What God tells us about LOVE and SEX

     It is not new to hear stories of young men and women engaging in premarital sex. The world at the present time deceives people into thinking that Love can be measured through physical pleasures and that the moral standards has gotten so stringent than nobody can actually follow it. The media even lures the society into thinking that love is something that is shared by two people, and that sex is always an important factor in keeping a relationship steady and strong. This is due to the evolution of the society due to the advancement of knowledge. People have learned to philosophize things and even come up with a sugarcoated reason and humanely acceptable justification as to why sex is inevitable:  “because we love each other so much”.

            Contrary to all these man-made philosophy and beliefs, the scripture teaches us important lessons on Love and Sex. When God created the world and everything in it, He described all of it as ‘good’ (Genesis 1:3,10,18,21,25). But when God saw Adam alone,

The Lord God said,” it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him”.

Gen. 2:18

  Now that is the first mention of the phrase, “it is not good”. God knew that Adam needs a helper, and that He was willing to give Adam one. And so the Lord God made a woman from Adam’s rib (Gen. 2:22). This is the love instituted by God. God knew that Adam needed someone to share his life with. That’s why He gave Eve. The same principle applies to the present day. God knows every person needs someone. But instead of putting our faith and all hopes in Him, man started to look for it alone. Instead of genuine love, this need was equated to feelings and desires. Hence, the phrases ‘falling into and out of love” became popular.

 If we look closely into the scriptures, God gives us a blueprint of the kind of relationship He wants us to have. In Gen. 2:25, it says:

The man and his wife, were both naked and they felt no shame

This is the first ever Sex in the history of man. And what did the first couple feel? They felt no shame. This is simply because they were in a covenant with God. God has given them the liberty as a couple to do it. It is clear, sex between two individuals should be shameless and this can only happen if they’re in a commitment or covenant with God, not just because they are ‘in love’. 

Now after marriage, God also teaches us how to keep this relationship out of trouble and how to keep it strong. In Matt. 5:27-30, it says:

You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.’ [Exodus 20:14]

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

The battle against sexual immorality does not end when two people get married. Along the course of their marriage, temptations arise and it is in their decision if they’ll let these tamper on their marriage and cause harm to their family. That is why the ultimate protection for a long-term relationship is not the wedding ring but Purity.

            Now the question is, if we want to say out of impurity and sexual immorality, how then can we accomplish this? The answer is in Psalms 119:9

            How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word

 

This is the reason why studying the bible is important. God always provides us wisdom in every situation if only we ask. God is so faithful that he will not let you be tempted beyond you can bear. And when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1corinthians 10:13).

It is really hard to live in a world that tolerates lust and impurity but we shall not be moved and yield to all of these. For Jesus Christ can make us pure. Purity is possible only through Him, if we make Him our Lord and if we allow Him to work into our lives. And as a practical application, whenever we are tempted, we can always think of this simple statement:

There are only 3 relationships towards the opposite sex, for a woman: father, brother and husband; for a man: mother, sister and wife. Nothing in between.

Beyond sunday: WORK as worship

I want to share with you the preaching I’ve heard through Ptr. Joey Bonifacio and Ptr. Christian Flores. Let us all be blessed!

“Work is when you expend energy in service of others, to be a benefit to the community, for fulfillment, to give glory to God.”

  ‘My work is worship’It is a way of acknowledging how great our GOD is. When you expend energy , trudge everyday to get to work and get your salary, you’ll never feel fulfilled. The more you expend energy, the more bouncy, the happier you get.”- Ptr. Joey

We have been fighting a lot of battles lately. It is no doubt that all of us are overwhelmed and stressed out by all of our personal issues , taking also into account national and international havoc. As we close our eyes and sigh, there’s  always this hope for something better, a change or maybe a breakthrough, may it be on our work, academics , family or even personal growth.  But have we tried to ask ourselves, could it be that we could respond to stressful days with a different attitude? Could it be that instead of whining and complaining, we can be joyful and thankful after a stressful and draining week?

