tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26470506349805611252024-03-21T10:56:37.710-07:00SyllabusFarmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-85512558568088270082015-12-10T06:56:00.001-08:002015-12-10T08:06:39.141-08:00Where is the Syllabus?<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "cochin"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I taught Economics. I taught Theology. In both courses, the syllabus was an essential handout. As a student, I somehow predicted the weight of every beginning class from the required syllabus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cochin"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">If Christianity is a life course, clear navigation
is necessary. Much has been said about the journey but there seems an intriguing
absence of a given syllabus on how it ought to be lived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cochin"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Every excellent course follows from a good guide
that seeks to simplify the dots by connecting them with proper order.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cochin"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Having followed Christ, I have often searched for
a biblical guide that follows the form of a good syllabus. Through the long
chase, I have found or should I say, the Pilgrim Psalms found me (Psalms
120-134).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cochin"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">God’s people annually sang the Pilgrim Psalms on
their ascent to Jerusalem to rehearse both their identity and responsibility
based on a divine manual, which discloses the primacy of God’s gracious work in
their lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cochin"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">This wonderful guide has remained relevant as it presumes
the ultimate mentorship of the Messiah in all of life’s stations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cochin"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">This blog seeks to provide a simple guide by
adapting the indescribable symmetry of the Pilgrim Psalms into our daily lives.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cochin"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The format follows a simple flow. The
chronological points of the syllabus are presented based on the order of the
Pilgrim Psalms accompanied by a distinct invitation to join God in what He
seeks to accomplish through us. Before and after a syllabus Psalm, two
reflective original journal entries introduce and validate the distinctive
application of its practice, at least in my own personal journey. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "cochin"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Journal One
will be introduced by a story about my life before I knew the wisdom of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Troubleshooting</i> (Syllabus, no. 1). Psalm
120 will then be presented as the major teaching point. The journal will then
conclude with another story from my life, validating the usefulness of the
point being introduced. This format repeats fifteen times (Psalm 120-134).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cochin"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">This is not a journal of random thoughts but
an exposition of God’s impeccable wisdom lived out in a most ordinary life. </span><span style="font-family: cochin; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 120%; text-indent: 0.25in;">It is my prayer that as one reads through it, one
takes on the journey of a psalm-maker, revisiting points of life and praying
through a renewal of one’s steps, onward and upward to where Christ dwells.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgnLtDbhSBxb9iXmciZzpox2_OFH3TVU0PZXw2B5stkqbR46dN0QIp0sHsYdcnf1cZEfO1kPpNz_qGktz8ybjyjRmgn_M_EBrNjfHtkYlfFbgkExcv_tGji2F298E7S55dfmwvItrKqE/s1600/photo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgnLtDbhSBxb9iXmciZzpox2_OFH3TVU0PZXw2B5stkqbR46dN0QIp0sHsYdcnf1cZEfO1kPpNz_qGktz8ybjyjRmgn_M_EBrNjfHtkYlfFbgkExcv_tGji2F298E7S55dfmwvItrKqE/s400/photo-2.JPG" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now and Then</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "cochin"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-20099488741667357122015-12-10T06:45:00.000-08:002015-12-10T06:45:03.419-08:00Journal One: Troubleshoot
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">SMALL
WORLD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"> I
was not even half a decade old when I stumbled upon what seemed like a crooked
discovery. I was quite tall for my age and somehow endued with modest intelligence.
My father’s love for knowledge somehow hitched my delight in learning, while
picking up clues from his analytical mind and passion for chess. I always
lingered as he finished reading the morning newspaper so that I could glance
over next. I often wondered why he primarily pondered on the editorial section.
I would try reading the first few lines and quickly skid towards the comic
section for a scoop of wit and humor. It never occurred to me that the best
jokes were to be found in the editorials of human involvements. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My mother was a licensed pharmacist and so she
took prescribing about almost anything, rather seriously. She gravitates
towards fashion and initiating friendships. One day, she spoke of her alliance
with the new first grade teacher. They had some kind of an internal conspiracy.
Since there was some shortage of kid-sitters that month, I was inadvertently
enrolled without prior proof of requirements. It was probably an
inconsequential detail for both but I was only a four-year old smart aleck,
turning five in a class of 7’s and 8’s!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The realities of this gulf took its toll right
from the first day when I sensed the troubling disparity. It seemed like the
boys had beards and the girls had breasts. Through this confusion, my teacher’s
kind benevolence always seemed to rig out a safe shelter. Still, it was rather
intimidating to walk through the halls of a grown-up fraternity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My coping mechanism resorted to an introspective
asylum: I pretended to be of age by being silent. The evidence for my ploy was
well documented. My report card read: first term: <i>he is shy</i>; second
term: <i>he is too shy</i>; third term: <i>he is very, very shy</i>. It was
rather ironic that a boy so rambunctious could pass for a meek persona with
very little acting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One day, birthdays had to be recited. I somehow
naively disclosed my true age: <i>4 years young</i>. There was a concerted gasp
from my aged peers while I quickly deciphered the unspoken script of their
jeers: <i>“That boy is a cheat!
What has he to do with Club First-Grade?” </i>Call it pre-adolescent ethnocentrism, but its apparent
sophistication was evident. I was given a tag, which had the stamp of being
marginalized as menial.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">For someone so lost and seeking for adoption
within my new circle, this felt like some great tribulation. That year, I
fought back isolation by garnering first honors. The laurel did not mean
anything to the pundits, their resolve to put me in a box as a lying scum had
been drilled to my coffin, free of charge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As days went by, I began to realize that lying
was to be the generic jargon. My classmates lied, my parents lied, my teacher
lied, I lied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">All that I learned that year was the
inexplicable truth that all people are liars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I was to learn later, that what kept men and
women in touch within our rather small world is our disposition to lie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I once asked my dad why he always won his chess
games. He nonchalantly revealed: “It’s always about thinking ahead and
outsmarting the opponent, by using a gambit.” I asked, “What is a gambit, Dad?”
He replied: “Well, it is a move where you simply deceive the other person so
you can win.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM
120<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A
song of ascents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I
call on the LORD in my distress,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and
he answers me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Save
me, O LORD, from lying lips<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and
from deceitful tongues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">What
will he do to you, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and
what more besides, O deceitful tongue?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He
will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">with
burning coals of the broom tree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Woe
to me that I dwell in Meshech,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">that
I live among the tents of Kedar!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Too
long have I lived<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">among
those who hate peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I am
a man of peace;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">but
when I speak, they are for war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">TROUBLESHOOT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">First Corinthians 1:18 NIV</span></b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It doesn’t take much honesty to admit the
unrelenting pressure of life’s challenges in our lives. Every person seeking to
make sense out of life, experiences some form of distress in one way or
another. The initial guidepost in our life syllabus prompts us to confront our
troubles by seeking to understand what is truly taking place. The contribution
of this initial Psalm is to raise our troubled awareness with a sense of
urgency to let out a sincere lament of where we are presently situated. A
person who seeks the truth through God’s help will mourn an alienated identity:
“I call on the LORD in my distress … save me, O LORD, from lying lips and
deceitful tongues.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It is equally important to carefully choose who
becomes our primary guide in this endeavor. Our life support ought to come from
an impeccable mentor whose rectitude yields nothing more, nothing less but a
corresponding wisdom beyond compare. The Psalmist turns to the LORD for such
help in his distress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The primary challenge in any human struggle
hinges upon the reality of where we live. The Psalmist decries his location
amidst a climate of deceit. Our fallen world rests upon the fragmented
scaffoldings of human wisdom. The plethora of religion and philosophy attests
to our on-going thirst for meaning and significance. Every attempt to clarify
the origin and destiny of our existence seeks to answer our universal distress
upon our shared ignorance. While all these are well meaning and
kind-intentioned, they somehow reveal their ineptness to redeem us from our
despair. The psalmist refers to all these wonderful human perspectives as mere
fiction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Meshech and Kedar serve as metaphors for all the
representative genius of humanity that seeks to understand life apart from
God’s revelation. Distress is a by-product of a life lived apart from the
centrality of the One who created it. To live without God is to live a life
devoid of proper connectivity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It is to Shalom, the peace of God’s evincing
presence, that we are called to lean in. The Psalmist recognizes the urgent
need for our deepest cry to be knitted into the fabric of God’s unique
intervention. When we allow the presence of God to invade our time and space,
life takes on a new form. We experience redemption from deception. We veer away
from the lies. While consequently ostracized for our defection from our default
location, we find our lament transform into a deep prayer of advanced
gratitude: “What will he do to you, and what more besides, O deceitful tongue?
He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows, with burning coals of the
broom tree.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The beginning step is towards troubleshooting:
“Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar! Too
long have I lived among those who hate peace”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">God prescribes that whenever we experience any
symptom of distress, we have to check our connectivity. If we are plugged in to
a compromised source, we are called to recognize the lie and disconnect with a
sense of urgency from the myopic circuitry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We then turn on to the proper source and
reconnect to the solitary source that brings Shalom to all our false directions.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The biblical story discloses a meta-narrative of
lost peace. God created humans so that they may be ushered into His presence.
The fall towards the lie of self-actualization ushered the dark era of a
God-denying existence. But God cannot be denied. As He is the very essence of
the life He created, the life of peace had to be restored. The singular way for
such redemption will have to be His way. The way back to God’s presence will
have to be an accompanied rescue, and the extraction from the fall will have to
be done by God, Himself. There is no other way to accomplish this deliverance
apart from the incredible action of God to send His only begotten Son, to
incarnate into humanity in order to restore peace into our war-torn lives. In
Christ’s mission, the cry of the Psalmist finds its fruition. The Son of God
determined to take humanity’s damnation upon His Being by owning up to the
penalty of our sins, dying on the cross of Golgotha, two thousand years ago.
While suffering for our rebellion, his words on the cross “it is finished!” said
it all. God’s presence has invaded our woeful situation. With unabridged
dignity, he refers to himself as the Prince of Peace. The peace of God is found
in the person of Christ. No one experiences true life apart from his abiding
guide. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The witness of Scriptures points to the
exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the singular touchstone of humanity due to this
revelatory mission. His person confronts every human destiny. It is impossible
not to meet Christ within the intersections of life because he was the only one
sent to reclaim our true designation. When he stands at the crossroads, it is
either you take him at his word or you push him aside while connecting to
another source. His claim to being the only way out from all our troubles
reveals the very nature of his integrity: God sent his only Son to accomplish
only one mission: to redeem fallen humanity, one person at a time by granting His
peace, one decision at a time. This personal salvation was made accessible
through the unique unalterable once and for all crucifixion of the Son of God
for our sins. This rescue operation found its vindication upon the resurrection
of Christ. Humans who will turn to Jesus by faith are thereby granted the full
benefits of redemption. No other escape is possible from Meshech and Kedar
apart from this exclusive peace-invading way: “I am a man of peace; but when I
speak, they are for war.” Only the person of Jesus Christ brings an end to such
war by His attested conquest and final victory. There is simply no other way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There are only two kinds of connectivity in
life. You are either connected to Jesus Christ who audaciously claims power
over your distress or you are tied in elsewhere. The first thing in our
syllabus, if life is to be lived well, according to how we are made, is the
call to disconnect from all sources that reflect Meshech and Kedar, devoid of
peace and a true understanding of created life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I lived right through the avenues of lies. At an
early age, I was ushered deceitfully into a world alien to Shalom. For eighteen
years, I languished, seeking to fill the emptiness inside my soul. Certainly,
not by my initiative, I was led to cry for help. It was then that God led me
graciously to troubleshoot my distress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">BIG
WORD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I always had the last word. It seemed not only
necessary, but clever to do so in a world that offered divergent conversations.
I always had my mental processors hooked up on any and every point at issue. I
always flaunted my brazen prowess as interpretive editor of my soul and
destiny, <i>ex cathedra</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Renzo was quite like a clone, except that he had
more finesse and mafioso. He was one of the senior studs in college. Where
there is action, he was there. Where there are girls, he was central. Where
there is sin, he’s scuba diving right into it. It was a concession just to be
around who seemed like an accomplished dude.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I thought he lost his grip when I spotted him
alone reading a bible–he seemed enthralled by some inner calm, just leafing
through pages without being bothered by the intrusive campus noise. It was
rather disconcerting to observe this mysterious ritual on a daily basis. He
turned curiously different–like one celebrity who got caged-in to some
addiction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Detached as he was during those days, there
seemed to develop an aura of organic brightness about him–like some kind of
disconnection from hurriedness, while projecting calm akin to being exempted
from the Quantitative Analysis final exams.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I was at the gym with my friend Joe, when the
gossip about Renzo’s metamorphosis snatched our conversation. I was told that I
was actually invited to attend his exclusive caucus on Tuesday afternoon,
hosted by the Renaissance Man himself. I initially got repulsed with the idea
when it was intimated that this was all going to be a talk about God and
Religion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The scrutiny of God was a matter that I have
somehow considered open ended. There is simply no way to figure out who had the
best handle. I got all A’s in Religious Studies, just because I was a good ape:
I just cut and pasted from the theological buffet, whether I believed it or
not. And so, it was Renzo’s turn to pipe in his smoke, I guess. It was
September 10, 1980 on a Wednesday afternoon when I sat bored waiting for the
quasi-social forum to begin and quickly end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I thought I knew Renzo quite well–certainly not
this guy who showed up with his little black book. He began by introducing his
purpose for gathering us: to quit guessing about what really transpired in his
life. There was a pronounced lack of religious cliché in his talk. He was right
on vulnerable about his personal distress and of his silent quest for peace.
All he shared was an astonishingly appealing transformative answer facilitated
by the person of Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It happened with a most unusual tenacity. The
gnawing sense of emptiness within me began to fill up with every spoken verse
of truth. The incongruence of my existence was met by the consonance of his
take on how his story is merely an entry within God’s meta-narrative. Deep
down, I sensed the unique simplicity of Christ’s gospel as wonderfully true and
devoid of any strand of duplicity. Whatever blinds I had pertaining God
suddenly gave way to an astonishing awareness of his invitation. Like some
sudden shifting of the wind, I came to terms with my need for the Redeemer who
was willing to receive my wholesale guilt with an accompanying grant of
forgiving grace. The Son of God found my hideous hiding place and ushered me to
the one place where I can find peace: within the companionship of His intimate
lordship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">At around 2 pm that afternoon, I decided to
disconnect from my fictitious life sources, invoking the revelatory person of
Jesus Christ to lead me out from my misdirected orientation and lead me into a
dynamic recognition of his central presence in my life. For the very first
time, I suddenly saw where my journey was meant to be. I did not have to remain
in Meshech and Kedar, where definitions of life, are at best magnificent
reckonings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">With my newly endowed identity, I did not have
to register the last word. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The Word of the LORD had been spoken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-44136253936301155192015-12-10T06:43:00.000-08:002015-12-10T06:43:44.551-08:00Journal Two: Read<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">TOP SPIN<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I never enjoyed going to church. I could not
reconcile the opportunity cost of losing my Sunday morning play rights in
exchange for an interlude where one has to dress preppy and feign enthusiasm to
some sacrosanct gathering. Our preacher never made much sense anyway, as he
seemed to be more of a cross between a woebegone entertainer and a prosaic
politician. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My grandfather was a retired pastor. Ironically,
he was my favorite old guy. So dignified. So remarkably quiet. So much like my
favorite Martian. He was, however, uninhibited each time he spoke about his
faith. I remember a night in his home when I was absorbed deep in a game of
hide and seek with my siblings. We got interrupted with the announcement of
some prayer time. We were then gathered in a circle, while he read from his
tattered book. He droned explanations about some ancient texts with the verbal
tonality approximating some archaic prophet. I was bored as hell. When prayer
began, I tuned off. Inching close to my sister, I began teasing her with all
kinds of devilry. It was a most enjoyable intermission, especially, as all eyes
were closed and heads bowed down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">In a flash, like the unforeseen descent of a
cascading meteor, I suddenly felt a wrathful swat hitting my nape. It was so
firm and strong that I got dislodged from my seat, propelled hard to the floor
while simultaneously confronted with my grandfather’s bony point-finger–his
voice thundering: <i>“no one plays when we pray to God!”</i> His eyes were like
emerald-glazed with fury. I was more flabbergasted with the incredible
transformation of this man’s demeanor from meek to wild, just because I disturbed
his sacred conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I was engulfed with a sense of mystery. Was his
deity as real as his grandson? As my head throbbed, my brain spun wondering why
grandpa’s god disdained my unabridged version of practical joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As I was left with no words to read what just
happened, I began wondering what alphabets I missed about knowing an unseen God
who’s supposed to listen to human chatter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 121<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I lift up
my eyes to the hills–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">where
does my help come from?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My help
comes from the LORD,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the Maker
of heaven and earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He will
not let your foot slip–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">he who
watches over you will not slumber.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Indeed,
he who watches over Israel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">will
neither slumber nor sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The LORD
watches over you–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the LORD
is your shade at your right hand;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the sun
will not harm you by day, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">nor the
moon by night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The LORD
will watch over your life;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the LORD
will watch over your <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">coming
and going,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">both now
and forevermore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>READ<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Here
is another reason why we never stop thanking God: When you received God’s word
from us, you realized it wasn’t the word of humans. Instead, you accepted it
for what it really is—the word of God. This word is at work in you believers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">First Thessalonians 2:13 NIV</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">From the outside looking in, there seems to be a
suspicion of shared arrogance among those who claim to know God in personal
terms. The projection of this confident aura somehow makes the irreligious
uncomfortable: “I lift up my eyes to the hills–where does my help come from? My
help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">On a closer scrutiny however, true spirituality if
it is to be authentic, must exhibit a deep personal zeal that reveals the
robust object of its faith. True faith is always fiercely intense. At times, it
is made manifest with an outstretched hand laid upon the sick to implore
healing; At times, it is offered through a calculated spank to a soul so dead,
in order to rouse life: “He will not let your foot slip.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Before the pilgrims set out on their journey, an
inquiry is directed towards their lead guide: “how safe is this pilgrimage?”
