Victory Over Sin – Not Submitting to Sin

The Baptist doctrine of separation from the world has been rooted in my belief even as I was growing up in a Fundamental Baptist Church in  Bukidnon Philippines.

Most Baptists as I know still adheres to this belief but recently something  is happening in America. A Baptist College electing a first openly gay president last January 23, 2015.

Though not Indiana’s first openly gay college president, Thomas Minar is the first for Franklin College, a small-town college  near Indianapolis historically rooted in the American Baptist Churches USA.

I am sure that the homosexual lobby will hail this as a “victory”, but we know what true victory is. as Paul stated in 1 Cor 15:57, The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;  but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus gives us victory OVER sin, sin  such as homosexuality, not victory in submitting TO sin.

How Is Our Prayers Answered

In Isaiah 40:31, it says They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall MOUNT UP  up with wings like eagles, they shall RUN  and not be weary, they shall WALK and not faint. How is our Prayers Answered?

1. INTERVENTION.

Sometimes we soar like Eagles – God intervenes right away. For example you need money for tuition, God put into your mind an uncle abroad to send him a text and God convicted your uncle to send right away — Lo and behold a text back right away with a Western Union number.  That is INTERVENTION.

2. INTERACTION

Sometimes we run and not be weary  – God provided you a cellphone but you have to literally send the text to your uncle so that God can work in him to send you the money. Then wait for a text back from him for a number from Western Union. You texting, God convecting. That is INTERACTION.

3. INNERVENTION

Sometimes we walk and not faint. – There are times it seems when you send the text to your uncle there is no response. This is the time that God is changing you, giving you the attitude of PATIENCE.

Growing up

We have been raised in an era where our culture has reduced life to a fundamental formula to explain and replicate everything . This is true in our Calling in life as it is for our health, wealth, relationships, parenting etc.  Are we finding our calling?  One of the topics I clearly remember  in  engineering was “Triangulation” in our  surveying course. It takes three coordinates to find your location at a given time.

Let me share three coordinates that will assist us find  our Calling in life.

1. ACHIEVING

The key word in Achieving is  RESPONSIBILITY, it means “making things happen instead of waiting for things to  happen”.

2. RELATING

The key word in Relating is RELATIONSHIP, it means ” actively showing interest in maintaining intimacy with people we care about”.

3. BECOMING

The key word in Becoming is REALITY, it means ” the way things actually are –  not what they appear to be or what we wish them to be.

Daily we go through these constant cycle of  Achieving – Relating and Becoming.

Finishing your Race – Play Hard

PLAY HARD- WORK HARD
While watching a hockey game a week ago, one thing became obvious to me: You have to play the entire game, whether that means four quarters in the NFL and NBA or three periods in NHL; nine innings in baseball; or 18 holes in golf. It is good to build a commanding lead in the earlier portions of the game, but you still have to play the whole game.
More often than that, the closing portion of any game is crucial. In the case of a game I observed recently between the Senators our Hockey Team in Ottawa , the outcome came down to a decisive score with only two seconds remaining on the clock. As one team snatched victory from near certain defeat, it became very evident that even the last two seconds of a contest can be extremely important.
I am now in the third  quarter of my life – certainly the third  quarter of my productive years. Anything beyond 80 years would probably qualify as “overtime.” I am definitely mid point of my  quarter. However, simply running out the clock or taking a knee, as sometimes happens in NFL, does not seem practical or sportsmanlike at this stage of my life, even if I had what I would consider a good “lead” going.
Many people at my age already are eyeing the clock, reasoning they can coast to the finish. That is, if they haven’t already given up or headed for the showers. The curious thing is that I feel as good as ever. I am not tired, I feel more creative, and know a lot more than I once did. It may be appropriate to revise my personal “game plan,” make better choices, or play as if the outcome of the game is still on the line, but should I just run out the clock? I don’t think so.
The apostle Paul uses the analogy of life being similar to running a race. He emphasizes the importance of running all the way to the end. In 1 Corinthians 9:24, he writes, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
Germany was the first country to introduce the idea of retirement in 1880. Now, many people in the industrialized nations consider retirement a basic right. Whether a person continues working in their career or not after a certain age should be a personal decision. We should, however, endeavour to serve the Lord – and to serve others – in some productive capacity as long as we are able.
In Philippians 3:14, Paul says, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul understood at that point in his life the race was not over, so he was determined to press on until the “game” – his life on earth – was finished.
My thrust at this stage is expanding my Coffee Plantation in Bukidnon my home province in the Philippines. My goal is to once again put the Philippines as a coffee producer in the world of coffee. In Canada I still have Hydropower Plants to develop and build in northern Ontario, Solar farms somewhere.
I intend to play hard until the final gun… or until my son put on my tombstone, “Gone to His Final Meeting”.

Do You Know Yourself ?

Recently I attended a funeral of one of my friends in the industry. It was well attended. Few people considered him old because he always look healthy, and as a result everyone who knew him was surprised dying at a youthful age of early 50’s. Several members of the grand Council came where he progressed himself in the different positions of the regional government. As his casket arrived it was carried by six people from the funeral parlour. The service lasted about an hour with accolades and achievements mentioned from different speakers.

Near the end of the 60 minutes ceremony, I began to feel uncomfortable. I’d listen to person after person talk about roles and funny episodes and bloopers in this man’s life but by the end of the funeral I had learned little about this man’s life.

Where are the stories from his children? How about memories of his wife that would give insight into this man. No one mentioned about his family. I began to wonder if anyone really knew him.

The End of your Life

Have you stopped to consider that your funeral will be your last event in this life? It is the end of the presence of your body among the living. At that point whatever you were aiming for, whatever your life goals, whatever you considered important will reach its end. All that you’ve done, owned and experienced in life will be finished. Your positions will be transferred to someone else’s hands. Your job and other roles will be over.

Who were You

Imagine if you can just listen to those eulogizing you, in that period of time they will sum up your life for merely an hour. Is that all there is in life? Were they saying all the things about you? Do they really know you?

Do you Know Yourself

You are not on this earth by accident. God was intentional when He made you. Your life has an internal sense of direction, and you can really live only if you embrace the person God made you to be.