The Science Of Christian Faith

Pardon for being “geeky” today, but allow me to freeze your mind as you flaccidly subject yourselves to a scientific journey towards the universe…. 1……..2………3…….. Troposphere…… Stratosphere…… you are now on top of the Ozone…… a little higher and you are just above Mesosphere and Ionosphere…. Then Voila! You see everything hovering up in the air and as you look down the Earth it looks just as big as the palms of your hand…. At this point you are starting to realise that God is soooo powerful… holding the entire universe by His own hands… But hey, wait-a-sec, don’t cry just as yet (freeze up your tears, will you?!) for our journey doesn’t end here, I still want you to see the Earth’s position around the mighty Sun………. this is my journal for this week.

Just imagine that our shuttle is situated a million miles away from the Earth and the Sun, from our point you’ll see that the Earth is relatively near the Sun as it revolves around an eccentric and stationary orbit. It is through this orbit that determines the Earth’s proximity to the mighty Sun, this also explains why we sometimes have longer nights and shorter days. APHELION, as I remember it, is the point in the orbit where the earth is furthest to the Sun that is why we have longer nights and PERIHELION is …. You guessed it right! The opposite (earth is closest to the Sun). Regardless of the earth’s spatial disposition, the mighty Sun remains STEADFAST to live up to it’s purpose ……. TO BE THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE AND TO GIVE LIGHT TO THE HEAVENLY BODIES. The planets are free to move around the stationary Sun without disrupting its astronomical Sun-ness (for a lack of a better word) because the Sun was created to be self sufficient.

In the same way, in our running away from God, darkness will lure our own planet and the Sun (Jesus) becomes invisible. The longer the darkness stays the longer we desire for warmth. Too many times we tried to hide from God but we always failed because even in our darkest nights He still gives us the moon and the stars to shine our paths. I don’t know what or who your moon and stars are but one thing is certain, despite our wandering away from God, He knows that we can never be sufficient but He will allow us to see His grace shining so brightly above our dark skies. Just as the planets are free to move around a very stable and mighty Sun, our free will sometimes pulls us away from our source of light. However, God is too omniscient to know that even if we escape from His Lordship the universe will conspire to bring us closer and closer to Him who has been there all along like that mighty Sun.

It has been a long evening for me, but the moon and the stars have made me realise how God can STILL make wonders even during my darkest nights. Far or near from the centre, I know that God remains steadfast and His grace will pull me back to His warmth and light………. Jesus is the light of this world and just as long as I am with Him I can do anything and I can be anywhere I want to be.

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “ I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light
of life." John 8:12

Vanquishing My Mountains

Mountaineers have lots’a things to talk about all the majestic mountains they have painfully ascended, mostly stories of freedom. This however, made me reckon how possible it could be for someone to survive up there considering that oxygen is way thinner than it is on land. Oh well, I don’t think I could ever understand the sensation of being on top of the highest Mountain (I’m talking of Mt. Everest) because even before I reach the top, my lungs will probably have exploded….. Hello on earth to Dennie, have you ever thought that I… me… moi… will ever endevour to do that? Geesh, that’s suicidal mate! Lolz! In the spiritual realm, however, mountains are considered opportunities for advancement and growth if we can boldly command them to move. These mountains are not steadfast for the mighty hand of God can move them.

Anyway, today I would like to write about how powerful our words are or should I say that to myself? I have been a Christian since 1987, and I was only 11 at that time (HOLD IT! Don’t do the math, mate!… Yes, I’m turning 32 this year and so wut?! **sneers**) with no accomplishments to brag other than my consistent academic excellence (see I toldja, I was never humble… lolz!). Honestly, the problem about not experiencing the world before having an intimate relationship with God is that you pro’ly have a not-so-concrete comparison of how it is like to be in the world and how to experience God’s grace (anyone can think otherwise and I respect that… Look, I’m not out here to start a duel or somethin’ **winks**). So after that encounter with Jesus, I still never understood what life really was until I reached my college and working years. Life after all was a matter of choices that was what I believed in. God, I thought, gave me a great mind to be cognizant about everything I wanted to fathom. I practically relied on books and anything that was explainable, and not only that, I also justified the psychology of how it is like to be a human being in this contemporary world ---- that everybody was created as social, emotional, cognitive, and sexual beings, thus would require an allowable and acceptable exploration to feed their needs… There’s nothing wrong with those analyses but the problem was that I guess I overly explored the psychology of mankind without God’s guidance… So, I got stuck in a rut with confusions, broken relationships, depression, and emotional setbacks. All these were and still are pervading through my heart and my inner spirit ------ and so THESE ARE MY MOUNTAINS!

However, now that I have finally found my place under God’s grace, I believe that I can speak to my mountains and overcome them. Yes, I still commit mistakes and I still hurt my Jesus practically everyday (ooooppsssie! I hope Kuya Alvin is not reading this entry, otherwise, I might be forced to have another set of 12 sessions of One2One with him… kidding!). Honestly, though God knows THAT WE CAN NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIM because we can never be perfect, but He knows that we can live a righteous life if we can only master the skill of commanding our weaknesses and declaring victory over our mountains. This is how I want to live my Christian life, not perfect but righteous --- commanding the grace of God to be upon me to vanquish my mountains! There is power in every single word that we utter which is why Jesus used His words to command Lazarus from the dead. Temptations are very strong and the enemy has doubled up his strength to lead me back to his legions of defeated Christians, but I will not curse the darkness instead I will command the light to come in!