The seasoned veteran recognizes the trepidation and declares the assured
watchfulness of their vigilant companion: The LORD of creation watches over
their feet along the arduous journey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When proper connectivity gets underway, the first
thing that becomes evident is the transformation within the heart of the
believer. Disturbingly recognizable, the sobering reality of Meschech and
Kedar’s staunch vision becomes apparent. The world remains the same in the
midst of the believer’s metamorphosis. While on journey, the psalmist looks up
and sighs: “I lift up my eyes to the hills …” The hills along the way are
representative of the alternative altars that are strewn along the way, seeking
to pull us back to our former idolatries. The unseen forces behind these
heights perceive our propensity to be lulled quickly when beset with fatigue or
any sort of weariness. The delicious offering of a detour away from God bears
down upon the believer who seeks to walk by faith. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">To this allurement, vigilance to lift up our eyes
beyond the seduction to read the way of God becomes our second call. We are
beckoned to study the table of God’s contents by intentionally digesting the
pages of his revelation, both created and written.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Through all of life, connectivity to the Giver and
Source provides a stirring encouragement: He himself will provide all necessary
help. The unreliability of human chartings will be overshadowed by the LORD’s
competence. To the pilgrim, his personal guidance has been committed in word
and in oath. God wrote down his thoughts to facilitate pinpoint accuracy on
what we ought to do if we are to live well under his tutelage. Any well-intentioned
designer provides a well-thought instructive manual to facilitate the proper
use of a worthy commodity. It is inconceivable to think of human life, with its
weight of unfathomable complexity, not to be augmented by a word from its
creator. It is likewise most natural to think that clarity ought to
characterize such instructions. As the human mind was created to think, thus
the manual had to be read in some way or form. To this, we set our attention in
each and every step along life’s trek. The reading relationship with life’s
true Guide sets the course.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The nature of this divine assistance differs from
the sophisticated technical support the world offers: “He who watches over you
… will neither slumber nor sleep.” God needs no caffeine in order to stay awake
while in monitor. He has no use for sleep and is thus able to commit a
watchfulness that is most comprehensive. Help that is thus provided is backed
by the warranty of God’s incomprehensible attentiveness to every detail
concerning our daily lives. Our thoughts are invited to observe his commitment
to the grass of the fields, the flowers in the garden, the birds in the air, …
they never lack, for they are thus provided. He informs us of our infinite
worth and of the care emphasized by his spoken word. The scope of this unique
protection encompasses every breadth, depth, height, crevice, crack, flaw, leak,
anomaly, etc., that involves frail humanity. There is no given issue or concern
that voids the loyal commitment of God’s promise. The believer shall travel
through life, safe and accompanied by this revelatory and abiding guidance. The
commanding force of God’s word rests upon its integrity. Upon such promise, we
are called to act upon by reading what we ought to urgently follow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">From the very first step of one’s decision to
leave <i>Meshech</i> and <i>Kedar</i>, every succeeding pace follows the
cadence of His written guide. There shall be no absence of zealous opposition
to the life of faith: setbacks, illness, troubles, bankruptcy, and even death,
may be experienced; but a greater reality usurps each and every condition: GOD
will be there, speaking his renewed presence, at all times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Vigilance of this sort is foreign to humans. God’s
commitment to see us through the rough and dangerous terrain of this world is
contingent upon our posture to accept the terms of his blessings. He is the
vigilant one. We are called to run to him for help every single day. We are
enabled to accomplish this through the diligent readership of God’s Word.
Walking with the LORD must be accompanied by keeping in step with His revealed
thoughts. This leads us away from dangerous paths: we are called to read the
Bible as our way of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">This is why those who know God deeply, represent
him rather fiercely. When they are stumbling and falling, they know by reading:
who leans to pick them up without fail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">EPICENTER<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I breathe music. Life is too melodious to miss its
accompanying score. My spiritual rebirth imbibed a prolific thirst that sought
to find expression in song compositions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have close to fifty originals that somehow capture the inner raptures
of my faith. My favorite instrument is the twelve-strings guitar. The echoing
reverb weaves panache to the tone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My grandfather was instrumental in encouraging me
to join the city’s Christian Music festival. It was a weekly gathering of
talented artists where a recording career awaits the champion. Most of the
contestants sang popular hits while I only sang my own craft. For a year, it
was rather surprising that I kept on staying in the winner’s circle, until
there were only four left towards the Grand Finale. Since the event was on live
national radio, my family cheered on with much glee. My younger brother
followed my string of good fortune like a hawk. He saw me as the ordained
shoe-in winner, proclaiming that I was quite a cut above the rest. Although
this was rather presumptive, I must admit taking delight in deeming it quite
true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The Finals was held at the plush metropolitan
auditorium. The crowd swelled to a full capacity as they awaited the one
blessed to win. I had a settled sense of confidence that afternoon. One that is
quite free from arrogance. It was nestled on simple factual guts. I was ready
for the show as my kid-assistant proudly bore my encased instrument. We were
two hours early into the event. While on the long wait, some kind of alien
virus invaded me. I was suddenly having chills with fever. Through the
convulsions, I did not have the luxury to call in sick. The contest began.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The first two contestants sang impeccably. When I
heard my name, I thought I was half-dreaming, half ricocheting in space. I
stood up with my heavy acoustic. With my first strum, I knew I was out. Right
in the middle of the refrain, the twelve-strings dropped with a loud thud, sending
a ripple of hush from the audience. I managed to recover, but totally forgot
what I was singing. I ended up rendering a totally different piece! Descending
from the stage, visibly shaking and flushed from the fever’s heat, I slumped
back next to my brother. I whispered, “Tommy, I am so ill …”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The night ended with a drifting melodrama. My
brother suddenly blurted: “What happened? Why did God allow your guitar to
slide?” With what little strength I had, I explained, “It was not the Lord’s
will, my brother. He knows I did my best, but He has some other plans. He knows
what is best. His word assures me that all things work together for good,
including this painful setback.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It has been more than three decades and my songs
have not ceased from being born. My brother never lost faith and continues to
applaud whenever I sing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The sweeping panorama of God’s grand story
silences my propensity to settle in with my backyard dreams. I was intending to
sing my way to his kingdom but God’s script differed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
designed to live out the songs of Kingdom Epic through <i>a cappella</i>,
preaching from a pulpit, devoid of twelve-strings but resplendent with a
thousand images strung.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I am a preacher, by His design. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I know this by reading the book He signed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-20966905631431022812015-12-10T06:42:00.000-08:002015-12-10T06:42:17.404-08:00Journal Three: Enter<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">LOST
SCOUT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There was a constant air of apprehension each time
I got dropped off to school. I always felt a sense of disquiet, especially
heightened by the pungent odor of the old school building. One Saturday
morning, an exciting break came to be: Cub Scouts were accepting neophytes for
the club. I begged my mother to enlist me to balance the equilibrium of my
sanity. I got into the crisp blue uniform, knee socks, neckerchief, and of
course, the stunning blue cap. The meeting flew by quickly with tons of fun and
inspiring promises. Soon, every parent, guardian, friend arrived to fetch their
little warriors … All, except mine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I waited for minutes and hours but there was no
sign of retrieve. I couldn’t help sobbing as my little mind began to imagine a
solitary trek to our house, which was vaguely five miles through town and
highway. As I mustered whatever soul-fuel I had, the first step went out
screeching with blubber. My uniform got so drenched with dust and snot as my
stride seemed to reach nowhere. Crossing the highway simulated the Alcatraz
swim to shore. Somehow, hiking alone for a 4 year old came across like the
Everest trail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Suicide steps finally had me rushing to our front
door only to discover a deeper abyss: my parents and siblings were all having
lunch, enjoying the succulence of their feast while I literally got feasted and
became lunch to feelings of catastrophic insignificance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Home, sweet
home? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Translate that to someone who just lost the
meaning of his last name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 122<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents. Of David.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I
rejoiced with those who said to me,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">“Let us
go to the house of the LORD.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">our feet
are standing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">In your
gates, O Jerusalem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Jerusalem
is built like a city<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">that is
closely compacted together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">That is
where the tribes go up,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the
tribes of the LORD,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">to praise
the name of the LORD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">according
to the statute given to Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There the
thrones for judgment stand,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the
thrones of the house of David.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Pray for
the peace of Jerusalem;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">“May
those who love you be secure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">May there
be peace within your walls<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and
security within your citadels.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">For the
sake of my brothers and friends,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I will
say, “Peace be within you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">For the
sake of the house of the LORD our God,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I will
seek your prosperity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">ENTER<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And
God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over
everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills
everything in every way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Ephesians 1:22-23 NIV</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The third aspect of our life with God involves our
affections towards his house. Home is a place where joy ought to exude in
abundance. This is most pronounced where the dwelling place is that of the
Lord’s: “I rejoiced with those who said to me “Let us go to the house of the
LORD.””<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">In stark contrast to the mercurial atmosphere of
our homes, the house of the LORD invites the pilgrim to discover a steady
milieu: consummate joy! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">While the pilgrim stands at the very gates of <i>Yerushalayim</i>,
the joy of the LORD draws the weary traveler towards His living room: “ … our
feet are standing … In your gates, O Jerusalem.” The transcending atmosphere
induces an act of spontaneous thanksgiving: <i>Praise and worship begins!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The believer’s walk, as it is directed by God’s
guiding words culminates in an arrival to where God dwells. The personal joy of
every believer is most tangible in the company of gathered praise within God’s
house. The place of worship is described with an emphasis on its bonded
structure: “Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of
the LORD.” Within God’s community, the primary context of life is experienced–
shared gratitude for all the benefits of God’s redemption. This is deeply
experienced in the gathering of people bonded by a common covenant to live together
under Christ’s lordship: each one, volunteering to a covenant contract to live
by God’s terms. Nothing more, nothing less but Christ’s will being done within
their watchful yet sincere accountabilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The call to rejoice while we live out our days of
faith must consistently find its context within the household of faith. The
covenant-making nature of the church speaks of God’s architectural prowess in
inaugurating a joyful company. As co-journeyers towards God’s kingdom, the
reality of Christ’s accomplished victory is incarnated within the collective
affection of Christ’s followers to nurture one another from the depths of
spiritual formation. Such praise is both necessary and spontaneous for it is
“according to the statute given to Israel.” As adopted children, we have become
joyful associates bestowed with God’s spoken precepts! We hold each one in high
regard while nurturing each other with God’s wisdom. Nowhere is this found
other than the “house of the Lord.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">While the collective praise of God’s people is
lived out from within our intertwined lives, the essence of divine justice
finds a home: “There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house
of David.” All our depravity and sinfulness are met with the astounding offer
of God’s peace found in Christ’s reconciling work. The requirements for peace
are met: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; “May those who love you be secure.
May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”” All
our breaches had been paid for. Not a single stain remains as we are ushered to
come into His house, brilliant as snow! Justice meets Shalom right at the
doorsteps of God’s home producing a feast of secured prosperity for all those
who have come: “For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, “Peace be
within you.” For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your
prosperity.” The echoes of thanksgiving resound for what God has done, for what
He is doing, and for what He has yet to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Our homes have been befouled by superficial glee.
The spiritual climate occasionally tilts to the protean promises of this world.
The cathedrals of entertainment and recreation openly compete with the primacy
of worship, every single day. It is by sheer compassion that God’s doors are
still left open.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Our third anchor is to enter into intentional joy
by prioritizing corporate worship at a specific local church. We are called to
come into God’s presence with his gathered people. We are gently asked to leave
our stained and worn-out sandals outside the door, while being ushered with
beautiful shoes to come inside where joy beckons every guest to stay for good.
The joy of the LORD as it is both declared and expressed in corporate worship
is much too potent for any gloom!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every
believer is called to abandon the hypocrisy of despondency and turn towards
becoming a joyful witness to all the wonderful gifts that we have been
receiving. We turn away from all injustice and cling to God’s offer of settled
peace. As we enter His courts with kindred believers, we leave our personal
wrath and enter into His mercy-laden vindication. With much leisure and
satisfaction, we are admonished to declare our shared experience as we come
together in corporate adoration. We relinquish our rhetorical dreams in
exchange for God’s guaranteed promise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Go to church! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Enter into the vibrancy of shared life! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We are joyfully in God’s house, fully furnished by
the accoutrements of His glory, honor, and praise!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Welcome Home!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BORN
FREE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When my call to ministry turned crystal, I was
faced with a herculean dilemma of letting go and trusting Christ to fill my
shoes to care for my younger siblings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In our Asian culture, it was expected for the eldest male son to share
the load of burden to assist each and every financial obligation the siblings
might have until they commence with work on their own. I had a brother and
three younger sisters to look out for. This responsibility was made
considerably light when three of these left for the US, leaving me with only
one sister to support. Before I left for seminary, I had an agreement with God
regarding the consignment of this cultural responsibility. I thought He had it
clear that it was now fully His purview to oversee my sister’s needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Life within the cloistered premises of the
seminary was akin to a slice of paradise regained. Challenging as it was, the
spurts of growth induced was worth all its accompanying travails. Meanwhile, my
sister was faithfully cruising through life back home as a working student. She
once disclosed how her good-looking single boss took much interest in her beauty
and brains. I visited home one summer and spotted a spiffy sports car parked in
front. The young gentleman courteously stopped by to court his young employee.
He was dignified and kind in all respects. His warm smile was quite disarming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">While on a choir tour, I was left without a clue
on the unfolding saga of delusion ravaging my home. I was informed, that my sister
was pregnant by her boss who apparently concealed his true identity: a married
man with three children. He had evaporated since discovering my sister’s
unwanted condition. I learned later that week that an abortion had been
scheduled to take care of our family’s ethical pride. No wonder, my sister’s
tears, while languishing in solitary pain, sent upheavals to every crevice of
my soul. When I asked her how she was doing, all she could muster was a
whisper: “they wish to kill my baby; why can’t I just keep him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">For two long hours, I argued for life and was
granted favor with reservation. I took my sister to a relative from out of town
to shelter her from social ostracism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">That Sunday, while I felt quite detached from the
visible joy of the congregation, the ministry of prayer, word and fellowship
stubbornly seeped through my languor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One afternoon, demons from the East assaulted my
conviction to stay the course of peace. I stole my father’s loaded gun to
settle the score with the runaway gigolo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">While I stood trembling with my impulse to take
matters away from God and into my fury, I was halted by the weekend memory of
believers at church who were all spurring me to let God have his way. It was as
almost literal as their cumulative push to toss my sight towards my sprawled
bible. With much anger, I begged God to talk now or else, the trigger will have
to speak. He did: “vengeance is mine,” was his retort. I unloaded, weeping and
trembling from my repulsive withdrawal. There shall be no retaliation. The
blood of the Lamb shall replace what had been spilled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Erico was born to a new home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Once, I visited the church he attends. He was
playing drums with the exuberance of a young man comfortably settled where he
belongs. Glad tidings replaced the doom as God himself signed his birth
certificate in cursive red.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-39026955203732429662015-12-10T06:40:00.003-08:002015-12-10T06:40:50.685-08:00Journal Four: Delight<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">IDENTITY
PORN<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The aftermath of any ravaging hurricane leaves an
impression so deep that no puny wave can seek to alter. Such was the indelible
rash I quaffed while lazily playing Cowboys and Indians in my father’s cave. I
was pretending a chase while throwing my weight towards the bed, the pillows
were rocks, the blanket was creek. The savages were in hot pursuit and I took
cover. Just then, there was the unusual scent of stateside gloss, a misplaced
reading book with a winking beauty adorning the front cover. I mumbled at the
heading: Pl …ay..boy. There was something seductively glorious about the
magazine. I rubbed the genie pages and in seconds, I set foot in a whole new
world. I was a meager and eager five-year old boy thrown into the cistern of
prurient men.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The centerfold material was a spreadsheet of
everything that seemed ethereal yet alien; the bliss was suffocating to say the
least. I was holding on to my eyeballs for fear that they might pop out from
their missile-shocked sockets. My body temperature revolted with feverish angst
until I heard the footsteps of my enemies … the Indians, well, not quite … my
mother, searching for her boy. It was lunchtime; but my hunger was instantly
transformed from my guts to some inner sphere. I suddenly felt possessed by
some plague. As I heaved, I kept the book where it originally sat, making sure
that I had attached a low jack to track its whereabouts, from now hence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My father did not have the slightest clue on who
was sharing his imaginary hetaeras, every single turn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">What I did not realize was my pummeling descent
unto Aladdin’s cave. There was free entrance but no known keys for the exit.
