"THE WORST IS YET TO COME, THE BEST IS ALREADY OURS" - Luis Pantoja, Jr.

It's thirty minutes into the New Year. I just returned home from a New Year's Eve Service leading an exciting and meaningful time of worship followed by a hearty dinner with a loving family willing to host the worship pastor!

I planned on going home after the service but couldn't get a cab, so I called my dad that I needed to postpone my "homecoming" to the morning. It is never safe to travel on New Year's even around the Philippines-- despite the continued drizzle, there's just too much firecrackers and fireworks blowing off at every street corner which by the way is braved by a goodly number of people. Small group mate Joel and Tagalog worship team member Erwin all didn't have a place to go for New Year's so out of the kindness of siblings Mark and Luan, we got invited to a hearty dinner. Joel opted to go home and sleep the New Year's celebrations away.

Following the sumptuous dinner and a great dessert of a tub of fresh strawberries and chocolate fondue, Mark, Luan and Erwin decided to go to Eastwood just a quarter before the clock struck 12 and since I live just five blocks away I made it to my apartment just minutes before midnight.

The fireworks were an amazing sight! With the ridiculous amount of money "burned" tonight, it's hard to believe that I am living in a third world/developing country. But tradition (to ward off bad luck) calls for it, so thank goodness for the collective effort of people who spent millions and millions of pesos on fireworks so a lonely (but not sad) pastor who's spending New Year's all by himself in his condo would have something to enjoy watching. I had trouble which one to focus on since there were just too many of them happening at the same time even as my cellphone kept vibrating for hundreds of text greetings. But because of an unusually bad weather, the smoke from fireworks now blanket the entire country adding to our already serious air pollution problem. At any rate, they were all beautiful!

Now that the fireworks shows are over, people are inside their homes, and here I am typing this blog entry, I couldn't help but remember the bleak forecasts of economists concerning 2009! They say we better be prepared because "the worst is yet to come." But then, my wise Senior Pastor in his Benediction tonight said, "They say the worst is yet to come but we say the BEST is already ours." No matter how bleak the forecasts may be, no matter how big the storms are about to hit us, no matter how deep the rut we find oursleves in, we already have the BEST with us.- God is with us, and all the purposes, promises, and privileges that come along with His presence with us! And so I say, God is in control.

Tonight's New Year's Eve Communion Service was the Bomb! To begin with, the 2100-seat auditorium was packed and had to go on standing room only mode. I keep wondering whether we have been violating the city's fire code by overstuffing our auditorium with folks. GCF special holiday services such as Easter, Good Friday, Christmas and tonight's attract hundreds of people from other churches. But more than just the sheer volume of people who stood infront of me tonight as I led worship was the attitude - the mindset and heartset - of the congregation in worship.

The songs tonight have been prepared just a couple of days ago mainly due to the fact that beginning the 24th of December 'til January 4th, were declared non-working holidays. I did much of the work at home or while our of town, or conceptualizing the worship set sequence while taking my morning jog and prayer walk the last few days. In short, the preachers, musicians, the tech folks, the worship planning team and myself did not have time to meet about tonight's service, but by God's grace, He made me see again (like He always does) that He can work through, with and in people so that His purposes will be accomplished whether these people coordinated well or not. From song number one to the final one, all were beautifully stitched to the messages, statements, stories and experiences proclaimed in the service by the hand of God! I go back to the reality I stated earlier, God is in control. They say the worst is yet to come but we say the BEST is already ours.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

"GOOD BYE, LORD" - a new convert

Reading the news about Barrack Obama's choice of the Rev. Rick Warren to pray in his inaugural and all the controversies that go with it, particularly ending the prayer "in the name of Jesus," I couldn't help but be reminded of the man from my dad's old church- a fresh convert to Christianity, zealous in his new-found faith, he volunteered to say "grace" at a potluck/bless fellowship.

He began his prayer by addressing God as "Our Father," I thought, "Okay, cool start!" He went on and on, until his supposed "grace before meal" began to cover the entire world. The reason for his lengthy prayer was that he was so new in the faith that he didn't know how to end a "Christian" prayer. And so, in that rather fidgety moment he ended his prayer by saying, "and uh...ah...um.....Good bye, Lord."

I choose no other way to end my prayer except in the name of Jesus Christ or in certain cases, the Holy Trinity. I was born in a Christian home, to Christian parents (a pastor for a dad and a Sunday school teacher/realtor for a mom, who both have garduate degrees in theology and Bible), I literally started going to church even before I was born. I am a certified "son of the manse." My parents, older siblings and people from church all taught me, by example, to pray in the name of Jesus. That's basically my background.