 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

- Genesis 2:15

This is the first time the word ‘work’ was mentioned in the bible. If we look its meaning in the dictionary it gives us the synonyms: to do something, worship, work in any sense and in a levitical sense, to serve.  The levites were always meticulous when it comes to their work for they know it is GOD whom they were serving , the one who deserves the best. As Martin Luther said, “God is interested in good craftsmanship” and He is the one who called us to be in our places right now.

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

- Genesis 3: 17-18

 Then there came the problem. Because of the fall of man, work became tedious. People became conscious of how they will earn a lot to feed themselves. The idea of working was diverted from being an act of service to a responsibility of sustaining one’s life. But we should not be bothered for this does not apply anymore. It is clear in the New testament that someone greater has the responsibility of provision. The GOD we are serving is our source of provision therefore all we must do is to believe and work for HIM This is the right perception about work.

Throughout history, the equivalence of work as an act of worship has been held true. The ascent of money is one of its example. One of the first life insurance companies was designed by missionaries. Obviously, it was designed to serve, to build something. Also, a chain of banks established by the consortium of Christians existed to honor God.  Other companies and organizations are also living testimonies to how God provides adequately and graciously. There’s a Danish company which manufactures toys to educate kids. Everyday, they start their work with a prayer. They started as a small company but they grew big because of worhipping a BIG GOD. The Red Cross was founded by Christians and so is the YMCA. The issue is not what and where you do, the issue is the spirit by which you do it. Are you serving God? Are you honoring God?

The sad truth is that somewhere along the way , we lost this spirit. For now we often looked on what job we do than the worship we do when we’re actually working on that specific job. As Christians, we must learn to practice this lesson: to worship God in our work . This is something that we should not do only during calamities or hardships. This what we are all designed to be. This is what God wants us to be.

work at it with all your heart.- Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

- Colossians 3:23

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The hardest thing to do is to work for someone you don’t want to. But good thing is it is God we are serving and we’re gonna get paid by the right master. Eric Liddle, one of the fastest runners once said, “I believe God made me for a purpose but He also made me fast And when I run I feel His presence”. This is the spirit of working for God. It is acknowledging His very presence in everything we do. Sin may offer temporary satisfaction, huge sum of money, a fake of something that is easy to get, but we must not yield to any of these. As Christians, we must exercise how to choose the hard right over the easy wrong, for it is in obedience, patience and perseverance in working that we glorify His name.

To end, the word ‘work’ in Hebrew is translated as  shabar or shalbar which means to take care of that atmosphere that His presence in that garden will always be there. How can we be Christians in our work? we must work in such a way that people will notice that  ‘there’s something different’, and that they may ask us, “what’s with your spirit?”.

Beyond Sunday: The BODY as WORSHIP

Here’s another message I heard from Ptr. Steve Murrell and Ptr. Manny Carlos, let me share the Word with you and I hope we could all learn from this. God be with you!

     Worship is a natural response to God’s revelation. The word comes from ‘worth-ship’ which means something worthy. We want to worship God because He deserves it and the quality of our worship depends on the quality of our encounter with God. The scriptures teach us that worship emanates from our understanding of who God is. It is not casual but rather costly because of something powerful God has done in our lives.

 In the previous post, Isaiah had an unforgettable encounter with God which leads to ultimate worship.  Everyone can also have that experience. God doesn’t give up in seeking people and drawing us to Himself.  And by this His commandments of worship applies, that worship is exclusive and that there is a proper way to truly worship God.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual [Or reasonable] act of worship.

Romans 12:1

            Worshipping God is more than just singing praise songs . It is more than just helping a brother in need or attending church and prayer gatherings. Worship is offering God the best of what we have , may it be our finances, our relationships , time and even our bodies. Romans 12:1 gives us the summary of what God wants us to do not because He is demanding but because He deserves these things more than anyone.  If we will dissect this verse, several teachings can be observed.

