Spring of Hope

Moses asks God to show His glory, and God said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live" (Ex 33:20). Do we die if we see God’s face, and we can live if see his back? Do we have to die to see God's face? Was Moses agreeing to less than the best and got less than he asked for? During the recent Solar Eclipse, people had to use special glasses with filters or other devices. Those who dared to look directly, damaged their eyes. If looking at the Sun's brightness is detrimental, how much more devastating can it be to see the brighness of God, "who dwells in unapproachable light"? (1 Tim. 6:16) God said, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy" (Verse 19). The pople have sinned and Moses needed to see God's grace, not justice at this situation. The cleft of the rock was a safety place for Moses in his anxiety and fear. God understands and knows our situations, and He will show the side that is the best for us. Humanity can s...

We hear limited time offers quite frequently for selling products or services. If you don't buy before a deadline, you lose your opportunity. Someone has started a clock and the customers are drawn into a sense of urgency. All good deals have a finality to their offers. Life is a limited time offer with a closing day ahead approaching faster than you would like. A bumper sticker said, “Caution: the days in calendar are closer than they look”. This is a reminder for today rather than a threat about tomorrow. The good news is that we are alive, and still have opportunities. God has extended the offer another day. An opportunity missed means it is lost. We still have time to make priorities straight. Wisdom teaches us to number our days (Psalm 9:12). “One day Manna stopped”. It stopped coming one day, just as it started one day. "It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark and when God shut the door of the ark". Grace and Salvation are limited time and have a finality t...

A little boy was sick and couldn't go to church on Palm Sunday. When His father returned from church with a palm branch the boy asked, "Why do you have that palm branch"? The Dad said, "When Jesus came into town, everyone waved palm branches to honor Him". The little boy replied, "The one Sunday I miss, is the Sunday that Jesus shows up!" A lot of people missed the visitation of God. Jesus shed tears at this saying, "you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God" (Luke 19:44). Jesus shed tears at various situations like the tomb or Lazarus and the garden of Gathsemane. Shedding of tears is a complex chemical process. Analyses have shown that the chemical composition of tears vary at different emotions. Tears of sadness contain significantly greater quantities of potassium, manganese and the hormone prolactin than tears of joy or anger. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the people didn't know who has come into their cit...

Easter Sunday is celebrated among Christians with night prayer vigils, sunrise service and Easter processions. Girls and boys wear beautiful white clothes with laces, and shawls on their heads with beautifully decorated faces in Easter Parades. In the early Christian communities, baptisms were celebrated on Easter Sunday where the people who were to be baptized wore spotless white robes as a sign of their new life in Christ. Christian experience is compared to a change of clothing with a "new self". Old items like anger, wrath, malice, pride, slander, abusive language, and lying are stripped off and clothed afresh with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Colossians 3). You cannot find these items in the 'Morality Mall'. Garments like goodness, patience, compassion and kindness can only be picked only up at the 'Resurrection Mall' because while standing beside the resurrected Christ, one finds really poorly dressed, and realizes that ...

A small boy got lost in the mall and frantically called “Sally! Sally Sally!”. The mother came running to him quickly and said, “you shouldn’t call me ‘Sally’, I’m your Mother”. The boy answered, “Yes, I know, but this store is full of mothers”. Mothers are special to all of us. Mothers work tirelessly and wear any hat that fits the situation to take care of others. A study found that women who never had to raise children enjoyed the equivalent of an extra three months a year in leisure time! History is indebted to great mothers like Jochebed (mother of Moses), the mother at Zarephat (1Kings 17), the Shunemite mother (2Kings 4), Sarah, Hagar, Hannah, Mary, Eunice, Susanna Wesley and many others. Abraham Lincoln said, “ All I am, I owe to my mom”. The Canaanite woman (Matthew 15, Mark 7) was one of persistent faith that crossed barriers and became a triumphant mother. She hasn’t made any confession of faith. There’s no sign she was baptized or she joined a church. She simply ca...

Jesus prepared table for 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish, and then to another 4000 people with 7 loaves and fish. Jesus hosted a table on the night before his death and ate with the disciples after resurrection. He promised that He has gone to prepare a heavenly banquet so that His people can feast with Him. God hosted the people of Israel with Manna in the desert. Why did God give them Manna? They had sheep, milk or meat that they could eat. The Scripture says that they were fed with a heavenly bread. Asaph calls it “grain from heaven" (Psalm 78:24). It was not a product of the earth. God gave it to them freely and they didn't have to work for it in the hard desert life. As they stepped into the promised land, Manna stopped. God will feed you with heavenly bread in the desert and fruit of the land in Canaan. He knows what you need at the situation of your life you are in. God prepared a table for David before his enemies. When we are invited to the table, we are ...

