Do We need a Choker?

Our dog, Rocko, a belgian tervuren, as big and fierce as he is, is just like a regular dog to us.  He is a guard dog, whose bark scares people who knock on our gate, and that makes him a good deterrent for would be criminals who will hopefully think twice before trying to enter our house.  (My prayer everyday is that God will protect our home, and use Rocko as His instrument)
But for us, he is our family dog.  He gets as excited as any other dog when we arrive home.  And he has also grown to be a "house dog", as he stays with us inside the house.  The only time he is not inside the house is at night because we make him sleep outside.  It's a routine for him.  From the moment we wake up he stays with us inside the house, but when the last one to sleep begins to close the lights he begins to slowly walk out the front door.

But this routine was broken when we had him sleep overnight inside the house. Rocko gets hyper and bothered when it rains hard, and most especially when it starts to thunder.  He runs around trying to find the thunder, following the vibration, frantically trying to run after it.  And as long as it is raining hard he does not like staying outside.  So, there was one night when we had him sleep inside the house because he did not want to go outside.  The one night turned into two, then three. It was no problem...he wasn't peeing or pooping inside the house, but eventually, even when it wasn't raining, he did not want to sleep outside anymore.  And even when we would call him to go out, he would start to hide under the table.

Then, I noticed one thing - he wasn't wearing his choker.  A choker is a chain type collar made of light iron, that is really made to be what it is called -  a choker.  This is one of the ways to train a dog to obey (one that not everyone agrees with, but we have seen its advantage, as I will share).  When a dog is not obeying a command, a little pull on the chain will slightly choke the dog, something very uncomfortable, and the dog will eventually relate disobedience to the pull and yank.  So, to remind him who is in charge, a little pull on the chain will remind him.
And that's what happened - we put back the choker on him.  And when it was time for him to go out all we had to do was hold the chain, and even without pulling on it, he would obey and follow our orders for him to go out of the house.
That is important for a dog - to remind him who is in charge, and part of that is using the choker.  He identifies the discomfort of being slightly choked with disobedience, and ends up obeying even while we're just holding the choker.

It reminds me of how the Lord does not want to deal with us.
Psalms 32:8-9  I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.  (9)  Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.

When God becomes our Lord and Master He begins to teach us and show us the way we should live.  God counsels us through His word, and the working of the Spirit, as He watches over us every moment of our lives.

In the psalm the Lord reminds His people not to be like the horse or the mule which have no understanding, but need a bit and bridle to hold them in check.  In other words God doesn't want us being choked, holding us in check with a choker, reminding us painfully to obey.  God wants us to obey with all our heart, willingly and cheerfully obeying His teaching and counsel to us.

Sadly, there are many times in our life when our God will lovingly use a choker to keep us in check.  But the point is for us to eventually not need a choker, and just lovingly and willingly obeying His every teaching and counsel to us.

And you know what moves us to obey?

Psa 32:7  You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. 

When we hide in Him.  When He becomes our refuge.  That's when we see that it is our God who preserves us from trouble, and surrounds us when we are in trouble and delivers us.  This is when we realize that His every command, His every counsel, is meant for us to be safe, safe from this world and from the enemy who only has one desire - to steal, kill and destroy.  This is when our obedience becomes loving and willing.

So, do we need a choker?  Or will we make the Lord our hiding place and lovingly and willfully receive His teaching and counsel.

Go ahead...make my day

Just a little note about the change of photo in my blog site:
One of my favorite movie detective characters in the 70's-80's was portrayed by Clint Eastwood - Inspector Callahan, whose most well known line was "Go ahead...make my day".  Some of you who know the Dirty Harry series of movies will know what I mean.