The scent of flesh decay was organically revealing a putrid cancer yet
delicious in its cruel assault. My visual universe took on a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tsunami</i> that was mysteriously too wild
to tame. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Lust became my adjunct lens wherever I looked for
delight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 123<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I lift up
my eyes to you,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">to you
whose throne is in heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As the
eyes of slaves look to the <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">hand of
their master,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">as the
eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">so our
eyes look to the LORD our God,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">till he
shows us his mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Have
mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">for we
have endured much contempt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We have
endured much ridicule from the proud,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">much
contempt from the arrogant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">DELIGHT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I have told
you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">John 15:11 NIV</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The decision to choose life with God grants the
pilgrim a firm guide while imbibing an incredible accession of joy. Although
this may seem to be most formidable in being able to navigate through the maze
of our daily crossroads, the pull of other gods can be most trying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The allure of pornography is subversively graphic.
A virtual relationship is offered through the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">photoshop</i> displays of unclad lovers. Who would not fall prey to an
arrangement of affections where there is absolutely no need for committed accountability?
Who would not be flattered by multiple flings, baring all, except their
concealed languish, for a few cents per minute? Who would not hitch with a
centerfold spouse or a web porn-star who never gets wrinkled and gets unstrung
when the dishes are dirty and the toilet gets clogged?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Similarly, the attraction of opulence is its claim
to omnipotence. The promise of money propels a sense of security and abiding
trust that we shall remain on top of all things, ad infinitum. The insatiable
greed that accompanies the pursuit of this delusion is deemed conventional and
ethically impressive. We amass enormous amounts of wealth in a race that seems
to preclude a finish line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">In parallel, the appeal of power is towards a
desire to dwell at Mt. Olympus in affiliation with Zeus. The drive to control
others translates into our convictions to herald the summa cum laude, the top
jock, the beauty queen, the Silicon man, the face of the book, et al, as
demigods whom we must emulate at all cost. Since they possess the eternal
fountain of wisdom, theirs is our allegiance. Theirs is our delight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">To all these, our syllabus clamors for a serious
audit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Delight is the fourth crucial peg in our walk with
God. Without the accompanying bridle of this volitional trait, we shall fall
prey to the slightest provocations of any charlatan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We are called to experience the realm of true
delight by affirming our solitary allegiance to the LORD, our God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The posture of this approach is determinedly
upward. It conveys our humble, yet true place in God’s economy. We look up to
our worthy Deity for we are His’ and not the other way around. We revel our
attention to his majestic presence, firmly convinced of his integrity and
life-giving mercies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The metaphor of slaves and maids points to the
benevolent arrangement that occurs between two loyal persons: the master to the
slave; the mistress toward the maid. Both of these relationships flow forth
from a seasoned recognition of trustworthiness. There is an overriding sense of
delight in conveying what needs to be done, while there is an equal relish in
being able to serve well. There is not a hint of oppression, greed, or lust.
All that is on the table is the matter of delight on what needs to be done,
because it has to be done. Only the One who seats enthroned in heaven is able
to initiate such a disposition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The practicum of our call to delight in the things
of God must be bounded by mercy. Mercy belongs to God alone. When mercy is
granted, delight multiplies. When we receive favor for what we clearly do not
deserve, our existence gets radically altered. When we turn to God with utmost
concern for His delight, our eyes are resected. Suddenly we see things
differently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We look at people and we behold the image from
which they were created. We begin to experience the stunning treasure of deep relationships.
We give up control while allowing the spontaneity of flourishing grace. We
cherish the jewels of forgiveness and intimate integrity. We do things for
others, not to machinate our hidden agenda, but simply because of its joyful
privilege. We cease undressing people, while constantly finding ways and means
to clothe each other with beatified dignity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We turn to our things for what they truly are:
mere tools to advance the lumens of God’s work. We volunteer our glad labor
while recognizing the mercy-favor that has gotten us to our points of
responsibility. We discover the magnificent purpose of work: we toil not to
secure our lot, but in order to allot the riches of the One who owns all,
towards those who are truly in need. We become the true rich, secured in our
favored heritage as recipients of opulent mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We spot power for what it is. No one is more
powerful than God. We rest content in our posture of utmost dependence. We
simply look up and cease pursuing the myth of Olympus. God knows what we ought
to do, where we ought to go, when we ought to move, how we ought to walk. We
discover the wonderful distinction of traveling through life, being powerfully
led by the Spirit within the sure cadence of God’s mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The arrogant chooses to walk alone. Instead of
looking up, the posture is reversed. Contempt prevails as their
mother-language. There is no mercy. There is no grace. The eyes are forever
staring on the mirage of self-absorption. There is no experience of delight.
How can there be, when there is no accompanying light?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Our fourth call in the syllabus of our journey,
beckons us to delight in the LORD. The posture of this delight is intentionally
upward. Being true to our nature as mercy-laden creatures, we turn to our God
for each and every concern. We start our day with a commitment to live it,
according to what we are told to do. We end with a recollection of a string of
delight that has been lavished upon us. As we fix our lives on this God-ward
trajectory, we enlist in the practices of spiritual formation. We savor the
work of God being coursed through our available lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As we look up to God, He peers through all our
days, delighted with what He has granted by His mercies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">SINCERELY
YOURS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The search for one’s true love is perhaps the most
knotty in terms of grappling with the ghost’s of one’s own pretensions. If one
is to be honest with undiluted motives, the purpose for seeking a lifetime
companion seems defiantly elusive. My own journey towards this desperate quest
had been dolorous not because of what I discovered about those whom I pursued
but on account of what got disclosed about my heart. All my honest explorations
have gone to the black holes of this enigmatic universe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It was all about looking for the perfect ointment
to balm my narcissistic pain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My first try, revealed a heart so inept; it could
not even pass its own shadows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
second attempt accomplished nothing but validate my wild ego. The third episode
revealed a script so cruel even to rewrite. And the fourth was catastrophic:
inducing shrapnel wounds to innocent dignity, where the bleeding doesn’t seem
to stop. My heart crimes deserve punishment and so I imposed a voluntary
embargo, to stop any such seeking expedition and settle to be a eunuch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But grace is an ocean. One New Year’s Eve, I made
peace with God and myself, by rushing headlong to repentance. I lifted up my
eyes and wailed for God’s mercy. I turned my heart’s restlessness over to the
only One who can hold it still. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Freedom replaced my impulsive longings. At God’s
opportune time, He led His chosen daughter towards my rested patience, while I
was asleep in His garden. When I was roused, my flummoxed ribs pounded with
joy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There was no need to feign who I was not. In all
my previous rendezvous, I was a complete stranger not only to the beguiled yet
more to myself. But this was different. I was vulnerable, yet without shame.
There was nothing to hide from her. She saw right through my soul and
recognized the rib that she was to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One ordinary night, we were walking hand in hand
atop a hill, circling a tennis court, just talking, when she somehow sensed the
moment I was waiting for. The hour was ripe for my heart’s intent, but I was
taking forever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">She said in a most kind and soft verse: “I know
that you are intending to say something, but you are being hindered … Here it
is …” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I just graduated from the seminary and had no
financial leverage to impress with. Despite my lack, I never truly felt any
degree of poverty. God’s affluence had been my sufficiency. But that night, I
was desperately hoping for some decent engagement ring for I knew it was the
night to be. In prayer, I silently mumbled my cry for mercy: “Father, where do
I go to offer the seal of engagement?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">“… (She gently removed her own sapphire ring from
her finger, taking my palms, saying) … there … now, you have a ring … speak
what’s in your heart.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I never took God’s provision as literally falling
straight from heaven. But that night, it expressly did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">“Will you marry me?”</span></i><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I set the ring back to her awaiting embrace while
witnessing the delicious poignancy of her affirming <i>“Yes, of course.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It was bliss at first sight: nothing hidden, but
the rib from mine own, concealed in her Father’s most intricate gown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He who spins the universe restored my sight
towards a Son-lit delight in knowing that I am truly beloved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The eyes of my heart regained its proper place
joyfully looking up towards God’s powerful mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-46989670773567520612015-12-10T06:39:00.003-08:002015-12-10T06:39:39.052-08:00Journal Five: Speak<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">LEVI
STRAUSS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The era for blue jeans swept my generation like a
swarm of locusts preying relentlessly on ripe luscious fields. Every teenager
was on to bell-bottomed denims. It had to be the original, though. I remember a
sad uprising of jealousy whenever a peer would show up with the iconic standard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I constantly prodded and pestered my father to
find generosity in his heart to get me the Levi’s. He would of course nod his
head, somehow registering some fumbling reflections, and then proceed to
whatever was occupying his moments. I kept on appealing for his sensitivities
to at least understand why I cannot continue walking the streets of my
generation, naked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It was a humid afternoon when my old man came
early from work. He had a crisp brown bag from the Big City department store
clutched in his arms alongside his briefcase. There was an unusual glow in his
countenance, which betrayed a forthcoming surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He handed me the present with a sense of
accomplished pride, while I felt a sudden rush of adrenaline. This is the day
that I had been dreaming of. A young boy finally clad with swag.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The glad tidings quickly got ransack by confusion
when I tore the bag: there was no Levi’s. It was blue pants but with an unusual
horrific twist. The pockets, front and back, were laden with feminine-accented
paisley flowers: the kind that simulated a stained glass cathedral for lost
souls! I was aghast at what I perceived was a cruel joke. I threw the jeans back
to him, and hollered some bee sting invectives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The jeans remained untouched throughout the day
resting on his bed. I somehow retrieved the blue corpse, forcing my senses to
befriend the insult. It just wouldn’t happen. I was so caught up with my own
version of how the world was made and of how it ought to serve my
self-actualized definitions. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There was surely a hidden dragon underneath all my
self-serving needs. I felt the invisible entrapment of a raging flood that
ensnared my personal glory, at the expense of others. Although, I sought to
flee, the shackles seemed locked for good. Too proud to admit this, I kept
silent. I did not speak to my father for a week.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Levi’s or leave it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 124<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents. Of David.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">If the
LORD had not been on our side–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">let
Israel say–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">If the
LORD had not been on our side<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">when men
attacked us,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">when
their anger flared against us,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">they
would have swallowed us alive;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the flood
would have engulfed us,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the
torrent would have swept over us,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the
raging waters would have swept us away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Praise be
to the LORD,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">who has
not let us be torn by their teeth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We have
escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the snare
has been broken, and we have escaped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Our help
is in the name of the LORD,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the Maker
of heaven and earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">SPEAK<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But when he,
the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak
on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet
to come. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">John 16:13 NIV</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When delight takes its form in the believer’s
life, words are somehow commissioned to bear witness to its wonderful
occurrence. The fifth aspect in our syllabus deals with the necessity to speak.
We are called to serve as witnesses to the comprehensive triumph of God in our
lives by way of rehearsing what He alone has done in and through our epic
struggles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We serve notice to the stark contrast of how we
used to battle the insurmountable enemy using our own feeble munitions and of
how God’s mere breath petrifies the opposition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We join the shouts of remembrance: “If the LORD
had not been on our side …” We speak of our redemption from sure doom. We make
reference to our own myopic efforts as the root of our own damnation. We detect
some nuance about the enemy and we quickly feign competence on how to quell the
imposing dragons. If it were not for God’s intervention within our fateful
rounds, we would have been utterly destroyed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But, God had intervened. Alas, we have been
extricated from our deep dungeons, set free by his emancipating grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And so, we are called to speak our praise of the
LORD!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The fowler’s snare speaks of the cunning nature of
both our personal and corporate entrapments. We are quick prey to our mindless
preoccupations. We are quickly driven into passionate pursuits without
reviewing their vital connection to God’s purposes. We tend to create our own
little stories and magnify their imagined significance so that we can acquire a
semblance of pragmatic reason. But anything done, apart from the primary point
of serving the praise of God misses the mark. No matter how grand the
enterprise is, no matter how monumental the endeavor is, if God is not in the
equation, it is a mere entrapment; a snare that distracts us from our true
point. We wonder and wander about the viciousness of the cycle we are in. And
so, whether it is mere clothing or career, we need an honest scrutiny of why
these things revolve either from within or from without. It is only then, that
we find a way to escape from the invisible traps that are set to swallow us
alive, engulf and tear us apart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When we intentionally speak the praise of God, we
cause every conversation to rush back to Christ’s victory at the Cross. When
this witness is spoken, demons literally outsprint their intent to do us harm.
Satan and his cohorts stand paralyzed at the mention of the Blood of the Lamb.
When we speak God’s redemption as our life’s preface, we boldly call out the
freedom that has been endowed to us by grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The name of the LORD is our refuge. This matters
only because the Maker of heaven and earth knows us by name. His name meets our
wandering identity and as we turn to him for help, we are granted so much more
than a first, middle and last appellation. We are handed a white stone: a new
name, known only to Him who has bought our freedom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Through our desert experiences, we are granted a
chosen identity, a chosen race. Suddenly, the ethnocentric hold of culture
loses its grip upon us and we enter into a realm of new citizenship. We have
been infused with a kindred blood from the consular station of the cross:
Christ’s crimson spill delineates our shared DNA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We have become a royalty of priests. We are
granted direct access to God’s holy throne as intercessors: who serve the world
with Kingdom prayers. We represent the transforming will of our Father as He
seeks to change the world of darkness into a realm of everlasting light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Such is our pedigree: a holy nation, delivered
from entrapment and reserved for God’s exclusive use. We have received our
designated assignment to speak in behalf of his glorious work. With the
testimony of our transformed lives, we describe the darkness of our former way
of life and expose the stunning resplendence of our new life in Christ. We
cease being silent. We open our mouths wide, both to receive God’s provisions
and to declare His praise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Because of God’s help, our speech is forever altered.
We articulate the holy wardrobe of praise-worthy vestments. Our new life
becomes our dress, while our witness becomes the sacred tattoo of our grace-laden
heritage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">GRAVITY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My youngest daughter is alluringly quiet. You
always got cued when she is excited–her feet wiggles in a rhythmic pendulum.
She was born in mid-September, which somehow catalyzed the mild yet
effervescent purity of her soul. After but a few minutes via normal delivery, I
took her in my arms absorbing all the vestiges of a grand miracle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Her sense of purity is epochal. She spoke few
words, yet her vertical extent released a chorus so magnanimously refreshing.
Everyone gravitates to her guileless world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">She weeps in whispers, not because of any fear but
due to the ineptness of words in representing what she thinks and feels. And
so, she resorts to the unabridged capability of her soul to non-verbally
declare the foreign language of unmitigated truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Barely three years old, we were visiting her
cousins in California when she got invited, along with her elder sister for a
swim. This was all too exhilarating for our little mermaid!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">What was not quite foreseen was her penchant for
solitary adventure. Driven by sheer delight, she wandered alone into a separate
pool. In a split second, she was drowning without any boisterous yelp. Water
filled her lungs and stomach; her lips blistered to gray-pale; but somehow,
defying gravity, held afloat by her guardian angel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Within these precious moments, without any
provocation, her sister providentially moved to the other pool where she
spotted the floating body of her unconscious sibling. Immediately lunging
towards her, they eventually got pulled out to safety. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It was a long night of resuscitating silence. I
cradled her next to my heart, while tears and prayers sought to assuage my
vacillation between hope and anguish. The miracle of breath was restored but
not a single word was pronounced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The following morning, I was shocked to see the
spectacle of running and frolic like nothing transpired. The purity of her
resilient life cannot endure silence. She emblazons the horizon of every sordid
doubt with unrelenting witness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The years have gone swiftly. When beauty and
purity are choreographed with symbiotic craftsmanship, design is etched to
speak. She is currently pursuing Visual Design in Fashion as her call to
describe sacred glamour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One winter day, she asked what I thought about her
desire to acquire a tattoo. I always had reservations with embedded marks just
because I prefer clean skin. I did not have much leverage, so I just braced
myself for some aesthetic surprise. She chose word marks: one for each inner
forearm where the elbows swung. “I am yours” and “You are mine.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When I first saw the almost microscopic
encryptions, I was quite repulsed by its visible audacity. But then, the more I
looked at it, the more it made pure sense. I was being drawn to its message.