The word 'portion' used in the context of dieting as in how much portion of something you eat on a given day or period. In the Bible it is used with a wider meaning that include someone’s inheritance or property. David says that his boundary lines have fallen in the best places becasue it is not about what he owns, rather who he owns. The God who created everything is his portion and that is the best portion you can ever get. For us, the concept of goodness is relative. I'm good because I could have been worse. I'm good because some people are worse. We have this stunning way of focusing on missing things in life when surrounded by a staggering abundance of blessing. We miss God's goodness that is all around us. I got up this morning and gravity worked perfectly and I was able to standup. My cell phone still worked-both voice and data. The sun rose in the East, and the clouds poured out the rain. I can still taste coffee, smell perfume, hear music, see beauty...

A commencement speaker said, “About ten years from now, two things will influence you the most: the books you read and the friends you make.” He added, “Choose them both very carefully!” Friendship has many faces. On Facebook, you can 'friend and unfriend people', that you can turn on and off like a faucet. The fair weather friends will remain so long as the weather is fair. There are friends in passing like the mailman or dry cleaner. We have a bond of trust with these people and we need these friends. The winning definition in a magazine survey says, "a friend is someoen who comes in when the whole world has gone out". A true friend believes in you, when you cease to believe in yourself and is a source of celebration when you feel that there is nothing to celebrate. Loving friends want to give more than to receive. You can give without love but you cannot love without giving. Jesus called his disciples 'friends' even when He knew that one would bet...

Nobody likes pain. The nature of human condition is to avoid pain and distance ourselves from it. Stanley Stein, the author of a book by name "Alone No longer" says that for him, physical pain is a 'gift' that he wanted badly. Due to lack of pain, his body started to die part by part. He calls it, "painless hell". Generally, pain does not dampen life. More than anything, it frees us to enjoy normalcy in this life. Without it, we would lead unbalanced, paranoid lives, encountering unknown dangers, never confident that we weren't destroying ourselves. Pain is the great inhibitor which help us getting in danger. Pain can be a good teacher, if we try to learn from it. Pain is also a great equalizer that makes us all brothers and sisters in a very special way. One of the reasons I love reading the Bible is how it explains the concept of pain. Unlike other books, The Bible teaches us to embrace suffering with joy if it comes. It simply gives the assur...

One of the major online retailer's internal slogan says, "Work Hard. Make History. Have Fun." Working hard is a culture they encourage in the company, and they constantly make history. They revolutionized the shopping habits of people. The company owner says, "we have processes in place to make everyone productive and then we will make history. But having fun is a personal choice you make. Nobody can make you happy". Philip Yancey in one of his books says, "Happiness is a by-product, a surprising bonus of life". In fact, making happiness your goal in life may cause you to be one of the most selfish people around. You become self-centered as you continually consider how you can make yourself happier. It seems that most of our struggles to be happy revolve around wanting something we don’t have or having something we don’t want. Yes, happiness evades precision and recedes from those who pursue her. It is your response to life's situations th...

Little 4 year old Jane was heard praying like this: "Dear God, Instead of letting people die, and having to make new ones, why don't you just keep the ones you got now"? Whether they are asking the tough questions about life or having a chat with God, the simplicity of children's love and trust is soothing to us. David says in Psalm 8 that out of the mouth of babies comes the revelation of God's majesty and human dignity. Everything in this universe requires something to cause or continue or sustain it. But God does not require a cause like any other because He has no needs outside of Himself. David says that it is “from the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have established strength” (Psalm 8:2)! John Calvin said that the process of the conception and birth of an infant displays God’s splendor so clearly that a nursing infant brings the greatness of God showed in the dignity of his creation, a baby. Although man is small in size compared to God's ...

A man looked agitated during Sunday School. When he got out and and started pacing up and down the hallway, a friend asked him, “What’s the trouble?”. He replied, “The trouble is, I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t.” It is not uncommon to feel like God is taking a long time or not even paying attention. Silence of God can be scary and frustrating for a believer. David wrote a number of Psalms including Psalm 13 when 'God seemed to be distant in his life. We can see Asaph in Psalm 79 and Elihu in the book of Job asking similar questions. Most of us believe that where God is, there is no misery. We think that all is well when we have faith. But Jesus came to this world to turn that around when He said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst and mourn". As believers in Christ, we can rest assured that ‘Where there is misery, there is God’. Jesus voluntarily embraced misery in order to share ours. A great author puts it like this, "Where misery is, there is the Messi...

The Seed is the Word The National Geographic News reports about a tree named "Methuselah" that was sprouted out of a 2,000-year-old seed. Pictures are posted on their website, news.nationalgeographic.com. A seed is full of life, power and potential. The power of plant life is in the seed. In the right environment, a seed will germinate. Your physical senses are incapable of judging whether a seed is alive or not. As a seed begins to grow, it will push up dirt, rocks, or other the obstacles in its way as it grows to a huge tree. Jesus said, “The words I have spoken to you are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6:63). "The seed is the Word of God" (Luke 8:11) that will sprout and produce fruits at the right time, at the situation we are in. God’s Word become the comfort of our souls at times of distress, as well as the healing balm when we are sick. People read it in joyful times and sad times, in sickness and in wellness, in peace and in the warfront. Flo...

