“God’s Way up Is down Ward”: The Story of Joseph the Dreamer

Let me tell you the story of the trees with their dreams.

            “There are three little trees in the mountain afar. Each of them had a dream for their future. The first one dreams that someday; he will become a treasure chest of a great pearl. The second tree dreams that someday he will become a boat of a great conqueror. The third, tree dreams that someday that the people will look upon Him. Decades passed by, they grow and become huge timbers. On day, the woodcutters came and cut each of them. They said, “Our dreams will come true.”However, they did not anticipated what the woodcutters made to them.”

             Let me cut the story for a while and let me ask you, Do you heard about the story of a teenager whose name is Joseph? He was the one of the youngest and favorite Son of Jacob. One day he had a dream that God will exalted Him that even his parents and his older brother will bow before him. The tragedy comes to his life when his own bothers envied him and sold him to become slave in Egypt. His dream seems faded when this era took place in his life.

             Let us continue the plot of the story of the trees. “The first wood becomes an animal feeding box. The other wood was constructed as a fishing boat, not as a great ship of a conquering king. The third timber becomes a forgotten lumber that put aside by the carpenters in the backyard.”  In the story of Joseph, the dreamer almost forgot his dreams until; God himself brought him from the pit into the palace. The trees almost forgot their dreams when they were young, until the Christ was born.”The first, timber is a manger where Mary put his baby Jesus.

The first timber fulfilled his dream at last, he become a treasure chest, because the Christ the greatest treasure was put in him. The second timber, which becomes the fishing boat, fulfilled his dream at last, for Christ the great conquering King used him with his disciples. Also the third timber, fulfilled his dream at last, this long forgotten lumber was took by the Roman soldier and made it as the cross of Christ, whom the people look upon.

            Take note of this, when Christ came he makes all things beautiful in his time. God gave its one of you a dream of a good future. He implanted this dreams in his book of remember. God had no amnesia to forget those dreams. However, when you walk in this moment in the valley of the shadow of death and failures, In God’s time will carry out those dreams he provided for you. Remember this life’s principle: God’s way up is downward. He exalted those who are faithful in Him even they are in the pit of failures and despair. He brought them from pit to the palace. God will make all things beautiful in His time.

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“Slow As Turtle in the School of Christ”

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 Let me tell you a funny story

             One day the king of the jungle summoned his subject in the plateau of one of the highest mountain. The lion commanded each animal to tell their jokes as well warning them that if no one will laugh or even if a single animal will not smile, he will throw the storyteller into the cliff.   The first animal whom the Lion called was the monkey, when he started to tell his joke and he reaches the climax of his joke, everybody laughs except the turtle. Because of that, the poor monkey was thrown to the cliff and died. Another one, a wild boar told his joke, when he reach the punch line everybody began to laugh hysterically except the turtle, then the same fate happened to the wild boar. The next was the Zebra, he was nervous, when he started to tell his joke even not reaching the punch line, the turtle began to laugh.  Everybody was puzzled why the turtle laughed so loud. Then the turtle said, “The monkey, his joke is so funny!

            The writer of the book of Hebrews encountered a kind of people the same with turtle, people who are “slow to learn.” He wrote, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. [Heb 5:11 NIV]  The followers of Christ were called for numerous times in the gospel as ‘disciple’ literally means ‘pupil’ or ‘student.’  However, some who are called pupils are ‘slow to learn.” They are supposed to be teachers, but their way of learning they are slow as turtle. In our churches today, they are the old ones [not in age] members for many decades who are immature enough to be teachers. The Church is portray as “school of Christ” in the scriptures.

 Let us reflect with this. What is our level in the school of Christ?

 Do we learn many things from studying in his feet?

Where is God when it hurts? The Sound of His Silence

Do you experience the ‘silence’ of the Lord whom you adore?
Do you felt that sometimes it seems that He the One who called you had no more allure?
Does it come to your mind that he seems betrays you?
Do you experience the “absence” of Him who promises you?
Let me tell you this poem, made by someone whom for me is unknown. When suffering and trials came to him along and felt that he is almost alone. He realizes that God loves never fails, his presence never fades. Like Moses walked on the sea of reeds and met million of people in all their needs.

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

  See, as the Lord Himself said, " Never will I leave, Nor I will forsake You."