What makes my day?  Well, the new photo I placed in my blog site says it all - God's Word, a mug (not just a cup, hehe) of coffee, and a view of the mountains.  And that is in the right order.
There is nothing like a freshly brewed coffee in the morning that just makes my day.  Something is just missing when I continue the day without having that one mug of coffee in the morning.
And, for me, there is nothing like being in the mountains.  Now, since I don't always have the time to enjoy being in the mountains, a nice view of the mountains will do.  Everyday, on my way home, the road that leads to the subdivision I live in has a beautiful view of Mount Kanlaon.  And even if it's just for a short time, I enjoy that view of the mountains, and pray for a time when I'll be able to go there again.

But there is nothing that makes my day than a moment of spending time with God and His Word.  It may not be hours, but just the time spent in recognizing who He is in my life, reading His Word and praying that the Holy Spirit may teach and guide me through it, and pouring out my heart to Him in prayer...all that is enough to really make my day.
I may begin a day without coffee, and I may have a nice view of the moutnains...but if I begin a day without God and His Word my day is shot.

I pray God and His word make your day too. 

A Snake Catcher I am Not!

I came home the other night to find our helper frantic and frightened because she had found a snake in her room!  A snake!  I get my flashlight, and go to the corner of her room where she saw it last, and there it was, hiding behind a small shoe rack.  It was a small snake, brown in color, probably not venomous but  I remember someone telling me that they do bite when they are defending themselves.

In an instant I remembered a favorite show I watch in National Geographic of snake catchers in South Africa who are called everytime there is a snake in a house or building.  I pictured the various techniques they used to try and catch snakes, venomous and non venomous.  They have these long tongs that they use to hold the snake right below the head, special glasses to protect them from snakes that spit venom into the eyes of their enemy, together with all the years of experience they have in catching snakes.  They're bold enough to hold a snake by its tail, and fast enough to avoid getting bitten.
I had all that in my mind, but I ended up asking our helper to call the neighborhood gardener to come and catch it for us.  A snake catcher I wasn't.  I knew that even if I had all those techniques and actions of the snake catchers in my mind, I knew I couldn't to what they did.  I didn't even try.  I just stayed and watched the snake, making sure it didn't run away, until the gardener came.  And when he came in a few minutes he was able to kill it, solving our problem for us.
In a situation where I had no idea what to do, nor the experience, I depended on someone who did...and he was able to do it.

Ephesians 6:10-13  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  (11)  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  (12)  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  (13)  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

This passage in Paul's letter to the Ephesus church was a strong and firm reminder to believers who they were up against.  The struggles they were going through were not the usual struggles that anyone in the world was going through.  They were to stand against the devil's schemes.  This is why they were to be strong IN THE LORD AND IN HIS MIGHTY POWER, not in themselves.  This was also why they were to put on  THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD, not their own armor.

They were not to depend on themselves.  They were not to assume that they were able to go against the schemes of Satan against them.  They were not even supposed to try.  In fact, one of Satan's schemes is to make us think that we can do it on our own, and make God the last resort. But God shouldn't be the last resort.  They were to call for His help, immediately.  They were to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power, not in their own power.  They were to wear God's armor for protection, and not their own.

So, just like my incident with the snake, we mustn't assume that we can face struggles in this life on our own.  Let's call on the One who is strong and who can defend us.  God wants us to realize who we are facing, and that we cannot face him on our own.  We need someone greater and stronger than our enemy, and that's our God.  And He is able to do it.

Let's not even try.  As Proverbs 3:5 says - we are to trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding.
Call on Him.  Always.

Prayer and Coffee...worth the effort

It's a cool, early November 1 morning, as I spent time in prayer and enjoying a hot cup of Kalinga Dark Coffee.  Both of these habits I keep take time and effort to do, but, of course, it is all worth it.
I buy coffee beans from our suki store here in Bacolod - Little Farmers Coffee (found in SM, Lopues East and 888...bro Jay, free commercial!)  They sell various blends of coffee beans from the Highlands of Benguet.  Of all the varieties (around 10 or more), there is only one blend that I choose, and that's Kalinga Dark.  It is a strong Robusta blend that my eldest son and I enjoy.  And we chose this after tasting almost all of the varieties.  But once we tasted this, we never shifted to any other blend.
Every morning I take a scoop and a half of beans, freshly grind it, and then use a dripper and eventually enjoy the strong and smooth taste of the coffee.  By the way, I enjoy mine with a spoonful of honey just to add a little sweetness to it.
As I mentioned a while ago, it takes a lot of time and effort...but it's all worth it.  Buying coffee already ground, or instant coffee, will be faster and more convenient.  But there's nothing like the taste of freshly ground coffee of a specific blend...and it's worth all the effort.