Indeed, her true help, the Maker of heaven and earth, had vanquished the
torrents of dragon and raging waters sweeping through her life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Why must she hide the only reason why her life
still breathes with boundless joy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">She is left with no choice, but to speak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-30899679548636839942015-12-10T06:38:00.001-08:002015-12-10T06:38:32.364-08:00Journal Six: Stand Firm<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">BEAUTY
AND THE BEAST<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Fifth grade seemed magical. The boys seemed to
transform to little men while the girls bloomed into resplendent sunflowers. I
was not quite prepared for this awakening but when she sat one desk behind me,
I thought I was caught up in the seventh heaven. There was no flaw in her
porcelain-glistened skin; her facial symmetry would be Michelangelo’s delight;
her speaking voice was that of a siren from a Sri-Lankan depth; her posture was
ordained with a royal gait; her eyes were simply azure with a glint of Saturn’s
rings; her redolence was a concoction devoid of any mortal whiff; she was a
goddess–sent to magnetize my quiescent affections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Every single day was Disney-flavored. All that was
needed was a glimpse towards her shrine. There she was: constantly
reciprocating my incessant innuendos. The perceived mutuality of our undefined
soiree escalated in my imagination. I hated class dismissals and longed for its
initial bell. How can I withstand such an intense call towards destiny?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One afternoon, a silly game of “truth or
consequence” was being played. It was her turn to answer a question with hard
truth. She was asked “who is your crush … your inspiration … the love of your life?”
Of course, my heart palpitated while I carefully eavesdropped upon her sweet
disclosure. Surely, my name shall resonate the halls of her heart and
listeners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Opening her floral lips, the words of a name so
foreign detonated my heart with fragments so numerous I internally bled
unabated. The object of her affection was some guy from the other classroom. I
was left with no strength to even reflect upon this holocaust. I shrunk unto a
staggered molehill, shaken by the aftershocks of my fleeting foundation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I was not even ten years old, but it felt like I
vaulted to eighty years with a spine that would not hold nor stand firm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Beauty died as I began breathing like a beast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 125<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Those who
trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">which
cannot be shaken but endures forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As the
mountains surround Jerusalem,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">so the
LORD surrounds his people<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">both now
and forevermore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The
scepter of the wicked will not remain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">over the
land allotted to the righteous,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">for then
the righteous might use their hands to do evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Do good,
O LORD, to those who are good,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">to those
who are upright in heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But those
who turn to crooked ways<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the LORD
will banish with the evildoers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Peace be
upon Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">STAND
FIRM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But Jesus took
him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Mark 9:27 NIV</span></b><span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The sixth anchor in our syllabus describes the
appropriate stance along the highway of faith. As the journey ascends God-ward,
we are called to maintain a steadfast posture. We are to stand firm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">To trust in the LORD is portrayed akin to the
formidable stability of Mount Zion, whose imposing strength reveals an eternal
breadth. The symbolic imagery refers to the centrality of God in the life of
faith. The infrastructure of our dependence relies upon the rock-solid
stability of our core existence. Our trust is in no one else, but in God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The encompassing security of God’s care upon his
people has been guaranteed “both now and forevermore.” Our flawed vision
somehow leads us to dangerous paths. We lay victimized, once over again by the
cunning deceitfulness of our own hearts. Our imaginations betray us, both the
young and old, as we recoil from being rising stars to plummeting beasts,
devoid of any beauty to rescue. We slip and slide through our self-crafted
tracks, oftentimes wondering where and how, we missed the right turn. Through
the mishaps, we are taken by a deeper surprise, we have been kept standing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We are admonished to stand firm on the muscularity
of God’s loyal love. The strength that surrounds our frailty comes from the
established hold of God’s promised covenant. We are hemmed in by his love,
forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The hounding presence of evil lurks alongside our
journey. The unrelenting stratagems of unseen principalities always come in
full force. We experience shipwrecks, earthquakes, landslides, and depressions
along the way. We get the sense that forces wrestle us beyond our visual
recognition. We audit our arsenal and find our bullets inept against the wicked
infantry. We cower in seeing the triumph of evil in our land, wondering who
might be capable to dislodge the egregious scepter. To this gloom, erupts God’s
oath: “the scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the
righteous.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As we choose to stand firm under God’s might, we
are providentially tethered with His armor unbeknownst to our enemies. God Himself,
fights in our behalf. Through the exquisite warfare, we stand firm, amazed with
whose side we’ve been drafted in. The enemies are vanquished indeed!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The hurriedness of the world we live in
diametrically opposes the requirement to stand firm. We would rather join the
rush, the panic, and the maddening sprint to quell what seems to threaten us.
But God calls us to a sacred hush: a divine stillness. We are called to
reconsider our posture and as such, turn all our cares to the One who truly
cares.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And so we are called to a stance of belief: we
stand firm by choosing faith upon faith to claim that Christ does the doing in
order for us to maintain our being. We rest by breathing oxygenated trust in
all aspects of life by choosing not to conform towards wickedness but to be
transformed unto Christ’s goodness. This we do by committing to memory God’s
promises: both word and will.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When we stand firm, Peace enters our lives. Not by
some manufactured human ideology; not by some perceptive psychology; not by
some sophisticated sophistry, but through the grounded reality of sacred
geology: our Rock-Mountain fortress shall stand guard over us with his enduring
word of peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">BEAUTY
REDEEMED<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Her name means “beautiful one belonging to God.”
She was born with a face lit by the morning sun while clad with a demeanor reflecting
the dance of glittering stars. Dress became her imprinted personality. At two
years, she knew the elegant runways of vogue. Her speech was loquacious but
enchantingly pure. Naturally, she had her first boyfriend at five, a little
prince in the neighborhood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There was always a signature of charm wherever she
went. My eldest daughter was an encapsulated bliss, which I incessantly
pondered on, wondering what sort of purpose God had for this jewel. Her
intellect was organic. Her social rapport was politic. Her spirituality was
resonant. There was only one thing that seemed misplaced: a true mirror to
remind her of who she really is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Years of riding on the accolades of one’s genius
can somehow take an awkward toll. Her accomplishments have gone too numerous
even to recount. Her glories too elaborate to rehearse. And so, the invitations
for relationships have gone unabated. Young men have been smitten with much exigency.
A few were rewarded for their patience and resiliency. She knew how to love but
the oil of affection constantly lacked in luster. One by one, those who sought
her endearment died on third base. The explanation for this demise is rather
simple, they were all seeking to pursue a rose that seemed devoid of thorns,
only to be pricked by the reality of her pedestrian struggles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One day, love came by swiftly through the enticing
hymns of an eastern troubadour. His wealth promised her the galaxies and
beyond. My daughter was no match to the ravishing weight of the prince’s offer.
When I met him, I was hypnotically mesmerized by his distinctive suave. Finally,
a mirror for my child or so I thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">What took place in the aftermath was horror beyond
words. Instead of redemption, there was machination. The deception, which took
over our hearts, wrecked the simple foundation of trust I had for decent
humans. As I watched the incarceration of my daughter’s soul, I bled with a
resolve not to trust in garbs of young men, ever again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One ordinary day, she came home for a visit while
I lay slumbered in bed. She tucked herself close to where I was and whispered,
“Dad, you have to pull yourself up from this hole.” I looked up and saw a glow
like I’ve never seen before. Her face was lit no longer by some manufactured
lumens but with radiance so ethereal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We had a long chat that afternoon, reviewing the
enduring goodness of God and renewing the rekindled peace of loyal redemption. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">She recently got engaged to a man of no pretense.
His opulence rests upon his wild integrity. He offers none of his own but, all
of his Father’s kingdom. His songs are deeply spoken in verses of love, joy and
peace. When I met him, he called me Papa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Their story follows a script written by the
original author, ebbing with a heartbeat far deeper than the beloved tales as
old as time. For theirs is no tale, but the very life of redemption captured by
a mirror truthfully reflective of their Father’s loyal love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-43733152536740922932015-12-10T06:37:00.000-08:002015-12-10T06:37:18.245-08:00Journal Seven: Return<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PITBULL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">In 1893 James Naismith invented the game of
basketball. Some 82 years later, I was faced-up with surprising odds while
engaging my eldest sister in a game of one on one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I had my first basketball that year on my
birthday. I remember quite poignantly, receiving the present while still
recuperating from a strong flu. The gong-like bounce on its scales was spellbinding.
Later that week, my father took me to the backyard for its sequential bonus:
from scratch, he crafted a post, a backboard, attached a rim, and after about
three hours of dedicated labor, we were both soaked in sweat gutting out our
first ever hoops scrimmage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I owned our back stadium. No one ever came close
to an uprising: my ball; my hoops – they were simply my loyal pawns. Home
always won. Visitors always had the cheap consolation of a glass of chilled
water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My eldest sister took interest in the game and
somehow had the audacity to challenge me for a prize. I hesitated on grounds of
mercy, but her persistent chide got the nod. She had zero aptitude for the game
but her defensive tenacity was the equivalent of a dozen Dennis Rodman. She
came in with claws and mortars. I was thrown into an octagon of confusion,
fumbling and losing every point. Her reincarnation into a solo Dream Team
machine ushered the horrific collapse of my kingdom domain. As she was doing
her cartwheels of jubilee, a manic instinct sprung from my venomous ego: I
lunged at her and bit her arm!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My father appeared rather quickly to the scene,
arresting me with several bottom whips and fierce reprimands. I kept on arguing
about my anger rights as I was firmly reminded that basketball never included
an option for cannibalism. I was banned for a season. It was the modern version
of a Babylonian exile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I held on to the basketball, walking away from the
crime scene.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It all seemed like hallucination. Laughter,
cheers, and spirit went to the dugout. I began wondering why glee evaporates
rather swiftly, or was this simply my self-enthroned dynasty that got exposed
for what it truly was: nothing but empty gas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Will someone please return my missing joy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 126<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When the
LORD brought back the captives to Zion,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">we were
like men who dreamed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Our
mouths were filled with laughter, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Our
tongues with songs of joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Then it
was said among the nations,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">“The LORD
has done great things for us,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and we
are filled with joy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Restore
our fortunes, O LORD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">like
streams in the Negev.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Those who
sow in tears<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">will reap
with songs of joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He who
goes out weeping,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">carrying
seed to sow,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">will
return with songs of joy, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">carrying
sheaves with him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">RETURN<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">In the same
way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my
blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">First Corinthians 11:25 NIV<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A unique virtue constitutes our seventh point. It
stands on the premise of vigorous joy. Akin to the lure of a well-crafted
espresso, one only returns to what is noteworthy if the recollection brings to
life a generous history of bliss. It is to this introspective discipline that
we are called next. We are admonished to return to what is real, albeit absent
from our current events. The life of faith cultivates a necessity to develop
the sacred habit of revisiting the grand vista of God’s enduring work. We are
called to return to vestiges of hope, ever so often. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Life without God follows the trajectory of a
dog-eat-dog existence. The survival of the fittest and the desecration of the
weak, serves as the unspoken mantra. Everything is done according to the hard
fabrications of human labor. Blood, sweat and tears facilitate personal rights
to private acclaim. Our self-earned trophies abound with one message: we are
the most valuable player within our own magnified domains. When others seek to
dismantle our reign, our fangs settle the score. We bite, if need be … to
ascertain who is the alpha and who gets licked to be omega. Through the intense
drama of such existence, one definitive realization becomes apparent: the
absence of joy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Entertainment and giddiness abound for sure, but
never deep abiding jubilation. The stultifying atmosphere negates any remote
possibility of even the slightest hint of glee. In a word, the experience is
exilic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There resides a vacuum deep down in the human
psyche for our image betrays our origin: the <i>Imago</i> <i>Dei</i> was the
original birth pattern. We were crafted in God’s image and as such, we are
patterned for irrepressible joy. No wonder, we all long for its companionship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The radical inverse is true of those who are in
the current streams of God’s care. While the prevalence of captivity looms, the
promise of redemption is always guaranteed by covenant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The Christian life is all about experiencing God
within the context of redemption. From darkness, we have been transported into
dazzling existence. From bondage, we have been set free unto unshackled faith.
This intense reality is always accompanied by laughter, by joy, akin to the
bliss of a child’s playful dream. Every believer’s journal discloses a
wonderful segment of God’s mighty intervention, every now and then: every page,
a testimony of joyful recollection. It is to this habit of retracing that we
are admonished to pursue. God is calling us to return to the never changing
reality of his stubborn love towards us. Whenever we turn on to these instant
replays, the joy that we miss is suddenly beheld.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The ways of this world disables our mind from
developing the discipline of creating space for remembering God. We are lulled
into being read into multiple scripts that speak of life situating us to the
front, end and center. It is a narrative with no true center. Such existence
always misses the opulence of joy while afflicting a malignancy of despondency.
The joy-filled life only thrives when God is central.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The way to recover our proper life script is to
enter into a conversation with the Author. God has our story. He beckons us to
return to the original script. In solitude, we retrace our steps and remember
what God has done. We flesh out our creed: Christ has died, Christ has risen, and
Christ will come again! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When we return to recognize God’s amazing loyalty,
our experiences of drought are immediately overtaken by the flood-rush of God’s
abiding presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">God’s love takes its form by way of seed sowing.
He cultivates our existence with his enduring patience. The weeds are gently
pulled; the pests are urgently snuffed; new kernels are introduced. While this
is done, the air sniffs the mist of joy. All of humanity seeks the joy that is
lost. God has not ceased to work. He desires for all, to find it all over
again. The simple discipline of writing a journal leads us to remember.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Like carefully handpicked Arabica beans, we are
being gathered to distill an aroma that brings joy to every sip. Life with God
was designed with exuberant joy in mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Return to this cup of blessing, every single day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Redeem your demitasse of joy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">NADIA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The concept of God was her target. She was raised
in Europe to form an intellectual crusade against this delusional opiate. She
was young, beautiful and intuitively articulate. Her tour included the US, as
part of a student exchange program. Her host family happened to attend my
church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">She was all books and journals. Her social life
got relegated to the few hours of worship on Sundays, while she sipped a cup of
Starbucks latte. I always sensed her quivering revolt each time I spoke about
the absolutes of the Christian gospel. Without fail, she would come with civil
kindness and say: <i>“that was quite a strong cup of coffee, pastor!” </i>I
always responded with a smile: <i>“no apologies, it is the only coffee that I
know to be best.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">She became such a darling to our community of
faith, despite her solid resistance to our faith. Her friendship was honest.
She only had a year to finish her program and the days zoomed by like a blur.
