Your unique story

And just like that, I finished (re-)reading Genesis today. This time around, however, what hooked me were the lives of Jacob and his son, Joseph. This blog entry is not about their lives, though. This entry is more about your unique story.

I was talking about this with Jeff at length one day. I asked him if someone has shared the Gospel with him. He replied, "Yes." I asked him to tell me what the Gospel is as he believed it to be. He said one time when he was in Baguio with a friend, a young man giving out fliers came to them and said that God created only men and women, not third sex. I thought, "That's not the Gospel." So I told Jeff, "Can I tell you what the Gospel is?" He nodded.

Somehow I used the story of Adam and Eve as the springboard of the Gospel story. I told Jeff about God's love. About Creation. About His relationship with Adam and Eve. About their fall, and the fall of mankind. About God's promise to Eve for a son who will crush the head of the serpent.

I went on to tell about Abraham and God's promise to him and his wife that He will give them a son, and how Abraham believed God completely. God fulfilled His promise when Abraham was 100, and Sarah gave birth to Isaac when she was 90.

I told Jeff about Isaac, and Jacob, who wrestled with God and whose name was changed to Israel. I went on to tell about the people of Israel. I wanted to tell him, too, about the stories of Joseph, and the Hebrews' slavery in Egypt, but I got too excited. I told Jeff about Moses seeing God's back and hearing Him say His name. I told Jeff about Gideon, the coward turned victorious warrior. I told him story after story until I came to Jesus.

I told Jeff about Jesus' perfect life, His relationship with the Father, some of the miracles He performed. I told him about Jesus fulfilling all the prophesies pertaining to the coming Messiah. I told him about Jesus' death, and what it meant for our justification. I told him about Jesus' resurrection, and what it meant for our sanctification.

I told him about Peter walking on water. Saul the murderer becoming blind, and then seeing again with the eyes of his heart. I told him how Saul became Paul, the missionary. I told him about David who wrote song after song after song for God. I told him about Hannah, who prayed to have a son, and God granted her request. Samuel was one of the greatest prophets of Israel. I wanted to go on and on about Elijah. And Ezekiel. And Jeremiah.

It was then that I realized something. I told Jeff, the only things common to all these people and true Christians is that God loves them, and that they came to a point in their life that they surrendered to God's magnanimous love, and placed their full faith in Jesus, the way Abraham placed his faith in God. I told him about Jesus knocking on the door of our hearts and wanting to be our closest friend (Revelation 3:20).

I told him about the many metaphors of our relationship with God: Potter and clay, Shepherd and lamb, Father and child, Husband and bride.

But then everyone's story with God is always a unique story. It never repeats. No one else walked on water. That was just between God and Peter, something special for them. No one else heard God whisper after the thunderstorms and earthquakes and fires. That was just between Elijah and God. God never repeats. There are common underlying themes, but the plots, He creates a new, unique and special relationship with each one.

I went on to tell Jeff about my special, unique story with God. How God saved Veck, Dana and myself from Ondoy. And that's just one story. I told him about my special song for God: "Blessed be Your Name." I told him, God has a special plot for his life, too, just something between himself and God, if only Jeff would allow himself to totally abandon himself to the love of God expressed in Jesus Christ.

Each one of us has a unique story. An intimacy shared only between you and the Creator of the universe.

God is forever with us

I was reading Genesis 21 tonight and observed a few things I thought I'd like to share with you.

Genesis 21:22 "God is obviously with you in everything you do."

That was King Abimelech talking to Abraham. I realize when God is truly with you, it is obvious. Even the pagans notice, and they bring glory to God. I know that Jesus wants me to abide with Him because He is Immanuel, "God with us." God does want to be with me--Jesus died and rose again to prove it! So, what could be the practical application for me? It can be "practicing the presence" of God. I heard this talked about in K-love. Simply behaving as if God is with you in the room you are in, in your car, wherever. It can instantly change how you think and feel. And God is ever-present!

Father, I thank You that You are always present. Help me to know You are always near. Please be involved in my life. I ask that You be with me in everything I do. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.


Genesis 21:25-26 Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech's servants had taken by force from Abraham's servants... "This is the first I've heard of it," Abimelech answered. "I have no idea who is responsible. You have never complained about this before."

There is a right way and time to "complain." When I live knowing that God is always with me, well, then He's the one I talk to first when I have something to complain about. I can go to Him right away. I think that God Himself arranged this meeting between Abraham and Abimelech. Maybe Abraham prayed about the well situation. It's possible. So, godly people don't complain. They pray. So when I have stuff at work, I go to God.

Dear Jesus, I thank You that You are always with me. I pray that the next time I see occasion to complain, that I go to You first, Jesus, lover of my soul, who has the power to take care of the situation. I thank You for the freedom to bare my soul's secrets and heart's pains to You. I bask in Your love and unconditional acceptance. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.


Genesis 22:33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he worshiped the LORD, the Eternal God.

