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How To Find The Courage To Stand Up For Your Faith

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”  “Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”  But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, I am only a child.  You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.  Jeremiah 1:4-8

He hated the limelight but was constantly in the news.  He loved the simple life, yet his was often conflicted and confusing.  He preferred the country but had to live in the city.  He felt inadequate as a public spokesman, yet he spent his life confronting world leaders.  His name: Jeremiah.  If you check that name in a dictionary, you will discover that based on the life of a seventh century B.C. prophet in Judah, a Jeremiah is “one who is pessimistic about the present and foresees a calamitous future.”

Who was this man Jeremiah and why was he such a pessimist?  Good question.  He was born in the village of Anathoth, now called Anata, in modern Israel, about 4 kilometers southeast of the city of Jerusalem.  He grew up in a strongly religious family.  His father was a priest—perhaps the Hilkiah who brought the book of the law to King Josiah and started a revival.

But Jeremiah didn’t inherit fame.  His came with blood and fire.  At about age 21, Jeremiah had an encounter with God which changed his life, one which he didn’t ask for, and one which at one time caused such grief that he cursed the day he was born.  When God called him, Jeremiah gave three reasons why he considered himself an unlikely candidate: 1. He argued his youth; 2. He explained that he was not eloquent (something which God already happened to know) and 3. He told God that he had no experience to qualify him for the job.  God, of course, immediately saw his mistake in wanting to use Jeremiah and apologized for interrupting his life—right?  Not at all!

Here’s the account which he himself wrote: “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’  ‘Ah, Sovereign LORD,’ I said, ‘I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.’  But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not say, I am only a child.  You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the LORD.  Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘Now, I have put my words in your mouth.  See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant'” (Jeremiah 1:4-10).

It’s hard to argue with God, especially when His hand touches your life as happened to Jeremiah.  His was never an easy life.  Forbidden to marry, his was a lonely existence.  Those who should have been his closest friends—priests and civic leaders—were his most bitter enemies.  So angered was King Jehoiakim at what Jeremiah had written, that he took his penknife and cut up the scroll piece by piece and fed it to the fire.

Jeremiah’s message was considered “unpatriotic” and he was considered a

traitor who urged the leaders to surrender to the enemy rather than to be destroyed.  He stood in the temple and told the people that it would be destroyed and desolate.  No wonder the people cried out that he should die (Jeremiah 26:11).  God promised to be with Jeremiah, and he was, in spite of the constant battle which he waged.  When Jerusalem was overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar and his army in 596 B.C., Jeremiah escaped to Egypt, according to tradition.  May God give us more men and women today such as Jeremiah, men who will stand and be counted regardless of the cost! Yes indeed, give us more Jeremiahs.

Resource reading: Jeremiah 1:1-10

https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/how-to-find-the-courage-to-stand-up-for-your-faith/

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PAANO BA NATIN MAHAHANAP ANG KAHULUGAN SA ATING BUHAY? -Kape't Pandasal ...

Kris

FOLLOWING the death of former President Benigno S. Aquino III last June 24, certain segments of social media were filled with anything and everything you can read about PNoy, his mom, his dad, and the legacy he and his family have carved out in Philippine history books.

There were comments reminiscent of what has been said about the Kennedys – few families have sacrificed as much for our democracy; there were glimpses of what PNoy was like as a friend and/or a boss; and there were countless evaluations of his six years in office, sometimes with intentional contrasts to the nearly six years of the incumbent.

Of course, if your algorithms allowed you a broader selection of entries into your feed then you’d have read the equally virulent detractors, or heard even how a member of the Bar and an officer of the court so casually implied that the former President suffered from an affliction which, for all we know, that same lawyer is sick of himself.

‘WHO WILL IT BE THIS TIME?’

To his credit, Thinking Pinoy had a self-imposed ceasefire for a day, which to me was good enough coming from a critic. Of course, the next day he has a post about the 44 SAF who died while in pursuit of the finger of a most wanted terrorist.

As it was in 1983 and then again in 2009, the death of an Aquino opened the floodgates to strong emotions.

As it was with those two previous occasions so it is with this one – the question arises: who will inherit the unenviable responsibility of carrying on the fight? In 1983 and in 2009 the Aquinos and their allies were confronted with reluctant “heirs.” In the first instance, it was the widow, who however had always been on the sidelines when it came to the politics of her husband. And so it took some time – almost three years – before she finally embraced the Fate that had been thrust upon her and led the fight to overturn the existing order.

Twenty-three years later, it was the son and namesake’s turn to reluctantly embrace the same role.

PNoy died just as we are all gearing up for another presidential campaign and the timing of his death and the resultant flooding of emotions – old ones rekindled and new ones stoked – could not make me ask myself that one single question that is surely on the minds of many, many others:

Who will it be this time?

Personal: Happy healthy birthday Pastor Victorino Tobias of JIL Libertad, Pasay; Pastor Nelson Pacio of JIL Naguilian, La Union; Kagawad Jimmy Borja and Kapitan Jess Gaviola of Barangay Kalawaan, Pasig City; Lucy Venagas; Jhay Exiomo; Irene Celebre; Nindy Ponce Enrile; Jacob Pascua; belated happy birthday Warlie Sacatani Aguilar of Talavera, Nueva Ecija (June 18); Bro. Marlon Saet of El Shaddai Gospel Music Ministry; Lola Eliza Habana; Daphine Devera; Vilmo Silvederio; Atty. Claire Castro; Jayson Magdadaro

https://malaya.com.ph/index.php/news_opinion/kris/