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“Maina And Her ‘Dirty Rug Doll”: Sinners In The Hands Of A Loving God

 There was a preacher, who gives his powerful and famous homily titled, “sinners in the hand of an angry God.” with this preaching on the righteous vengeance of God for our inquity, people were drive to repent with their sins, revival broke out that time. His name was Jonathan Edwards.

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 I want to portray God in this homily article as a loving Father to his people.  Let me tell you this story of a little girl name, Maina.

One day she receives a beautiful rug doll from her Ninong. She is very delighted of having that doll, though it was made of pieces of clothes. The color of that rug doll is white as snow.

Maina, a 7 year-old girl who loved to brought her lovely doll with her everywhere she goes. To the playground when she played, to her bedroom when she sleep, to her school, when she studied, until the pigment of that rug doll changes to a dirty white. One day, while Maina was sleeping into her bedroom, her Mom took the rug doll and throws it into the trashcan for its color and bad smell.

When Maina, woke up she looks for her precious “dirty rug doll.” Until she asked her Mom, “Nanay do you keep my doll?

Her mother replied her back, “I throw it, my baby into the trash can. Here look I have bought you more beautiful, more expensive, more big teddy bear.

However, Maina, did not pay her attention to that teddy bear, instead she run away going to the trash can and look for her “dirty rug doll.”

 When she found that rug doll, she embraces it tightly.

When her Mom saw, that Maina is embracing that dirty rug doll, she forcefully grabbed it.  However, Maina didn’t give up her doll.

Until her mother said, “ok my baby, give that dirty rug doll to me and I will wash it in our washing machine.”

 Her mother took the rug doll and put it into washing machine, put some detergent to take the bad smell and to clean it up. When it is dried, her mother sprays some perfume to make it smell good. Then her mother gives it to her. The days, weeks and months passed by,  Maina  loves to  brough that rug doll wherever she goes, until her rug doll looks like a chukka doll.

One day her mother forcefully tried to took it from Maina. However, Maina hold closes of it firmly and said to her Mother, “Nanay you cannot take this dirty rug doll away from me, I know it is dirty but I love it.”

 Her Mon did nothing but to wash it again.

            In this homily I, want portrayed our Lord Jesus like Maina who loves us like a ‘dirty rug doll.’Yes, God hates the sins; however, He desperately loves us, sinners. We are like dirty rug doll in the hands of a loving God. In our  life’s trails and temptations, the enemy tried to snatch us out from his hand like what Maina’s Mom did to her rug doll. However, He promises us that, “no one can take you out of my hand.”

            Yes He did it.  He said,” I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. [John 10:28 NIV]

 No one can take us out from his loving arm. Name it, He promise, No one, No one can take you out from my hands.

‘Are you an ‘Angry Bird?’

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“Angry Bird” do you know this computer game?

One time a friend introduced me this game and I have learn the story behind this game. A group of pigs robbed the eggs of these birds, since that day these ‘colorful’ and ‘lovely’ birds transformed themselves into an ‘angry bird.’ The game is all about the angry birds is who did the vengeance even to their death, in order to do a vengeance with their enemy, the pigs.

Some people live with this life’s principle:

                        “Love those who love you [the birds] and hate those who hated you [the pigs].”

            However, the Lord commanded his disciples to ‘love one another,’ and left this principle for us to live by. This love is non-exclusive principle, it had the scope of ‘everyone’ even those people whom we called, ‘undeserved and our enemy.’   He illustrated this principle with the story of the ‘Good Samaritan” and his concern with his racial enemy the Jew from Jerusalem. Love one another meant, to be concern, to care, to forgive, and to understand to cite the few.

 Let me tell you this story of Bob [pronounce as Bo] Sanchez.

            In Sagada, Bob visited the Echo Valley.Standing on the edge of the cliff, He told his four-year old boy, “OK, son, shout I love you as loud as you can!” So Francis hollered, “I love youuuuu!”It was a delight to see the surprise on his face when he heard his high-pitched voice bounces back. “I love you, I love you, I love you…”Being the killjoy that Bob was, He took him aside and gave him a two-minute lecture on life. “Francis,” He said, “life works the same way.

            The entire universe is a giant Echo Valley. Imagine if you said, “I hate you.” You would have heard, “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you…” Hatred will return to you. Many times over, too. “Whatever you give to the universe, you’ll receive it multiplied.”

Life Lesson: What you give to life, you’ll receive back a hundredfold.