On her final week, I got invited to her place for a true European feast. She
cooked her family’s recipe and took out her precious photo albums. It was a
delightful night of good food, family bonding, and brewed coffee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As I was looking at the collage of photographs, I
was particularly drawn to the pull of her baby picture. While I was intently
holding the polaroid, she reminded me: “that’s me, the baby!” Of course, I
knew, but there was something explosive that beckoned my senses to engage her
serious curiosity. I looked at her, while looking at the photograph saying:
“Nadia, please look at this picture, and tell me straight in the eye, that
there is no God.” She abruptly changed the topic, gave me a cup of espresso
while nonchalantly grabbing her own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I left that night, with a deep sense of excitement
on what comes next. On the way out, she surprised me with a quip: “okay,
pastor-friend, if you find a Romanian bible, I shall read it!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Call it a quirky coincidence, but that week I met
a Romanian pastor at a parking lot, headed for Europe but with a spare bible
available for my friend. She was so stunned when I handed her the providential
gift.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">On her very last Sunday, I preached on the
audacious exclusivity of God’s grace found in Christ alone. At the sermon’s
end, she went up to me with her customary grace … knowing what she was about to
say … I interrupted: “It was quadruple espresso, I know but that is for you to
remember until we see each other again.” I handed her the book of Lee Strobel, <i>The
Case for Christ</i>, with my parting words: “Lee is a seasoned journalist just
like you, who never thought it possible to believe in God. His memoirs are written
in this book. Just for friendship’s sake, will you please read this personal
present?” She smiled, while sipping her latte.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Two years passed and there was no news about her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Joy carried on within the community of faith,
while I wondered why some seeds just seem to fall through the cracks. As God’s
postman, I always long for good returns: a smile of consolation, a nod of
affirmation … the surprise of conversion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One afternoon, an email resonated with sonic boom:
“dear pastor, thank you for all the incessant prayers. I have recently chosen
Christ and presently growing in the faith with a bible-study group here at
home. Please send my love to my family there. <i>Signed</i>, Nadia, <i>God’s
coffee bean.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The propulsion of joy moved to an otherwise
parched existence. Like the sudden burst of oasis through the streams of Negev,
songs of joy have returned to a foreign land.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-54327101836025889942015-12-10T06:36:00.000-08:002015-12-10T06:36:00.805-08:00Journal Eight: Rest<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">HOMELESS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He was scary. Those red eyes; the impish grin; the
sun-parched skin; the greased apparel. He roamed the streets without ever
reaching anywhere. He carried a huge blackened duffle bag that seemed to grow
heavier each passing day. He wore no shoes. His feet calluses served as soles
against the emaciating hubris of asphalt and dirt. He had no name but his
identity was renowned. No one ever came near. He was constantly at least ten
feet away from civilized humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There was only one instance when our eyes met. I
was on my way home from school as I spotted him savoring what seemed like a
corn cob. His horrid hair, kept me from fully scrutinizing his version of a
feast. In a split second, he looked up towards my direction and his eyeballs
screamed at mine while a cacophony of messages were hurled. I felt an unusual
pain, the excruciating agony of a person seeking to discover a lost story. I
looked for a second, but I melted the next. I could not stand staring at the
caricature of my very existence so graphically depicted inside this man’s
countenance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There was no difference between him and my
personal sojourn. It was just that I am the sanitized version of what is plain
true about the person that I know I am. I quickly grabbed my school bag and
rushed home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He was too painful for me to endure. My head
knocks from an unusual vertigo that had me spinning on how I actually looked
like from within.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">How is it that this nomad avoids toil, while I
seem to be neck-deep in rigor, yet somehow sensing the mutuality of our
frustration?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Homeless and helpless, defines us both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 127<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents. Of Solomon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Unless
the LORD builds the house,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">its
builders labor in vain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Unless
the LORD watches over the city,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">the
watchmen stand guard in vain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">In vain
you rise early and stay up late,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">toiling
for food to eat–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">for he
grants sleep to those he loves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Sons are
a heritage from the LORD,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">children
a reward from him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Like
arrows in the hands of a warrior<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">are sons
born in one’s youth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Blessed
is the man whose quiver is full of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">They will
not be put to shame<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When they
contend with their enemies in the gate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">REST<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Come to me,
all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Matthew 11:28 NIV</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It is but appropriate to meet the central aspect
of our syllabus in the call to rest. The irony of this invitation springs from
the very nature of what God does so well: wonderful work. Before seeking to
enter such repose, it is important to recognize the primacy of fruitful labor
within God’s itinerary. He works within a framed rhythm that sets the universe
on a course of fluid motion. The Scriptures introduces God, not loading off in
some leisurely cruise, but right in the middle of constructive work. The
cadence of the first pages of divine revelation heralds the consummate quality
of God’s craftsmanship. It is within the pulse of this divine industry that our
call to rest arises.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Equally crucial is a determined awareness to shun
any semblance of sloth in conjunction with God’s known work schedule. The call
to rest within our ongoing steps towards godliness is not an invitation to resign,
nor retire in lieu of some guaranteed cash-out benefits. On the other end of
the spectrum, lies the necessity to understand the evils of compulsive work.
Work done apart from the centrality of God’s supervision is deplorably a royal
waste of time and resource. The prayer of rest must guide our work by leaning
in on God’s extensive labor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The current phase of work in our generation
simulates the sophisticated machinery of humanity’s ancient enterprise to build
the tower of Babel. Nothing was for mediocrity: first-class was the by-word of
production. Efficiency was set in motion without any compromise. Persons took
on the chains of production under the steady whips of grinding machines. The
result of Genesis 11 was catastrophic. The stairway to heaven turned into a
nightmarish monument to human ineptness. It is a testimony to all human ventures
devoid of God’s superintendence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The opposing scenario presents an equally
disruptive reality. Society is fraught with lazybones whose primary pursuit is
towards charity. Their existence is contingent upon the expected benevolence of
those whose calling is that of enabling a race of parasites. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The call to rest has nothing to do with these
previous preoccupations. The mandate is primarily for those who are called to
do serious work, in God’s name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The Psalmist declares with certitude the condition
of fruitfulness: “Unless the Lord builds the house; Unless the Lord watches
over the city …” all efforts precluding God’s input lead to the highway of
uselessness. In deep personal tone, he warns of the unrivaled intensity of
unaccompanied human effort, with all the savvy as mere dross. The opposite is
lucid: “to those he loves, he grants rest.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The secured provision towards God’s own is wrapped
around the vehicle of rest. God’s work ethic covers all the necessary grounds for
human existence. Absolutely: everything from air to morsel. The primary work of
the believer then is rested prayer. It is work that anchors on the sufficiency
of the LORD’s being. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The illustration of heritage presents the stunning
commitment of this divine grace. The way of rest takes into consideration the
overriding motivation of God’s love in seeking to lead us, in all our work.
Children are bestowed to us by way of the most delicious of human intimacy.
There is hardly any vestige of labor in the act of sex, and yet the seeds are
planted to bloom with wondrous profundity. Our children serve us well within
the gates of our secured villages. With fluency, we are affirmed: “Blessed is
the man whose quiver is full of them.” With humility, we acknowledge the sole
competence of our working God to satisfy our vats with his goodness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">What this does to our perception of work is that
of providing precision on who truly grants our needs. God’s invitation for us
to come to him guarantees the gift of rest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We are roused to a new kind of labor. We build
homes, not despondent from lack of help but profuse with guided workmanship. We
raise families, not burdened from lack of wisdom but equipped with sacred
sagacity. We look back at our labor and find none to brag. It has been God all
along, carrying us through all our dedication and centered devotion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The beauty of this arrangement rests upon the
weight of its accompanying freedom. God grants us all things. When he decides
to remove anything, it is a mere reallocation of his sovereign grace. When he
adds something, it is a rehearsal of creation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">To all this, we pray: “let us do this, Lord!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">LUKE
DANIEL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I have always dreamt of having a boy. He was
destined to become the NBA’s post-Jordan phenom. It was a long time coming, but
on our third pregnancy, all signs were looking bright. My excitement to mentor
a young turk was feral. I would accompany my wife wherever she went, as though
I was in charge of transporting the Ark of Israel. I handled her with obsessive
attentiveness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When the announcement was made in church, the
congregation responded with a feast. Hail, to the coming champion! The
festivity was short-lived. I was doing garden work when my expectant wife
showed up with tears describing a tragic irregularity. The doctor validated our
fears. Luke Daniel will not be able to cross the line. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It was a week of deep sadness. I remember merely
holding my wife’s tremors with my own trembling hands. When I made the
announcement in church, their alloyed tears flowed freely. Through the
darkness, God had granted me the vista to have a glimpse of its discreet
blessing. I declared publicly: “Despite the pain of loss, I praise God for
having at least experienced how it feels to be a father to a son, even for a
few days. I truly am grateful.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">After these words, there was one young man seated
at the front, whom I’ve never met before, who stood abruptly and left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">After a week, I received a phone call from him.
With awkwardness, he revealed why he had to leave. He was convicted through his
soul. He was visiting from out of state, trying to clear his mind. He had
gotten his girlfriend pregnant and had personally scheduled an abortion. After
heeding the clear message, he cancelled the procedure while promising the young
woman, his pledge of marriage. He called to ask, if I had time to officiate
their wedding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It was a simple yet eloquent manifestation of
God’s intervention through chaos. The redemption of this young family fuels my
soul with exceeding gladness. Indeed, everything has been turned over from
tears to heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Resting solely upon the magnanimity of God’s enduring work,
my fondest dream took on an eternal shape. The scope of God’s work has been
unveiled. It may seem like I do most of the work but it is the LORD who does
the heavy lifting. I have found the best effort to be that of resting under the
shadow of His wings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My son, who now resides in my Father’s mansion,
has become a phenom, solely by God’s working grace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-30673031436853985592015-12-10T06:34:00.000-08:002015-12-10T06:34:19.488-08:00Journal Nine: Receive<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">ACROPHOBIA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My little brother thought I was a demigod.
Whatever I did, he emulated. Whatever I tasted, he ingested. Whatever I
thought, he ruminated. I resolved to aid his ascent to manhood with a sense of
marvel-lit mission. If he was to climb the Everest, there was one starting
point, I must grant him mentorship on how to conquer the heights. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The carnival was in town for a season of frolic. I
took the glorious opportunity to initiate him by introducing him to the nuance
of levitation. He was with adorned pride while we marched to the rusty Ferris
wheel cadenced by some loud Motown beat. I bought our tickets and quickly
hopped in for the thrill. There were no seat belts; just a tiny iron rod that
latched to our front seats. Our cabin was like a makeshift half-drum of petroleum
barrel. It was painted with acrylic yellow, which somehow turned tangerine with
the reflective lights. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The wheel did not turn, until all seats were
taken. Almost thirty minutes for the wait. We were at the very pinnacle, when
the flimsy iron contraption got dislodged, rushing headlong with a quiet thud.
No one even noticed except us, who by now have gone into serious panic due to
the final descent of the machine. I wailed for the engineer to hit the pause
button, but the speed swallowed up any vocal efforts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My brother shook with astonished tremor, while I
held on to him like a gorilla in rigor mortis. There was no room for idealized
maxims about any ladder to success; all that I had in mind were stairs to slip
us down and out. Nervousness held our bladders from spilling, while our hearts
soared to their maximum decibels. After the eternal damnation, we bolted out of
the massacre, both trembling and nauseous. My little brother never bothered to
look up, nor ask what just ate us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The god of heights laughed all night long, as two
wannabe gladiators disappeared in the thick night, emaciated and utterly
dwarfed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The jargon of blessing could not be uttered. I had
nothing to teach, nor offer, except my brawny cowardice that utterly exposed my
personal bankruptcy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 128<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Blessed
are all who fear the LORD,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">who walk
in his ways,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">You will
eat the fruit of your labor;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">blessings
and prosperity will be yours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Your wife
will be like a fruitful vine within your house;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">your sons
will be like olive shoots around your table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Thus is
the man blessed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">who fears
the LORD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">May the
LORD bless you from Zion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">all the
days of your life;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">May you
see the prosperity of Jerusalem,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and may
you live to see your children’s children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Peace be
upon Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">RECEIVE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Give, and it
will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running
over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be
measured to you.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Luke 6:38 NIV</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Our ninth anchor hinges upon God’s unrivaled generosity.
He seeks to bless his people with an ever-increasing measure! The substance of
our relationship with Him finds affirmation in the realities of tangible
blessings that we receive. To all those who truly fear the LORD, the call to
make preparations to receive are given.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Deeply ingrained into our human psyche is a
virtuous craving towards endowment. Call it mentorship, discipleship, tutelage,
initiation, OJT, walk-through, etc., there is such a unique pull towards
impacting others by way of sharing what we think we have received. Be it an
imagined mastery over fear of heights or depths, we tend to gather our young,
to pass on what we treasure. It is towards this propensity that we are to
examine the aspect of what we are currently receiving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When God is taken seriously, a new kind of living
ensues. A person’s walk follows a specific path that leads to the land of
blessing. Through the journey, fruitfulness is experienced in terms of God’s
promise of prosperity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Since our faith-walk is towards God, the version
of blessing flows from his carefully revealed parameters. We are granted
discernment to see that all that glitters is not necessarily gold. Primary in
our consideration of true wealth is the blessing of flourishing relationships.
We see our families as incomparable bestowals of God’s love. We receive
friendships with the honest agenda of genuine other-centeredness. Material
grants are seen precisely for what they are: mere materials designed to build
God’s kingdom. The fear of the LORD does all these: we are made to receive full
blessings in order to make preparations to give up the same, causing others to
taste and see true opulence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We pass on the blessings by receiving the
peaceable favor of God’s gifts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As God’s true people, we understand how rich we
have become. We suddenly turn to the grace of generosity and find the joy of
giving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Freely we have received. Freely we give.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Lessons, cars, lives … are received in order to be
given.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">FREE GIFT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My first car was a midnight-blue coupe named Brutus.
I endowed him with obsessive care and compulsive delight. I guess that’s what
happens when your heart is young and toys easily trick your affections into
hidden idolatry. Through the years, I have somehow outgrown this myopia and had
found a deeper source of grounding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I just gave my personal SUV to a family who just
joined our church. A near fatal accident caused the loss of their only vehicle:
an F-150 truck that somehow morphs into a bus to accommodate the young couple
and their five kids. It did not take much for me to part ways with my favorite
recreational toy, and although it did pinch, I knew the Lord had a better use
for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">That very day, a good friend called to ask if I
could be of help. Her old car was just about to be towed away. It was parked at
her relative’s front garage for some months now, oil leaking, dead battery,
flat tires etc. She was wondering, if I had a room for an extra baby. I said:
“You do not have a clue on what I just did. I do need a spare car. Let me help
you with it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I was looking at an old masterpiece: a 1988 BMW iS
Coupe. It used to be cherry red, but has turned oxidized pink. The engine was
coated with gunk. She was a silent shadow of her former glory. I got married in
1988, and this was the ultimate eye candy back then. I just had to sign the
adoption papers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The restoration process was both expensive and
rewarding. It was close to its mint condition except for a mysterious leak on
the power-steering receptacle. I have gone to a handful mechanics that shared
my frustration over the riddle. Exasperated with the fluid mess in my garage, I
finally went to the snooty dealership. The manager was too impressed with the
old steed. He intimated that “she must have been handed down to me by my good
Dad.” When I told him about the leak issue. The first thing he asked was what
kind of fluid was I using. “Power steering fluid of course!” He smiled and
said: “This model does not use power-steering fluid. It is a proprietary blend
only from BMW!” It was a forty-five dollar bottle miracle. I drove home and
took my wife for a spin. With glee, I said: “Back in 1988, if I had the money,
I would have bought this very car, glued the engagement ring on its key and
asked: what does BMW mean? Of course … <i>Be My Wife!</i>” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I drove the sterling speedster with growing pride.
One day I met a city cop who demonstrated an impeccable demeanor in helping me
sort out some regulation issues. I invited him and his wife to join us for
dinner. The African-American couple was a delight, to say the least. His wife
was a schoolteacher in downtown Dallas. After our dinner, I asked how I might
pray for them. They shared an urgent need for another car. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I knew I had to pray alongside. I also know that
when one prays seriously, one must be ready for anything. A silent tremor grew
everyday within my heart until, I called my friend to ask about the car
situation. He said, “don’t worry my friend, the Lord will provide!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The following week, I invited him to attend the
prayer meeting at my house. Walking him outside my door, I told him, the Lord
has supplied his need: I handed him the keys, title and license. He stared at
the showcase with disbelief. I had to force him to get inside, lest I change my
mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The uninterrupted string of God’s blessings had
found its best expression: while I am constantly on the receiving end, nothing
quite compares to the finality of being able to mimic what God does. The gifts
that we receive turn into eternal memoirs once they get released to bless
others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, stands for their
ultimate driving machines, but within the paradigm of my blessed existence, the
acronym helps me conjugate a deeper grace: <i>Be Most Willing</i> to give!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-89827334543124611162015-12-10T06:33:00.001-08:002015-12-10T06:33:10.442-08:00Journal Ten: Stay<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">REST ROOM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Friar Svanovski was the sort of priest who
exemplified a seasoned pious stability that kept those around him safe and
fastened. With serious demeanor he once declared with absolute certitude that
all non-Roman Catholics are hell-bound. I was the only Protestant in our exclusive
Catholic school. But then, I got ordained with the grace of proximity to his
inner circle. I played the ropes well by leeching away from my predicted
descent to Sheol. I constantly served as his knight of the altar. My religious
wardrobe became a convenient ride to emphatic affections, albeit the steep
price: I had to imbibe Pharisaical legalism. I was an impeccable saint, at
least while within the synod’s radar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One of the mandatory requirements was to maintain
apt decorum whenever religious rituals ensued. This was most pronounced during
one particular rite. It is believed that actual divine transcendence took place
at the moment of its invocation. And so, participants were to stay in place
with serious fidelity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One humid day, all classes were led for such
gathering. I was about to take a restroom break but expediency did not allow
for it. The program extended beyond normal while I was experiencing the
excruciation of holding back every fabric of expulsive muscle from imploding my
bladder. Every part of my internal anatomy wanted to rush towards the exit but
the subliminal memorandum of the holiness code was omnipotent. When the scent
of smoke unleashed the signal of the apparent epiphany, I felt a sudden
quiver–a simultaneous push of every dormant fluid: perspiration and
bladder-flow gushed unashamedly unabated. Therein lies the vignette of one
kneeling saint wetting his pants prostrate before the god of Niagara!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I literally knelt frozen, while everyone began to
leave. One classmate noticed my immobility, asking if I was all right.