In a 10x8' classroom together with the entire Children's Sunday School class I came to personal faith in Christ one Easter Sunday at age six. And as a gradeschool kid, I learned that more than just following mere tradition, praying "in the name of Jesus" came as direct command from the Lord Jesus Himself.

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." John 14:13-14

Now I don't pray in Jesus' name because I don't know any other way to end a prayer, but that I am following His explicit desire that His followers pray in His name, and because He delights to hear me pray to the Father in His name. In addition, there's so much theological implications to this two-sentence command- Christ's deity, Christ's advocacy, His righteousness imputed on us, He tore the veil giving us access to God's holy presence, etc.

Rick Warren wrote, "I'm a Christian pastor so I will pray the only kind of prayer I know how to pray....Prayers are not to be sermons, speeches, position statements nor political posturing. They are humble, personal appeals to God."

The whole of a Christian's life should be one of asking (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Nothing is too small to ask from the God who created tiny atoms, or too big to ask from the God who created the universe. We must not postpone prayer till we feel more worthy to do so because we will never be worthy enough to ask from God. We ask, not because we are worthy but because Jesus has invited us to ask and ask in His name.

Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, who was a presence at presidential inaugurations for several decades, said it's wrong to expect members of any faith to change how they pray in public.

"For a Christian, especially for an evangelical pastor, the Bible teaches us that we are to pray in the name of Jesus Christ. How can a minister pray any other way?" Franklin Graham said. "If you don't want someone to pray in Jesus' name, don't invite an evangelical minister."

Billy Graham, now 90, didn't say Jesus' name during presidential inaugurations, but made obvious references to Christ.

At Richard Nixon's 1969 swearing-in, Graham prayed "in the Name of the Prince of Peace who shed His blood on the Cross that men might have eternal life." In 1997, for Bill Clinton's inaugural, Graham prayed "in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

We are privileged to have the Spirit who prompts and teaches us to pray, Jesus Christ who mediates for us, and the Father who loves us. Therefore, we should pray in Christ's name and expect great things according to God's will. Let us use our privileged position to ask freely and boldly in His name. A Christian is only as strong as his prayer life (1 Corinthians 3:7).

A KID WITNESS

One Christmas Sunday evening service 1993 at my dad's old little church, I slipped at the dark brown upright piano ready to play for the singing. It was "testimony night"- anyone with a thanksgiving item, an experience, a song, an insight may stand and "testify." I always thought then as a high school kid that "testimony nights" were not the best times to invite any of my non-Christian friends because some of our church members get to be too emotional on testimony nights and my friends may find my crowd a little too weird.

There were perhaps 50 to 60 people present that night.

From the corner of my eye I saw a couple walk in. I've never seen them before 'til that night and I thought, "Oh no, we have guests!"

My brother stood and led the singing with me accompanying (not my "top" gift). After a hymn, a Christmas carol and a contemporary chorus, my dad opened the floor for testimonies. As expected, Deacon Sid Soliguen stood asked me if I could accompany him while he sang, "His Eye is on the Sparrow." After Deacon Sid, his daughter Joy testified about her grades. My mom stood and thanked God for financial provisions then she sang "My Tribute."

After several more testimonies and songs, the male guest stood! He opened his Bible and read Matthew21:16- "And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" and shared his story

Then he started sharing his story, the way I remember he said it:

"You see, it was a 'babe' who told me about Christ. One Good Friday afternoon, I stood puffing my cigarette in front of a Baptist chapel. I looked through the open the door and saw pews, books and a pulpit at the end of the chapel. I was killing time, waiting for the Good Friday procession when I saw a six-year-old kid come out of a chapel holding a Starwars action figure. The boy politely asked if I'd please stop smoking in front of the church. Just to tease the kid, I asked, 'What church? I don't see no church!' The boy pointed to the little chapel with open doors and said, 'That's a church right there.' I told the kid, 'That's not a church, I don't see God in it. In the church I go to we have God in it (referring to the images).' The smart little kid said, 'You may not see God in my church, but God sees you, and He knows when you do bad things.' I was dumbfounded by the kid's statement. There I was waiting for the Good Friday procession to come by so I could check out the girls!

The kid once again spoke- and by this time, his wisdom scared me- he went and said, 'But God is good. He forgives us even we do do bad things, if we say sorry to Him and ask Jesus to come into our heart and He will come and forgive us.'

I walked away from the kid and the chapel. As I walked down the street, I kept looking back at the kid peacefully and happily playing on the sidewalk in front of that tiny Baptist chapel. For some reason I felt as though the eyes of God were on me, boring a hole in my head and piercing my heart. I was deeply overladen by the kid's comment on the 'bad things' I do, and how God wants to forgive. I did not wait for the procession, went home, entered my room, got down on my knees and asked Jesus to forgive me and come into my life.

