I don't think I can answer that! (Sophie's Choice moment much??)

Would it cross my mind to take out my Bible and my devotional journal?

Or would I just make sure that none of my family members are inside the house and just get myself out of the house?

How about you, what would your answer be?

Honestly, I don't know what the answer would really be. Under that kind of stress, I don't know how I would react. 

But the question got me thinking, though, about how I feel about my material possessions. How does God feel about the material world?

Jesus then left the Temple. As he walked away, his disciples pointed out how very impressive the Temple architecture was. Jesus said, "You're not impressed by all this sheer size, are you? The truth of the matter is that there's not a stone in that building that is not going to end up in a pile of rubble." (Matthew 24:1-2 MSG)

Even the most beautiful, the most expensive, the most exquisite, priceless things on earth will fall to ruin when the end of the age comes. 

Picture the Titanic, with its first class rooms with fine linen, expensive paintings, never-been-used china and all the intricate, superior design of the ship, glorious and deemed "unsinkable". Then all of it comes crashing down, useless, ruined, cracked in two as though it was a matchstick and now lies at the bottom of the ocean, rotting away. 


In Matthew 24, Jesus tells his disciples who were marveling at the architecture and grandness of the Temple how not one stone of that glorious building would be left, all would be rubble. Everything on earth is temporary. Matthew 6:19 says "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." No use trading your life for it. 

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:20-21 NIV)

A different perspective. There is absolutely nothing wrong with material wealth, money, being rich. It is wonderful to be blessed to be a blessing. But to also check ourselves to see where our hearts are. 


What is it that I am living for? 
What is it that I can live without? 
What is it that I can't live without? 


Read something.

Everlasting

During the Worship Night in Victory Fort last night, this song was sung and it was so powerful. The lyrics says it all. 

Everlasting God by Glenn Packiam

One thing I know that I have found
Through all the troubles that surround
You are the Rock that never fails, You never fail

One thing I know that I believe
Through every blessing I receive
You are the only One that stays, You always stay

You never change, You're still the same
You are the Everlasting God
You will remain after the day is gone and the things of earth have passed
Everlasting God