Discovering my calamity, he ushered me out from the puddle. I wondered why the
janitor never bothered to dry-clean the wet evidence. Perhaps, the custodian
suspected a mirage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Not a bad guess at all. I was merely a glorified
liquid vessel, held by the ecclesiology of my own scheming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">With a growing confusion, I began asking myself
what was it that really shackled me to my sacred pew?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">What in the world washed my brain to think that I
can lean in to stay for comfort other than the rest room?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 129<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">They have
greatly oppressed me from my youth–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">let
Israel say–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">they have
greatly oppressed me from my youth,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">but they
have not gained the victory over me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Plowmen
have plowed my back<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and made
their furrows long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But the
LORD is righteous;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">he has
cut me free from the cords of the wicked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">May all
who hate Zion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Be turned
back in shame.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">May they
be like grass on the roof,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">which
withers before it can grow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">with it
the reaper cannot fill his hands,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">nor the
one who gathers fill his hands,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">May those
who pass by not say,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">“The
blessing of the LORD be upon you;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">we bless
you in the name of the LORD.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">STAY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He got up,
rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died
down and it was completely calm. </span><b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Mark 4:39 NIV<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The tenth aspect in our pilgrim syllabus
especially bears upon the unfavorable setting of our transient cultures. We are
called to adopt a most difficult discipline: to stay. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">In a world that is constantly subject to coercive
schemes and calculated manipulations, we have somehow learned the art of
ejecting ourselves from any discomfort whenever we feel like it. And so we
transfer from place to place without much thought. This has become the norm for
relationships, jobs, dwelling, faith, etc. Whenever there is some
inconvenience, we have been conditioned to consider our multiple options and
henceforth, move with haste.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There is likewise an inverse reality to this.
There are those who have been so entrenched in deep tradition, albeit life-drenching,
that are somehow stuck in between tight screws, paralyzed and disabled to move.
There is a call to engage our current life stations with the proper application
of God’s mandate for us to stay when needed, but move whenever absolutely
necessary. In both scenarios, we are called to consider the firm invitation to
stay within God’s purview.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The psalmist lays out the unrelenting nature of
debilitating challenges: “They have greatly oppressed me from my youth …” This
world has its way of enfeebling its participants. Since humanity’s fall, there
has been a predominant atmosphere of cultural insurgency that seeks to harm
God’s people. There has arisen a consensus that followers of Christ are
dangerous elements in that they seek to subvert the existing social order. The
distinction as God’s own is seen as misplaced arrogance: the establishment of a
chosen race. Thus the oppression seems warranted. The psalmist experiences this
unceasing assault but with a reasoned rigor, declares: “but they have not
gained the victory over me.” The life of faith calls for a resolve to stay the
course, through the unrelenting attacks. The word stay brings out the
distinctiveness of persevering patience amidst the storms of life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The person of faith who chooses to hold on to the
anchor of God’s covenant loyalty will be granted divine rescue each time a need
arises. God made a promise to defend us from all our enemies in order to
safeguard the integrity of our faith in him. The protection plan is offered
only to those who are willing to stay within God’s policy plan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There is a curse that befalls those who oppress
God’s people. They shall be put to shame. Their arrogant positions shall yield
nothing but temporal weeds. Whatever they seek to accumulate will be assessed
as leading to emptiness. No blessing follows their generation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The wicked choose to stay bolted within their
imagined prowess but the believer turns to the Lord’s strength for vindication.
It is towards this divine grant that we are called to stay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When we translate the principles of this psalm
into the very tapestry of our lives, we find ourselves making commitments to
stay in our God-ordained locus, knowing that his strong right hand shall keep
us standing, no matter what.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As we choose to stay, our relationships are
restored from their brokenness while being infused with increased energy to
live another day, another year… another life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">FRANK’S
FLIGHT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Frank seemed to have it all. He owns an
illustrious enterprise in Manhattan. The most gorgeous family adores him. His
suburban home reflects the flair of an architectural digest. Life was good,
until one curious look and an accompanying wrong turn blindsided his trek.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">His wife flew in to Dallas to shut the doors
forever. He was caught in broad daylight. There is no excuse for infidelity when
your wife exudes exceeding pulchritude. Her brother told me about the impending
divorce and was just asking if I had any spare time to comfort Frank who was
rather fouled out of steam and despondent. I said “no divorce is final until it
is signed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The following week, there was a gentle knock at
the front door. He flew in from out of state, just to see me. I welcomed him
and without ado, he went into serious business. His thick Italian accent
flavored the heaviness of his travail. Going through the events leading to his
tragedy, he screeched with a firm question: “Is there still some hope to save
this marriage?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My response was terse: “None.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He then stood up, began to say goodbye, when I
interrupted: “There is none, except for one.” “What is it then?” he curiously
asked. “You have to die, first.” To this, he looked at me blankly, rather
perplexed if I was a clown digging through his grave. I went on to explain the
metaphor of dying to self in order to live anew. He saw the urgency of turning
his life over to God. Upon surrender, I reminded him of his acquired nature: a
person in Christ is a new one. The old Frank is dead and gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He flew back and true to his new conviction, he
cut all peripheral cords that somehow entangled him. News of his conversion
reached his wife. This led to escalated infuriation but somehow, granted her
curiosity to visit with me. I shared the story, but it did not end with Frank.
She too, needed to die, if their marriage was to live.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">After about a month, a first class miracle took
place. I was present during the awkward reunion. There were few words uttered.
The first was preceded by Frank’s hand reaching out to hers asking, “May I hold
your hand again?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A year after their reconciliation, I visited the
East Coast and was invited to stay overnight at their house. It was such a
splendor to witness the sweet turnaround. Sleeping at the attic guest room, I
was awakened by their son’s cry: “Daddy, daddy … where are you? Please take me
to your bed!” The rushing footsteps of Frank followed instantaneously as I
heard him whisper: “Son, it’s okay, Dad is here, I’ll take you to our room …
come … “<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
pondered if it were not for mercy the urgency of forgiveness would have been
stunted. If it were not for the accompanying death-to-self on that ordinary
day, there would have been no forthcoming footsteps or comforting words for the
toddler. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">If it were not for grace, we would have all been
divorced. But God stayed, and thus we stay. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-46809988522653985602015-12-10T06:31:00.001-08:002015-12-10T06:31:53.658-08:00Journal Eleven: Exchange<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">BIOLOGICAL
GLOOM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I got introduced to the study of living things
with some sense of reservation. I always thought that organic existence ought
to be left alone un-dissected. This all changed when my teacher demonstrated a
riveting theatrical demeanor towards the living universe. His love for Biology
was akin to the surge of an epidemic: our class got hooked. I was captivated by
this man’s torrid passion for his academic fanaticism. His seriousness was
ridiculously inspiring. He demanded utmost respect for all his acolytes each
time his botanical cathedral chimed for learning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I was his number one disciple. My notes turned
obsessively verbatim. I was so enamored by his pedagogical prowess that my
personal delight in the scrutiny of protoplasm grew with equal vigor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One morning, all classes were being dismissed to
proceed to the gym to cheer for the basketball team. While all classes were
quickly emptied, ours remained fastened to our sacred subject. He warned our
class not to veer any of our attention to the distraction of student traffic
converging along the corridors. I was completely compliant with this edict for
I was his unflinching loyalist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One millisecond though, my eyes wandered away from
the blackboard while glancing at some rowdy pedestrian. His highness,
immediately roared his thunder, leaped from his throne and in a single bounce,
both his hands and scepter were on my collars. He uprooted me out of my chair,
dragging me towards the door while hoarsely shouting: “If that’s where you want
to be, then scram … run outside and don’t look back!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It felt like I was thrown into some demilitarized
zone left with no option but roam unto oblivion. I was in severe shock on what
just transpired. It took me about a week to wiggle past the dust of my
incoherent fate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I never had the strength to ask my teacher what
got into him to publicly demonstrate such an epic ignorance of my deep
allegiance. The classes ran as usual but I merely attended the sessions with my
soul parked and my countenance anchored somewhere else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Biology grew pale on my list, as my weakened
attention drifted with complacency, not even willing for any exchange of any
further affection towards the study of living monsters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Why must I entrust my thoughts to a heartless guru
who knows nothing but tadpoles and bad foils. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">No return. No exchange. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 130<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Out of
the depths I cry to you. O LORD;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">O LORD,
hear my voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Let your
ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">If you, O
LORD, kept a record of sins,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">O LORD,
who could stand?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But with
you there is forgiveness;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Therefore,
you are feared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I wait
for the LORD, my soul waits,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and in
his word I put my hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My soul
waits for the LORD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">more than
watchmen wait for the morning,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">more than
watchmen wait for the morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">O Israel,
put your hope in the LORD,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">for with
the LORD is unfailing love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and with
him is full redemption.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He
himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">EXCHANGE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">What good will
it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can
a man give in exchange for his soul? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Matthew 16:26 NIV<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The honest recognition of human travail longs for
the integrity of our eleventh element. In the midst of our tumultuous
conditions, God calls us for an exchange. The kind of transaction that he
offers defies the conventional meaning of human calculations. It is an offer of
trade between the benevolent God and for only those who are willing. For lack
of a better description, it is simply a Great Exchange: an incredible form of
redemption from sufferings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The cry of the Psalmist reveals deep pain: “Out of
the depths I cry to you. O LORD.” The life of faith does not seek to hide nor
diminish the realities of pain and suffering. The way out of darkness always
presupposes an honest accounting of how dark one’s gloaming has been. Persons
who are in denial of their own duress are never led to the doors of freeing
light. It is crucial to face one’s painful experiences in order to be able to
cry out the precise volume of its depressing depths. It is towards this plea
that we are called to weep out to the LORD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A believer who cries out to the LORD with honest
integrity, hopes upon the personal attendance of God to all who seek his
solace. It is towards his mercies that this dependence is leaned on. Indeed,
there is not a single person who deserves God’s attention, but because of
mercy, He turns his eyes towards the lowly and hears them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The bulwark of sin in our lives causes us to
recoil in fear of others. Those whom we have formerly entrusted have betrayed
us. Those who trusted us, we have denounced. Apart from the mercies of
forgiveness, bitterness runs the course of our lives. How can our affections be
restarted to trust those whom we deem untrustworthy? Sin stains our
relationships with deep dark indelible ink. Apart from forgiveness, all
wrongdoers, including us, are doomed. But God shows up with forgiveness. He
offers himself to settle the injustice that cannot be undone by any human
judge. He throws away the record books and replaces it with one that lists
those who have been pardoned without any record of wrongs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">While this recognition takes place, God ushers us
to apply the call to exchange. Whatever weakness, whatever ineptness, whatever
malignancy, etc., all such personal incompetence is being ushered into the
trade market of God’s grace: His strength for all our weakness. The ancient
meaning of waiting speaks of a definitive exchange between two unequals. The
benevolent bestows favor towards a humble subject. God calls us to a proper
accounting of our prevailing pains and in the midst of all our agony we are to
cry out for his help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The posture of waiting seeks the dawning of sure
hope. Waiting upon the LORD, intentionally focuses upon the reliability of God
to turn things around, because of his unfailing and loyal love. The Great
Exchange is grand due to the comprehensive nature of its intent: full
redemption.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We cease defining ourselves while turning to our
Creator for our true identity. God does not save us from retail pain. He sent
his Son to provide full redemption from all our delusions. When the Great Exchange
takes place, we are forever changed. He answers our prayers by being the answer
Himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We are no longer mere wanderers but redeemed
people, set apart and adopted with God’s enduring favor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">GOD’S
FAVORITES<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I was visiting Manila, still reeling from the
cataclysm of a friend’s suicide. It happened just a week prior to my arrival
from Dallas. He suffered from asphyxiation; the trauma of losing his boyfriend
snapped his lifeline. I will be flying back in a week to conduct the funeral
service as was requested by his family. I was at a loss for both words and
meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Being both a pastor and friend to a lot of folks
can be truly enervating. One week of reconnection seemed the equivalence of
seven. I was re-packing for home when Bryan called at around 1 am. He just
needed to talk. The abysmal loss of his eight-year old son on Christmas Day,
took his marriage cascading down in a spiral.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I was booked at central hotel, and it was
convenient to call the appointment downstairs. I spent about two hours
clarifying the need for deep empathy in what he and his wife were going
through. Our session ended with his summary: “ It is just so difficult to enter
her dark world. She stays there, and tries to pull me into her death-trap … I
can’t help but rush out quickly.” I assured him of my prayers, while hinting my
need for desperate sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Walking towards the elevator, I noticed a young
gentleman, half-slouching and half-lying on a bar chair. There were about
fifteen bottles of beer on his table, cradled by the putrid smell from his ashtray.
Spotting us, he propped himself up and bawled my friend’s name: “Bryan! Bryan …
my goodness! … it is so f…. ing late and you’re still up with your boyfriend?
Long time, no see, dude … What’s up with you, man? Who’s this f … ing hunk,
anyway?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Bryan was obviously embarrassed and stunted from
speech. The stranger was his high school classmate. He was the designated
watchdog that night for some big shot foreign executives who were ferrying
high-class women to their clients. He was directing the traffic, all night
long. Obviously exasperated and drunk, he was merely intending for some
company. He pursued his fulmination towards me: “I’ve never met you before …
Hey Bryan, would you mind me stealing your boy for the night?” Bryan was now
pulp-red, when I spoke: “I am not Bryan’s boyfriend, I am his pastor.” It was
as though some kryptonite detonated. He dashed towards the exit only to return,
cursing Bryan for not stopping him from his miserable rap of ignorance.
“Pastor, forgive me, I did not know … Bryan, for Christ’s sake, he is your
pastor, man … uhh, Pastor, you see … I was once born-again too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He ordered coffee for all three of us. He shared
why he defected from the faith with a clear introduction: “Your God, plays
favorites. I used to like him, but he just chooses whom to bless and I am certainly
not one of those!” I just listened for about an hour of anecdotes on darkness,
desert, and dungeon. It was rather amazing that I was able to keep up with his
narrative, considering my droopy state. Sensing perhaps my courtesy in lending
him my undivided attention, he asked what brought me to the city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I shared my itinerary, which somehow led to a
disclosure of my unresolved grief pertaining my friend’s suicide. I was
surprised by his calm while he listened with depth. He then interjected: “I
think I catch his drift. I am not really gay, as in happy. I slog through a
melancholic river. I have had a thousand and one affairs with every stud in
this city and they all seem to facilitate cascades to rapids of dole. It is
just a matter of time, I guess, before one hits rock-bottom.” He paused, and
with poignancy, he continued: “You are married I suppose and each time you make
love, a propulsion of life begets you. Inversely, I don’t know why a dagger
hits me each time I try that with my lovers … I die a thousand times.” “That’s
why, your friend’s fate does not surprise me at all. It happens to me all the
time.” “I keep on praying for rescue but I guess I am not one of his
favorites.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">With a prompt of urgency, I interrupted his
poignant exegesis: “Benny, I flew all the way from Dallas to hear from God what
I needed to understand. I never had you on my schedule, but it seems like you
were on His. Could it be that you have remained precious in his sight, for him
to book this conversation to lead off?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We talked about the possibilities of hope amidst
darkness among others. It was close to 4:30 AM when I got dismissed. At the
hotel’s door, Bryan bid goodbye saying: “the deep empathy of soul, I witnessed
tonight ignited my redemption …”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Well, salvation for Bryan and Benny, I guess … but
it was actually, more for mine. Redemption sounds like a deep theological term
but it is nothing more, nothing less but an incredible trade: all our
weaknesses surrendered, in exchange for God’s awaiting strength. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Thousands of feet above, huddled within the
clouds, I peered down the gray-scaled earth, smiling with thoughts of
expectancy through all the vast, yet truly puny chaos. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">God does play favorites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">His calendar gets filled with their appointed
schedules: exchanging grand mercies for piddling morsels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-87043718248422885522015-12-10T06:30:00.001-08:002015-12-10T06:30:20.622-08:00Journal Twelve: Hush<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">VIOLIN
VIOLENCE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The four-stringed instrument was surely crafted
for romantic transcendental bliss. But that’s not quite the case with my gritty
violin. It was bought from some third class provender. One afternoon, I was
surprised with the encased present; but then, I quickly wondered what must have
been the collaborated ploy. Well, the week after, true to my premonition, I got
introduced to a nerdy Professor who was to be my Tuesday night solfeggio and
violin mentor, from now hence. With disdain, I bid goodbye to my street-play
commitments in lieu of my parent’s cultural imposition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It was a journey of pain and lament. During the
very first lesson my teacher asked for my instrument, which upon his quick scan
revealed an insidious smirk. With an accompanying cattiness, he then unpacked
his violin from its costly brown case. His was truly beautiful: the light tan,
the unusual gloss, which emitted a sensuous scent. With the first down stroke …
I was so enthralled by its resonant ambience. When I was asked to play mine,
all that it could produce was a half-muted eek, which rode on four wheels while
stirring off-road notes. Nonetheless, I was consoled to pay close scrutiny to
my lessons and not to focus on my challenged implement. And so I tried. Months
of hard labor took me to some degree of competence. The constant backdrop of
extemporaneous howl from our neighborhood canine chorale at least affirmed the
proper placement of my high notes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">On Christmas night, a social gathering of about
300 people, were set to witness my first solo finale: <i>Stille Nacht</i>. All
kinds of dignified persons showed up with holiday smiles and kind expectations.
