Bloody procession!

This coming Friday is one of the most bloody Fridays of the year in the Philippines. This bloody day, a part of the Lenten Season is planned – infact there is people exodus going on in the major cities to have both religious and grand weekend long vacation to visit families and to see bloody bodies (not by accidents but by choice).

One of the most popular visited places during this Lenten Times is the one in Maleldo, Pampanga, where selected men of the village are nailed on the cross as penitents.

Crucifixion at Maleldo, Pampanga

Why are we practicing this?

We Filipinos are cultural Christians, thinking that to do certain religious piety or make ourselves suffer will make God love or care for us more or will make Him considerate to give our prayer requests, the like of ’suertes’ for the year and good health.

To note sadly, the least that we think of during Holy Friday, even if all the processions and pious practices are around, is the real essence of God’s sacrificial act of LOVE by giving His ONLY Son to carry in Himself the sins He did not commit but ours.  So that we may be guiltless and will not suffer the painful consequence of our sins in hell!

During that time He became the BAD one not us:

• He was the cheating employee, the selfish businessman, the corrupt government official.
• He was the flirting wife, the adulterer husband, the disobedient child.
• He was the hold upper, the murderer, the drug addict, the sexual abuser.
• He was the lustful man, the self-absorbed vain lady, the extravagant yuppy.

Name all the sins we commit and those He took, was punished and died so that we can now run free from the eternal horrible penalty.

By reading this, I hope that you will appreciate that act on the CROSS by Jesus.

To end this post let me share with you a beautiful verse in the last book of the Bible: “…Jesus Christ, who is the first witness…the ruler of the kings of the earth…Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom…to serve His God and Father.” (Revelation 1: 5, 6)

To answer that question, I would like to present a similarity between physical wound and emotional wound!

Healing of a physical wound is natural but it takes time because healing is a process. Sometimes, specially when the wound is fatal and an infection occurs, a medical intervention is necessary to facilitate good healing. Aside from that, every wound leaves scar, because it damages skin tissues. This scar remains even if the pain is not there anymore. The healing maybe complete but it leaves unfavourable souvenirs!

A scar is a reminder of the wound but the pain isn't there anymore!

Same is true with any offense that causes emotional pain. It is like a knife that slices a wound. It can be very nasty with emotional pain! It is not always good! It can create chaos in life, its healing isn’t easy, it takes time!

God asks us to forgive immediately, like the way He forgives us! He asks us to give Him our anger, our bitterness and hatred and allow Him to handle vengeance! But forgetting the offense, the harm, the hurt and trusting again is another thing. It is like healing, it is a process. It has to be dealt with time. Trust has to be regained!

There are times that we will not forget the offense and the harm but the pain will not be felt anymore. Remembrance of the painful incidents becomes a reminder for the offense not to happen again. It is a reminder that if we sense circumstances leading to an offense and hurt, we learn to excuse ourself from those!

Even if the healing is taking some time, what’s important is to forgive the person who offended us…because in doing so the healing happens!

I pray that we will learn to forgive immediately and bear the memory of the offenses until the time will come when we won’t remember the excruciating emotional pain caused by the offenses and harms done to us!

Bless your emotional healing time!

“We all know it is very easy to say ‘forgive and ask for forgiveness’ but it is an insurmountable task to do!”

Why is it so?

Because most of the times we are paralyze by the fear of the possible pain during the confrontation, so we don’t make a move to ask for an apology or offer forgiveness.

Yet in reality having a severed relationship is more painful than the confrontation. Check it out by asking those people whose families had broken relationships and didn’t move at all for reconciliation and you will hear from them extreme emotional pains.

This time, let us survey what did the Word of God, being the best life standard, says about this difficult act of forgiving and asking for forgiveness.

Mending broken relationships are like mending broken delicate Vases!

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  FORGIVE AS THE LORD FORGAVE YOU.” (Colossians 3:13)

• We’ve got a lot of grievances for someone and someone else have grievances against us, but we’ve got to BEAR with each other.
• Forgive because when you don’t these grievances will become bitterness and hatred, then it will transform you to become suspicious  and miserable.
• Do not allow hurt, anger and bitterness eat you up, it is awful, terribly awful! Try it if you want!
• Forgive immediately! Ask for forgiveness immediately! Do it ASAP as the Lord forgave you! The person who offended you doesn’t need to do something to be forgiven. You don’t have to wait for a sign for you to ask for an apology.

You may ask, how should I forgive immediately, does it mean forgetting the offense? That will be the topic of the next blog!

We are the Apple of God's Eyes!

The very first Bible reading schedule I had for January 1 was Matthew Chapter 1, verses 1-17, the genealogy of Jesus.

I took note that in Jesus’ lineage there were 3 women’s names mentioned. It was a surprise because very seldom a woman’s name was included in a traditional Hebrew (the race of Jesus) family records, because this people had a very strong patriarchal society.  Women were second rate citizens.

It was also noted that the mentioned women were very unpopular and in fact considered least in their extremely conservative ancient community, these women were:

1. Rahab, a non-Hebrew, from Jericho and was a prostitute.
2. Ruth, also a non-Hebrew, a Moabite and was a widow.
3. Bathsheba, an adulteress.

BUT they were included in the record which means they were important and valued!

As I reflected on Jesus’ family record great lessons were impressed on me:

• God doesn’t look at you the way present societies and communities look at you.  You may have done something very wrong last year but God doesn’t label you according to your performance, on the other hand, He regard you based on what you can become! God values you even if… You can have a fresh new start this year!
• By that you can definitely say, no matter what you did in the past, what ever sin you may have committed He is always ready to FORGIVE you. Your parents may have disowned you, but He will not disown you. Your boss may have fired you because of bad evaluation, but He doesn’t keep a bad record. Your closest friends may have abandoned you because you hurt them, but He doesn’t leave you nor forsake you though you offend Him many many times.
• And because He doesn’t keep a bad record and never label you negatively, on the other hand He sees the best you can do and will allow you to be that.  He will use you to produce the best thing for yourself and for others!

Have a great 2010 with the way how God looks at you – You are the Apple of His Eyes! It will set this year right!

It is very spontaneous for us to hurt someone, intentionally or unintentionally, and it is normal to feel very bad when someone offends us. Much more, we LOVE to keep that hurt until it becomes hatred which eventually transforms us to be a very bitter person...although we clearly know how awfully bad it is to avenged the offenses done to us, we continue to do so because it is our human nature.

My recent blog says ‘nurture your existing relationship because it is hard to regain a broken relationship.’ But when the relationship is already broken I have mentioned in my introductory blog on relationship: ‘It is godly to forgive those who hurt you and to ask for forgiveness to those whom you’ve hurt!’

We all know it is very easy to say ‘forgive and ask for forgiveness’ but it is an insurmountable task to do!

Are you hurting today? Have you hurt someone? Are you keeping grudges and bitter? Do you struggle forgiving? Are you wrestling with your feeling on asking for forgiveness? Would you like to get even for those emotional stubbing pains thrusted on you? I am praying for you because I know how it feels, it is my struggle too. We need God’s help specially this Holiday Season – a season of supposedly FORGIVENESS!

In my next blog about ‘Relationship’ I will invite you to survey with me what the Word of God says about the most difficult thing to do in life – forgiving those who offended us!