You may have heard the story of the hare and tortoise. The race starts, the hare soon leaves the tortoise behind and, confident of winning, takes a nap midway through the race. When the hare awakes however, he finds that his competitor, crawling slowly but steadily, has arrived before him. Running a good race requires focus, physical exertion, and perseverance. From start to finish, you lay all distractions aside, and remain focused on one thing – moving forward and finishing the race. You don’t look back, you don’t turn around, and most important of all, you don’t quit. You cannot drive a car safely by constantly looking at the rear view mirror. Rearview mirrors of life may distract you with the failures of the past. Looking back can cost you valuable opportunity ahead. Learn to forgive yourself and free from the burden of guilt. Forgive others as God has forgiven you and lighten your load. Align your goals with God’s goal for your life and reach forward and grasp hold of God’s ...

‘Surprise’ is defined by dictionaries as an unexpected or astonishing event, fact, or thing. Only humans have surprises. We are limited by time and space. God is not limited and does not have unexpected events, fact or thing. He is the author of all things and controls all events. In Genesis 18, we see old man Abraham, 99 years of age, sitting tired and sleepy at the entrance to his tent. Two strangers show up and tell him, "about this time next year, Sarah your wife will have a son” (Gen. 18:10). Sarah who was about 90 years old heard that and tried to stifle her reaction to laugh. She has heard that story before; for the last twenty-four years, to be exact. God promised Abram that he woul become the father of many nations. A lot of events and places have passed by in their journey. Now they are old and tired and with hurt emotions. Then the hurt turned to anger, and the anger to cold resignation. Well, funny! “Sarah laughed to herself" (Genesis 18:12). Life teaches us th...

The Bible is a book that is brutally honest and unsentimentally realistic. We can read about the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the characters. We read about Abraham's strong faith, but also his weakness when lies about Sarah being his sister. We read about David's successes, but we cannot ignore the sins he committed including murder. We read about Jacob who seemed to delight in trickery and deceit to achieve success until he meets Laban. The one who cheated his own father now gets cheated by his father-in-law; not once, not twice, but ten times!!! (Gen 31:7). Jacob and Laban are portrayed as two shrewd business men in the story. Jacob negotiated seven years for Rachel, but ended up working for Laban fourteen years and ended up with two wives which was nowhere in in his business plan. Laban used the 'ugly child hostage' economics here. He thought that chances of Leah getting married was slim, may due to her 'cross or weak' eyes. So he used the princ...

Trust in times of Trouble "Though the waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake, there is a river" Psalm 46:3 Whatever problems rage against us, God’s Spirit is the ever-flowing river who sustains us and gives us gladness even while we’re under siege (Ps. 46:4). God is our refuge and resource in times of trouble. His river of grace and peace flows through the middle of the city. When future looks bleak and surroundings look dry and barren, God is our source of comfort. A crisis does not make a person; a crisis reveals a person. In a time of trial, you turn to what you trust. An alcoholic turns to the bottle. An addict turns to drugs. A atheist turns to the wise men. A Christian should turn to the Lord. When trouble strikes, He is sufficient to get you through. God's promise to His people is the peace that flows like a river in the midst of turmoil. "I will extend peace like a river". (Isaiah 66:12) Fulll sermon audio:  Mathew Philip   ...

Jacob awoke from his sleep with the sudden recognition "Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it" (Genesis 28: 16) Jacob ran from home, leaving the security of parents and friends. The security of the son has been replaced by the dangers of the night. The comfort of his parents’ tent has been replaced by the wide open desert. Behind him lays Beersheba, where Esau waits to kill him. It was night when Jacob found a place to lie down and sleep. The setting of the sun, with the loss of its light and warmth, signifies the loss of energy of faith from life as he lingered in self-centered ideas and plans. It relates to me personally. I dont know about you. The self centerd nature of our own self casts its dark shadow over our life and we fall into a deep spiritual sleep. But in that depression, comes a heavenly dream. He saw in his dream of a ladder going up to heaven. He saw angels climbing up and down the ladder between earth and heaven. God brings heaven do...

Moses called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" Exodus 17:7 How many places can we call Massah and Meribah in the world today? Quarrels and fights are common in our society, as well as around the world today. People unite to fight and protest. Most often, sincere intended people get misled by selfish and misguided leadership and the movements end up with with no vision. We see rallies of frustrations end up in violence and shooting. Protests have pervaded into our sports and entertainment as an acceptable event during the games. Churches and places of worship have historically been used to guard agendas and narrow interests. Where is God in the midst of all of this? Just like Moses, we may ask “is the Lord among us or not?” We remember that a chapter before this in Exodus 14, the people were threatened by water in the read sea. They cried out and God led them through dry land in ...