Not to be hidden by any limelight, the Professor kept on fine-tuning my violin
despite its dormant readiness. Up to the very last second, he compulsively
directed the audience’s attention towards who was the protégé’s Maestro. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">And so it was time for the serenade of the night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">On the first down-stroke, all of Hades seemed
loose. I noticed that all strings except for one were in tune. For some
mysterious conspiracy, my violin defected from any good intentions and went on
a sordid recalculation towards self-expression. Silent Night was hardly
recognizable as I fought with incongruence for every note. I could not make
sense of whatever dissonance was fueling the cruel coup de tat. The audience
grew silently pale each seconds. The Professor was obviously wincing in pain as
I sought to terminate the malignancy of my misery. While there was a courteous
applause, I hurried to bury my violin to its casket, while imploring my mentor
not to lay any more hands upon this hushed renegade. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Silent Night, Wholly Blight!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 131<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents. Of David.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My heart
is not proud, O LORD,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">my eyes
are not haughty;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I do not
concern myself with great matters<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">or things
too wonderful for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But I
have stilled and quieted my soul;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">like a
weaned child with its mother,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">like a
weaned child is my soul within me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">O Israel,
put your hope in the LORD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">both now
and forevermore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">HUSH<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">But Jesus
remained silent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Matthew 26:63 NIV</span></b><span style="font-family: Cochin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There is a specific kind of stillness that calls
the believer to enter in: a sacred hush before the Almighty. In a world that is
both hurried and noisy, the discipline of being silent before God becomes a
formidable undertaking. There is nothing in our rambunctious culture that truly
understands what it means to be hushed in the presence of the Triune God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There is much silence, to be sure, but it is the kind
that is elicited from despondency. There is silence that emanates from defeat
and utter hopelessness. There is silence that comes from the unceasing blows of
heaping rape and abuse. There is silence that rises from the face of death.
Silence becomes a sting that deflates the human soul from soaring and wrestled
unto a crawling existence. But there is a kind of stillness that this world
knows not of. It is the kind of serene solitude that results from being in
God’s presence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A proud heart does not understand such stillness.
The arrogance of humanity is expressed in our propensity to solicit control of
all things. We seem to find a semblance of established identity when we exert
our will to govern anything that surrounds us. We become managers of this, and
managers of that. We superintend all things, from tuning violins to defining
earthlings. We seek to control in order to feign who we are not: omnipotent
creatures made to reign over all things, devoid of God’s lead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The Psalmist declares: “My heart is not proud, O
LORD,” as the starting point of his intent to be still before God. We are
called to enter into a holy hush by bridling our hearts to recognize our proper
place in God’s economy. God alone is God. When we consider the immensity of His
character as Trinity, we are sent into a sense of deep awe on who has committed
to walk alongside our life journey: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.
Three in One. One in Three. The Triune God in perfect tune with their delight
in seeking what is good for us. When this is acknowledged, all arrogant
haughtiness comes to a halt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The stillness of one’s soul passes through the
discipline of trusting the One who alone can do no wrong. Like the stillness of
a weaned child next to his mother, we assume the posture of utmost dependence.
Our hope is singularly anchored upon God’s wisdom: his timing and provisions
are impeccable. We move out of his way, in order to experience the full measure
of his care.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The challenge of this discipline lies in its
consistency. We are called to a life of abiding hush “both now and
forevermore.” Our present journey, as well as our future steps find sure ground
under God’s all-knowing care.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As we imbibe this kind of stillness, we enter into
a life of celebration where nothing ever succeeds in pulling us down. The
stings of this world no longer bite. Even the captain of all anguish, lies
decapitated: O death, where is thy sting?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The true knowledge of God’s abiding presence has
taken over all our strident anxieties. God is amongst us. We are hushed within
His presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">RENDEZVOUS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
considered king Muhammad Ali nonpareil. I followed his illustrious reign
without impedance. When father showed up with boxing gloves, I transformed
between a dancing butterfly and a stinging bee. Papa was no pugilist but he
understood the science of a good punch. We had hours of sparred laughter,
yielding lessons to quell cowardice and its kinsman. For the big man, quitting
was out of the question. If you fall, you better hit the deck fighting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There was not a challenge he did not face. The
fabric of his difficult childhood had forged a seasoned fighter. Through the
conquests and havocs, I see him as some Gibraltar-mound constantly pulling me
up to heights beyond my reckoning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Alzheimer’s in red trunks struck him while he was
battling esophageal cancer. The brilliance of his intellect faded like an
abused pair of jeans washed through a million cycles of detergent impunity. One
day, he called complaining about my mother’s insensitivity to his triumphant
promotion: <i>he has been recently named the head coach of the Los Angeles
Lakers.</i> He excitedly shared details of his talks with Kobe Bryant, and the
exciting stratagems he was devising. He intimated the need for my help to help
him move to a large house, guaranteed alongside his astronomic paycheck. It was
painfully cruel to listen to these intermittent figments, but nothing was more
revolting than his lost affections towards mother. The escalating verbal abuse,
incoherently hurled towards her was overpowering, to say the least.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Life had a way of throwing him towards the ropes
while methodically pummeling every live tissue in his withered frame. In
moments of temporary lucidity, he would remind me that in the event of serious
intervention, “please spare my dignity, do not allow any tube to hold my life.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">That week, an awakening took place. He inquired
for the wife of his youth. Mother was in New Jersey that time, assisting my
youngest sister with her pregnancy. Over the phone, he went on a surreal
rehearsal of my mother’s charm, beauty and enduring grace. His final words
were: <i>“Please tell the beautiful lady to come home, I need her next to me.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I did not realize the evanescent cadence of his
hourglass until I was told that he was dying. I flew to Los Angeles with haste
and upon arrival, all that I saw were multiple tubes attached to the fallen
warrior. I knew exactly what he was subconsciously beseeching for me to pull
off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The final minute stood still like a wind so strong
yet completely tamed. I held his hand, sensing the torrid punches being
fiercely landed. It was my turn to be in his corner. I whispered “ Papa, please
show me how this is done. How must I pass this way to Christ, when the final
tap is heard? Show me, now.” With one strong breath, he beamed his robust admonition
with opulence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There was this kind of hush that I knew my father
experienced: his King of Glory, proclaimed him winner by magnanimous
redemption.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-17592336177060573652015-12-10T06:28:00.001-08:002015-12-10T06:28:19.001-08:00Journal Thirteen: Promise<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PARTY
ANIMAL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I was a party animal. The zoo of social
interaction that takes place on these masqueraded gatherings is much too
scintillating to pass. When one is able to hide behind the kliegs and beats,
instant pretensions abound. One night, I feign a regal persona; the following
gig, I turn into some wild outback junkie. There is no telling who is really
who during these unremitting rendezvous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It was a full moon in May, I stole my father’s
mustang and I was wearing a thick US Navy jacket, which somehow hid my scrawny
physique. The party was at some rich girl’s house. I remember arriving late,
but with swag. The night’s most popular girl somehow gravitated towards my
charisma and decided to zero-in on me. She was from the most affluent clan in
the city. Well bred and naturally unsuspecting of duplicity. It was a feast for
my social dexterity as I floored my accelerator to impress her with my
camouflage. It was not every night that one gets to spend it with some cool
hunk, you know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The following day, she called and audaciously
proposed for an exclusive relationship. Astounded as I was, without much room
for leverage, I just said, “let’s do this.” When I hung up, I felt a giant load
of sudden responsibility encroaching upon me as though I was coerced into a
matrimonial pact. My emotional reserves rattled with tectonic anxiety: I never
had experienced having a girlfriend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The days went by fast and furious. Every passing
day, I got exposed for my true ineptness. I was offering nothing but dry
straws. After only a few weeks, she faced up with the sting of truth and broke
up the delusional cul-de-sac.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I was more relieved than humiliated. Amidst my
initial test-drive, however, sprang a stigma that emits a haunting poison
taunting the clay-natured feet that barely holds me up. How can I even dream of
seeking to be in a relationship, when my own evaluation demeans everything
about who I really am from the inside out? Strip me of my stolen goods and
social steroids and what is left are negative decimals–the mathematics of which
could not even add up to a decent sum of wholeness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I am scandalized by my mere thoughts of restarting
anything about love, among others. How can one enter the gates of relationships
when there is not an iota of integrity to muster a promise, let alone, the
pretension of keeping it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My heart desperately needs a radical transplant.
But what kind of heart fits some animal, who does nothing but party till he’s
dead?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 132<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">O LORD,
remember David<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and all
the hardships he endured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He swore
an oath to the LORD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and made
a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">“I will
not enter my house or go to my bed–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I will
allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">till I
find a place for the LORD, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">a
dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We heard
it in Ephrathah,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We came
upon it in the fields of Jaar;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">“Let us
go to his dwelling place;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">let us
worship at his footstool–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">arise, O
LORD, and come to your resting place,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">you and
the ark of your might.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">May your
priests be clothed with righteousness;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">may your
saints sing for joy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">For the
sake of David your servant,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">do not
reject your anointed one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The LORD
swore an oath to David,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">a sure
oath that he will not revoke:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">“One of
your descendants I will place on your throne–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">if your
sons keep my covenant<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and the
statutes I teach them,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">then
their sons will sit on your throne <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">for ever
and ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">For the
LORD has chosen Zion,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">he has
desired it for his dwelling:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">“This is
my resting place forever and ever;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">here I
will sit enthroned, for I have desired it–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I will
bless her with abundant provisions;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">her poor
will I satisfy with food.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I will
clothe her priests with salvation, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and her
saints will ever sing for joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">“Here I
will make a horn grow for David<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and set
up a lamp for my anointed one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I will
clothe his enemies with shame,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">but the
crown on his head will be resplendent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PROMISE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Now you,
brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Galatians 4:28 NIV</span></b><span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">God’s relationship towards us stands upon the
integrity of his promises. When God speaks, every word he utters demonstrates
his impeccable character and wisdom. In direct contrast to humans, we speak a
lot, but with very little concern for true substance. Our world runs on an
unceasing stream of information, which are for the most part, limited guesses
to who we are and why we even exist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">So, when we utter promises, there are no real
guarantees on the quality of our follow-through. But we make them anyway, with
an unspoken understanding that our verbal warranties must never be taken at
face value. We cannot simply stand behind our words for they are fickle and
fleeting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">What God does to remedy this duplicity is to
infuse his very nature into our lives so that our anchors are forever changed.
We are enabled to speak with fluent humility, recognizing the primacy of God in
causing all things to work together for our good. We are called to join God in
his work, and as such, we find ourselves endowed with the simplicity of making
promises that are actually made for keeping.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The Psalmist recounts such incident in the life of
David who made a promise: “I will not enter my house or go to my bed - I will
allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for
the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.” Having experienced God,
David’s resolve to offer his utmost efforts for his LORD came rather naturally.
The LORD’s dealing with David and his people characterized a covenant promise.
As such, the very trustworthy nature of God ensures the fruition of His
promises. When a person of faith experiences God’s unwavering loyalty, a
kindred conviction is imbibed. In gratitude, we turn to God and offer a
promise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Quite disparate from our former oaths, our words
take on the substance of integrity. We learn of God’s ways and having been
infused by His spirit, we are enabled to speak a language of precision. Our yes
becomes yes, our no, means no. Our commitments have been taken over by God’s
superintending acuity in our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We are being transformed to become a people of
promise. God spoke his blessings to his people and as such we are called to
believe not only its dissemination but also its culmination. We learn the
simplicity of God’s speech: when he opens his mouth to speak, it is as good as
done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Our call to adopt the language of promise
originates from the impetus of God’s oath to do what he said he will accomplish
through David, and for all kindred believers who take the stipulations of God’s
promises seriously, There is a specified guarantee of promise in the person of
One of David’s descendants who will sit on God’s royal throne forever and ever.
The promise comes from the chosen place of Zion where the specifics of that
promise shall be born without hindrance. All those promises revealed in the Old
Covenant are now revealed in the New Covenant in the flowering disclosure of
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the Son of God. As the promised Mediator, the
Messiah shall usher a new era of priesthood, where in royalty, the redeemed
shall sing with joy for eternity. The promise is contingent solely upon the
initiative and determination of God’s actions, devoid of any human scheme: a
new people of promise shall arise akin to a lamp that is lit by no more no less
than the resplendence of their glorious King. While all this is accomplished by
divine fiat, all those who have chosen to ignore the promised Messiah, shall be
“clothed with shame.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The light of the world shines into the lives of
men and women who are currently sifting through darkness. It is within this
search that God introduces the good news of salvation found in Christ alone.
There is no other means to understand life apart from the revelation of the
person of Christ. It is either you take refuge in the singular lumens of
Christ’s witness or you stay forever in eternal gloom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">God made this promise. It shall therefore take
place, as He said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">TRAVELING
LIGHT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There is something about travel that sets me on a
course of anticipation. Japan Airlines normally took eighteen hours from the US
to the Pacific Islands. I usually occupy those hours oscillating between
reading and napping. The layover at Narita had always been a welcome respite,
especially when paired with fresh sushi and sashimi. On one particular flight,
I was hoping to sleep-in undisturbed for the last few hours but fate had other
intentions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">There was a well-dressed blue-eyed gentleman
rushing towards the seat next right to me. He pulled out his noise canceling
headsets and dove straight to dreamland. After about twenty minutes, he reached
for his briefcase to retrieve a book with Hebrew scripts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Within the hour, I stood up to stretch, proceeding
towards the far end. My seatmate likewise strode to where I was. A conversation
began which somehow caused him to be nonplussed with my basic knowledge of some
Hebraic lines, particularly about the <i>Tehillim</i>. I shared my curiosity
regarding the Jewish religion, causing him to go for the jugular: “It is all
about honoring God with our best efforts. There is always the proper way to do
stuff. A good Jew is one who pays attention to details of how life ought to be
lived.” He then quickly added: “I am not quite a good Jew. No one gets to do
all the strict laws. I get by with the basics; just enough to make God happy.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">After about thirty minutes of Judaica, he turned
the table and asked what Christianity was all about. I began by saying that
there would not have been any Christianity if there were no Judaism. “The
Messiah came to fulfill all your laws. He claims to have fully satisfied every
single requirement laid out by Yahweh.” He interrupted, “So what does that have
to do with you?” I quickly responded: “Well, here is where it gets interesting
… since he knows my ineptness, he simply invites me to believe in him and
confide in the efficacy of his work. He promised to take it from there. It’s
like, riding on all his merits so that I might look good in God’s eyes.” And
this Messiah is your Jesus, I suppose?” he mutters, and continues, “You know …
that is so unique and quite attractive to me: with your formula I do not need
to strain for anything, huh?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He abruptly left my discourse by opening his
laptop and introducing me to his young family. He bragged that if this Jesus is
truly the Son of God, he might be among the first ones to see him: he lives right
next door to Armageddon. He walked me through pictures of his kids hiking in
the streets of Jerusalem, even showing me Golgotha! He intimated: “If you visit
Israel, be my honored guest!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I felt a great deal of uneasiness, having
disclosed my faith without granting my new friend an opportunity to see its <i>kerygma</i>.
I subtly grabbed the opportunity with a restart: “Just to add, when the Messiah
was crucified in between two criminals …” he then interrupted, “what do you
mean, crucified in between two … where did you get this story?” “I did not
invent it …” “… It is a historical gospel incident.” He prodded me to continue.
