Who's the Guilty One???

"Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" (Mt 27:40)

"...come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him." (42)

"come down from the cross and save yourself!" (Mk 15:30)

"...come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." (32)

"...let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." (Lk 23:35)

You know what? The Chosen One chose me. And you. Each of us who have gone astray. 

Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." (Jn 19:11, emphasis mine)

The question I am ruined by is: Who is that one who handed him over to be crucified? 

Pilate? 

The Jews? 

Judas the betrayer? 

Peter the denier? 

Us the sinners? 

Satan the accuser? 

Or God the Father Himself?

That power given from above. Surely no one has that authority other than God Himself? The one who "handed me over to you"? And..."guilty of a greater sin"??!

I hope my following proposal would not convey blasphemy to the extent of preventing you (the reader) from identifying with what I'm truly wrestling with as I ponder on this. Bear with me: I propose that God's greatest 'sin' was loving me so much that he handed Jesus over to be crucified. That he chose to withhold nothing less than the worst possible, to make available for my choosing the best possible. That he resolutely surrendered, at all costs. A scandalous love so extravagant, a sin so great yet he was willing to commit --- it shames me to consider it!

Oh, for this blasphemous wonderment my heart is wrecked. 

Made himself nothing. Humbled himself. Obedient to death - even death on a cross! How can I respond with anything less than all of me? How can I, for that matter, live my life following Christ with mediocrity rather than resolute giving up of any attempts to 'save yourself' for immediate gains? 

I CHOOSE HIM, KING JESUS, MY GOD AND SAVIOR.

I, the worst choice conceivable, choose he who chose me over himself.

I choose You.

And for this 'sin', I am willing to be guilty of for the rest of my life.

A Response Fit For a Queen

"And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

I wonder if these words rocked Esther's world.

We know it changed the course of her destiny. In fact, the lives of her people were spared because of her response to these words.

Imagine if she responded differently. 

I read Esther's story, and I see glimpses of huge destiny lessons to be learnt:

2:12 -> Preparation is key. The outcome is uncertain, the competition extreme, therefore spare nothing but give it the best you've got. It takes a drawn-out process to "become". The preparation takes longer than that anticipated moment of victory, but still very necessary. So, be extravagant in training. No shortcuts. 

2:15 -> Trust God's favor to work wonders. You've gone through the process of preparation, so when God says you're ready you are. Trying to impress people by bringing more than required would be a bad idea. Leave behind what isn't needed, take only what Holy Spirit says to take. Less is more.

2:16 -> There's no better timing than divine timing. When the hands of the clock (as a figure of speech, of course) are rightly positioned, the fullness of time has come. Completeness. Perfection. And only God knows exactly when. Be aware of timing and on the lookout for His appointed times. 

2:17 -> Don't underestimate people. Sometimes those we never expected to "turn out well" do. The quiet, unassuming ones. The wallflowers. The plain-faced ones. The backbenchers. With the right ingredients, i.e. preparation + God's favor + divine timing, you would be surprised!

2:18 -> Watch and learn. For the king to give a great banquet for Esther was a culturally significant gesture, particularly with those he invited to join at table to share their meal. He was making a statement. Esther would later prepare two  banquets for the king and her enemy Haman (5:4, 8). She interpreted the culture, and was intentional in communication.

Been pondering on our identity as kings and priests (1 Pet 2:9-10). Heard a powerfully whispered message recently by Bob Sorge that highlighted Esther's banquets to me. She prepared two banquets, knowing full well that she would invite both the king (her husband) and Haman (her nemesis). Why twice??? Could it be that she felt one banquet wasn't enough because she wanted to make sure the king was affirmed of her affection for him, that she was not challenging his kingly decree like Vashti did, that she fully respected him for his decisions and wasn't questioning his wisdom? Could it be that she knew the best way to tackle Haman was to have her beloved act on her behalf out of mutual trust, that she could expose her enemy for the king to take him on, without him feeling she is defying his royal decree?

If that is true, if that is why Esther thought it wise to lavish her love on her king before exposing the enemy and asking he be disposed of, then we can approach tough times in a totally different way. When you face tough times, and you wonder if the source was God or the devil or you brought it on yourself, think about the 2 banquets. Sure, circumstances in your life - including the super-hate-able ones, could be caused by the devil or yourself, but ultimately it's God who either allows / instigates them. Really. 

So how do you make your case to the One who is responsible for the opposition you face in life? 

How do you take on the enemy without challenging the King's wisdom? 

How do you respond when a crisis happens, when you know the enemy is involved, but God is involved in it too?