Therefore….This word speaks of transition from something old to something new; from something that was before to something that’s up now. The previous chapters of Romans and even other books of the bible talk about the what‘s and why’s of the Christian faith. These scriptures are more of theology, what we should and should not believe in. And this verse comes starting with a notion that it is no more of theology but of lifestyle, no more of what we should believe but rather of how we should live. This is the turning point telling us, ”what I am about to tell you to do make sense” and we must do it all by faith.

I Urge you brothers… This is the first time that the word ‘Urge’ is used in the new testament. The author of this book is no longer instructing , but already  persuading ,encouraging and advocating. This verse already shouts “Listen and act on it” rather than saying “Here is the truth, this is what you should believe in.”

in view of God’s mercy… Whenever we speak of God’s mercy, we speak of second and even nth chances of doing what is right and shunning what is wrong. Clearly, this is something no one on earth deserves and we are thankful that our God is a merciful and gracious God willing to forgive us whenever we fall. It is important to bear in mind that mercy is not something that is earned by living in a certain way or following a certain religion. Certainly , it is not an excuse to go back to the same sinful lifestyle we have had assuming that God doesn’t really do something about our sins. God’s mercy is something we respond to. It requires change and immediate action.

To offer your bodies as living sacrifices…Thousand years ago the words ‘offer’ and ‘sacrifice’ are religious words. A sacrifice is an act of surrender . God wants us to surrender our all to him and let him move in our lives and be the captain of it.

13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

14  For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

15   What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

16   Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey — whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

17   But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.

18  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

19  I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.

Romans 6:13-19

There are 3 reasons why bodies are important for worship:

1. Our bodies enable us to express our love to God and prepares us to meet with Him.

1  Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

2  Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

3  For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.

4   In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.

5   The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

6   Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

7   for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,

8   do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, [Meribah means quarrelling.] as you did that day at Massah [Massah means testing.] in the desert,

Psalm 95:1-8

God tells us to sing with faith, shout aloud, bow down, kneel , come with thanksgiving , before we enter the gates of heaven. Praise is something we do for what he has done, while worship is something we do for who He is. Whenever we praise, we magnify what God has done in our lives and whenever we worship we bow down and exalt His being. Praise and worship requires our voice and letting our hearts be softened.

2. Our bodies are instruments of righteousness.

 Just as what Romans 6:11-13 teaches us our bodies should be used in God’s works on earth. It is our duty to use our strength in executing God’s plans and will.

3. Our bodies are the temple of the holy Spirit

 

18   Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

17   Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

18   you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body.

1cor 6:18-20

Before, the temple referred to the buildings, sanctuaries, place of worship. Now, the temple of God, the church are the people or our bodies. We must also bear in mind that our bodies do not belong to us, they belong to God. Why? Simply because He has bought them at a price, Jesus’ blood. And  it is just apt for us to take care of our bodies and fleeing from all kinds of temptations which may lead to sexual immorality. Sin hinders us from doing what God wants us to do that’s why we have to ask God for forgiveness and cleansing. And once He already forgave and cleansed our hearts and spirits, we must never go back to sinning but instead, we must offer our all to God.

Offering our all is not radical. In these times of trials and poverty, offering our all is still reasonable. God deserves our all. Tithing 10% is an insult to God . He wants 100% of all of us. This doesn’t speak solely of money and possessions but everything, time, effort, attention , everything! Not leftovers, not excesses. The new covenant thinking is that every person, every child of God must offer himself 100% to God. Why, so we can live under mercy? Obviously NOT! Offering our ALL should be done so that we can properly respond to what He has already did. The one gift no one can give but God- His only Son dying on the cross for our sins.

Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

Hebrews 7:27

Worshipping God is not just during Sundays but beyond Sundays. It is not just about money but about everything we have. He offered himself once and for all as sacrifice for our sins and we ought to respond to this wonderful gift, the power of his blood taking away all lies and inequities. Giving is not about being reciprocated. Giving to God is the right way to respond to what He has already given.