It is but normal for us humans to complain and magnify the problems but this probably is the enemy’s strategy to use our mouths to declare defeat and to disprove God’s mighty power in our lives. We Christians are not immune from adversities, in fact, the enemy will all the more cause us to stumble and be tempted because he knows that God has something great in store for us if we continually bask in His presence. For I know that with every temptation that I face today, there is a God-given opportunity for me to raise up my faith to a higher level and so I will guard my mouth and teach it to always declare words of victory and not words of defeat and doubts. I will be creating a different world with the words that I will use from this day on. To my mountains, I say to you, you are only a piece of rock compared to the grandeur of my Saviour and you will never triumph for my God is mighty.

Finding Dennie

Caused by disobedience to God's commands, Jonah experienced the toughest moment of his life. Not wanting to follow God's command to go to Nineveh to preach His word, Jonah tries to avoid this command by going to another city and not to Nineveh. A huge storm arises and the sailors not realizing this is no ordinary storm, cast lots and learn that Jonah is to be blamed. Jonah admits this and states that if he is thrown off the boat the storm will cease. After being thrown overboard by the heathen sailormen, the sea calms. Jonah was miraculously saved by being swallowed by a large fish. While inside the fish's belly, Jonah prayed and God delivered him.

I was thinking if the huge fish was more of a punishment or God's grace in disguise, but honestly to me it was more of the latter. Jonah was inside that belly for days, hopeless, desperate and perhaps even suicidal -- i mean he may have developed two or more types of neuroses **thinking like Freud** in a very short span of time. Moreover, I could not possibly describe how pervasive the odour would have been inside that belly with all the algae, acid, and undigested organisms which I suppose passed through the fish's digestive tract in a not-so-peristaltic-like manner. Pardon my imagination, but Jonah would have been enough for a year long Ma ki for someone who craves for Japanese food **lolz**

In my introspection, I think that Jonah and I have something in common. My running away from God's commands has brought me nowhere; it made me think that my hapless journey will continue on until I give my last breath. However, thinking about Jonah's story, I suddenly realised that I'd rather be eaten by a big fish and experience darkness inside it than be engulfed by roaring waves. This is so because, inside that belly where there is complete darkness, no food to eat, and survival is almost nil there is only one thing I could possibly do and that is to pray and experience God's deliverance from my ordeal. God is letting me experience complete darkness today because he wants me to fully appreciate His provisions and His amazing grace. Now I remember, in one of my earlier blog entries I wrote there that my wish for this year was to experience my Jesus more than anything else in this world and if experiencing Him would mean darkness inside a fish's belly then I will stay there and wait for His salvation.

Now that I have reached rock bottom, the only thing that I can do is to look up and to look within. God's loving ways are so unpredictable, they may appear as big as the fish that swallowed Jonah but inside it deliverance is expected. In this lifetime, big fishes are out there to shelter me inside their tummies not to experience darkness nor death but to see more revelations about God's grace and His plans for me in the future.

My Salvation Testimony

As a little child, I never knew what life truly meant and how it should be lived -- for even at a young age I reckoned that life was not really fair. Afflicted with a blood disorder, I knew that I would not be able to chase my own star nor would I even take hold of my license to liberty for I would leave this world earlier than my friends…….. even way prematurely than my sisters.

But just like a well-written play or novel about one’s journey, the first milestone of my life began not when I first sucked my thumb nor struck my feet on the ground but when the Lord reached out His grace to my family and when He delivered me from a life-threatening disorder… And so off I went to my journey, yielding to the same spirit that drove the disciples to minister to the people who were afflicted with human strife, guilt, and eternal death. I became an Ambassador of Christ at such a very young age allowing myself to become a channel of His grace to those people who needed Him.

A couple of chapters of my life's journey went fairly well with my Jesus but as I grew older I saw the kingdoms of this world shining right before my innocent eyes and I loved them. So I decided to take that journey, kept my Bible in my pocket as I allowed myself get hypnotised by these earthly gems. Finally, I reached my destination. The kingdoms of this world welcomed me with a new spirit that I thought was way better and much clearer than what my Jesus had made me experience when I was younger. I slept at those kingdoms, ate with their inhabitants, chatted with them, lived with them, and became one of them. I started to become oblivious about my Jesus and tried to explore the science of my cognition and the physics of every single force and thing on this planet ----> then I started to question my Jesus and decided to keep Him not in my pocket but in a chest of insignificant and pseudo-treasures. This was when my real battle began.

I started to see the kingdoms falling apart, their mighty fortresses failed to defend them and people were crying left and right. I looked at the ground and realised that the majestic kingdoms I once adored had lost their grandeur for they were built on sinking sand. I wanted to cry for help but everyone was busy carrying and saving their worldly possessions and their self-inflicted crucifixes. Then suddenly, I realised my Jesus….. my friend whom I deliberately pushed away in my attempt to fathom everything and to explore the world outside the realm of His grace and glory. I was so weary, alone and helpless. I spent my life at those kingdoms and forgot about my Friend who was there all along watching me, patiently waiting for me to utter His wonderful name.

Then amidst the smoke hovering around the fallen kingdoms I saw His face, His smile, and His outstretched hand that were so eager to embrace me. At that point, I saw liberty, I saw hope, I saw comfort….. And suddenly He was gone again but I knew He was there. His men saw me and took me by the hand, brought me to a quiet place, and fed me. I was relieved and I felt home again. God used His men to save me from my brokenness. After years of my exodus, God delivered me and brought me back to His people --->> my fellow Christ Ambassadors. Now, I am once again eager to know my Jesus and rekindle the fire that I once had. Yes, I am weak and easy to falter but my God is mighty and His grace sustains my soul. Life is difficult but I am excited about His promises. I will never pass that road again for He has redeemed me and brought me back to the life that I once lost. I thank the Lord for my joy is immeasurable.

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on
wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk
and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31