It's just like prayer.  It takes spiritual discipline to pray.  I say "spiritual" because apart from the prompting and working of the Spirit moving me to pray I probably would not have a prayer time at all.
Just like choosing the right beans it took a lot of years of my life before I actually realized what a blessing it was to choose God above everything else the world has to offer.  For coffee all I had to choose from was around 10 or more blends till I found the one I loved.  With God you have the whole world to tend with, and apart from God choosing me and calling me to Him I would probably have never found Him at all.
And it is because of this grace that I find time every day to pray.  And it takes time and effort.  Time to worship, read His word, and then pray as the Spirit leads us to intercede for others.  It takes a lot of effort to fight the temptation to do something else, check posts on facebook, answer texts or calls...
But it's all worth it.  Spending time with our heavenly Father, enjoying the privilege of entering His presence through Jesus Christ our Savior, before anything else in the world - that's what we need to jump start the day and depend on the strength and power we need to live the Christian life.

The difference with coffee and prayer for me is this - with coffee it's my own effort that moves me to grind the beans and eventually drink the coffee.  With prayer it's not my effort...I depend totally on the Lord calling me and drawing me to Him, remaining in Him so that I may bear fruit.  My effort in prayer is simply responding to that calling and drawing, enjoying its fruit.

I can last a day without coffee (I think, hehe)...but I won't last a day without prayer.
But I thank God for both.

Casting our cares

There are a number of times when I, and the other pastors of our church, would receive a blessing of a sack of rice either from brethren or from the church.  Personally, I do not have the strength to carry one sack of rice on my shoulders and carry it all the way to my car.  And even when I reach the house I cannot carry the whole sack inside.  So, when I need to place it in the trunk of the car I ask someone much stronger than myself who can carry it and place it in the trunk of the car.  When I reach home I would usually ask my eldest son to carry it from the trunk to the inside of the house.
I have to ask them that favor, because I know that I cannot carry it.  So I cast that burden upon their shoulders.
I know what it takes to carry a sack of rice.  When I was still working the company I worked for used to deliver rice to restaurants and market stalls.  The truck helpers we had were the ones who would carry them.  It is "chicken feed" for them, so they did all the carrying, while we salesmen would do all the sales talk.  We would cast the care of carrying the weight on them, because they were the ones strong enough to do it.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
(1 Peter 5:6-7)
Have you ever cast all your cares on the Lord, and yet continue to feel anxious?  Maybe it's because we aren't really casting them on His shoulders.
The word "cast" in the Greek means literally "to throw upon".
What does it mean to throw our cares upon the Lord?  Verse 6 is the key.
Do we humble ourselves under God's mighty hand?
To humble ourselves before God is to believe that He has the mighty hand, and not us.  When we keep believing that we can still solve our problems, or when we still think that we know what God should do, then we do not believe He has the stronger hand.  We still believe our hand is strong enough to solve the problem.  This why we are not really casting them to the shoulders of our God.
We need to humble ourselves, admit that we cannot do it, and believe that is it God with the mighty hand, and not us.
It is when we humble ourselves that God can now lift us up.
That is when we really cast our anxieties, our cares, upon Him.

Another reason we throw our anxieties upon our Lord - He cares for us.
God is not doing it because it's His job, or because He has to.
God takes care of our anxieties, casts them upon His strong hands and shoulders, because He cares for us.
Then all the burden is lifted from us, and we just still our hearts and wait for God to take care of the situation.

We need to humble ourselves under His mighty hands before we can really cast all our anxieties on Him.