Beyond Sunday: The HEART as WORSHIP

Let me share with you the message I’ve heard from Ptr. Joey Bonifacio through the Victory podcast.

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

            When we worship, we whenever we speak and communicate with the Lord, it is the Lord who listens and scrutinizes our heart. It is our heart that speaks our desires, our awe and our worship. This is the reason why we must be sure that our heart speaks of the right words, that desires the right things and worships in a right way. In the scriptures, Isaiah exemplifies what true worship is, which is worshipping by heart beyond the Sabbath day, in every second of his life.

Who is Isaiah? Isaiah is an established prophet, who lived 2700 years ago and died in 739 BC. If we scrutinize the scriptures, we will see he is an intellectual person, rich and influential. Isaiah is a man of outstanding moral character, integrity and character. And above all, he is one of the few who had an encounter with God.  In the scripture above, it is clear He sees God whenever he comes to the temple. And he describes God in three (3) metaphors:

1. seated on the throne
2. high and exalted
3. train of his robe filled the temple

Note the third metaphor. In the early times kings are symbolized and are seen in garments and robes. Clearly, these things equate to authority. The more power you have, the glorious your robe is. The longer the train, the more influence and power. And as Isaiah describes it, the train of God’s robe filled the temple. We cannot imagine how long it is! Now this gives us a clear message: God is absolutely sovereign, beyond any mind can comprehend.

²Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

³And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

⁴At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

It is also interesting to note at 2-4, Isaiah mentioned for the first time the word Seraph and described these beings as burning with fire ,bright and glorious. When the people heard of this, they couldn’t imagine what these seraphs look like for they have never encountered such. These seraphs stay with God all the time, soaking up in God’s glory. To continue, Isaiah vividly narrated the encounter, there was shaking, smoke, and the seraphs were singing to calling to one another proclaiming how Holy God is. In the Hebrew culture, in order to emphasize, they repeat the words. That is why ‘Holy, holy, holy’ is such a heavy phrase. No one can fathom the holiness the seraphs are singing about. It is superb, extreme and its beauty is something that takes one breath away. Unfortunately, the term ‘holy’ nowadays gives a negative connotation and is often used in cursing. That’s why sometimes it is hard for us to really digest the true meaning of holiness, of how holy God is- the whole earth full of his glory, where all beauty on earth put together.

The question now arises of how Isaiah responded when he saw how the beauty of God  was unveiled right before his eyes. In verse 5, his response is

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

It is the first term that he spoke of a prophecy to himself. And clearly in this verse , this prophecy is the prophecy of woe which speaks of judgment and cursing (contrary to the prophecy of weal which speaks of blessing). As the brilliant communicator in his time in the history of the world, his lips considered his best asset. But when he saw God, he saw his lips as the worst he has. This speaks of the doctrine of human depravity: people think that they’re a mixture of good and bad, well mostly good, some feel more good than bad.  Humans think that the more we unravel what’s in the center of man’s heart, which is pure, unadulterated good. Religions are designed for this, that they recognize that there is something ‘wrong’ and then they provide a guide to goodness, a teacher. The bible teaches us the contrary. The bible tells us that the more we strip the layer, the more we unravel what’s in the core of our hearts, of our very being, we are pure, unadulterated evil and the only reason we don’t see ourselves like that is because of God’s mercy protecting us. A teacher or a guide wouldn’t really matter because we would not do what it says anyway, we couldn’t. That’s when reality comes in view, we needed a savior, someone who will lift us, who will carry us. Isaiah in one momen t , got strip off, and he saw the core of his being.  