The Lord Jesus is the Eternal God. If God promises to be with me, and He is the Eternal God, then our togetherness is forever. So, even when things are uncertain, even in difficult times, even when I feel like He's abandoned me, always remember what He whispered to my heart's ear: "Never alone." I am never alone. God is forever with me. The Lord Jesus is the Eternal God.

I worship You, my Lord Jesus, the Eternal God of Abraham.

Pursue intimacy through solitude

Take a moment each day to withdraw from the busyness of life and spend time alone with God. Just you and your Savior, getting intimate with each other. This is the spiritual discipline of solitude.

The 21st Century Christian finds this notoriously difficult. He is constantly distracted by an immense number of entertainments that gnaw at his consciousness. James 4:4-7 identifies three major obstacles to getting closer to God: love for the ways of the world, pride that makes us believe we don't need God, and the Devil who deceives us into thinking God does not love us. Nothing can be further from the truth. God longs to draw near to us. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

God's grace allows us to see our sinfulness—wherever and whenever we aligned ourselves with the values of the world. God's grace allows us to humble ourselves and ask God for forgiveness. God's grace allows us to draw near to Him. God promised, "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). God knows your heart. If you sincerely long for Him, you will have intimacy with Him. It takes grace.

Many times in Jesus' earthly life He practiced solitude. He withdrew from the crowds to spend time alone with God. He spent the very first hours of His day in prayer alone with His Father (Mark 1:32-38). He directed His life according to His Father's commands.

"In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice. In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch" (Psalm 5:3). Susanna Wesley, mother of more than ten children, found a creative way to find solitude of life. In the midst of motherhood and housework, she retreats into the kitchen, pulls her apron over head, and spends time with God! Knowing God intimately is eternal life (John 17:3). In Hosea 6:6, it's as if God intimates a secret Himself: "For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." Hosea rallies us in verse 3: "So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD." Make intimacy with God your primary goal in life.

There are many benefits to practising solitude. Any trial brings you closer to God and becomes a blessing. And you recognize that any blessing that might draw you farther away from God becomes a curse. In 1 Samuel 30, David faced a difficult trial. He clung to God and found strength in Him. He found the strength to ask God for directions, to carry them out, and to lead his band of soldiers to do the same. "The people who know their God will display strength and take action" (Daniel 11:32). People who know their God become strong because they are dependent upon the Lord. Quiet time is not a luxury. It is their means of survival.

Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20). God longs to spend time with you. To sit down you, sip a little wine, and talk about anything and everything about life. Will you let Him in your heart?

Pursue intimacy with God

What is your life's pursuit? To answer that question, examine your schedule. What activity do you devote more time to than anything else? David's pursuit is intimacy with the Lord. In Psalm 27, amidst war and many troubles, he wrote, "One thing I have asked from the Lord: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His temple." The reward David longed for was God Himself.

David knew this truth: when you have God, you have everything. The opposite is also true: when you don't have God, you have nothing. Are you scrambling up the corporate ladder? Are you bent on the pursuit of your career goals? The apostle Paul once pursued the top of the religious positions, until he learned that nothing was more important than intimacy with God (Philippians 3:8).

Inside each person is an emptiness—a soul appetite. You will want to fill that emptiness, but instead of asking God to satisfy you, you tend to grab at the "good things of life" like riches, busy-ness, relationships, (Luke 14:18-20, Mark 4:19). But these won't be enough. Only God can fully satisfy. "This is eternal life," asserts John 17:3, "that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

True Christianity is knowing God intimately. The result is a deep and growing trust in God; a transformation where everything the Christian does flows out of his love for the Lord Jesus. The evidence that you are indeed a true Christian is a hunger and passion for God. The Christian knows that life is all about God, and not about him (Colossians 1:16).

Man's chief aim is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. God loves you. He wants to hold hands with you as you walk together through the journey of life. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8). Pursue intimacy with God.

One way we pursue intimacy with God is through prayer and fasting. But why fast and pray? First Timothy 4:7 tells us, "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness." We do not fast or pray for the sake of fasting and praying, but for godliness. Richard Foster pointed out, "More than any other discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us." We realize what our compulsions are. And we realize our deep need of God.

This is seen in the life of King Jehoshaphat. When he was surrounded by his enemies, he cried out to God (2 Chronicles 20). In his helplessness, he sought the Lord. "Prayer and helplessness are inseparable," said O. Hallesby. "Only the one who is helpless can truly pray. Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas."

God spoke to Jehoshaphat. "Do not fear... for the battle is not yours but God's" (v. 15). Don't fight. Stand and see my salvation. I AM with you. God does not speak louder when we fast. But we begin to hear Him better.

"O taste and see that the Lord is good! How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" the 34th Psalm sings with a promise. "They who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing."

When we pray and fast to draw near to God, He draws nearer to us, and we enjoy our fellowship with Him. Soon your heart will testify: "Thou will make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever" (Psalms 16:11).