Imagine if you responded differently.

Pilgrimage

My heart is captivated tonight, as it has been for the past 4 weeks, on this word - PILGRIMAGE.

Conjures up an image of a sojourner with a satchel on her back, stumbling occasionally along the weathered trail, and where the road winds uneven and narrow she slows down to catch her breath. On she tracks with blisters on her heels, grasping tight onto a walking stick when her muscles fail, when the winds bellow during the upward hikes she pauses with a gnawing temptation to turn around and go back, because the misty fog approaches around the bend. When it gets hard to see, when food supply runs out and water gets scarce, when the air thins and temperature drops, when climbing companions become few and far between, when clothing wears out and reason fails, when there is every reason to "go back where you came from", when safety precautions demand self-preservation, on she tracks. Faith is spelt R.I.S.K. "I'm with you, even to the ends of the earth," whispers her guide, Pneuma. Because she's heading somewhere, and she HAS to get there. On she tracks...

"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, those who set their hearts on pilgrimage." ~ Ps 84:5

The word hijrah i.e. 'pilgrimage' in bahasa (هِجْرَة) means 'to move'. There is a Qur'an-ic phrase called IMAN-HIJRAH-JIHAD, which essentially means FAITH-PILGRIMAGE-STRUGGLE. And this depicts our life in Christ extremely well. The word 'pilgrimage' cannot be separated from the words 'faith' and 'struggle', because to move towards a greater understanding of life and God denotes a struggle against our flesh, our self, our natural inclinations, that which betrays ignorance of divine truth. Glimpses of God's revelation moves us along on our journey of faith, forces us out of our preconceptions and misconceptions, breaks us out of our comfortable settlement so that we have no choice but to embark on pilgrimage. Yes, it's a struggle, but we step out in faith. Our whole lives are a journey. My life is to be lived towards heaven, and here on earth I move along, one place to another, station after station, knowing ultimately I'm heading home where "My Father's house has many rooms". It is said that "this world is not our home". What's important is to know where your home is. But what's MORE important is to know that your journey IS how you find revelation of the One who IS your home. If you pause to look back on your tracks to see where you have stepped, perhaps you might be surprised to see hints of Pneuma walking with you when you least expected. He is as much in your past as He is in your present. And you can be sure He will be with you in your future. Until you reach home.

If you could see your whole life in eternity's perspective, how differently you would approach your everyday decisions. Less attached to things of this world, less resistant of His unexpected directions, less iffy about how stable life should be.

Set your eyes on things above. 

Set your hearts on pilgrimage.

The pilgrim and her Pneuma walking side by side.

Satu Suara (One Voice)

A song written by Juwita Suwito for BersatUnite:

Excerpt from MALAYSIAN INSIDER

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 - Police have tightened security around US-owned concerns in Malaysia in the aftermath of Israeli invasion of Gaza as Friday prayer sermons called for a boycott of those  with interests in the US and Israel apart from stopping use of the American dollar. (read more)

It breaks my heart when I lean in to hear God's heart. How it ruins us when we pray, "God, show me your heart. I want to know what you're feeling." That we may be in agreement with him when we pray God's agenda above all other agendas. Recently at OneThing KC there were significant moments when we interceded for the nations, especially Israel, in preparation for Christ's return. Those representing 3 major people groups were called forth on the final conference night. Asians were highlighted as God's formidable force for this hour. I felt a longing in my heart that I cannot describe. A longing that I'm certain many who cry "Maranatha!" feel in deep groaning. The longing of the Bridegroom.

O God, that your chosen ones may be bold enough to lean in close to your heart to hear your heart and know your ache, to burn with a longing resembling yours to see nations healed and families transformed. How do we pray, what can we say? God, teach me how. That there be a holy invasion of shekinah through prayer, a radical boycott of ra'a' through fasting. Teach your disciples unity with wisdom, when earthly rulers pit us against each other. Whose side do we stand on, whose political agenda do we adhere to? I don't belong to any nation more than to yours, ultimately. Can we see BersatUnite across Malaysia and USA impacting nations along the road B2J, Lord? You love Israel, you love US too. You love the Arabs, the Jews, the Asians, the WWW! All of us! Amplify your heartbeat in our ears, magnify the travail in our souls, that we be driven - compelled! - to a final loyalty to your Kingdom, not torn between 2 nations, to find security of our heavenly citizenship. We submit to authority, God, but we fear you above all - this is my Friday prayer. Iya Tuhan, patahkan egoisme kami, tapi pulihkan gerejaMu di saat ini. 

Amin.