A week later I flew out of Manila to work in the Middle East. It was there when I craved for fellowship with God, and attend Christian worship. I badly wanted a Bible but didn't have access to it. Providentially, I met Christians who helped me in my walk. Now, I'm one of the leaders of that secret church in the Middle East, sort of like a pastor. All because one kids was brave enough to speak to me."

He walked to the piano. I thought maybe he was going to sing and will ask me if I knew the song he was singing. But he didn't sing, instead, he embraced me. He looked me in the eye and said, "You were that kid."

His name was "Neggie" and that was the last time I ever saw him and his wife.

Sometimes, all someone needs is a courageous word from us that God by His grace will use to reveal Himself to that someone. I get goosebumps whenever I talk about this story- the humbling experience of having been used by God to lead someone to Christ, unknowingly!

GETTING A BIG DOSE OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL

Last night, coming home from a weekend away, as soon as I dropped bag in my condo unit I decided to worship with a congregation that meets in a theater two blocks away from my condo. Now, before I continue, I'd like to say, this is not an attack on the church, but more of an introspection on my part and a reminder to my fellow Christians to be sensitive to what you hear, say, do pertaining to our faith in the risen Lord.

I made my way up and was greeted by a horde of ushers at the door, one handing an offering envelope, one holding out a dish of menthol candies to ensure a "sweet-smelling sacrifice of praise," and one greeting me a heart "Happy New Year!" I arrived just in time for the "prelude" which had a bad start with the drummer not giving the right timing, and it also ended abruptly at the signal of the stage director.

The Worship Team came out with the female lead singer shouting at the top of her husky voice- "Hallelujah!" We sang and sang. Following the fourth song, a short Chinese man in his early forties came up and said, "It is time to have Communion." So, my immediate reaction was to bow, and quietly ask God to prepare my heart for the ordinance while he read the preface found in 1 Corinthians 11.

The man started exhorting the congregation with these words: "Brothers and sisters...if there is a New Covenant that means there was an Old Covenant where people were required to offer animal sacrifices for their forgiveness." I thought, "OK, theologically correct." And then he continued, "If a person were rich he would sacrifice a bull, if a person were middle-class he would offer a lamb or a goat, if person were poor, he will offer a dove." I thought, "OK, still on track." He went on to say, "If there is no New Covenant, you and I will have to bring animals for worship- if you're rich, a carabao, if you're middle-class bring a pig, if you're poor, bring a chicken." And I thought, "Hmm...not quite, pig is unclean." He then said, "We need to sanctify our sin." And I thought, "How in the world can we 'sanctify' our sin? Does he mean 'sanctified (separated) from sin'"? But even "sanctified from sin" doesn't sound quite right. I hoped he just made a mistake until he said it again, "sanctify our sin," and again, and again. "Sanctified unto God" is more like it. I wanted to raise my hand and correct his statement. But I was a first-timer, and thought. "Let it go, Jon..let it go." And behind me, a man in his twenties said, "Yes, Lord. Sanctify my sins." And I was like, "Bummer, there goes a convert to heresy." I cannot question the sincerity, but a little grammatical mistake in a statement makes a whole lot of difference in its meaning. We had communion.

We sang some more-- a lot of "me" centered songs. The worship leader kept exhorting the congregation that we must worship the God who has done everything he can because he wants to bless us immeasurably- financially, relationally, physically and spiritually. Christ came one Christmas and died one Good Friday in order that we may be prosperous! He wants us to be rich in every way. That's one big dose of Prosperity Gospel right there.

Then the offertory came together a "shot" of Prosperity Gospel with a twist. The Children's Pastor came up with a 7-year-old girl who gave a testimony. The testimony goes, "Two Sundays ago, I gave twenty pesos in the offering. When I came home I got an angpao (red envelope) containing P200!" The pastor goes, "Guys, God will return what you give a hundred, even a thousand fold. So Let's pray: God we give our tithes today...help us to give sparingly because we know when we do, we will soon reap sparingly!" And from my bowed posture I looked at the pastor and felt a discernible tone of sincerity, he probably didn't know that he said a really bad prayer! That's the twist. There was a special number by a group of college-age women who danced to a song by American Idol, Fantasia!