In verse 6 he saw fire and fire always means judgment. In the old testament(Leviticus 9-10)  whenever a fire is seen in the altar,the fire came and burnt whoever is near it. Isaiah expected he’s gonna be burnt to a crisp. But what happened? In verse 7 it says there, in one instantaneous act, his sin is atoned. And his response? He saw the magnitude of his debt. He saw how much he needed a savior and he saw the gravity of God’s mercy who was willing to forgive him in an instant. This is true worship, recognizing our sins , how deep our sins really were. The problem with people who do not experience God is this, they do not recognize their sins.  And lastly in verse 8, when God asked for someone to be sent , he didn’t even stop to think about it. He gave a free response and presented himself. The result? He was murdered and sawn into two, declaring the prophecies and proclaiming the holiness of God. 

The heart of worship is a response to the beauty, glory and holiness of God. It is  natural response: when we see Him, we worship. We shall never forget that the quality of worship depends on how we see God to be. When we feel like we don’t worship enough, then it could be that we don’t see enough. That’s why when we want to increase our worship, we need to increase God’s revelation to us by reading His word. The fact that Isaiah had seen the most beautiful encounter was more than justifying for him to pay at any price. For he knew, he will pay. He died serving the Lord but it didn’t matter. This is the heart of worship. This is true worship by heart, beyond Sunday.

Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”- John 3:16

   This is why we must celebrate Christmas. Why? Well, after four days of enjoying the cold morning breeze and chatting with my friends on how swift Christmas is approaching, I heard a message during the youth service, which caused a thug inside of me. Here’s what happened.

Before the pastor started his message, he asked the crowd,  “Anyone of you who feels Christmas is really in the air?”, everyone raised their hands. “Anyone of you who looks forward to the food this Christmas? who enjoys the lights and the singing, the gifts and the partying?”, same raise of hands. “Is there anyone of you who knows what Christmas is all about?”, no hands were raised. It could be easy for everybody to just raise his hand since we knew about the birth of Christ in the manger but nobody did. It was a trick question I thought and I knew the others thought so too. Aside from the fact that it is 99% rhetoric, it was obvious, nobody was prepared to answer when he gets to be interviewed. And so the minister chuckled and said “then, could it be that Christmas means something else?”. Then everyone brought out his pen and paper and started scribbling. Here is what I understood from the preaching:

John 3:16 is one of the most famous verses in the bible. If we are going to dissect the verse, we will understand Two(2) important messages underlying this verse.

First, the phrase “..SO LOVED THE WORLD”, obviously does not talk about the earth revolving or the universe. The world here refers to Us, the people.  God so loved us that He gave Jesus.

Second, the word “GAVE”. To give, if we’ll look for it in the dictionary, means to freely transfer the possession of someone or to hand over somethingto someone. During the old times this verse, which John proclaimed, surprised many of the people. The believers at the early times were used to giving GOD everything they had. They used to be the giver. They were the ones who were willing to offer their sons to God. And when they heard of what John has said, they were in awe. How could God give us Son? They might have asked. But  they chose not to question it for without Jesus, they were not saved, we were not saved.

And so what is the right attitude towards Christmas? The answer is simple. Christmas should be a time of GIVING and not of GETTING something. The problem with us is that we often expect something in return whenever we give. And with Christmas approaching, we expect gifts. And if we don’t receive what we wanted or we don’t receive any at all, we get disappointed just like a child in tantrums. But instead of asking “what can I GET this Christmas?”, we should ask ourselves the question “What can I GIVE this season”. Then there’ll come the difference. Disappointments come because we focus on the things we could get from other people. Relationships come to end whenever a side doesn’t reciprocate what the other is giving. But how about believing you will GIVE to bless someone? For if we do, the promise is tha we will end up happy and never get disappointed. 

 So this season, why don’t we bless one another and remember how God GAVE his SON to save us? Why don’t we show our love to the people around us and even to the people who hurt us just as God has showed his love for us? This season calls for a cheerful giver, despite the issues which might be besetting our lives , our families. God wants His children to celebrate with Him and be happy after giving.

Bottom line is, God gave Jesus to us so that He can show His love for us. Why can’t we do the same?

for more words of wisdom on the series : Ancient Prophecies (birth of Jesus)