“Well, the criminal on his right was chiding him about his claim to be the Son
of God and was coarsely coaxing him to demonstrate his claim to power. The one
on his left hollered a rebuke saying: “You better shut your mouth, we are both
guilty of our crimes, but not him!” Jesus then turned to him, saying: “I
promise you, today you will surely be with me in paradise.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This snapshot pretty much summarizes
the weight of Christianity. With absolutely no personal worthiness, Jesus takes
the man’s raw belief as sole basis for being made right with God.” My friend
looked astonished, saddled with a quietness that seemed to take all the notes
in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">As the plane landed, he handed me his calling
card, thanking me for taking time to bring in some gleam on the things
discussed. I noticed his Hebrew name, which I quickly recognized to mean: “my
resplendent promise.” <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Upon returning home, I curiously invited him to my
social network. God’s promise to shine through lives on, as promised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-65844894245972928272015-12-10T06:26:00.001-08:002015-12-10T06:26:54.387-08:00Journal Fourteen: Bond<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">SOULED
OUT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I was driven with a spirit of entrepreneurship
while in college. I took Economics due to a personal mission to amass wealth. I
somehow imbibed the ancient penchant for superstitious alliance in order to
insure my projected dividends. The smorgasbord of eclectic soothsayers informed
my daily calculations. From horoscopes to mantras, I was East to West in divergent
accommodation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The Pope was visiting the city and I remember,
having a vision (or was it just a dream) to milk the opportunity for financial
gain. I was enthused with an idea to convince our School Administrator to have
all students wear a theme shirt on the day of his eminence’s appearance. I was
too driven to accommodate a rejection. And so I coerced a negotiation to supply
the school community with my crafted merchandise. Boxes of shirts were produced
from personally outsourced capitalization. The macroeconomic scheme was quite
in play: my friends and relatives bought into my lucrative proposal. All shirts
were delivered and worn with divine glee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">After the sacred festival, the depravity of human
complacency took over. The supply and demand chain was shot. There was drought
in the collectibles. I went bankrupt and disillusioned with the irrational
loss. The investors saw my personal descent into embarrassment. I was not able
to deliver my word.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Whoever god it was who played its trick while I
was in deep slumber was truly a genius in planned catastrophe. I sought to redeem
my bruised integrity by resorting to alibis but to no avail. It had nothing to
do with mercantile system. It was all due to the myopia of how I misread the
damn crystal ball. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I never reckoned how crazy the gods might be. But
with my economic bludgeon, whatever confidence I had in securing any business
stall somehow evaporated in a mist of brutal surrender.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Nothing holds. Nothing bonds. I was simply doomed
not to cash in but to crash in isolation amidst a self-serving community who is
merely practicing the virtues of social necessity on top of my own greed and
quantitative ineptness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 133<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents. Of David.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">How good
and pleasant it is<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">when
brothers live together in unity!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It is
like precious oil poured on the head,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">running
down on the beard,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">running
down on Aaron’s beard, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">down upon
the collar of his robes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It is as
if the dew of Hermon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">were
falling on Mount Zion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">For there
the LORD bestows his blessing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Even life
forevermore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">BOND<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">My prayer is
not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their
message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in
you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">John 17:20-21 NIV</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The call to unity serves as the penultimate anchor
in our syllabus in order to establish the very foundation that keeps our life
with God secure. Conversion to Christ involves integration into a true
community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The personal nature of one’s submission to the
lordship of Jesus Christ finds its deepest meaning when one enters into
covenant relationship with a church in order to get involved in the experience
of Body life. As we are one with Christ, we are called to share deep life with
kindred believers, who by virtue of our blood affinity with Christ’s atonement,
are now our brothers and sisters in God’s family. To this incredible adoption,
we hear the affirmation of the Psalmist: “How good and pleasant it is when
brothers live together in unity!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It is important to see the crucial aspect of this
life together within the context of active nurture. The sweetness of this
God-given familial arrangement implores a sacred kind of togetherness that
simulates the unity of the Triune God. It is the kind of living that is devoid
of schemes and hidden agenda. There is no shrewd commerce involved, nor any
type of religious power play. What is being admonished is beyond ethnocentrism:
it is a gathering of adopted children, who are currently living out the amazing
grace-laden status they now possess. As such, there is freedom to treat each
other with utmost decency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The regard for others in the community of faith is
likened to the respect that is granted to the oil-drenched Aaron upon
ordination as God’s anointed priest. We take to heart the reality of our new
identity as a special people, chosen by mercy and not by merit. With sacred
expectations, we look at each other with a disposition of holiness, truly
believing that our compassionate God has likewise chosen our brethren. The fragrance
of such awareness is precious in the sight of the LORD. As we commit to such,
the unity of believers takes on a new form: a sweet holiness that is both good
and pleasant!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Such existence is likewise seen as a reflection of
the constant refreshment Mt. Hermon receives daily. The mountain dew speaks of
the organic newness of every single day that is granted to God’s creation.
There is a sense of excitement as we anticipate the on-going transformation of
our lives gathered together. We are being admonished to stay distant from the
conventions of the world, which by default sort out humans based on
pre-conceived labels. Humans were not created to reside in catalogued boxes but
were placed in God’s house in order to increasingly grow in wild expectation.
In the community of faith, we are called toward each other, while praying
through all the adjustments and changes that shall take place, by virtue of
Christ’s work in our lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The blessings of God abound in the context of
living together as God’s children. Christian community is not an option that
works only for the socially gregarious. It is for all who claim to be God’s
children. As the call to unite with one another comes with a blessing, the
source from which it is lived out comes from Christ Himself. We are able to
love one another within community because of Christ’s enduring example. As he
remains at the very center of our gathered community, we are given a guaranteed
assurance that we shall never fall apart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">With Christ at the headship of our community,
through and through, ours is an ever-glowing manifestation of God’s work of
beauty, as though in a Bride, well taken-cared of, well loved, well bonded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">UNLEASHED<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Stewart was your perfect puppy. The Shih-Tzu’s
intelligent quotient was pretty impressive. He was quite popular in the
neighborhood as the early riser who gallops like Secretariat. He was my wife’s
delight. If there were one slip, it would be his obvious misreading of his
canine identity: he really thought of himself as some commodious pit bull …
ferociously loyal to his master.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It was a bright Sunday morning when his zest left
with unfazed valor. My wife and the kid were on their early morning stroll when
two unleashed pit bulls attacked without warning. The little soldier took it to
the ring, while being mercilessly routed. It was a brutal day for our family. I
buried the hero, while weeping gallons of gloom for such a cruel end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It was a season to heal, and so I got my wife a
present: two pups that should provide good balm: Teddy and Gracie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Stewart was beyond compare, but the new duo
infused renewed perk to our home. Whenever we took them out for daily walks, it
was always with optimized caution and organized vigilance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">It had been two years since, and trauma had
clearly dissipated. We were enjoying the nice spring breeze, each with our
leashed pets, when the menacing sight emerged: Déjà vu! There were two
un-leased pit bulls approaching our path! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I did not quite notice the owner who was lagging behind
the corner. Suddenly, I heard a commanding voice. The beasts froze to a halt,
resembling two marble statues that neither turned either ways, not even to a
wink or a wag. The gentleman, who had the stance of Collin Powell with firm gentleness,
assured us: “Friends, do not fear. They will not move. Please walk on by. My
voice is stronger than any leash.” We crossed the line, amazed by such a
defining moment. When we were about several yards away, the gentleman spoke to
his loyalists: “Alright now, boys, let’s go.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">God’s alleys seem dangerous but truly safe and
grand. He allows his children passages through valleys of death for a reason. I
suddenly realized that it’s not about being a pit bull or a dachshund. It’s not
about our orientation from the ghetto or the Hampton’s. It is all about the
leash and who decides to let go of it, when deemed appropriate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">We only devour each other, when there is no such
Master to call our actions into proper accountability. This is so true in the
context of community. Left without a guiding lead, each breaks out to his own.
But then, with a True Center, everything holds together. Life is lived in its
full potential: people experiencing genuine care one for each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One day, hopefully, Teddy and Gracie will be seen
strolling, without any restricting rope. Simply free with unbridled obedience
and playfulness to and fro, our little village.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The little guy Stewart would have loved to see
such a day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-50830941211803906052015-12-10T06:25:00.001-08:002015-12-10T06:25:20.235-08:00Journal Fifteen: Glorify<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">DEAD END<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">He was the sort of kid whose face was constantly
lit with incandescence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
countenance revealed a soul that seems devoid of malice. Their family lived a
few blocks away from home. His father, a dignified gentleman, was my dad’s
social mentor. He seemed to know a lot about the intricate nuance of societal
norms. Like his young boy, he had a beam that fills any gathering with some
kind of inspiring shine. Our village upheld the honorable distinction of their
family’s outstanding mirth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">One balmy afternoon, the boys in our neighborhood
planned a trek to a nearby abandoned pool. It was an incautious expedition, yet
packed with potential fun. The foul water was murky green, accentuated by uncut
weeds serving the parasitic appetites of insects and other creepers. One after
the other, the boys took the challenge to engage the chaotic dip like Tarzan.
Their laughter was heard from a mile high. Until a disconcerting discovery
screeched their party to a dead pause. A boy with spectacles drowned. He had
been underwater for some time–his belly bloated, his face ashen and swollen to
a pulp. It was the happy kid, now staring blank at the skies, devoid of any
glint. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Our neighborhood heard the breaking news almost
instantaneously. His father rushed to the scene, quickly draping his son with a
thick blanket. He had taken over like a commanding officer knowing the ropes of
panic and restoration. After a brief, yet poised conference with his family, he
and his boy disappeared with jackrabbit speed. We were told that he was
rush-driving to see some necromancer some distant miles away. He was furious in
hope to see his son rouse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Although detached from the action scene, I was one
of those who followed the night’s intriguing saga. I was imagining the possible
reckoning of magic in anticipating a miracle unfold.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The following morning, there was a sullen silence
in the village. The boy’s coffin was being prepared while the gloom of his
family echoed the depths of unfathomable pain. Why must light be snuffed out
from those who radiate it the most? Why must the murky monster of moss be
allowed to prevail in some kid’s interlude? This does not make any sense. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">That morning, daylight in our neighborhood seemed
confused. It merely flickered and fainted, like one soul drowning while
struggling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The clear absence of blessing on those few hours
made me somehow wonder why God allows pain in the most unsuspecting locations.
Perhaps, a better-phrased question would be to ask where was God in all these
haunting doom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">PSALM 134<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A song of
ascents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Praise
the LORD, all you servants of the LORD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">who
minister by night in the house of the LORD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Lift up
your hands in the sanctuary<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">and
praise the LORD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">May the
LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">bless you
from Zion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">GLORIFY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I have brought
you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">John 17:4 NIV<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The final word in our syllabus involves the deep
language of blessing: glorify. We were made in the image of God to become a
blessing to our Creator and for all of creation. When we act upon our mandate
to “Praise the LORD,” we are fulfilling our ultimate reason for existence: to
glorify God! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The human experience encounters an influx of
competing thrusts. There are pressing calls to industry, meditation,
transcendence, communication, integration, technology, globalization, organization,
religion etc., but there remains the primacy of one true purpose, if we allow
the weight of God’s revelation to bear upon who we truly are and what we are
rightfully about. In a word, our calling is not to do, but to be. We are called
to glorify God by our being. When this is done according to God’s doxological
design, everything else integrates in wonderful symmetry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When life is lived outside the orbit of God’s
revealed purpose, we gravitate towards our individual axis and when this fails,
we run to the nearby sorcerer and inquire if their connection signal is clearer
than our guess. Of course, there is no blessing in this. All there is to this
is a reminder of how far we have gone away from who we truly are. We’d rather
be sons and daughters of mountebanks, instead of tapping into the infinite
wisdom of the one true God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">In our journey as people of faith, it is necessary
to constantly monitor our core motivation. If it has nothing to do with the
purpose of giving God the glory, then brakes must be applied. No one finds the
idea of roaming around the desert for forty years humorous. One generation of
nominal believers walked through this the hard way. Amidst the redemption and
provision of God’s grace, they chose to glorify their golden calves and the
result was a march of death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The term “Praise the Lord,” must be understood
carefully in its biblical context. This is God’s imperative command to start us
off into the depths of knowing Him. We are to praise God in all our
preoccupations but most especially during the initial strides of any
undertaking. As we commit into a rhythm of praising God, we are making sure
that our tracks are leading God-ward. As servants of the LORD, we cease
depending on what we feel, but rather upon what our Master beckons us to do. As
he calls us to praise Him, we do without any slight trepidation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The imagery of ministers by night in the house of
the LORD implies the challenging setting of making oneself available for God’s
kingdom work. Through the hard and difficult efforts, our calling to lift up
our hands in praise of God remains unabated. The praise of God shall sustain
his servants. When we do not feel like praising God, out of exhaustion or out
of depression, we command our being to defect from our personal shadows and
unto God’s desire, we praise God anyway. When the cadence of this praise-driven
existence becomes ingrained into our souls, we become glorious personifications
of God’s workmanship. We glorify God by being the kind of people he desires us
to be: glory soaked vessels!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">A life that follows God’s purposes is laden with
freedom. God brings and takes away fluff and stuff from us, as He deems. We
cease to usurp his role and rest in the wonder of His beautiful work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Even when illness or catastrophes strike, we
remain at peace knowing that God’s lovely purposes are forever at work. Nothing
happens by accident in God’s universe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">When Christ hung on the cross of Calvary, all
mangled and disfigured, he never ceased to glorify his Father. There was not a
single word, nor a single cry that was devoid of praise to Him who knows what
is best. Even at the point of death, his breath was an exclamation of doxology
to the One who has the power to raise him up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">His death answers every question pertaining human
tragedy. God chose to enter our world of suffering by taking it all upon Himself
through his agonizing demise. Human pain is never experienced in isolation.
Tears from heaven are as real as the historical sacrifice of Christ, our
Savior.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Christ rose as an affirmation of what God does to
those who fully seek to exalt the Father’s glory. All our days have been
designed to experience the language of praise: all for the glory and honor of
our Mighty GOD!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">OUTSOURCED<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Byron was born without a jaw. That same week, a
deeper infirmity was discovered: the newborn had a congenital anomaly impinged
on his tiny heart. I drove some sixty miles, rehearsed and poised for just
another crisis call. Being a pastor for more than three decades has somehow
tamed my gumption to the homogeneity of human pain. I was ordained to chaperone
every prevailing thorn, I guess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The children’s hospital was ornate with medical efficiency.
This backdrop contrasted my demeanor when I saw the child’s exposed chest
cavity. The staggering visual rogue sent me to an excursion of curiosity. While
both parents wobbled in tears, I was subliminally distant, sorting out the
technical profundity of their boy’s misfortune.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I sat at the parking lot with a deep sense of
incongruence. This was one of the most poignant sights of human pain, but why
was I inexplicably aloof? While Byron’s parents languished in misery, I was
subversively in some sort of a Discovery Channel inspection mode. I was
force-feeding empathy to shove my tears, but there was none to pour. Like a man
abruptly awakened by some terminal illness, I knew I was the one truly in need
of a hospital. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Where has my heart gone? Years of pastoral care
must have eroded my points of tolerance. My prayer was terse but serious: <i>“God,
expose my heart.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">I did not realize how expedient God hears our
pleas pertaining matters of affection. A few months later, I was diagnosed with
a rare oral tumor. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An involved
twelve-hour surgery took my lower mandible, lower teeth, fibula leg bone, skin grafts,
and more aggressively, a metaphorical incision funneled straight to my heart.
It has been more than a year of unremitting procedures, somehow understood by
my emaciated senses as more like ten decades. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Pain has become a faithful valet. The monstrosity of
my present darkness however had produced grounding for depth. Through the
desert, I found myself led to the abundance of ironic grace. The gravitas of
unexplained joy has dawned exponentially in and through the context of my
present suffering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Whenever throbbing discomfort flares up from
within and without, I have come to appreciate the option to choose its
concealed blessing. I read the chapter of my agony as an outsourcing of God’s
incredible loyalty. It is not freedom from pain that matters: it is the
breathtaking marvel of his abiding nearness exhibited even through life’s
deepest travails. He is not all about primarily answering our prayers for
relief. God is our riposte. With God on our side, we remain eternally safe and
strong. Even death has been conquered by the miracle of his presence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">All through our life journey, his glorious company
is all that we need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">God’s glory has become the substance of my
journey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">God has become my on-going story and my psalm:
giving God’s glory, both now and towards eternity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647050634980561125.post-82886783524245603022015-12-10T06:21:00.000-08:002015-12-10T06:21:58.684-08:00Epilogue<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The surprising element of this journey has been
the pronounced companionship of the person of Jesus Christ from the first few
steps towards the culminating stride. The ancient Psalmist who served as a
faithful songwriter/minstrel followed the inspiring cadence of the Author of
our lives as the written notes and words coalesced to unpack the true substance
of our lives. The syllabus of the Songs of Ascents reveals the indescribable
intimacy of the Shepherd Guide in leading us every step of the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Life is lived well as it is led well through a
guided journey. It is through following the footsteps of the Son of Man that we
find true tracks. In His steps, we find a simple course. There is much
difficulty, much suffering, but there abounds deep joy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The steps of the Messiah went through the Via
Dolorosa leading to the cross, for such was the only path to our redemption.
While the journey is hummed in loneliness, we were never invited to move right
along through it, alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">The Master knows the way. With formidable
confidence, he declares that he is the only way to the Father. He beckons us to
come to him for oasis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Step right in and let the road come right toward
you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cochin; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Farmer Butchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11272693371902585360noreply@blogger.com0