Then the sermon came- a BIG shot of Prosperity Gospel based on selected passages from the book of Psalms that talk about security in the Lord. The pastor talked about the economists' forecasts for 2009 and said, "Those are facts, but they are not truth...Facts are just information, truth is truth." I thought, "Hmm...Should I even buy that explanation?" He went on to say, "We should not even believe those forecasts any more, we must stand on God's Word, He said he will bless us then he will bless us. The Bible says, the blessings of God maketh rich! Who wants to be rich?" There were exhuberant shouts from the crowd. Everyone seem to want to get rich! Who doesn't? The preacher goes on to say, "You're a child of God, you are destined for greatness...You have to speak blessings on your finances, relationships, health and spirituality...Don't say 'sales are bad' because it will be bad if you keep saying it. Instead say, 'God is blessing my sales'! so your business will prosper. If you want to be rich, pay your workers higher than minimum wage so they too will get richer...God is out to make you rich! And when He blesses us, He doesn't add troubles to it. You will have no more obligations- no debts anymore. Christ already paid your debts." The sermon pretty much ran that same course for 35 minutes then he asked the congregation to line up on the four aisles, each aisle is designated for a particular area one might want to be rich in- finances, relationships, health and spirituality. I stayed on to see which line would be the longest, and I wasn't not surprised at all with the result. Everyone seems to want to get rich!

I came out of the service empty. I'm a pastor, I'm supposed to be mature enough to handle such mistakes in theology and worship to receive something at least, but I didn't. I felt sincerity in their worship, but there are things that need to be corrected. Was I too critical or was I just a little too "educated" and "equipped" by the church to which I belong and serve that anything I hear that is contrary to what I have been taught from Scripture get flushed down the drain or perhaps my recycle bin hoping to glean something from it somehow?

My prayer is that pastors, church leaders, and "ordinary" Christians would stop looking at God as Santa Claus, or as some grand dad who spoils kids. We have a great responsibility in making God known to others as the Bible says He is, and not what we think He may be or what He can give us.

INCONVENIENT BLESSINGS...?

Christmas Day is over! Boxing Day aka the New Black Friday is just about to end.

This morning, I ate breakfast at a coffee shop after a good early morning jog. I ordered my food, paid, said "God bless you" to the barista, went and found a table, sat, changed the song in my MP3 player, and waited. While waiting, I found a window of time to relax and think-- think about blessings! Especially now that we are days away from the close of this year and the beginning of the next. I thought of how God graciously blessed me and family, my friends and my church with His favor.

“God bless you!” we say when someone sneezes. "God's blessings" I often sign at the end of an email, card, or letter. “What a blessing!” we say when hear something good. A child is taught to pray a simple prayer: "God bless Mommy and Daddy and Grandma and Felix the Cat." We think we want God’s good favor, God’s approval, or at least we want good things for ourselves and for those whom we love that's why we say "God bless you." Even the modern "Good Bye" comes from that root phrase.

“Merry Christmas, Happy New Year,” we say at this time of year. And, beneath the sentiment lies a blessing of fulfillment and prosperity, however weakly felt or intended.

“The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

On the surface, we ask for good things to come our way: protection, comfort, healing, and material prosperity. God is the dispenser of good things, we believe, and so we ask for his blessing. But, I wonder if we really know what we’re doing when we invoke God’s presence in our lives. Some choose religion to be happy, blessed and have God's attention and favor!

Just what does it mean to have God’s attention focused our direction, anyway?

C. S. Lewis, the same author who brought the Chronicles of Narnia to life, wrote, “I haven’t always been a Christian. I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of port would do that. If you want a religion to make you really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” And, I wonder if, when he wrote those words, he hadn’t been pondering the Christmas story in which God took initiative to bless humanity that initially resulted to the inconvenience of many- an honorable man finding out his fiancee is pregnant our of wedlock; a teen-aged woman who got pregnant in the strangest of ways, a king who suddenly became insecure when he learned a new king was born, shepherds disturbed by the noise some angels made, etc., all because God took action with the intention of blessing us!

We have the glorious freedom to accept God’s intention. But then, that isn’t the equivalent of winning the lottery. The Christian message does not so much pave the way to easy money as it proclaims that God will have God’s way; come join the parade! You will be astounded by life unimaginable!

The Magnificat is Mary’s acceptance speech of God’s blessing, she discovers her own deep purpose and, in that discovery, sees God’s blessing for the world. God intends to have God’s way. God intends to turn things upside down so that we might see the folly of our own pride and vanity, and then willingly, even joyfully, join the holy parade of the blessed.

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iN OTHER NEWS" Nephews and Nieces this Christmas!

Ruth and Josh infront of the family home in Tampa

Jacob and Jared uber happy with the gifts they got

Hannah and Raymond in their party get-ups

Me and my grandnephew, Daniel! (whose mom is my niece, the only one without a photo)